The Sovereign Collective accepted my demand for a live combat trial. They ushered me into a specially designed, remote training dungeon known as the Kinetic Vault—a multi-layered environment designed to test movement, defense, and power projection. They provided two opposing teams: one composed of Rank A hunters, and the other led by a veteran, cynical Rank S hunter named Zia.
The conditions were simple: survive and prove the viability of the "Unsustainable Thesis."
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My first demonstration was against my supposed allies—Zia's Rank S team. They were instructed to test my defense and speed.
The moment the match began, I activated the full trinity of my continuous skills: Aura Projection, Density Manipulation, and Hyper-Focus.
The veteran hunters immediately realized something was fundamentally wrong. Zia, armed with an ancient Epic Bow, fired a volley of energy-piercing arrows designed to overwhelm most defenses. But thanks to Hyper-Focus, the arrows seemed to move in slow motion, giving me infinite time to reposition my body slightly. Due to Density Manipulation, the minimal contact the arrows made simply shattered against my hyper-dense armor.
"His defense is absolute!" Zia roared into her comms. "It's not blocking the energy; it's absorbing the impact!"
The pressure was not just defensive. My Aura Projection was so intense that the surrounding air was thick and heavy, physically pressing down on my adversaries. The Rank S team, accustomed to managing short bursts of power, found themselves fighting under the continuous, crushing weight of an unyielding Epic presence. Their movement was slowed, and their stamina drained simply by existing near me.
The shock on Zia's face was profound when she realized that my continuous output was not dwindling. After five minutes of futile effort, she ordered a full retreat.
"He's cheating the system!" Zia reported to the Collective observers. "His mana signature is stable! He's operating at 90% capacity, continuously!"
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The next phase was against the aggressive Rank A team, led by a fire-elemental specialist named Ignis. Ignis believed I was simply a well-funded anomaly and planned a direct, overwhelming attack.
Ignis launched a full-power Inferno Torrent—a wide-area blast of consuming flame.
I did not dodge. I relied on my kinetic engine.
I layered my defense: Density Manipulation protected my physical body, while the internal Void Alchemist diverted the heat, feeding the external flame energy back into my Arcane Catalyst pool. The fire washed over me, and my mana percentage actually increased slightly—I was consuming the elemental attack as fuel.
Ignis stared in disbelief as his attack failed. "He's consuming my fire! It's like fighting a void!"
I took the offensive, maintaining the continuous Aura Projection and Hyper-Focus. I didn't need to strike accurately; I just needed to maintain pressure.
I unleashed continuous, sweeping blasts of my new Kinetic Thunderclap (Storm Titan/Gorgon fusion). The AOE strikes did not relent. I fired, reloaded my kinetic charge, and fired again, all while my Density Manipulation shrugged off the desperate counterattacks of the surrounding Rank A hunters.
The constant, deafening AOE Thunderclaps and the suffocating Aura Projection were too much. The Rank A team, facing continuous, overwhelming output without respite, collapsed within minutes. Their stamina was broken, their strategy defeated by the simple, brutal fact that I never stopped attacking or defending.
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The Collective observers were ecstatic. The data confirmed the Unsustainable Thesis: I could maintain three high-cost, continuous skills indefinitely, effectively making my core defenses absolute and my presence physically crippling to enemies. I had successfully manufactured the first truly broken skill combination.
I exited the Kinetic Vault, my body aching from the physical strain, though my mana was full. The physical body, however, was not immune to the metaphysical rules I had broken.
As I walked out, I felt a sharp, burning pain in my eyes. I looked into a reflection on a polished metal plate. My eyes—previously a dark, ordinary brown—were now rimmed with a faint, steady electric blue halo. The Storm Titan energy was no longer just contained in the gauntlet; the perpetual filtering was beginning to fundamentally alter my physiology.
The continuous pressure I was exerting on the outside world was beginning to permanently imprint itself on the physical vessel. This was not a defect; it was the next step in my transformation. I was becoming an embodiment of the broken system I had created.