As One sorted through the treasure trove of items to offer Evan, he remained blissfully unaware that, within mere minutes, the seed of betrayal had already been sown. The catalyst? A mysterious message tied to a relic that had subtly guided Evan toward an unknown fate.
"So, what's next, man? Also⊠is everything okay outside? Feels like weâve been in here for hours," Evan asked, stretching his arms. Unseen by him, Grim smirked.
"Ah, don't worry," Grim replied casually. "Our associate hereâTick, the time expertâhas put this space under a time freeze. Only a few minutes have passed outside, even if itâs felt like hours in here."
Evan turned and saw Tick give a cheeky two-finger salute in confirmation.
"Alright then... whatâs the next item, One?" Evan asked, turning his focus to the curator of his upgrades.
"Ah, yes. The fifth item might catch your interest," One said, tapping a floating orb. "It's a degraded dragon bloodline... but not just any dragon. This one comes from a species that once ruled the void. Chaos infused their blood. Beholdâthe Serpent of the Chaos Void."
Gasps and applause erupted from the other nine figures, as though One had just revealed a god-tier relic.
"...A serpent bloodline?" Evan raised an eyebrow. "Youâve got to be kidding me. Why not just give me a black dragon bloodline? Itâs a million times better than that."
"Tsk. Don't be short-sighted," One replied. "This isn't just about prestige. This bloodline holds two high-tier elementsâ[Void] and [Chaos]. Your precious black dragon only offers [Darkness], which pales in comparison."
Evan clicked his tongue but relented. "Fine, Iâll take it. But tell meâwhere did this come from?"
"Your second encounter," One explained. "When you tamed that beast in the second expanse. Somehow, its essence fused with this bloodline. It may end up helping you even more than...
her
."
Evan didnât press further. He approached the artifact and began the absorption.
A few minutes later, he staggered back slightly. The artifact had consumed a significant portion of his soul space.
"How do you feel?" Soul asked, narrowing her eyes. Her domain was the soul, and she noticed a frightening increase in his soulâs capacity.
"I'm not full yet," Evan replied with a calm grin. "I can take in more."
"...Letâs get you more things then," Soul corrected herself quickly after nearly calling him a 'resource'.
"Alright, before we move on to the final tier items, let's touch up your arsenal a bit," One said, motioning to another artifact.
"This oneâs a bit unique. It's a mutated ability formed by combining four elementsâFire, Earth, Lightning, and Ice. Itâs called
Elemental Manipulation
. Not flashy, but it grants control over all four."
Evanâs eyes gleamed.
Exactly what I wanted.
Without hesitation, he began the absorption.
The process took thirty minutesâand when it was over, power buzzed under his skin. Four elements now danced to his will.
"Now that thatâs done... got anything else interesting?" Evan asked, eyes drifting toward a floating orb surrounded by class orbs.
"You thinking of taking a class?" One asked.
"Yeah. I choose you," Evan said dramatically, grabbing the <Mage> class orb.
An hour passed. He successfully absorbed the classâbut before anyone could stop him, he grabbed four more orbs and absorbed them in quick succession.
"Evan, STOP!" someone yelledâbut it was too late. Evan collapsed.
A few hours later...
When he woke up, all ten were gathered around him with expressions ranging from anger to horror.
"What... what's up, guys?" Evan blinked innocently. "Did I do something?"
"You absorbed FIVE classes!" Soul shrieked. "You could've DIED. No one absorbs that many at once!"
"But Iâm fine," Evan said, brushing himself off. "They didnât even take up that much space in my soul."
The others exchanged bewildered glances.
"Youâre saying... youâre not maxed out?" One asked.
"Nope. I can handle it. Wanna know what I got?"
He held up a hand. "Mage. Blacksmith. Alchemist. Rune Enchanter. And... well, I meant to pick Poisonmancer, but I accidentally grabbed Weapon Master."
"...Seriously?" someone muttered.
Evan scratched his head. "It feels... weak. Mage and Weapon Master seem like low-tier classes. Bare-bones knowledge."
"Then that's your fault for rushing," One said flatly.
Evan sighed. "Still, Weapon Master might come in handy. Iâll probably be able to use a wide range of weapons, yeah?"
Nobody responded. They simply floated away in disappointment.
"Hey, wait! Where are you all going?" Evan called out, chasing after them.
As he ran, something caught his eyeâan orb floating alone, far from the rest.
"Whatâs that?" he asked.
Grim followed his gaze. His eyes widened.
"Don't touch that, Evan," he warned. "It canât be stored in your soul right now."
"Just let me look!" Evan pleaded. "I wonât absorb it, promise."
"...Fine. Just
look.
"
The orb descended. It was pitch-black, filled with swirling darkness.
Evan held it. Something inside him
whispered.
It begged him to claim it.
"Evan. Stop," Grim said sternly.
But Evan had already absorbed it.
He dropped instantly, screaming in agony.
"WHAT DID HE DO?!" one of them shouted as everyone rushed over.
His body writhed, black tar-like substance oozing from every pore.
"Where were you when he did this?!" One barked at Grim.
"I... I tried to stop him!"
"You told us not even to
touch
that orb," Soul said. "What even
was
it?"
"...It wasnât just any item," One said grimly. "It belonged to a Tier 3 powerhouse Evan killed during his second life. Even that man couldnât absorb it."
"...Then howâ?"
"Itâs not a talent. Itâs something greater," One whispered. "A singular miracle in an entire species."
"The Physique... of a Monarch."
They all went silent.
"I had planned for him to try it
before
he chose his classes. Now... we can only hope he survives."
They all stared in silence as Evan convulsed violently, his body undergoing a transformation that would either destroy himâor make him something the world had never seen.
Hi everyone! I hope you enjoyed the chapter. If youâre enjoying the journey, support me.