Re-Awakened :I Ascend as an SSS-Ranked Dragon Summoner - Chapter 244

Chapter 244: Update… Storm
Noah sank onto his bed, mind racing through the conversations with Sophie and Lila. The Harbingers, the academies, the Purge—pieces of a puzzle he was only beginning to comprehend. Both women had their own agendas, their own secrets, yet both seemed to genuinely care for him in their own ways.

‘Sophie’s right,’ he thought. ‘In the end, it matters who stands beside you when the real battle begins.’

The tournament finals were mere days away, and whatever revelation was coming, he needed to be ready. Ready to protect those he cared about, uncover the truth, and possibly face an enemy none of them fully understood.

As he reached for his phone to call Kelvin, a familiar notification flashed across his vision.

[Level Up Complete: Level 21]

Noah paused, directing his mental focus toward his stats page. The familiar blue interface materialized in his mind’s eye.

[Name: Noah Eclipse]

[Level: 21]

[Class: Void Oracle]

[Health Points: 650/650] (+50)

[Void Energy: 1050/1050] (+100)

[Experience: 500/11,000]

[Talents:]

Void Summoning [SSS RANK]

Perfect Echo [Sealed]

Self-Regeneration [B RANK]

[Enhanced Skills:]

Void Blink (Level 6) – Shorter cooldown, longer range (Cooldown: 4 seconds)

Null Strike (Level 3) – (-100)

Void Absorption (Level 3) – Can now absorb a wider array of energies including electricity.

Entropy Touch (Level 3) – Stronger decay effect.

Void Bullet (Level 1) – Projects concentrated void energy. Cost: 50 void energy per use.

[Attributes:]

Strength: 64 (+3)

Agility: 71 (+3)

Vitality: 57 (+3)

Intelligence: 76 (+3)

Wisdom: 71 (+3)

Noah studied the changes with interest. The new skill, Void Bullet, caught his attention immediately. A ranged attack could change his combat style significantly, giving him options beyond close-quarter engagements. The substantial boosts to his attributes and energy pools would also prove valuable in the coming trials.

He closed the interface just as his room’s door slid open, revealing Kelvin with his signature messy hair and the perpetual look of someone who’d been awake for too many hours straight.

“You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Kelvin said, dropping his equipment bag on the floor. “Or two women who both want to kill you. Same difference in our world, I guess.”

Noah couldn’t help but smile. “I leveled up.”

Kelvin’s eyes widened. “No way! Let me see!” He practically bounced across the room, his earlier exhaustion forgotten. “Did you get anything good?”

“Void Bullet,” Noah replied. “Level one. Ranged attack that costs fifty energy per use.”

“About time your system gave you something with range,” Kelvin said, rummaging through his bag. “Actually, perfect timing. I’ve been working on something.”

Noah raised an eyebrow as Kelvin produced what looked like a small metallic cube. “What’s that?”

“Remember how I said I wouldn’t just run next time you tell me to?” Kelvin placed the cube on the floor. With a few taps on his wrist device, the cube began to unfold and reshape itself, plates sliding and rearranging until a rough humanoid shape stood before them. “Experimental armor. Made from beast armor plating and nanite technology.”

Noah circled the prototype, impressed by his friend’s ingenuity. “This is incredible, Kelvin.”

“It’s nowhere near complete,” Kelvin said, tapping the chest piece. “The integrity matrix still has major flaws. I need to understand how it handles different energy types.” He looked up with that familiar gleam in his eye. “Want to test your new skill on it?”

Noah hesitated. “You want me to shoot your new armor?”

“How else am I supposed to improve it?” Kelvin grinned. “Besides, I need something that can withstand serious beating if I’m going to fight alongside you.”

The words hung in the air between them. Noah knew exactly what Kelvin meant. The Harbinger event on Cannadah. While Noah and Lucas had engaged the threat directly, Kelvin had been the one to bypass the planetary communication blackout and call for reinforcements. Without him, none of them would have survived.

“You know you don’t have to prove anything to me,” Noah said quietly. “What you did on Cannadah saved us all.”

Kelvin shrugged, but Noah could see the emotion he was trying to hide. “I just sent a message.”

“You reconfigured a chip while on an alien planet WHILE under attack,” Noah countered. “Most senior tech genuises couldn’t have done that with a week of preparation.”

“Yeah, well,” Kelvin adjusted something on the armor’s shoulder joint, avoiding eye contact. “Next time I want to do more than hide and hope the message gets through.”

Noah placed a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “If you’re serious about this, we’ll train together. But your brain is your greatest weapon, Kelvin. Don’t forget that.”

“Says the guy who can literally eat reality with Null strike,” Kelvin chuckled, his mood lightening. “Come on, test the new skill. Just don’t completely obliterate my work, okay? Aim for the reinforced chest plate.”

Noah stepped back, focusing his mind on the new ability.

[Void bullet]

Him and kelvin saw the void energy coalescing, condensing into a projectile form. The air around his hand darkened as particles of void energy gathered at his fingertips.

“This is going to be awesome!!” Kelvin screamed in a tone that sounded like squeaky.

Noah released the energy. A bolt of concentrated darkness shot from his hand, striking the armor squarely in the chest. The impact sent the prototype staggering backward, a spiderweb of cracks spreading across the chest plate.

Unexpectedly, a sharp pain shot through Noah’s arm, followed by a spreading numbness from his fingertips to his elbow. He winced, flexing his hand to restore sensation.

“You okay?” Kelvin asked, noticing Noah’s reaction.

“The skill has a kickback,” Noah explained, shaking his arm as pins and needles replaced the numbness. “Void energy recoil. I wasn’t prepared for it.”

He examined his hand thoughtfully. In a real combat situation, this feedback could be problematic—the numbness would affect his grip, his ability to use follow-up skills, maybe even his movement if used repeatedly. But if he could adapt, perhaps learn to channel the recoil differently or build tolerance…

“That could be both a weakness and an advantage,” Noah mused aloud. “In combat, knowing the limitations of a skill is as important as knowing its strengths. I’ll need to practice controlling the energy flow, minimize the feedback.”

“Perfect!” Kelvin exclaimed, already examining the damage to his armor. “The distribution matrix failed exactly where I predicted. With a few adjustments to the molecular bonding…”

As Kelvin launched into a technical analysis that Noah could barely follow, Noah continued flexing his hand, feeling sensation gradually return.

A ranged attack option opened up new tactical possibilities, especially if he could overcome the recoil issue. Combined with Void Blink, he could strike from multiple positions in rapid succession, creating chaos on the battlefield.

“Kelvin,” Noah interrupted, “I need to tell you what happened with Sophie and Lila. Things are getting more complicated.”

Kelvin looked up from his examination, immediately serious. “I’m listening.”

Noah opened his mouth to explain, but before he could speak, a new notification flashed across his vision. Unlike the familiar blue of his system, this one was red and urgent:

[UPDATE: STORM…]