"What was that just now?" the giant beast phantom asked, leaning closer.
Leon was equally bewildered. "I don't know either. Nothing like this has ever happened before."
"Let me think... perhaps it was your hidden talent. Some special lifeforms have hidden talents that only awaken later."
The phantom had barely formed a guess before immediately rejecting it. "No, that's not right. Even if it was a talent, that's far too outrageous. Before becoming a powerhouse like Zhou, genes above a hundredfold couldn't be enhanced through acquired means."
The phantom offered a suggestion. "How about you try again? Recall what you felt just now and give it another try."
Leon recalled as instructed. "It felt like my genes were responding to my will."
That sounded somewhat like the Superman setting in the DC Main Universe.
The extent of one's power was determined by one's heart.
But he had clearly never felt anything like that before.
"It happened... at the moment when my will was about to collapse, yet was more resolute than ever, when I thought that I absolutely had to reach the eight-hundredth step."
The giant beast phantom hurriedly urged him on. "Yes, yes! That's it. Quickly recall the state of mind and feeling you had at that moment!"
Leon closed his eyes and began searching for the feeling from that instant when his will had broken through.
He tried to twist his consciousness into a single rope once more.
Then he rapidly climbed the steps.
Step 801... Step 999.
The pain of reaching his limit once again.
"Arghhh!!" Leon cried out in pain, forcing himself onward.
Yet this time, even though the pain nearly made him lose consciousness, no miracle occurred.
The giant beast phantom brought Leon back to the foot of the stairs.
After Leon recovered, it said,