After flying for about half an hour, exploring every corner of the inner forest, Jeremy finally decided that it was enough.
It was time to try something else.
His target was a Giant Ape—the other dominant beast species of the inner forest.
Hovering in the sky atop his newest summon, which still didn't have a name, Jeremy gazed down at the unsuspecting beast below. It hadn't noticed a thing.
"Go," Jeremy ordered with a wide grin. "Fire a GlacialFlame Blast."
The twin wolf-shaped mouths on the creature's shoulders opened wide, and as if by magic, two powerful orbs of energy formed in the air—one burning with crimson flames on the right, the other swirling with icy blue mist on the left.
The spheres grew rapidly, crackling with power, and an instant later they fused into a single beam of devastating energy that launched straight toward the beast.
The combined blast—red and blue spiraling together—was both beautiful and terrifying. It moved at terrifying speed. Before the Giant Ape could even lift its head, the blast consumed it entirely.
"Holy shi—" Jeremy cursed, stunned.
He hadn't expected that much power.
An area spanning dozens of meters had been obliterated. Only half the ape's corpse remained, frozen solid. The other half had simply evaporated.
The poor Giant Ape was very much dead.
"Perfect," Jeremy laughed. "Your name is simple—you'll be SuperCannon."
And so, a new Aberration joined Jeremy's growing undead army.
"Damn… I really have gotten strong," the boy muttered. "I wonder what my old friends are doing now... Have they gotten stronger too? Have they avenged my 'death'?"
A faint smile touched Jeremy's lips. For some reason, a sense of melancholy welled up inside him.
But it didn't last long.
"It doesn't matter," he said suddenly. "I need to get stronger. I must."
Fueled by that unrelenting desire, Jeremy turned toward the center of the forest. Rank C monsters had become meaningless. They no longer posed even the slightest challenge.
He now sought Rank B... or even Rank A monsters.
But above all—he yearned to face those of Rank S.
Before he was mysteriously teleported to this part of the world, Rank S was the ultimate tier—those who achieved it were considered walking catastrophes. Legends.
Here though... it felt oddly ordinary.
Jeremy hadn't seen a Rank S here yet, but the feeling lingered.
Riding atop SuperCannon, Jeremy flew swiftly through the forest, unchallenged.
Or so he thought.
As they soared above the treetops, he spotted a distant figure in the sky.
It had a familiar shape...
"A dragon?" Jeremy blinked, stunned.
"Impossible... Aren't they ultra-high-tier monsters? What's one doing here—"
A thunderous roar cut through his thoughts.
The creature had noticed them.
It charged with overwhelming might, as if declaring its dominance:
"I am the King of the Skies. You are not welcome here."
Jeremy's instincts kicked in.
Rank A.
Which was strange. For a dragon, that was... underwhelming.
As it drew closer, Jeremy got a better look.
"Oh," he muttered. "It's just a wyvern."
"But still way stronger than me."
Without hesitation, Jeremy turned and began to descend. This wasn't running away. It was... a tactical retreat.
Once on the ground, the wyvern stopped pursuing.
Easy, Jeremy thought.
But his perception quickly picked up on something unusual.
"A Gate?" Jeremy's eyes widened in disbelief.
Since arriving in this world, no one had ever mentioned the existence of Gates. It felt strange—but he accepted it easily.
And yet, here it was.
The boy, followed by his band of undead, decided to investigate.
Well—kind of. First, he sent in a squad of skeletal Flamehoofs.
Enter, look around, and come back.
If they returned, it was safe. If not... definitely not.
"Sometimes I'm a genius," Jeremy chuckled, high-fiving himself.
But minutes passed.
And the skeletons never returned.
"Well, that just means we don't go in," Jeremy nodded to himself.
But of course, things didn't go according to plan.
An invisible force pulled him and his undead into the Gate.
"What the hell?!" Jeremy gasped.
One moment he was in a forest clearing. The next, he was surrounded—by humans, radiating terrifying auras.
The Gate behind him vanished. As if it had never been there.
"A human?" a voice echoed.
"What's he doing with those horrifying creatures?" said another.
"I come in peace!?" Jeremy shouted instinctively, forgetting he was flanked by three undead abominations, each more terrifying than the last.
Scanning his surroundings, he suddenly recognized a few faces.
One of them was Rose Redspine, the headmistress of the academy where he was supposed to awaken just days ago.
And as he looked around further, he realized something else.
This place... it was the mass grave where he'd been buried.
The memory filled him with rage. But he couldn't lose control—not now.
He was surrounded by experts. Even just the Headmistress, a Rank S powerhouse, could mop the floor with him.
As tension thickened the air, a calm, commanding voice broke through.
"Identify yourself and explain how a human emerged from a Gate."
It was Rose Redspine.
"It's me," Jeremy said, placing a hand over his chest. "Jeremy."
"…"
"And who exactly are you supposed to be?" Rose frowned.
"Headmistress, I was a student at the academy, not long ago. I recognize you. I swear—I'm not a beast or a monster."
He tried to smile reassuringly.
But his blood-stained clothes, creepy aura, and terrifying undead didn't exactly help.
Rose's eyes widened. The others around her looked equally stunned.
How could a student emerge from such a powerful Gate?
Even Rose, a Rank S and one of the strongest forces on the continent, felt chills from the Gate's energy.
If she was scared, what about the rest?
"If what you say is true," she said, regaining her composure, "how did you survive?"
"I don't recall your name among the naturally awakened."
"Headmistress," a man stepped forward from the crowd. "He might be the boy who never showed up at the artificial awakening ceremony. The name matches."
"Yes, that's me!" Jeremy nodded rapidly, hands still raised in surrender.
Being surrounded by so many experts made his skin crawl.
"And how the hell did you end up inside a Gate?" Rose asked.
"Well," Jeremy replied, "long story short, I was nearly killed by some arrogant noble, got buried in a pile of corpses... then I woke up in a forest."
"Oh," he added. "And I awakened naturally, with a rather unique Class."
"I see," Rose said, eyeing the strange creatures behind him.
Looking closer, they weren't just grotesque and unsettling—they radiated an absurd amount of power.
She tried to inspect them. And immediately regretted it.
No—shocked didn't even begin to describe her reaction.
She froze.
Rose had been hailed as the greatest genius of her generation, having obtained not only a Unique Class, but an APEX Potential.
And yet... what stood before her felt greater.
Not just him—but his undead as well.
"B-BEYOND?" Rose stumbled backward.
"EXALTED?! What the hell are those things?!"
"She's losing it," Jeremy thought. "She must've read their status... I can't blame her. Should've stopped by Solmare and bought some anti-spying gear or whatever those were called."
"What's wrong, Headmistress?!" the man from before—Volter—rushed to her side. "What did you do to her, demon?!" he shouted at Jeremy.
"???" Jeremy blinked. How was this his fault?
"Stand down, Volter," Rose said with authority. "Everyone, you may leave. I'll handle him myself."
And with that, her powerful aura wrapped around Jeremy and his undead.
Together, they vanished into the skies.