My Charity System made me too OP

Arkhe Tower – Moon Gate Spiral

Unlike the previous transitions, this wasn't a teleport.

This was a descent.

The path to Rank 86 coiled downward in a perfect spiral of black stone. The deeper Leon walked, the more the world around him dimmed. Arkhe City faded, the ceiling grew distant, and the walls began to shimmer with a soft blue glow.

There was no sunlight here.

Only pale silver light—constant, unchanging.

[Entering Trial Zone: Moon Pulse Ring]

Trial Holder: Rank 86 – Maraque of the Howl Moon

Known as: The Beast's Shadow

Combat Phases: Crescent, Half, Full

Victory: Survive three phases or strike Maraque during Full Phase

The Moon Pulse Arena

Leon and his team emerged into a vast forested ring, enclosed by silver trees and a glowing mist. The ground was soft moss. Above them, the sky was moonlit—yet no moon was visible.

At the center stood a lone stone circle. Cracks of lunar mana pulsed faintly across its surface.

There was no sign of Maraque at first.

Then came the howl.

Not loud. Not aggressive. But ancient.

Like something long buried had stirred again.

Kael stepped back. "That's not a Sovereign. That's a beast lord."

Roselia raised her shield. "And the air—it's pulling mana out of us. Stealing it."

Leon nodded. "Moon Pulse."

A low mist swept the arena, and from it emerged the challenger.

Maraque.

He was tall—bare-chested, muscular, with tribal tattoos across his arms and chest that pulsed with moonlight. A silver wolf pelt hung around his shoulders. His eyes weren't human. They were sharp, slitted—lunar. And he didn't walk.

He padded.

Like a predator.

He didn't speak in words. He growled in syllables—Tower-encoded language barely translated by the system.

"Sovereign. Challenger. Phase begins."

[Moon Phase One: Crescent]

In the Crescent Phase, Maraque was nimble—blindingly fast.

He darted between trees, vanished into shadow, then lunged from behind. His claws weren't material—they were compressed moonlight, each strike stripping a layer of Leon's outer shell defenses.

Leon countered with Shell Reverb: Tripart Echo, anchoring three pulse mines to the trees to predict movement.

But Maraque wasn't just fast—he moved like instinct.

The mines went off seconds after he passed.

Leon shifted tactics.

He stopped defending his front and started fighting by echo signature, attacking not where Maraque was—but where his pulse would converge.

The result?

One strike.

A glancing hit.

And Maraque vanished into mist.

[Moon Phase Two: Half Moon]

The forest changed.

The silver trees grew tall and warped, and now the sky bent inward, creating a curved dome. The moonlight intensified, and Maraque's shape... changed.

He now bore a hybrid form—part man, part wolf.

His claws were longer, his movements less elegant but more brutal.

Leon gritted his teeth as each strike cracked the moss, forcing him into direct combat. Karmic Loop helped, but the reflections only made Maraque more violent.

"He's enjoying the pain," Roman muttered, watching from the sphere.

Milim hissed, "He's becoming the moon's instinct. The closer to full… the more monstrous."

Leon waited. He let Maraque press harder.

Used Storm Sync Pulse to dodge the heavy attacks, then intentionally stumbled, baiting Maraque forward into a coiled Fracture Requiem trap.

The pulse detonated at point-blank range.

Maraque flew backward.

A claw tore Leon's side open in retaliation—but Maraque vanished into shadow again.

Phase two—survived.

[Moon Phase Three: Full]

The forest shattered.

The trees were gone.

Only the circular stone platform remained, and now overhead, the full silver moon glared down—immense, pulsing like a beating heart.

Maraque emerged from the light.

No longer a man.

Not even a hybrid.

He was now a massive beast—a wolf larger than a tower gate, eyes glowing white, claws like silver blades. His howl shook the platform, cracking stones beneath Leon's feet.

And worst of all?

He couldn't be tracked.

The air itself masked his pulse signature. He became one with the domain.

Leon dropped to one knee, sweat pouring off him. His ribs still ached. His mana was at 40%. And yet...

He smiled.

Because this is where he wanted to be.

Where instinct ruled.

Where calculation broke down.

Where only those who adapted instantly survived.

He whispered, "Let's hunt, then."

He disabled all targeting runes. Turned off active scanning. Let his senses go wild.

And then—

A flicker. Behind.

Leon triggered Shell Reverb: Absolute Return at the base of his spine—just as claws passed through.

It landed.

A single echo strike.

And Maraque stopped.

The beast slowly turned back toward him, rising to full height... then shrinking.

Silver light peeled away.

And there stood Maraque again—man-shaped, panting, grinning.

"You survived instinct."

He stepped back and placed a clawed hand on his own chest, pounding once.

"Rank earned. Wolf recognizes Sovereign."

[Victory Confirmed – Leon Aetheren promoted to Rank 86]

Phase Ended: Full

Achievement: Instinct Surpassed

Passive Unlocked: Lunar Breath – reduced mana drain in celestial domains

Legacy Earned: Fang of the Full Cycle

Leon stood alone in the moonlight as the arena began to fade.

He looked at his arms—scarred, cracked, but still steady.

He turned back to his team as the next gate opened.

Roselia grinned. "That was insane."

Kael nodded slowly. "You didn't beat him by being stronger. You beat him by thinking like him."

Leon adjusted his grip on his blade.

"We're not climbing anymore. We're evolving."

The gate to Rank 85 wasn't on the floor. It was suspended in the upper edge of Arkhe's inner sky, orbiting slowly in a loop of fragmented light.

This was no ordinary challenge portal.

The announcer didn't speak.

There was no registration.

Only a single inscription burned across the air above the gate:

[To face Rank 85 – Zein the Chronostrider, you must step outside time.]

Leon's Private Preparation Chamber

Leon sat cross-legged, eyes closed, hands pressed to his knees.

All around him were shifting gears of mana-light, spinning like clockwork mechanisms. He wasn't meditating.

He was syncing.

"We're about to fight someone who exists between seconds," he said aloud, opening one eye. "That's not just time control. It's temporal phasing."

Roselia frowned. "Won't your Shell Reverb get scrambled if time itself is unstable?"

Leon nodded. "Yes. Which means I won't rely on it."

Kael looked surprised. "Then what?"

Leon exhaled.

"Instinct. Pattern. Prediction. I don't need to know when Zein will strike—I just need to know why he moves the way he does."