In the past eight years, I had learned more about myself than I ever thought possible—my power, my potential, and the sheer absurdity of my talents. I wasn’t the same person who once borrowed a single attribute and called it a victory. No, I had grown. From that humble beginning, I had expanded to owning twelve attributes: Homing, Puppetry, Weakness, Perception, Swiftness, Toughness, Sharpness, Mind, Force, Strength, Space, and Brightness.

It sounded impressive, sure, but there was a catch—I could only use four at a time. That limitation had been my motivation to manifest the Gift Theory.

If this world were a novel like I initially perceived it, the Gift Theory was something that would only appear much later in the story. But with my relentless input and active research, I’d forced it into existence earlier. The Gift Theory was my personal revolution, a method to catalog and optimize the powers I derived from my attributes, allowing me to micromanage my abilities with precision.

It wasn’t just theory; it was my reality.

As the darkness swirled around me, threatening to consume every inch of the cathedral, I felt the pressure of Silhouette’s aura bearing down. He was testing me, pushing me to my limits, but he hadn’t seen what I was truly capable of. Not yet.

“Equip: Bright Sword,” I said, my voice steady and commanding.

The familiar shift of energy coursed through me as my [Soul] build was replaced by the [Bright Sword] build. My Gift, Akashic Records, allowed me to create new Gifts by combining and interchanging my attributes. The golden blade of light materialized in my hand, glowing with an intensity that pushed back the encroaching shadows.

The [Bright Sword] was a construct of my own design, a perfect fusion of Brightness as the primary attribute and Homing, Swiftness, and Sharpness as secondary attributes. The blade wasn’t just a weapon; it was a beacon, cutting through the oppressive darkness with ease.

Silhouette stood across from me, his form still obscured by the shadows that writhed and pulsed around him. He tilted his head, his tophat casting an eerie silhouette in the faint light.

“Fascinating,” he said, his voice a mixture of amusement and genuine curiosity.

I didn’t respond. Instead, I took a step forward, the golden blade humming in my grip. The air between us crackled with energy, the tension thick enough to cut with a knife—or a sword, in this case.

Silhouette’s shadow tendrils lashed out, faster than the eye could follow, aiming to ensnare me. But the [Bright Sword] wasn’t just for show. I swung the blade, and the tendrils disintegrated upon contact, their inky substance evaporating into nothingness.

“I’ve heard stories about you, Reynard,” Silhouette said, his voice carrying an edge of mockery. “The so-called strategist. The dealer of promises. But this—” he gestured toward the blade of light in my hand “—this is something new.”

“You’ve only seen the surface,” I replied, keeping my tone calm. “If you want to understand what I’m capable of, you’ll have to dig deeper.”

Silhouette chuckled, his shadows coiling tighter around him. “Oh, I intend to.”

The ground beneath me shifted as his aura surged, the cathedral itself seeming to warp and twist under the weight of his power. The shadows formed massive constructs—hulking beasts with claws and teeth, their forms flickering like living nightmares.

I raised the [Bright Sword], its light cutting through the oppressive atmosphere. With a flick of my wrist, I sent a wave of golden energy slicing through the constructs. They dissolved instantly, their forms unraveling into strands of shadow that retreated back to Silhouette.

“You’re not holding back,” I remarked, my voice steady despite the adrenaline coursing through me.

“Neither are you,” Silhouette countered, his tone dripping with amusement. “But tell me, Reynard, do you truly believe you can outmaneuver the Extreme Trickster?”

I smirked. “I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t.”

The fight was just beginning, but I was ready. This wasn’t just about recruiting Silhouette—it was about proving myself, not just to him but to myself. If I wanted to take on the World Order, I needed to show that I could stand against one of the Seven Extremes.

And I wasn’t about to back down.

The air was thick with tension as I imbued my left mechanized arm with the Brightness attribute. Shadows speared toward me from my flank, jagged and relentless, but my arm pulsed with golden light as I raised it to block. The shadow spears disintegrated on contact, the Brightness burning through the ominous aura like sunlight through fog.

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My aura flared as I shifted my strategy, transforming the [Bright Sword] into a greatsword. With both hands gripping the radiant weapon, I parried and deflected the writhing tendrils of shadow that lashed out at me.

Silhouette stood motionless in the center of the cathedral, his form shrouded in flickering darkness. He had retreated to the space beneath the grand cross, his expression unreadable except for the faint amusement that tugged at his lips.

Why did it always have to come to this—a fight to convince someone like Silhouette to join me?

Because I had insulted him.

It wasn’t intentional, but it was inevitable, considering what I’d told him. Usurping the World Order? Silhouette was a staunch neutral, someone who thrived on maintaining the status quo. My ambitions had offended him, and now I was paying the price.

I could have phrased it better, sure. But let’s face it—there was no version of this conversation that wouldn’t have angered him.

Still, I wouldn’t have come here if I didn’t need him.

I took a deep breath, centering myself amidst the chaos. The shadows pressed in, but I steadied my focus. This wasn’t just about survival; it was about proving my resolve.

“Equip: Sword Master,” I commanded, my voice cutting through the din.

The [Bright Sword] gleamed with renewed intensity as I imbued its energy into my mechanized arm. Normally, I could only equip one Gift at a time, each representing the four attributes I could wield. But after countless hours of experimentation, I’d discovered a loophole—a way to push beyond that limitation.

My left arm vibrated violently as the unstable aura from [Bright Sword] surged. With a swift motion, I wielded the greatsword of light, its radiant arc cutting through the darkness. The moment it left my grip, I caught it mid-air, stabilizing the weapon with the power of [Sword Master].

The fusion was seamless. The blade no longer flickered with instability; it was a force of pure precision.

In a single bound, I closed the distance between myself and Silhouette, cleaving through the shadows that separated us.

Silhouette sighed, the sound heavy with exasperation. “I would hate it if you ended up destroying this church… I like this place.”

He tapped his cane on the ground, and the entire cathedral trembled.

The shadows coiled tighter around the walls, and with a sudden, disorienting lurch, the entire structure dissolved into darkness. The next thing I knew, we were standing on barren land under the open sky. The church had been relocated, shifted to the side as if it were nothing more than a pawn on a chessboard that could be moved.

My blade descended, aiming for Silhouette, but it met resistance. His cane rose to intercept, the two weapons colliding with a resonant clang.

The impact sent a shockwave rippling through the air, scattering the remnants of shadow around us.

Silhouette’s expression was calm, but there was a glint of something sharper in his eyes. “You’re persistent, I’ll give you that,” he said, his tone conversational even as his cane held firm against my blade.

“And you’re as theatrical as ever,” I shot back, pushing harder against his weapon.

Silhouette chuckled, a low, amused sound. “You’re trying to convince me, Reynard. But so far, all you’ve done is entertain me. Is that your grand plan?”

“No,” I replied, gritting my teeth as I pressed forward. “This is just the opening act.”

I gripped the [Bright Sword] tightly, focusing on maintaining its integrity. With my current mastery, I should have been able to sustain the construct for at least five minutes. That might not sound like much, but against someone like Silhouette, every second mattered.

The real challenge wasn’t just maintaining the [Bright Sword]; it was managing a second Gift through my left arm, an artifact I hadn’t fully mastered yet. The arm was new, and while I’d tested its capabilities in controlled environments, this was a battlefield—no room for error.

I swung the greatsword overhead, aiming to cleave through Silhouette’s shadowy form. He ducked effortlessly, fluid as water, and retaliated by stabbing his cane toward my foot.

The tip of the cane pierced through my shoe, but before it could do real damage, my skin erupted with aura imbued with the Sharpness attribute. The cane shattered into wooden bits, splinters scattering across the barren ground.

Silhouette reappeared at my left flank, his cane reforming from shadow in his hand. His free hand shot toward my chest, fingers poised to rip out my heart.

I knew that move all too well. During my time as a Hunting Dog, I’d used it countless times. It was a brutal, efficient tactic—deadly and terrifying. I liked it because it worked, and I was good at it. And because I was good at it, I also knew how to counter it.

Instead of recoiling, I let him grab my chest. His fingers sank into my aura-infused skin, but before he could pull, I deconstructed the [Bright Sword], imbuing the arm with [Sword Master] instead.

“Equip: Teleportation,” I commanded, switching builds in an instant.

The [Teleportation] Gift was built with Space as the primary attribute and Connection, Homing, and Mind as the secondary attributes. It allowed for pinpoint accuracy and strategic movement, perfect for what I had in mind.

I vanished, reappearing behind Silhouette in the blink of an eye. My left arm’s metallic fingers elongated and sharpened like knives courtesy of [Sword Master], striking at his chest in an attempt to rip his heart out instead.

But Silhouette was faster.

Before my hand could make contact, his body exploded into a black blur, dissipating like smoke. He reappeared behind me, wielding a massive scythe that he swung in a wide arc.

The blade came within millimeters of my neck, and I barely teleported away in time.

When I reappeared a few meters back, I saw that Silhouette had transformed.

The refined figure in a suit and top hat was gone, replaced by a towering monstrosity. He stood over three meters tall, his humanoid form shrouded in shadow. The cane was gone, replaced by a massive black scythe that exuded a chilling aura.

His vague silhouette shifted, and slowly, a skull began to emerge where his face should have been. It was ghastly, skeletal, and menacing, with empty eye sockets that seemed to stare straight through me.

“Very impressive,” Silhouette said, his voice deeper, reverberating like the toll of a bell.

I steadied my breathing, my aura flaring as I prepared for the next round. Silhouette’s Trickster-state aura was in full display now, and it was suffocating.

This wasn’t just a test anymore. This was a clash of wills, and I couldn’t afford to lose.