Novel's Extra: I Awakened The Strongest Physique From The Start

Alex stood in front of the portal, his sharp blue eyes locked onto the swirling vortex of energy.

His body still ached from the battle with the Manticore, but he had no time to rest any longer. The system had just sent him a new notification, unlike any before.

[Warning: The next floor presents an extreme danger. Be ready for anything the moment you step inside.]

Alex narrowed his eyes.

It was rare for the system to give out warnings—no, it was unheard of.

Its usual tone was cold and objective, never showing concern. Yet something about this message felt... different.

It was almost as if someone was worried about him.

A small smile tugged at his lips as realization dawned.

'Sophie...'

She was the only one who could influence the system like this, the only one who would care enough to send a warning in a way that felt almost... personal.

But as quickly as the warmth came, it faded. His expression hardened.

'If even she is warning me, then this next floor... is worse than I thought.'

He clenched his fists, feeling his mana ripple within him.

His last battle had proven something—holding back was not an option. Not anymore. If he wanted to clear this tower, he had to use everything he had. No hesitation. No restraint.

Just the sixth floor was hard enough to make him lose his life if not for his opponent's arrogance.

Considering that, Alex was sure the next floor would force him to push himself to the limit. He would have to give it his all.

Taking a deep breath, Alex activated his physique, his mist-like astral body pulsing with raw energy. But this time, he didn't stop there.

He pushed further.

A deep, guttural growl escaped his throat as he activated his bloodline—the Destruction Dragon's power surging through him.

His entire being trembled under the sheer intensity of the bloodline.

Astral horns, sharp and jagged, sprouted from his head, pulsing with destructive energy. Black-scaled wings unfurled from his back, their edges flickering with an eerie purple glow.

The pain was immediate.

It felt as if his body was being torn apart from the inside out.

His muscles screamed, his bones groaned, but he gritted his teeth and endured it.

Because this power—this overwhelming, crushing power—made him untouchable.

No star-formation or even star-connection realm expert would be able to harm him now. He had reached a level where only true monsters could challenge him.

This was something his bloodline gave him. Absolute power—something he had never been able to make full use of.

And something told him... that the next floor would help him realize how he wasn't invincible even with his bloodline activated.

With one last exhale, Alex stepped forward, disappearing into the portal.

......................

The moment his feet touched the ground, a new notification appeared.

[Mission: Survive for 60 seconds.]

Alex's brow furrowed. 'Survive? That's it? No beast to kill?'

If that wasn't enough, he had to survive for a mere sixty seconds. That didn't seem hard to Alex, making him frown harder.

But before he could process it further—

Whoosh!

His instincts screamed.

Without thinking, he twisted his body, narrowly dodging an attack that tore through the space he had just been standing in.

The sheer force of it sent a shockwave rippling through the air, kicking up dust and debris.

Then... he heard it.

"Oh? You dodged it?" A familiar voice, deep and mocking.

Alex's blood ran cold.

His body reacted before his mind. He spun around, his gaze locking onto the source of the voice.

And there it was.

The Manticore.

But it was different. Bigger. Stronger. And more terrifying than before.

Its golden eyes gleamed with amusement, its aura far more oppressive than anything he had ever encountered.

The very air around it warped, distorting under its sheer presence.

Alex's breathing slowed. His entire body tensed.

This was the same beast he had fought before, but not the same at the same time. It was as if the beast had grown older.

And for the first time in a long time, a single thought crossed his mind.

'I might actually die here.'

But as fear clawed at the edges of his mind, Alex clenched his fists, grounding himself.

No. He wasn't going to let fear control him. He had fought too hard and come too far to falter now.

Sixty seconds.

He just had to survive.

The Manticore smirked, its deadly tail swaying behind it. "Let's see how long you last."

Then—it moved.

Faster than sound, faster than thought, leaving Alex no choice but to fight for his life.

His speed, strength, senses, and mana control were all powered up to a point where Alex could see the essence of his own attacks, but right now, he couldn't even follow the Manticore's movements.

He tried his best to move aside knowing the attack's trajectory, as he could see a flash of movement, but he couldn't move his body, and the next instant...

BOOM!

"GUAK!!!" With his back arched and his stomach caved in, Alex found himself hurtling through the air.

'Fuck! Was I hit by a truck or what?!'

Despite his elevated defense and strength, Alex felt like he had momentarily stopped breathing when the Manticore crashed into him.

"What are you doing? You seemed quite confident before."

The Manticore's voice reached Alex's ears again, but this time, he didn't plan on simply taking the hit.

Boom!

With him at the center, a blast of destruction energy occurred, sending anything close to him flying away.

Chiss!

The air itself sizzled, unable to withstand the mass of destruction energy, and Alex, who had sent the destruction energy covering his body outward, slowly covered his body with destruction again.

"I already know about this strangely dangerous element of yours, you know?" The Manticore's voice echoed again as Alex saw two Manticores in front of him.

One of them was disintegrating, while the other was rushing toward him.

'Fucking clones!'

Alex gritted his teeth, realizing that the beast had substituted its original body with the clone at the last moment, which saved it from the destruction blast.

BAAM!

"COUGH—!!!"

Without being able to think much about it, Alex felt the air in his lungs being pushed out by the power of the body slam from the beast.

'Why the fuck is it using just physical attack—?!' Alex yelled inwardly; his vision blurred, but his thoughts were cut short as the beast spoke up again.

"Are you wondering why I'm not using magical attacks?"

Before Alex could respond, the beast continued. "Because I only have poison attacks, and although my poison is strong enough to kill dragons, it doesn't work on you."

Reaching this point, the beast moved again, appearing right above Alex, who was still zooming through the air.

BOOM!

One of its wings smashed into Alex, sending him crashing toward the ground.

"Now that I know my only trump card doesn't work on you, why would I try something else?" The Manticore's golden eyes gleamed as it stared at Alex, embedded into the ground, his body twitching.

"I would rather fight you in a way I'm confident I can win."

As it spoke, the beast whooshed toward Alex, intending to crush his head.

'Let's end this,' he thought, unaware that putting distance between Alex and itself was the worst decision it could've made.