Formless Ascension: My Affinity Is Limitless

John stared at Uhtred with a hesitant look. He fully expected some sort of disappointment or frustration to color Uhtred’s face, but to his surprise, there wasn’t even the slightest shift in his expression.

Uhtred simply nodded then responded with a flat tone.

"Then they can forget about any meeting. I wasn’t banking on their strength anyway."

He turned around and beckoned both John and Michael into his territory, walking past the shimmering border line and talking casually as he moved.

"I kind of expected something like this. Even without you telling me this, a few days ago I saw a new name pop up on the world ranking. A territory called ’United New Eden.’

I could already guess a centralized power had risen among the sectors. It’s not surprising that they are trying to play politics. Without seeing a threat for yourself, no matter how much importance you place on it, so long as you haven’t faced it directly, you won’t feel its true weight."

He led the two men along a smooth stone path toward a small courtyard located not too far from his main plaza.

As they walked past the wide platform, both John and Michael’s gazes lingered on the structure. They could feel the dense congregation of cosmic essence hovering over it.

Their eyes practically drooled at the sensation, though they did their best to hold themselves back and keep their expressions professional. Even in United New Eden, the territory of the new world government, there wasn’t such a thing like this.

"I’m guessing this is the type of array you spoke of," John said, gesturing vaguely toward the silver-inscribed plaza as they bypassed it to enter the courtyard.

Uhtred nodded. "That is just a basic one. It cost me 750 multiversal tokens."

The moment the number left Uhtred’s mouth, John and especially Michael sucked in sharp breaths through their teeth. To them, that kind of money was an abstract fantasy.

But Uhtred simply continued walking, his voice entirely unbothered.

"And yet, this essence gathering array is just a single facility within the outposts of these ancient variants. They don’t just have this general type. They possess affinity-specific gathering arrays that filter the cosmic essence in the air, selecting only the aspects that match a particular attunement. There’s several of these arrays... and that’s just within one outpost."

He stopped and looked directly into John’s eyes as he spoke, letting the cold seriousness of his gaze sink in.

John didn’t need any more convincing. Now that he had seen the global wealth ranking panel for himself, he knew exactly how much capital the top fourteen humans possessed.

If Uhtred, the richest person on the entire planet, was describing the variants’ infrastructure with this level of gravity, it meant the disparity between them was vastly more severe than the New World Government council could ever fathom.

Uhtred waved his hand off, dismissing the topic as they sat down in the courtyard.

"Anyway, assuming these ancient variants were already actively launching raids against us, the political play by United New Eden would have irked me. But currently, I think the prehistoric clans are occupied with something else entirely," he paused.

"Something that will soon force not just this new world government of yours, but humanity as a whole, to realize the true gravity of our situation."

"What do you mean?" John asked, his brow furrowing.

Uhtred tapped his fingers against the arm of his chair, letting out a low sigh.

"Since I came back from their outpost a week ago, the ancient variants have not made a single attempt to attack our boundaries. They haven’t even sent a simple scouting party into our territory.

It’s almost like they’ve fully holed up themselves inside their territory, and that is exactly what is confusing to me. With their level of power, they can easily mow down the new human territories that are rising within Zone 1."

He leaned forward, his focus narrowing.

"It would be a catastrophic blow to our species, cutting into our powerful forces and destroying human morale before the integration even gets underway. Yet, they have made no such move."

John and Michael exchanged a dark look, seeing the picture Uhtred was painting.

"Do you think they are up to something?" Michael asked. The politician had become much calmer now that the discussions had moved to something serious. "Maybe they’re consolidating their forces for one massive attack on all of our territories?"

"No," Uhtred said, shaking his head as the memory of his interaction with the Neanderthal general, Krijn, replayed in his mind.

"I could very well be wrong, but I didn’t get the impression of an impending invasion from any of them during my time there. Even that Homo erectus commander who I said tried to kill me with a spear before I left their territory... That attempt aligns with the theory I have in mind."

Uhtred recalled that last attack the look in the Homo erectus commander’s eyes. He could’ve sworn there was a trace of franticness in them, one that went beyond simply just taking out the number one human ranker.

"It was almost as though he knew I wasn’t going to be visible on their radar for a long time. He wanted to force a lethal conclusion right at that moment because he knew he wouldn’t get another chance anytime soon."

Uhtred leaned back, his eyes darkening.

"The prehistoric men are preparing for something, alright. But it isn’t an attack on our territories yet. They’re settling in, almost as if they’re preparing for an entirely different event."

"What kind of event?" John asked.

"I think something is going to happen very soon. Most likely a major quest from the System itself," Uhtred said. "Something involving us and them."

"You might actually be right," John nodded slowly, placing his hand against his chin as he fell deep into thought. "The System has been completely silent for a whole week now. During the first four days of the integration, it was constantly flashing quest upon quest. But lately, it has gone completely quiet."

Uhtred nodded, looking out toward the edge of his territory.

"Whatever those prehistoric clans are readying themselves for, it definitely has something to do with the System."

Uhtred had delivered those words casually, treating the statement as nothing more than a logical deduction based on his observations and the strange passivity of the ancient variant outposts.

But exactly three days after his conversation with John Allen, a global System notification arrived, completely validating his theory.

At the exact moment the prompt popped up, Uhtred was deep within the dangerous wilderness of Zone 1, locked in a brutal, fast-paced battle against a massive, Fire-breathing Saber-toothed Tiger. An Apex Level 23 beast, matching Uhtred’s current level, which he had climbed to across the past three days.

The prompt from the System suddenly flashed across his field of vision, causing a microsecond of visual interruption that nearly cost him his life.

What the fuck?! Uhtred cursed as he quickly willed the notice away.

Taking immediate advantage of his distraction, the Saber-toothed Tiger opened its mouth and unleashed a massive, roaring inferno.

The heat of the superheated plasma stream doused the entire area, but its focus was on Uhtred as it sped towards him in an instant...