As One sorted through the treasure trove of items to offer Evan, he remained blissfully unaware that, within re minutes, the seed of betrayal had already been sown. The catalyst? A mysterious ssage 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 we’ve been in here for hours," Evan asked, stretching his arms. Unseen by him, Grim smirked.
"Ah, don't worry," Grim replied casually. "Our associate here—Tick, the ti expert—has put this space under a ti freeze. Only a few minutes have passed outside, even if it’s felt like hours in here."
Evan turned and saw Tick give a cheeky two-finger salute in confirmation.
"Alright then... what’s 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 cos from a species that once ruled the void. Chaos infused their blood. Behold—the 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. "You’ve got to be kidding . Why not just give a black dragon bloodline? It’s a million tis better than that."
"Tsk. Don't be short-sighted," One replied. "This isn't just about prestige. This bloodline holds two high-tier elents—[Void] and [Chaos]. Your precious black dragon only offers [Darkness], which pales in comparison."
Evan clicked his tongue but relented. "Fine, I’ll take it. But tell —where did this co from?"
"Your second encounter," One explained. "When you tad that beast in the second expanse. Sohow, its essence fused with this bloodline. It may end up helping you even more than... her."
Evan didn’t press further. He approached the artifact and began the absorption.
A few minutes later, he staggered back slightly. The artifact had consud 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 soul’s capacity.
"I'm not full yet," Evan replied with a calm grin. "I can take in more."
"...Let’s 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 one’s a bit unique. It's a mutated ability ford by combining four elents—Fire, Earth, Lightning, and Ice. It’s called Elental Manipulation. Not flashy, but it grants control over all four."
Evan’s eyes glead. Exactly what I wanted.
Without hesitation, he began the absorption.
The process took thirty minutes—and when it was over, power buzzed under his skin. Four elents now danced to his will.
"Now that that’s 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 class orb.
An hour passed. He successfully absorbed the class—but before anyone could stop him, he grabbed four more orbs and absorbed them in quick succession.
"Evan, STOP!" soone yelled—but 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 sothing?"
"You absorbed FIVE classes!" Soul shrieked. "You could've DIED. No one absorbs that many at once!"
"But I’m fine," Evan said, brushing himself off. "They didn’t even take up that much space in my soul."
The others exchanged bewildered glances.
"You’re saying... you’re 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 ant to pick Poisonmancer, but I accidentally grabbed Weapon Master."
"...Seriously?" soone 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 co in handy. I’ll probably be able to use a wide range of weapons, yeah?"
Nobody responded. They simply floated away in disappointnt.
"Hey, wait! Where are you all going?" Evan called out, chasing after them.
As he ran, sothing caught his eye—an orb floating alone, far from the rest.
"What’s that?" he asked.
Grim followed his gaze. His eyes widened.
"Don't touch that, Evan," he warned. "It can’t be stored in your soul right now."
"Just let look!" Evan pleaded. "I won’t absorb it, promise."
"...Fine. Just look."
The orb descended. It was pitch-black, filled with swirling darkness.
Evan held it. Sothing 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 wasn’t just any item," One said grimly. "It belonged to a Tier 3 powerhouse Evan killed during his second life. Even that man couldn’t absorb it."
"...Then how—?"
"It’s not a talent. It’s sothing 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 him—or make him sothing the world had never seen.
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