Chapter 210: It’s Time!

The house was already awake. He could hear faint movement outside, villagers going about their day, guards patrolling as usual, footsteps and voices blending into a rhythm he had grown used to. Everything felt… normal. Too normal for something that was supposed to decide his fate.

Bruce washed up, organized his tools, and prepared his workspace out of habit rather than urgency, lining each instrument precisely where his hands expected them to be.

He was still 95 points short.

And the clock was ticking.

It was then that a familiar knock came at the door.

Bruce paused, then walked over and opened it.

An elderly man stood outside, supported by his son. His breathing was shallow, uneven, each inhale sounding like a struggle. One arm hung limply at his side, dark discoloration creeping along the veins in a pattern Bruce recognized instantly.

“Poison?” Bruce asked calmly.

The son nodded anxiously. “Snake bite. Happened this morning.”

Bruce stepped aside. “Bring him in.”

He worked quickly but without haste. He had done this dozens of times over the past week, his movements economical and assured. Stabilization first. Circulation control. Identification. The poison wasn’t complex, common, but aggressive, the kind that punished delay more than ignorance.

Bruce applied his antidote, adjusted dosage based on body weight, and supplemented it with supportive herbal treatment to reduce systemic stress. His focus was absolute.

The old man trembled at first.

Then slowly, steadied.

Color returned to his face. His breathing smoothed out. The numbness receded, sensation returning like a tide pulling back from shore.

Bruce monitored him for a few minutes, eyes sharp, senses alert, refusing to relax until certainty replaced hope.

Stable.

Alive.

Recovering.

A familiar sensation rippled through his mind, subtle yet unmistakable, followed by the cold clarity of confirmation from the Akashic Codex.

[You have gained 10 Heal Points.]

Bruce exhaled slowly.

Then another notification followed immediately, heavier somehow, final in a way the others hadn’t been.

[Congratulations. You have reached a total of 1000 Heal Points.]

For a moment, he simply stood there, unmoving, the weight of the past seven days settling fully into his chest. Long hours. Endless repetition. Lives balanced on his judgment alone. Only now did it all sink in.

Then he closed his eyes and let out a quiet laugh.

“…Finally.”

He looked at the old man, who was already being helped to his feet by his son. Tears streamed down the young man’s face as he bowed repeatedly, gratitude spilling out in broken, desperate words.

“Thank you… thank you so much…”

Bruce waved him off lightly. “Just rest. He’ll be fine.”

As they left, Bruce leaned back against the table and glanced at his bracelet, the faint glow reflecting in his eyes.

Seven days.

Complete.

Whatever Authority had been watching, whatever judgment awaited him,

He had done his part.

And this time,

He hadn’t relied on miracles.

Only skill.

Only knowledge.

Only himself.

Then,

The Akashic Codex responded again.

[Congratulations! You have awakened your Authority.]

Bruce straightened.

The calm in his expression vanished, replaced by sharp, instinctive focus.

[You are now a full-fledged SS-Ranked Awakened.]

For a split second, his breathing stalled.

SS-Rank.

Not provisional. Not borrowed.

Recognized.

Before the meaning could fully settle, the Codex continued.

[You have 2 minutes before being transported back to Velmora.]

[01:59]

“…So that’s how it ends,” Bruce murmured.

His gaze flicked to the countdown, then back as a new panel unfolded, one that made everything else feel secondary.

[Authority: Vitality Sovereign]

Bruce didn’t blink.

[You have gained authority over vitality reactions.]

[Vitality no longer responds blindly in your presence.]

[You may stabilize, suppress, or collapse unstable life force or Vitality as you see fit.]

[This authority does not require mana.]

[The level of resistance a vitality may pose depends on class and existence level.]

[You cannot impose authority upon beings of higher existence than yourself.]

Silence lingered.

Bruce read it once.

Then again.

“…Damn.”

He nodded slowly, a restrained smile forming at the corner of his lips.

This wasn’t just power.

This was control.

Until now, he had only interfered with vitality indirectly, forcing reactions, collapsing unstable flows, working within narrow windows that demanded perfect timing. Effective, but limited.

Now,

He could suppress vitality before it spiraled.

Stabilize it before collapse.

Intervene at the source rather than the aftermath.

And the fact that it didn’t require mana made it even more dangerous.

Vitality was universal. Every living being relied on it.

Which meant this Authority wasn’t just a healer’s blessing, it was a natural counter to monsters, anomalies, and entities that relied on overwhelming life force to dominate others.

But Bruce didn’t delude himself.

Higher existence still meant higher rules.

“…I’ll need more titles,” he muttered quietly.

Strength wasn’t just power anymore. It was standing on the same level of existence as what he intended to face.

With that thought settled, Bruce moved quickly.

He gathered every remaining vial of poison, every extract and compound he had refined during the trial. Rare toxins. Unstable mixtures. Substances he hadn’t yet dared to test on himself.

He wasn’t about to waste that opportunity.

But not now.

Poisoning and healing himself back-to-back required time he no longer had.

One by one, he sealed everything inside his spatial ring, movements precise and practiced. Immunities could wait. Survival came first.

Then he paused.

A strange sensation tugged at him.

Subtle.

Persistent.

Bruce frowned slightly and turned inward.

“…So you really came with me.”

The shadow beneath him stirred.

Two figures detached themselves from it.

Shadow wolves.

One male. One female.

Bruce hadn’t summoned them consciously. He hadn’t even questioned it at first. He had noticed their presence days ago, back when he arrived in this world, but had dismissed it as a side effect of the trial.

Now, he wasn’t so sure.

After a moment’s thought, he nodded.

He released them.

The two wolves glanced at him once before melting into the forest’s shade, their forms flickering as they disappeared between the trees.

Bruce watched them go, a faint sigh escaping him.

Their mana was suppressed here.

Survival wasn’t guaranteed.

But they were still linked to him.

And he wanted to test something.

If this world called him back,

He wanted something waiting for him when it did.

The timer pulsed again.

[4…]

[3…]

[2…]

[1…]

Bruce smiled softly.

“It’s time.”

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