Lightning Is the Only Way

Everyone looked at the black scale with different expressions. Gravis' mother only smiled. Orpheus looked at it with shock, and Gravis looked at it with confusion.

"What is this?" he asked as he grabbed it. It was surprisingly heavy but nothing that Gravis couldn't lift with ease. It weighed maybe only a couple of tons. That would be hard to lift in the Energy Gathering Realm, but not in the Unity Realm. Yet, that was only one scale. How heavy would the whole beast be?

"It's a scale from a black dragon," his father said. "I gave the dragon some stuff in exchange for the scale."

Gravis looked at it some more. "What can I do with it?"

"Immortal Beasts can change their outer appearance however they want. This means that you will be able to morph into a human without any issues as soon as you reach that Realm. You can probably guess the rest," his father said.

Gravis furrowed his brows, but he still had a glint in his eyes. "So, I should use this scale to create my own scales," Gravis said. "You're saying I shouldn't aim for a perfect human body, but for a body that is best for combat."

His father nodded. "Precisely. You have the chance to create a powerful body. You won't be able to fully replicate the scale, but you can copy parts of it with its Life Essence. When you feel like your body is about to reach the level of a Spirit Beast, you should eat the scale and take it as a blueprint for your scales."

Gravis nodded and smirked. "Thanks, father," he said as he put the scale into his Spirit Space. "This reminds me of another thing that I wanted to ask you."

"Ask," his father said.

"Can I use Heaven's body in a similar way?" Gravis asked.

His father nodded. "Yes. I would suggest eating it when your body is about to advance to a Unity Beast. Heaven's closeness to the laws and rule over the world will give you a nice surprise. When you eat it, you will be able to choose a path for yourself. Others would hesitate, but I'm sure about the choice you're going to make," his father said.

Gravis looked at Heaven's body inside his Spirit Space with ambition. "I almost can't wait," he said.

The presents had been way better than Gravis had expected. Initially, he had believed that only his brother would gift him something. After all, giving other people presents felt a bit like a routine to Gravis. He had expected his parents to think similarly, but apparently, they didn't. Gravis didn't demand presents for his birthday, but it was nice when he got some.

His mother's present was helpful to his emotional wellbeing. His brother's present would help him understand more about life, and his father's present would help Gravis create a powerful defense for his body.

Gravis didn't receive any kind of trump card that could save his life. Many people would feel bad about that, but not Gravis. Having a trump card to fall back on would make most tempering meaningless. After all, as long as he had such a trump card, he would never truly be in danger.

The presents helped him on his path forward without interfering with his tempering. None of them expedited his path either. They were all there simply to give him a more solid foundation and Battle-Strength. So, in Gravis' eyes, the presents had truly been perfect.

that, they talked some more. Everyone was enjoying

that scale from the Black Magnate?"

"Yes," his father answered.

that. "I wouldn't even be able to meet him. I guess

it's a valid one. The CMO is something that even Immortals want. It's more than good enough for your

sighed again. "I

that exchange and just continued talking with his family. This was the last day with them in who knew how many years. It might even be his last talk, period. Today, he would enjoy himself to the

seeing the pictures of his friends, Gravis' anxiety completely vanished. Now, he only felt motivation and excitement for the middle world. He remembered the hidden rule that his father talked about, but Gravis was sure that he could deal with

party went into the next day, and when Gravis didn't find anything to talk about anymore, he took a deep breath and

"It's time," Gravis said.

sad. His brother punched his shoulder

fitting world for you,

if you choose my world, it might be even worse than if Heaven chose it," Gravis said with a

world's layout," his father said as a diagram started shining in the

at it, and his eyes shone. "Interesting,"

there was a significant difference to the lower world. The circular landmass looked like a humongous crocodile had taken a bite out of it. Three-quarters of the map was land, while the remaining quarter was water. The water even stretched into the center, splitting the center of

shows the continent, but there is a bigger ocean surrounding

said. "That's where the sea beasts below the Unity Realm reside. Also,

said. "How big

bigger than a lower world. The bigger the world, the more opportunities and enemies. My only concern in choosing a world is that you won't find enough powerful enemies. That's

that, the beasts in this world are in the top 10% in terms of power and civilization. It makes no sense to thrust you into a weak world just so

shone a

become. It might not be the same as a human civilization due to the beasts' inherent straightforwardness, but it's a civilization nonetheless. You can liken the civilizations to packs of wolves with their

Gravis said as he rubbed his chin with a smirk, "and I'm guessing that Heaven won't

won't," his father

"Either repayment or using

"Remember, there is not a single human in there. Some beasts

a bit. "Is there something I should know when entering the world? How

move your physical power into your lightning or Spirit. Just let your whole physical power be dissolved. Moving your physical power into your other centers