Synthe Of Death.

"This fucker is taxing me…" Magnus grumbled, realizing Vorax had kept two beast cores for itself.

Vorax, with its multifaceted eyes held high, stared unblinkingly at Magnus. Its gaze was intense, almost challenging.

Magnus sighed, a puff of warm air escaping his lips. He bent down to retrieve the remaining ten cores.

It was Vorax's kill, after all, so keeping a couple could be overlooked. Besides, Magnus was still grateful to receive rewards from each of Vorax's victories, even if it was just half of it.

For a while now, he'd been pondering how to improve his own strength. He needed to level up and acquire better equipment to face the increasingly dire situation within their territory. The problem was, his presence was constantly required at the territory, leaving little time for hunting and training. Vorax, however, offered a unique solution. The creature could remain in the forest, hunting independently, while Magnus continued his duties. With each kill, Magnus would still receive the rewards, a passive income of power, so to speak. It was a convenient, if somewhat exploitative, arrangement.

Vorax, still in its combat form, maintained its unnerving stare. Its multifaceted eyes, terrifying in their intensity, followed Magnus's every movement as he collected the cores. It seemed to be trying to communicate something.

Utilizing the mental link they shared, Magnus managed to decipher the creature's intentions.

"What? You want Celestial Essence already?" Magnus asked, a hint of incredulity in his voice.

Vorax bobbed its head in a distinct nod.

"Man, you've got to be kidding me," Magnus exclaimed. "That stuff costs 10,000 evolution points per drop! You need to hunt a lot more before we can even think about that."

Vorax's demeanor shifted. A wave of disappointment washed over their connection, quickly followed by a surge of eager anticipation as it nudged Magnus towards the forest. It clearly knew the area was teeming with beasts and was impatient to begin hunting immediately.

'Seems like I underestimated how badly it wants this Celestial Essence,' Magnus mused. He'd initially offered it to Vorax knowing the essence was rich in celestial energy, a perfect supplement for a celestial beast. He hadn't anticipated such a fervent craving.

"Calm down buddy," Magnus muttered, much to Vorax's apparent disappointment. "We'll go hunting soon. I have something to take care of first."

Vorax, resigned, shrunk back to its normal form, a three-foot-long, furry worm. It bounced once, then slithered up Magnus's arm and coiled itself around his neck like a living scarf.

Magnus opened his system interface and navigated to the shop. He scrolled through the seemingly endless list of items, his eyes finally settling on what he was looking for.

-[Aegis of Mind [S] 『180,000 EP』 : Renders the user virtually immune to all but the most devastating psychic assaults. The Aegis can reflect or even absorb incoming mental attacks, converting them into psychic energy that can be used to bolster the shield or launch devastating counter-attacks. The more incoming mental attacks it absorbs, the more devastating the counter-attacks become.]

Magnus winced at the exorbitant price, but it was to be expected for an S-ranked skill. He gritted his teeth and made the purchase.

Next, he opened his status screen and allocated his ten available attribute points, adding two to each attribute, leaving him with zero points remaining.

With a sigh, Magnus retrieved Voidreaver. The evil scythe materialized in his hand, its malevolent energy radiating outward, filling the air with a palpable sense of death. Magnus could feel the weapon's corrupting influence attempting to invade his mind, but the newly acquired [Aegis of Mind] held firm, absorbing the psychic assault and reinforcing his mental defenses.

"Not a bad skill at all," Magnus murmured, impressed. Despite the weapon's terrifying aura of death and corruption, Voidreaver felt remarkably powerful. He could already sense the increase in his strength, a testament to the scythe's attribute amplification effect.

"Status," he commanded.

-----

-[Status]

Name: Magnus Lancaster

Age: 18

Health: 100% (Full Health)

Title: (Lucky Son of Arthur Lancaster)

Level: 1

Trial Status: (0/10)

Magic Affinity: Locked

Mana: 1,000

[EVOLUTION POINTS: 70,240]

[Attributes]

Strength: 12 (×10)

Agility: 14 (×10)

Defense: 11 (×10)

Charm: 16 (×10)

Endurance: 4 (×10)

Luck: 100 [Max]

〔Attribute Points: 0〕

[Skills]

>General Skills:

×10 Reward [SS], Akashic Insight [SS], Synthesis [SS], Summoning [SSS], Aegis of Mind [S]

>Combat Skills:

Unarmed Combat [Lv 5/10], Archery [Lv 3/10], Swordsmanship [Lv 3/10]

>Magic Skills:

None (Locked until Essence Awakening)

>Crafting Skills:

Apothecary [Lv 7/10]

-----

Magnus studied his status screen. Voidreaver had amplified all his attributes tenfold, a boost he could already feel coursing through him. His strength had grown exponentially, leaving him to wonder how much more powerful he would become if he activated the scythe's [Abyssal Fury] skill, which promised a hundredfold increase.

He quickly dismissed the thought. He wasn't sure if even the [Aegis of Mind] could withstand the overwhelming corruption that would flood his mind if he dared unleash the full power of Voidreaver.

"Well, I'm ready to hunt. Time to go, buddy," Magnus announced to Vorax, who was still coiled around his neck, radiating a subtle unease.

The creature's discomfort had begun the moment Magnus unsheathed Voidreaver. Vorax clearly wasn't fond of the intense malevolence and aura of death emanating from the weapon. However, upon hearing the word "hunt," its apprehension vanished, replaced with enthusiastic anticipation. It seemed the promise of Celestial Essence overshadowed all other concerns.

Without hesitation, Magnus entered the forest, Voidreaver held firmly in his hand, Vorax a reassuring weight around his neck. He felt a sense of confidence, almost invincibility, with his powerful companion and weapon at his side.

They hadn't ventured far into the dense forest when they encountered their first prey: a pack of twenty or so wolves with gray fur and menacing red eyes.

The moment they saw Magnus, the wolves charged, anticipating an easy meal. But before they could close the distance, Vorax detached from Magnus's neck, its body expanding rapidly mid-air.

It landed already halfway through its transformation and then it lunged towards the pack.

The wolves, sensing the overwhelming power radiating from Vorax's partially transformed body, recoiled in terror. Their anticipated meal had become the reaper itself.

Panic seized them. They scrambled to escape, but Vorax was too fast. Arriving in front of the pack, it opened its cavernous maw, unleashing a powerful suction that dragged the nearest wolves into its grinding teeth.

The remaining wolves, witnessing the gruesome demise of their companions, were gripped by even greater fear. They scattered frantically, desperate to escape. Two of them, perhaps thinking Magnus was the weaker opponent, made a break for him. They likely believed they stood a chance if they could reach him, but they had miscalculated.

As they approached, Magnus swung Voidreaver in a swift, downward arc, cleaving the first wolf in two. The incredibly sharp blade sliced through flesh and bone with unnerving ease, seeming to cut through reality itself.

The second wolf, witnessing its companion's instant demise, panicked. Its instincts screamed danger, warning it of its fatal mistake. It attempted to change direction, but Magnus wouldn't allow it. He lunged forward, the scythe's blade flashing once more, splitting the second wolf apart.

Magnus felt the souls of the two wolves drawn into Voidreaver, trapped within the weapon's dark embrace. With a single mental command, he crushed the souls, feeling a surge of power replenish his own. It was a potent, almost addictive sensation, but fleeting, lasting only a fraction of a second.

He turned his attention back to Vorax. The battle had already concluded. Vorax, its massive form undulating, slithered towards Magnus and spat out the wolves' cores, though it kept a few for itself, as was its custom.

Vorax then stared at the remains of the two wolves Magnus had slain, their bodies now split into four pieces. The creature showed clear disgust. The corpses, tainted by Voidreaver's aura of death, appeared desiccated, as if they had been dead for much longer than a mere minute.

Magnus sighed. Voidreaver was a truly wicked weapon. It consumed not only the souls of its victims but also corrupted their physical forms.

He drew his ordinary sword from its sheath and began carefully extracting the remaining evolution cores from the wolves' carcasses, adding them to the pile Vorax had produced. He then stored them all within his inventory.

"Nice job, buddy," Magnus said, turning to Vorax. "But next time, leave a few more for me."

Vorax seemed momentarily confused, but after a moment, it seemed to understand. Its owner also wanted to participate in the hunt, not just stand idly by. It nodded in agreement.

"Good. Let's move on then," Magnus stated.

Vorax shrunk back to its normal size, bounced once, and slithered up Magnus's arm to coil around his neck, resuming its usual position.

And so, the unlikely pair—a young man wielding the scythe of death and his monstrously powerful pet—continued their journey deeper into the vast forest, their hunt far from over.