Infinite Evolution: My Idle Evolution System

In fact, let alone the God Trainer stage, the Sword God himself peaked at the Outlandish Trainer stage prior to Ascension. Even after the passing of countless years, the Sword God was still capped at the Nightmare Trainer stage, unable to advance to the stage that only existed in theories.

In truth, the Sword God simply wasn't crazy enough to breach the final obstacle presented before the Will of Mortals.

It was this very Will that Cassius was trying to hone by coming to the inscrutable Gate known as the Icedom Senate's Prison. This name, however, was what the Idle Evolution System gave to this area, with a ranking and danger rating of "???"

The names of this enormous Ice Giant and others like it also happened to be related to the name of the area, as they were dubbed Icedom Senators. But beyond that, no more information was available to him, with the System claiming his mind would likely implode if he ever attempted to read the descriptions of these Ice Giants. Discover more content at My Virtual Library Empire

And the scariest part was that this wasn't even an exaggeration or a joke made by the System…

From just listening to the arcane voice of the Icedom Senator, Cassius sweat buckets and took severe internal damage. Furthermore, as he continued to take in and attempt to discern the meaning of the monster's words, his ears started to bleed. His eyes and the rest of his orifices quickly followed, and then, without his regenerative abilities being able to do a single thing, he…

Exploded!

*Pop!*

Cassius erupted into a pile of chunky, bloody meat, with his guts and eyeballs flying all over the place.

One would think that he had permanently died.

But no…

A few nanoseconds passed, and something miraculous occurred.

The vaporized blood particles began to feel an attraction force pulling them together. Then, with sporadic blood shooting toward one another all at once, a humanoid figure started to take shape.

FWIP!

Cassius reappeared in the same place he had died, also sitting in the same position he was in before. All of the sweat and blood raining down his face was gone. In fact, he appeared as good as new—his skin flawless, his handsome facial features sharply cold.

After feeling himself out for a moment, Cassius resumed his meditative session.

Soon, the exact same thing as before happened, and with it came System Notifications…

*Ding~!*

[Ordinary Phoenix Bloodline slightly progressed!]

[...75.8%...]

[|Supreme Nirvana Rebirth| Skill advanced to the Pinnacle Ruby/S+++ Rank!]

[|SSS-Rank Sword God's Training Manual| Stage has advanced!]

[Peak-Novice Trainer → Early-Beginner Trainer]

[Physical Prowess tremendously improved!]

[Strength Stat +1,530]

Thanks to this Gate Cassius discovered before the Hoshito Branch Master met his unfortunate demise, he was able to rapidly progress his newest and most powerful Technique Manual.

It was through his blood, sweat, and deaths that he could increase his Physical Strength and Will as such. Of course, when it came to Will, there was no exact ranking that he knew of. He only knew that it was increasing, and with it came a greater tolerance for pain and torture.

Even his own deaths no longer fazed him…

But as with all great power gained in short periods of time, there was always a catch.

The catch in this case, however, was more of a non-directly related one, as the more times Cassius died, the less and less he cared for the things around him. It reached a point where, if something like what happened with Grace happened again and there was no Quest involved, he would no longer jump out and save her…

The Idle Evolution System had not made a single Character Development comment on the current direction of his development. It was unknown if it was pleased or displeased with his transformation.

And seeing as the System was still a complete a*shole 99% of the time, Cassius would never be able to figure out what it was thinking by himself. Nonetheless, he would continue doing what he was doing. Even if a part of him was being lost in the process, it mattered not.

No matter what, he would become the absolute strongest he could become.

Though… he seemed to have…

Seemed to have forgotten why he yearned for power so much…

In the beginning, Cassius aimed to acquire more strength solely because the Idle Evolution System threatened him. But with time, he himself began to want greater power. This eventually evolved into something where, even without the System's 'encouragement,' he would chase every little bit of power with every ounce of his being.

It had turned from something compulsory to a personal want.

And even now, Cassius couldn't say for certain why he was willing to endure excruciating levels of pain and tolerate any sort of torturous exercises to acquire more strength.

It had become more of an obsession than anything…

Sure, he wouldn't mind saving the world from imminent doom if he had the option. But was that why he struggled so much for strength?

It wasn't…

Cassius could save unrelated people, but as he became stronger and stronger and paid exponentially heftier prices for his strength, his empathy for others lessened and lessened.

The shell of the person he once was now only existed as the shadow of the person he had become.

And surely, the current version of him would be no more than a distant memory of the future him…

How much would he change? What would he become? Why did he work so hard for power? Who? Who…?

Who was he acquiring this power for??

While Cassius repeatedly died because of the Icedom Senator's muffled voice, he pondered this exact question. It bounced around inside his mind, trying to find somewhere to settle down and cement itself as an answer.

However, no matter how much Cassius thought about it, he was unable to figure out who he was striving for power for…

His new family and his father crossed his mind several times, but neither of those answers seemed right.

All the girls he somehow surrounded himself with had become somewhat irreplaceable to him, and he would feel a deep sense of sorrow if something happened to them.

Was that it?

So did that mean he wanted more power to protect them or ensure his peaceful life with them?

No… that wasn't it…