New Trait and Skill

Even though he seemed nonchalant about it, Hans was, in fact, worried about his race.

[Race: Human (70%), ??? (30%)]

The mysterious blood flowing in his veins that even the system couldn't name must be truly special. No, special wasn't even the right word but rather…

'Peculiar.'

Every night, before he sleeps, Hans was worried about being a completely different being other than a human. It's not like he hated monsters but, as a man born as a human, it was just hard to accept that he was different from anybody else.

However…

'It's still my blood.'

Probably, this is his true origin. His goal for power is to find the truth about his real identity and also find his parents that seemingly vanished from existence.

And for that, he needed an absurd amount of power that was enough to break the boundaries between dimensions. Because to be honest, Hans had no clue where to find them at all.

Just like water passing through a long stream of a river, Hans just rode with the flow.

At the end of the day, the only thing that could take him to them was his mysterious race.

[Body Reconstructing…]

Shrummm—

The energy streamed through his bones and punctured his muscles like a sharply pointed syringe. His muscle fiber stretched like rubber before being refined into something stronger than magic steel.

Hans closed his eyes and crossed his legs.

"Huff—, Huff—." Hans took a short but steady breath.

Micro energy particles in the air continuously supplied his body with seemingly endless energy. The fabric of cotton of his bed was slowly being ripped by just the touch of his skin alone.

Shrumm—

Gab twisted the chained scythe in his hand and threw it back inside his storage pouch. Sweats trickled down his face like a bottle of cold soda. After wiping his face with a gray-colored towel, Gab turned to Hans.

'The mana… is gathering towards him?' Amador, who was inside his head, asked.

"Maybe he's practicing some kind of mana gathering technique? It's pretty rare these days." Gab shrugged his shoulders and answered.

As much as he wanted to ask Hans what was happening, he seemed to be in a deep state. Asking him about something out of his business might offend Hans.

Gab fetched for his coat and strapped a scimitar behind his torso. He put on standard adventurer clothing before walking towards the door.

Kacha—

"I'm leaving, Hans. I'll probably be back at noon."

Gab took one final glance at his friend before trudging out of the room. The door behind his back closed with a thud.

Thud—

Silence permeates the room, making the vibe gloomy and eerie. Hans, who was watching the changes inside his body, briefly opened his eyes, scanned the surroundings before falling back into deep concentration once again.

Tick—, tick—

The clock hand ticks on the wall as the time moves forward.

Thus, in a blink of an eye, a whole day has passed.

......….

In An Unknown Place.

14 people surrounding a large wooden table stood up almost at the same time.

If one could see their faces, they'll immediately realize who they are.

Humanity's SS-Class Awakened.

"Are you going back to Italy, Miguel?" A man wearing a martial artist robe asked.

"Yeah, it's my fault for not stopping those guys." Miguel answered. He fetched his bag, threw it in his inventory, and continued, "They are probably still there, waiting for the tomb to emerge."

The Illuminati organization has no reason to abduct Freya other than her skills which would prove to be a problem once a fight between them commenced.

However, it's also because of this reason Miguel speculated that the organization must be planning something in Italy.

Other than the Ruined King's Tomb, what else?

It's pretty easy to catch their intentions.

"Aren't you afraid of being kidnapped too?"

At that moment, everyone around the room had their gazes pointed at the martial artist. As their eyes sharpened, the pressure around the room increased.

"Did I say something wron—, oh…"

The man realized what was happening and immediately flushed in embarrassment. Indeed, his words sounded suspicious.

"I'm just concerned about Miguel. Losing another SS-Class would be detrimental for us."

The moment he explained, the pressure in the air gradually vanished. Sighs of relief echoed around the room. Even then, each Awakened was worried about the group having a traitor.

Kai, who was nonchalantly shuffling a coin on his fingers, stepped on a teleportation circle and activated it. He took one final glance at Miguel and declared, surprising everyone around the room.

"If ever this group appears again, call me." Kaj threw the coin at Miguel, which has his mana signature, before being sucked in by a silver-white light.

Everyone stood there unmoved. Their eyebrows knitted in shock.

Kai was a busy man. Unless it's a monster enough to be considered a threat to all SS-Class Awakened, he won't appear, and calling him won't do any good either.

Aviante was considered an SSS-Class monster that's why he appeared in the USA but was already too late.

Now, hearing him declare himself to go to Italy, means Kai considered this organization, Illuminati, as an extremely dangerous enemy.

Everyone eyed each, not knowing what to say.

"That guy would be single forever." Senon murmured. He has a grudge against Kai back at the Gathering so couldn't help but talk behind his back.

"Atta boy."

"Tsk."

Miguel stared at the window before he sauntered out of the room. The wind passed his cheeks as he walked towards the teleportation circle.

'Illuminati…'

The next time they met, he would make sure they could experience what hell feels like.

And…

'I'll show you the true meaning of despair.'

At the moment his fist clenched, the space around his palms quivered.

......…

Bawk—, bawk—!

In a room covered in an extreme concentration of mana, the sound of chickens' clucking echoed. The silver moon slowly vanished in sight as the morning sun rays entered through the gaps of everyone's houses.

Sunlight streamed through the window glass and shone at Hans's face. Feeling the warmth caressing his cheeks, his eyelids fluttered and his vision scanned the sunlit room.

Aside from the instant noodles still sitting on the table, nothing pretty much changed. Knowing this, Hans closed his eyes and focused all his attention on energy nourishing his core.

[Core enhancing…]

Strengthening his core resulted in a much refined mana, which boosted mana-powered skills. While this process lasted, Hans' appearance had a unique and distinct change.

A pure and mysterious reddish aura leaked outside his body, emitting a constant flux of red smoke.

However, its stability wasn't perfected yet. Every once in a while, it would disappear and then reappear again like a brilliant twinkling star.

[Evolution… 99% Complete…]

[Final Process… Commence.]

At that moment, the energies circling around his core shot through every blood vessel and then exploded in his heart.

Ba-dump—

"Arghhh!!!"

Hans clutched his chest; his toes curled in pain. A searing flame ignited in his heart as if it wanted to burn it into ashes.

However, instead of heat, he felt a cooling sensation.

It was said that a true dragon heart could carry nigh-infinite mana while a true phoenix heart could revive anyone without limit.

However, a human heart has always been… nothing but a normal heart. Despite that fact, that distinguished the race from others.

"Huff—" Hans heaved a heavy sigh.

It seems like his transition from human to something unexplainable is nearing.

[You have acquired the Devourer's Heart.]

And for sure, on that day, the world might be overturned and red spider lilies would blossom like a normal flower in a fairy garden.

[Evolution reached 100%...]

[3rd Evolution Complete…]

"Haah."

Hans' eyes shot open. The mana whirling around his body gradually scrambled away. After a few seconds of waiting, the familiar mechanical voice echoed in his head once again.

[You have acquired the skill, 'Empyrean Aurae']

[The skill, 'Berserk (C)', 'War Cry (D), 'Body Enhancement (B)', 'Hardened Skin (C), and 'Asuran Transformation (A)' merged with the skill 'Empyrean Aurae'.]

[The skill, 'Primeval Eyes' is enhanced…]

[The skill, 'Hand of Asura' is enhanced…]

[The skill, 'The Balance' is enhanced…]

-

Hans closed the screens floating in front of him. As he inhaled for oxygen, the mana in the air was being drawn into his body. Although it didn't do anything, Hans knew that casting long chanted spells would be easier with this friendly mana.

If Hans wanted to become a mage, he could even challenge Freya for a match and determined who's the strongest mage.

Of course, that was just simple thinking.

Hans wanted the title of the strongest in the world.

'Finally…'

[It's done?]

Plundy asked. Hans got out of bed and stretched his body. He turned towards the clock before he answered.

"Yeah, I thought it would even take another hour."

Due to the energy not disappearing no matter how much time passed, Hans thought it might even take another day. Fortunately, it exploded in his heart.

'Come to think of it, let's see those two first.'

Deciding to inspect his new skill and traits, Hans sat on the chair and opened his status screen.

[Name: Hans Luther

Age: 23 Level: 69

Race: Human (70%), ??? (30%)

Potential: ???

Strength: 433 Stamina: 357

Agility: 337 Mana: 444

Unused stats: 0

Talent: Unlock at Level 100

Innate Skill: [Endless Plunder (C)]

Plundered Skill: [(E)], [Acrobat (D)], [Hide (C)], [Dragon Kick (A)], [Turtle Shell (B)], [Fire Control (B)], [Light of Judgment (B)], [Holy Light (C)], [Constantine Sword Style: First Cut (B)], [Stealth (D)], [Vampiric Steal (A)], [Moon Howl (A)], [Asuran Transformation (A), [Exploding Blood (A)], [Rage Meter (S)], [Eclipse (A)], [Rebound (B)], [Dispel Curse (B)], [Knight's Roar (B)], [Frozen Cataclysm (A)], [Inferno Eruption (A)], [Phantom Multi-Shot (A)], [Double Barrage (B)].

Skill: [Mirror Clone (B)], [Emperor Constantine Strides (S)], [Trickster (S)], [Eye of Truth (S)]

Mana Property: Evil.]

Although it didn't show his race skills and traits, Hans could summon it with one thought.

First…

"Devourer's Heart."

[Devourer's Heart

— A heart born from a human's to a ???.

-Uses-

—Mana Consumption is reduced by 5% for every skill cast.

—Your body automatically devours the energy in the surroundings and slowly refines it into your own mana.

(Current Rate: 1 mana point per day.)

—??.]

'Interesting.'

Even if he slept and did nothing, he'd still receive one mana point per day. Meaning, in a year he would have a total of 365 mana points.

'That's like 90 level ups.'

However, considering the rate of how fast Hans gets stronger, these 365 mana points might just be too little in the future.

'Still better than nothing.'

What's more, this trait also decreased his mana consumption. That alone was enough to be considered an elite trait.

Next, Hans clicked on the skill he received.

'Let's see what you are.'

[Empyrean Aurae

—The skies always blessed the chosen.

-Uses-

—All stats increased by 300%

—Physical and Magic resistance increased by 50%

—Your body cannot be invaded with poisons and diseases.

—Once activated, all enemies will receive a debuff which reduces their defenses by 50%. There's a 1% chance, a 'stun' state might trigger which immobilizes the target for 3 seconds.

Mana Consumption: 1 mana per second.]

"!!!"

[Aiyo, what the fuck?]

Hans couldn't help but straighten in his seat.

'What a cheat skill.'

It's like 4 high-rank skills were compressed into one. And if he's not mistaken, this skill might even upgrade after certain conditions are met. After all, it swallowed all of his auxiliary skills.

'300% increase in stats. Haha, man that's a lot.'

There's also resistance and even debuff. With this skill, Hans was confident that if he fought the summoned Count Vlad again, he could probably kill him in seconds.

Of course, if Count Vlad still has a trump card, the time might extend a little bit but even then, his death is inevitable.

After sorting all his skills, Hans closed his status window and went to the bathroom to prepare.

Today is the time to go back to the Harisan Empire. Gab already left yesterday and is probably already out there trying to find the Ruined King's Inheritance.

So even if he wanted to rest, he could not afford to waste any more time.

What's more, in his opinion, someone might already be waiting for him there.