Chapter 23: The First Arrivals.
The system sighed from within the dark orb within in Elias’ consciousness space.
"You punk don’t know anything," it grumbled in its usual proud and condescending tone. "Let this powerful one explain it properly."
Its golden eyes narrowed, and its small draconic body coiled gracefully in the air like a serpent as it began to explain.
> [Every being has untapped potential buried deep within them. Even those who seem to have reached the peak still carry strength they haven’t unlocked. The average person only uses about 30 to 40 percent of that potential. Truly elite warriors might reach 70, maybe 80 percent. But...]
Its voice lowered slightly, becoming serious.
> [...During real life and death moments—when the soul screams to survive and the mind is pushed aside by raw instinct—some people manage to go beyond their limits, drawing from a deeper strength they didn’t even know they had. That’s why they suddenly explode with speed, strength, awareness.]
> [That’s what real combat potential means. And that’s why your summon, Vael, even though he has the same stats as you, fights like a completely different beast.]
> [His experience is etched into his body. Every life-and-death fight has shaped his reflexes. His instincts are sharp—like a dagger drawn again and again in battle. That’s what makes him stronger.]
Elias’ eyes slowly widened, a faint glimmer appearing in them as he listened. The gears in his mind began to turn faster and faster.
Now it all made sense.
That’s why, in all those fantasy stories he read back on Earth, the noble families always sent their talented offspring into wild, dangerous places. It wasn’t because they wanted them dead. It was because they knew that true growth was born under pressure—under the threat of death.