Power of Runes Chapter 425: Functional Laws of Eden (2)

The Universal System operated exactly like the game's leveling mechanism. Slay a foe, earn experience points, and advance your level.

Straightforward, isn't it? Far from it.

To start, slaying anyone in a safe zone yields zero experience. Take killing inside a city, for instance—you gain nothing, as the system outright rejects such deeds and upholds its rules rigidly, no exceptions allowed.

Experience could also come from endless repetition. Repeat a specific move, like countless sword swings, and you'll accumulate exp; the harder you train, the more skilled you'll grow in that area, with every motion sharpening and optimizing progressively.

This principle extended to skills and abilities too. Frequent use sharpened them, and since progress showed live, motivation soared sky-high, every tiny gain plain to see and quantifiable.

Exploration offered another path to experience in this boundless realm, where venturing into uncharted territories and discovering fresh spots fueled personal advancement, urging folks to push past known limits.

Various dungeons formed naturally, not linked to other planets but born during the Realm's own creation, woven right into its foundation.

Their origins remained a mystery, yet over ages, all accepted them as this world's innate wonders, rarely probing deeper.

Besides natural dungeons, Trial Towers provided exp via organized trials, plus a Quest System featuring Realm Quests, Class Evolution Quests, Legacy Quests, Training Quests, Unique Quests, and others, all crafted to steer growth diversely with straightforward goals.

Class Evolution Quests truly existed, letting one switch to a fresh class path via evolution, though finishing them proved tough, demanding beyond mere power—testing insight, flexibility, and determination in intangible ways.

Regarding Realm Quests, Ash strongly suspected they mirrored the game's Story Quests or World Quests, their design and purpose too alike for chance, differing only in title. And with him here, who could predict the shifts?

Quests aside, the Universal System aided mortals in shattering innate barriers. Hitting a growth ceiling? Request a Limit Breaker Trial; succeed, and your body transforms, boosting stat limits and sometimes unlocking previously hidden abilities.

Yet succeeding in those trials was no simple feat—failures brought harsh penalties, difficulties surging past most expectations.

In essence, for an average individual, conquering a Limit Breaker Trial bordered on impossible.

Success in a Limit Breaker Trial unveiled one's racial Evolution Tree, enabling selection of a tailored growth route aligned with innate traits and powers, honing future progress more precisely.

Beyond these core features, lesser elements—often ignored initially—held vital roles in the realm's framework.

Such as Realm Bosses (or World Bosses), Death Zones, Danger Zones, Realm Events, the Title System, and more, each adding layers to the world's intricacy and equilibrium.

Yet two treasures outshone everything in crave-worthiness.

Legendary stones.

Few knew of them yet. Still, from absorbed memories, Ash learned folks recognized Legendary Stones as the ultimate prizes all coveted.

Ash recalled two from the game.

The Evolution Stone and the Potential Stone.

Names perfectly captured their powers, their straightforwardness amplifying their worth.

One forced evolution sans prerequisites, skipping hurdles that might span years or lifetimes; the other boosted potential, elevating growth's absolute peak.

Grades varied among these stones, dictating potency—higher tiers skyrocketed in value and demand.

A low-grade Potential Stone merely bumped potential one rank—helpful, sure, but dwarfed by superior versions.

More Legendary Stones might exist too; this was real life, after all, and Ash wouldn't fully rely on game knowledge from his past existence.

But here's a pressing issue: if killing strengthened you, wouldn't the realm devolve into ceaseless war and ruin?

Remember, games teemed with infinite monsters for slaying, unlike this realm...

Boundless slaughter would inevitably doom all, since reality lacked respawns—every demise was permanent True Death.

To curb descent into wholesale carnage, Realm Guardians intervened, preventing chaos from erupting and preserving balance the system didn't enforce outright.

With basics compiled, Ash noted neither he nor Snow linked to the Universal System.

This stemmed from their Soul bond, shielding them from its grasp—or at minimum, its routine control.

Ash chose to query Eric: Soul Bond with him, or Universal System binding? Inside Ash's soul Space, the system couldn't touch him for now.

Ultimately, Eric decided.

Across millennia, Ash never pushed Eric toward such a bond, loath to bind or burden him.

Circumstances evolved now.

Detailing the Universal System's perks, setup, and flaws to Eric, Ash got a mildly shocking response.

Eric preferred bonding with Ash over some shadowy system that emerged abruptly, ruling silently sans origin disclosure.

Witnessing this, Ash sensed mild guilt—Eric echoed his own distrust, influences subtly transferred unnoticed.

Yet it comforted him too.

Eric wouldn't fall for tricks easily.

So, forging an equal Soul Bond, Ash ushered Eric into the outer world.

Time flowed on, leading Ash to buy a shop in the City of Light's Inner District.

But buys demanded identity proof: Universal System possession and clean record, prerequisites for property ownership or restricted city access.

The Universal System tracked grave offenders like mass killers, dispatching elimination quests to realm denizens instead of acting solo.

Still, the system stayed impartial, never biasing Realm Guardians. A Criminal in the city? No quests issued, no alerts, unless major acts or safe-zone crimes occurred.

For the Universal System, equality reigned outside safe zones. Those zones protected the weak, not out of disdain for death.

Crime in safe zones? Status windows flashed red versus standard blue, branding them prime targets.

Why a cloth shop for Ash? Obvious reason.

His outfits shredded with every action.

He aimed to copy the Eclipse's 'Unbreakable' runic formation, etching it into garb for enduring intact amid chaos—constant ruin grew tiresome.

Picture fighting nude before crowds each time—mortifying. Energy-cloth worked, but stylish options? Irresistible.

Business-wise, it screamed profit: such gear would draw eyes and buyers galore here.

Ash thus pursued his gut's wisest course, acting on instinct.

***