The moment he stepped out of the classroom, the Silver Cache in Calder’s hands dissolved into a cascade of light and system notifications.
[Ding! Acquired: Tier 1 Chrono Seed x1]
[Ding! Acquired: All Stats +2]
Two crisp alerts echoed in his mind.
Calder didn’t hesitate. He seized the Chrono Seed, a small kernel pulsing with faint green light, and swallowed it whole.
[Ding! Time +1 day!]
His personal panel updated immediately, his Time reserve climbing from 1.1 to 2.1. In The Eternal Dominion, a single Chrono Seed was equivalent to a full day of Time—the universal currency that doubled as the "experience points" needed for evolution. For one of The Cursed like Calder, Time was a resource more precious than gold. Their internal clocks ran faster than those of the Divinely Gifted, and the cost to ascend to the next level was exponentially higher.
As if on cue, a new prompt appeared.
[Experience threshold met. Consume 8 hours of Time to level up?]
One hour more than in my past life, Calder mused. This wasn’t a bad thing. For The Cursed, a higher Time cost for leveling was a direct indicator of greater potential. His initial awakening, which had granted him a full ten attribute points and unlocked his ability, had indirectly boosted the latent power of his Blight. Naturally, the price to evolve that potential would also be higher.
He confirmed the choice without a second thought.
[Yes.]
A surge of energy coursed through him, a process that repeated itself in rapid succession.
[Ding! 8 hours of Time consumed. Level Up! All stats +1.]
[Ding! 16 hours of Time consumed. Level Up! All stats +1.]
[Ding! 24 hours of Time consumed. Level Up! All stats +1.]
After reaching Level 4, his remaining Time was insufficient to initiate another evolution. Had those 2.1 Chronos been given to any other Divinely Gifted, they likely would have shot straight to Level 5. For him, it was just enough to hit Level 4. Combined with the bonus from the cache, his panel had transformed.
【Calder】
【Level: 4】
【Total Blight Index: 12】
【Time: 0.27】
【Strength: 5.6 + 6】
【Speed: 5.7】
【Constitution: 5.5】
【Spirit: 6.1】
...
Compared to the average Divinely Gifted, who were still struggling with single-digit attributes, he already held a commanding lead.
With his upper limb Blight Index now exceeding 10, he could perform a rudimentary Aberrant Shift. His right arm could now morph into a simple Ossein Sword or Ossein Blade, though more complex forms would require a higher Index. The Ossein Sword alone manifested with a Strength value approaching 16. If he were to face that Bladeback Nokk Fiend now, he wouldn't need to borrow anyone's strength. He could cut it down in moments.
"ROOAARR!"
Just as he finished assessing his gains, guttural howls erupted from down the corridor. A handful of Knorr Aberrant Fiends charged into view, followed by a veritable tide as more monsters poured out from other classrooms, flooding the hallways on every floor. The classrooms they emerged from were now silent, their student occupants presumably slaughtered.
Logically, the first few Beast Surges in a Novice Trial weren't supposed to be this difficult. But these students were hothouse flowers. Even with immense power suddenly thrust upon them, most were too panicked to wield it effectively under pressure. Classroom 208 had only stabilized so quickly because of Draven's C-rank Divine Gift and, more critically, Calder’s swift, decisive action, which had shocked the others into realizing the monsters were not invincible.
"Aahh, help me! My skill won't activate!" a student screamed, scrambling down the hall.
Many were exhausted from their first battle, their abilities locked in cooldown. Now, faced with hundreds of Knorr Aberrant Fiends, with one or two boss-class monsters mixed in, they were completely overwhelmed.
The corridor became a symphony of screams and death rattles. Doors slammed shut as survivors barricaded themselves inside, terrified of another breach.
Calder, however, did not retreat. As the fiends surged toward him, his arm morphed into the vicious, bone-white Ossein Sword, and he began to reap.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
The blade was a blur, each swing precisely separating a fiend's head from its shoulders. One strike, one kill.
[Ding! Time +10min... Time +10min...]
His deadly efficiency went largely unnoticed. All attention was suddenly drawn to the far end of the hall by a deafening roar.
"Divine Gift—Stormfire!"
A massive explosion ripped through the corridor, and a wave of fire engulfed dozens of the smaller fiends. In its wake, only a carpet of charred limbs and scorched concrete remained.
Gasps of awe rippled through the onlookers.
"Holy shit! What a huge AoE!"
"Did someone set off a bomb?"
"Who is that guy? That Gift is insane! He must have killed twenty or thirty of them in one shot!"
"Stormfire? That sounds familiar... Hey, isn't that Vance's Gift? The guy from the chat channel?"
"It's gotta be Vance! As expected of the most talented Divinely Gifted in our academy!"
A chorus of cheers and adulation echoed down the hall. With Vance taking the lead, the rampaging horde of fiends was quickly brought under control.
Calder watched the battle from a distance, his eyes narrowed. He made no move to join them. Instead, he began methodically plunging his Ossein Sword into the fresh corpses littering the floor.
[Right Upper Limb Blighting +0, +0, +0.1...]
[Left Upper Limb Blighting +0.1, +0.1, +0, +0.1...]
The Blight Index in his right arm was climbing at a noticeably slower pace. Sometimes it took absorbing several corpses to gain even a tenth of a point. Each level-up was an evolution, raising his very life-tier. As a result, the threshold for absorbing Blight from low-level creatures had increased. The gains were diminishing, sometimes yielding nothing at all.
Still, the sheer number of bodies was more than enough to compensate.
Schlick.
He stabbed his sword into another corpse. What was once a process of two or three seconds had accelerated; now, he could drain a body dry in less than one. He was lost in the grim pleasure of the Devour when a sharp gasp cut through the air.
"Oh my god, what are you doing? That's disgusting!"
A student was staring at him, hand clamped over his mouth in horror. His shout drew the attention of others nearby, who turned just in time to see Calder plunge his Ossein Sword into the body of a fallen student. They watched, paralyzed, as the corpse visibly withered, flesh shriveling as it was drained dry in an instant.
"What the hell? A vampire!"
"Fucking hell! Is that some kind of humanoid monster?"
A collective, sharp intake of breath swept through the onlookers, many of whom broke out in a cold sweat. The sight of blood flowing up the bone sword and into Calder’s arm was a visceral, deeply unsettling shock. In their minds, he was no longer a fellow student but a boss monster in disguise.
The commotion even attracted the attention of Vance, who had been methodically clearing his way down the hall. His pupils contracted, clearly startled by the grotesque scene. What is this ability?
Before he could speak, someone else shouted, "What are you doing? Why are you touching a student from our class?!"
The accusation snapped others out of their stupor.
"Yeah, are you crazy?!"
"What kind of psycho absorbs people?"
For many, this crossed a line they couldn't comprehend. One student even stepped forward, trying to intervene. "Hey, you need to stop that right now."
Calder slowly lifted his head, his gaze sweeping over the person blocking his path. His voice was flat and cold as ice.
"Get lost if you want to live."
Color flooded the student's face, but faced with Calder’s chilling intensity, the words caught in his throat. He backed away, humiliated but unwilling to press the issue. The murmurs from the crowd around him died down. They had all just survived a Beast Surge; they understood the world had changed. People who were nobodies before the game began were now fearsome powerhouses.
Though Calder looked somewhat frail, the murderous aura coiling around him was unmistakable. He was not someone to be crossed. None of them wanted to provoke a man like that over something that, in the grand scheme of things, no longer mattered.
Even Vance, who had been about to voice his own condemnation, swallowed his words. He might have been the first Divinely Gifted in Novice Zone 911 to reach Level 2, but that didn't make him the undisputed king of the academy. For all he knew, there were others with even stronger Gifts hiding in the shadows. Caution was the wiser path.
With Vance silent, no one else dared to step forward.
And so, a bizarre and grim parade began to move through the school's corridors. At the front, Vance and his growing retinue of followers cleared the way, slaughtering fiends. At the back, Calder followed like a carrion collector, his Ossein Sword silently devouring every corpse left behind. A strange, unspoken symbiosis formed between them. If a stray monster slipped past Vance’s group and ran towards Calder, they wouldn't give chase. They would simply watch.
As they saw how effortlessly he dispatched these stragglers, Vance grew even more certain of Calder’s formidable strength. The whispers about Calder's gruesome habit grew fewer and fewer, until they vanished completely.
This was the law of The Eternal Dominion: only the strong had a voice. The intelligent ones were already beginning to understand this. As for the others, Time would teach them.
They cleared floor after floor, and Vance's team swelled in size, their efficiency skyrocketing under his leadership. All the while, Calder trailed them, his Blight Index soaring as he feasted.
When the last of the Knorr Aberrant Fiends in the building had been exterminated, Vance finally had a moment. He walked toward Calder, a group of his core followers in tow.
"Could I ask your name?" Vance asked, a practiced, friendly smile on his face.
Calder didn't look up from his work. "Calder."
A flicker of recognition crossed Vance's eyes. "So you're the Calder who got the first monster and boss kill. That explains a lot..." He paused, then continued, "Calder, are you interested in joining my team?"
His sycophants immediately chimed in.
"Haha, getting an invitation from Vance himself is a huge honor."
"Calder, Vance has a B-Tier Divine Gift. You can't go wrong following him."
Vance’s smile widened. "They're right. Instead of going it alone, why not join us? Together, we can grow stronger and dominate." He leaned in slightly, his tone shifting. "There's just... one condition. To build trust, you'll need to share your Divine Gift and personal panel with me."
His eyes, narrowed to slits, locked onto Calder. This is how I'll know, he thought. If he's stronger than me, or even my equal, I'll need to find a way to get rid of him. If he's manageable, he'll make a fine sword to wield.
"Of course," Vance added smoothly, "this is the only requirement. After that, we're all brothers. We'll never betray each other!"
Envious murmurs rose from the crowd. While many were following Vance, it was clear they were just outer members, not part of his core team.
"Damn, to be personally invited by Vance... what I wouldn't give."
"Boss Vance, can you take me? I have a D-rank Gift, can I join?"
"I'm so jealous. This has to be the top team in Novice Zone 911, right?"
Vance calmly addressed the crowd. "Everyone, be patient. For now, those with D-rank Gifts or below will be recruited as regular members. Those above D-rank will be considered for the core team on merit. And anyone with a C-rank Gift can become a mainstay immediately." He gestured to one of his followers. "If you want to join, register with my assistant. Together, we will face the challenges to come!"
His words sent a jolt of excitement through the crowd.
"Vance is the man!"
"If we stick with him, we'll make it for sure!"
"Sign me up! I'm in!"
The hallway buzzed with energy. Vance watched, satisfied. He had intentionally broadcast his level-up early on, knowing the information couldn't be hidden for long. Better to announce it himself and build a reputation. His plan was working perfectly. He had seized the initiative, and he was confident no one else in Novice Zone 911 currently held more sway. Once his faction was established, it wouldn't matter if someone with a better Gift appeared later. In this new world, connections and power were everything. Going it alone was a fool's path.
I remember this guy from the early days, Calder thought, glancing at the scene. Vance's strategy wasn't inherently wrong, but it was shortsighted. He didn't understand that against a true prodigy, numbers were meaningless. Worse, by relying so heavily on external power, he was placing a hard ceiling on his own potential.
Vance, flush with success, turned his charismatic smile back to Calder. "So? What do you think, brother? Join us, and you'll be a core member right away. We'll fight side-by-side."
He expected an immediate yes.
Calder finally straightened up, his bone sword still dripping. He looked past Vance as if he wasn't there.
"Not interested. Move."
Without another word, he knelt and plunged the Ossein Sword into another corpse, the sound of desiccating flesh filling the sudden silence.
"You piece of sh—" one of Vance's followers began, stepping forward, but Vance shot him a look that froze him in place.
Vance’s jaw tightened, and a flicker of rage crossed his face before he expertly masked it. For now, he didn't know Calder's true strength, and he wouldn't act rashly. He forced another smile.
"Heh, well, if you have other plans, I won't insist. If we can't be teammates, there's no need to be enemies." He gave a magnanimous nod. "But my door is always open if you change your mind."
He turned and walked away with a flourish.
"Vance is so generous!" one of his lackeys immediately crowed. "Some people don't know what's good for them. He'll regret it later."
"Exactly. You only get the good stuff by sticking with the boss."
As the chorus of praise began anew, a system-wide notification blared through the academy, overriding all other sounds.
[Notice: The Fourth Beast Surge is imminent. All players in Novice Zone 911, proceed to The Surge Grounds immediately!]
[Notice: The Fourth Beast Surge is imminent...]