The red Essence finally receded.
For several seconds, Eden simply stood there.
Silence settled over the battlefield.
Not complete silence. There were still distant screams, the crackle of burning buildings, the occasional roar of an Abyss Creature somewhere beyond the ruined street.
But around Eden, the fighting had almost completely stopped.
The battlefield that had been crawling with corpses only moments ago was now strangely empty.
Every Abyss Creature he had devoured was gone.
No bodies.
No blood-covered carcasses.
Nothing.
Eden slowly lowered his hand.
He stared at the empty ground.
Then he looked at his own palm.
"...Interesting."
There were three things he had learned.
First—
Absorbing a skill through Devour was apparently far rarer than he had initially assumed.
He had consumed dozens of Abyss Creatures.
Yet only a single skill had appeared in his status.
The C-Rank skill he stole from Isaac.
Phase Shift.
That meant Devour wasn’t simply going to hand him a new ability every time he ate something with one.
Which was unfortunate.
Very unfortunate.
Second—
The attributes he gained weren’t random.
They seemed to depend on the creature’s specialty.
Creatures with powerful bodies had contributed more to his Strength.
Faster creatures had contributed to Agility.
Those with greater resilience had contributed to Vitality.
It was almost as though Devour wasn’t merely consuming their Essence.
It was taking something fundamental from them.
Eden’s eyes narrowed.
"And third..."
His gaze moved across the battlefield.
There were several corpses he had tried to devour that had given him absolutely nothing.
Not even a single attribute point.
At first, he’d thought he’d done something wrong.
But after testing it repeatedly, he’d noticed a pattern.
Some creatures were simply too weak.
Their Essence was so insignificant compared to his own that Devour apparently considered them worthless.
That was... reassuring.
And terrifying.
Reassuring because it meant he wasn’t going to spend his entire life hunting F-Rank monsters just to squeeze out microscopic increases.
Terrifying because it implied Devour had some kind of judgment.
It decided what was worth consuming.
Eden smiled faintly.
"You’re picky."
He wasn’t sure whether he was talking to the skill or himself.
Either way, he opened his System.
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[STATUS]
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Name: Eden
Level: 1 [F-Rank]
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Attributes
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Strength: 21
Agility: 18
Vitality: 13
Essence: 14
Perception: 11
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Skills & Authorities
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Devour [A]
Phase Shift [C]
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Eden stared.
His smile widened.
He hadn’t leveled.
Not once.
His Level was still one.
His Rank was still F.
And yet...
His Strength had more than doubled.
Agility had increased by eight.
Vitality by three.
Essence by four.
Perception by one.
That was an absurd amount of growth for someone who had technically made zero progress through the System’s normal leveling process.
Eden closed the window.
"This is much better than leveling."
Of course, there was a catch.
He couldn’t simply eat everything.
And even if he could, he had no idea what the limits of Devour were.
Still...
He had spent thirteen years in his previous life desperately scraping together enough strength to advance.
Now, after barely a day—
He had already found another way.
Eden looked toward the remaining battlefield.
Only four Abyss Creatures remained.
The other Awakeneds had mostly finished their fights.
Some were tending to injuries.
Others were searching the ruins for survivors.
A few were simply standing there, exhausted, trying to comprehend how the situation had become so chaotic.
Eden cracked his neck.
"Four left."
Lucy glanced toward him.
"Shouldn’t the Association handle them?"
"They’re almost done anyway."
Eden looked down at his hands.
Then at the remaining monsters.
"Besides..."
He could use a little more practice.
Eden activated Phase Shift’s offensive mode.
Orange Essence instantly wrapped around his body.
The sensation was strange.
He had only stolen the skill recently, and it still felt foreign inside him.
Phase Shift fundamentally depended on his attributes.
Defensive Mode reinforced the body with Essence, drastically increasing durability and perception.
Offensive Mode reinforced the essence itself, increasing output, Agility and strength.
For someone like Eden, who had spent thirteen years fighting with a weak skill, it was almost comically useful.
He stepped forward.
Lucy followed.
The remaining Abyss Creatures noticed them immediately.
One charged.
Eden raised his arm.
Boom!
The creature’s attack collided with him.
Eden’s feet slid backward several meters.
He grimaced.
"Okay."
He shook his arm.
"Still hurts a little."
Eden brushed it off, charging in with Lucy by his side.
The two moved together.
Lucy struck first.
Her attack staggered the creature, and Eden immediately followed with a punch straight into its chest.
The monster flew several meters backward.
It wasn’t easy.
Eden quickly realized that Phase Shift didn’t make him invincible.
His attributes were still pathetic by Awakened standards.
His body was stronger than before, but he was still Level 1.
Every attack mattered.
Every mistake hurt.
But Eden had a lifetime of experience, which made dealing with Low ranked monsters particularly bearable.
The final creature fell after several minutes of coordinated attacks.
Eden exhaled.
He had gained two level ups by defeating them, and immediately put all Twenty attribute points into agility ans strength.
"Finally."
Lucy lowered exhausted fists.
"It’s over."
Eden nodded.
"Yeah."
And as if fate itself couldn’t allow them to rest, the ground suddenly exploded.
Boom!
Both of them froze.
A massive gray body crashed down only a few dozen meters away.
The shockwave tore through the street.
Dust and debris erupted into the air.
Eden instinctively raised his arm.
Lucy staggered backward.
"Wh-what was that?!"
Eden narrowed his eyes.
Through the dust, something enormous moved.
A gray giant.
Its body was several meters tall, covered in thick, stone-like skin.
It had four muscular arms and a grotesque face with a mouth far too large for its head.
Eden’s eyes widened.
The monster wasn’t moving.
It was dead.
And standing on top of its lifeless body was a young man.
Golden Essence formed a blade in his hand.
He raised it toward the sky.
"Justice has been served!"
His voice echoed across the ruined streets.
"I have slain the monster responsible for this tragedy!"
He slammed the golden blade into the corpse beneath him.
"Rest peacefully, unfortunate souls!"
Eden stared.
The young man raised both arms dramatically.
"I, Kael, have brought justice to this world!"
’...’
Eden stared at him.
Lucy stared at him.
Neither spoke.
Finally, Eden muttered,
"...What the hell?"
The man was ridiculous.
But Eden knew him.
Not personally.
He knew him from his first life.
’Kael.’
’The future S-Rank Awakened known as the Judgement Blade.’
One of the Association’s strongest members in the future.
A man whose name would eventually become synonymous with justice.
Eden remembered hearing stories about him.
Kael had been one of the Awakeneds who arrived during this very Dungeon Break.
He had defeated the boss.
He had saved countless people.
He had apparently fought until he could barely stand.
And yet here he was.
Perfectly fine.
Not a scratch.
Not even a visible wound.
Eden narrowed his eyes.
"So that’s Kael..."
He’d heard he was strong.
Judging from the corpse beneath him, that much was obvious.
But Eden had also heard he was an idiot.
Judging from the speech he’d just given while standing on a corpse—
That seemed accurate too.
Kael suddenly noticed Eden and Lucy.
His expression brightened.
"Ah! Survivors!"
He pointed dramatically.
"Do not fear! You are safe now!"
Eden stared at him.
"...I wasn’t afraid."
Kael didn’t hear him.
Or simply ignored him.
"You have witnessed the might of the Judgement Blade!"
Eden sighed.
There was something else bothering him.
The boss.
In his memories, Kael had defeated this monster.
But he had barely survived.
That was the story Eden remembered.
Kael had supposedly been gravely injured after the battle.
’So why—’
Eden’s eyes narrowed.
’Why is he standing there without a single injury?’
’Something is wrong.’
His instincts screamed at him.
A sudden voice whispered from behind Kael.
"You’re quite loud."
Kael’s eyes widened.
A figure slowly emerged from empty air.
The man’s body gradually became visible as though reality itself was revealing him.
A dark coat.
A concealed face.
A dagger already buried deep inside Kael’s stomach.
Kael’s expression froze.
"...What?"
Blood poured from his mouth.
The dagger was pulled free.
Kael stumbled forward.
"W-what...?"
He coughed violently.
Blood splattered across the ground.
Eden’s expression changed instantly.
’Stealth.’
He recognized the skill.
It hid the user’s presence from perception, making them virtually invisible until they attacked.
Eden stared at the stranger.
"A Rogue."
Lucy looked at him.
"A... what?"
"Rogue."
Eden’s eyes remained fixed on the man.
"An Awakened who uses their abilities illegally for crime. Assassins, mercenaries, criminals..."
His gaze sharpened.
"They’re Rogues."
The Rogue tilted his head.
"You know quite a lot for someone who looks so weak."
Eden didn’t answer.
Kael staggered away.
He grabbed his stomach.
"You..."
His voice shook with disbelief.
"You attacked me?"
The Rogue smiled.
"You were distracted."
Kael’s golden blade ignited.
His expression changed.
The theatrical idiot disappeared.
What remained was an Awakened with killing intent.
"I’ll cut you down."
He was interrupted before he could even step forward.
ROOAAAR!
The ground beneath him moved.
Kael froze.
Eden’s pupils shrank.
The gray giant beneath Kael’s feet twitched.
Its fingers moved.
Kael looked down.
"What?"
The monster’s chest suddenly expanded.
Then it screamed.
A monstrous roar tore through the battlefield.
Kael was launched into the air.
The Rogue was thrown backward.
Lucy stumbled.
Eden barely remained standing.
The supposedly dead boss—
Rose.
Its wounds were closing.
Bones snapped back into place.
Muscles regenerated.
Its previously gray skin began changing.
Red veins spread across its body.
Its entire hide darkened into a violent crimson.
Kael landed several meters away.
His face was pale.
"But... I killed you!"
The monster answered with another roar.