I would not die disgracefully again.
I would not be weak.
I would never be trash again. Never.
That was the vow running through my mind when I saw it—
the green-fanged snake, another Aberrant beast, sliding toward me with its faintly glowing eyes.
I clenched my fist, feeling the subtle hum of power within my body.
The creature was drawn to the corpse of the slain saber-toothed panther nearby, no doubt attracted by the lingering scent of blood.
I wasn't ready for the battle coming my way.
But I had no choice. If I wanted to survive—if I wanted to carry out my plans—I had to face it.
The green-fanged snake lunged in my direction. I ducked low, swinging my right hand upward just as its underbelly scraped across the dagger hidden in my grip.
Cling!
A sharp metallic sound rang out.
The beast hit the ground, twisted violently, and recoiled, preparing for another launch.
Cold sweat poured from every pore of my skin.
That move I made… it was pure instinct—nothing more than the remnants of the little martial arts I learned in my previous life. If this beast launched at me again, I would be as good as dead. Again.
Before it could strike, a sharp whistling sound cut through the air.
A dart shaped like a four-edged star flew over my head and buried itself deep in the beast's skull. The light in its eyes dimmed instantly. Dead.
I turned around and saw a wolf-man form lowering his left arm.
Erick.
He was the one who saved me. Erick—one of the twins, Erick and Erin—my half-siblings. They were the only ones who ever felt even a little pity for me during my childhood. They tried to stand up for me whenever I was bullied, though they could never protect me completely.
Two years ago, when they came of age and left for the Pathway to Ascension, my suffering only worsened.
But that was the past.
Back in the present, after killing the green-fanged snake, Erick leaped to my side and landed gracefully. He reached out, grabbed my hand, and pulled me up.
"Hey, little bro. How are you still alive?" he said with a lopsided grin. "You really have guts coming out here. Or are you just foolish? Do you want to die that badly?"
He snorted. "Never mind. Erin and I were passing by and decided to lend a hand."
Before I could even thank him, he turned around and leaped away, calling out over his shoulder as his voice faded into the dusk:
"By the way, if you're done sulking, head back to the estate. You'll die out here. The wild isn't for the weak. And—"
His voice disappeared completely.
I was grateful to him… and ashamed at myself for almost dying again.
I swallowed down my frustration. Anger wouldn't save me.
What I needed now was a plan—to move forward, not backward.
But first… I had to consume the beasts before me.
The 'Kill and Consume' displayed on the status screen was a unique skill.
'Kill' meant claiming the Beast Soul of any creature slain. Whoever landed the final blow was the slayer, and thus earned the beast's soul.
Beast Memories came in many forms—armors, mounts, weapons, and more.
However, their limitation was severe: beast souls could not be carried into higher realms. They broke apart during ascension.
Human Classes, on the other hand, were different. A Class was a fundamental part of a person—it grew with its owner and followed them through realms.
'Consume' was a skill that allowed me to devour the corpses of slain creatures.
You might wonder why a skill would be needed for something as simple as eating.
But the beasts in the Pathway to Ascension were massive, tough, and in many cases poisonous. Traditional eating was impossible. The Consume skill let someone absorb a creature through mere contact.
But there was a catch:
Some beasts could not be consumed in one go. Their biomass weight and nutritional value determined how much could be absorbed at a time.
From consuming beasts, one earned Ascension Points, and with a hundred points, one obtained an Ascension Permit.
Creatures in the Pathway to Ascension were divided into four ranks:
Feral
Primeval
Aberrant
Absolute
Each rank granted a different number of points when consumed.
Returning to the task at hand, I placed my hand on the corpse and activated the Consume skill.
The beast shrank rapidly while my Aberrant points slowly climbed.
Aberrant creature consumed — One point gained
Aberrant creature consumed — Zero points gained
Aberrant creature consumed — Zero points gained
Aberrant creature consumed — Zero points gained
Aberrant creature consumed — One point gained
Aberrant creature consumed — One point gained
Altogether, I gained twelve points.
My status screen updated:
---
[Race: Human]
[Status: Ordinary]
[Class: Copy]
[Elements: None]
[Class Description:] Able to copy the Classes of others. Can store up to three Classes.
[Class Flaw:] Can copy only one Summoner, one Transformer, and one Armourer. Copying a new one overwrites the previous.
[Requirements for Evolution:] Kill and Consume
[Ascension Permit Progress]
Feral – Zero percent
Primeval – Zero percent
Aberrant – twelve percent
Absolute – Zero percent
[Lifespan:] Two hundred years
{GENESIS RESTRAINED}
[Ordinary Realm]
I have to return to the castle…
I have to return and begin my plans.
Those words repeated in my mind like a mantra as I walked along the familiar dirt path leading toward Green Hyde Castle. Each step felt heavier than the last, not because of the weight of my body—but because of the weight of their eyes.
It always started the same way.
A glance.
A whisper.
A laugh.
People turned to stare as I passed through the outer settlement. They didn't bother to hide the pointing fingers or the mocking smirks etched onto their faces. Their expressions carried that same mixture of pity and contempt I'd grown far too used to.
"Is that him…?" someone murmured.
"Mm. The cripple."
A low hush rolled across the people gathered near the vendor stalls. Their voices weren't loud, but they were sharp enough to carve straight into my spine.
"He's too weak. Though… it's such a waste. He's handsome, shame about everything else."
I forced my gaze forward.
If I looked at them—if I acknowledged them—I may crack. And I refused to be broken again.
Some of them had once invited me to join hunting teams, back when they didn't fully understand what I was. But after certain half-siblings of mine spread rumors—whispers about the fragile body I was born with, lies about how I slowed people down, half-truths twisted into weapons—the invitations stopped.
They avoided me like a plague now.
I used to think that loneliness was the worst thing a person could feel.
But humiliation…
Humiliation carved deeper.
I tightened my grip on the straps of my satchel, exhaling slowly to steady my nerves. If I wanted my plans to succeed—if I wanted to live—I had to endure.
When I reached a small cluster of people gathered at a corner, I slowed my pace unintentionally. Their voices filtered into my ears.
"Did you hear about it?" someone whispered.
"Mm. They spotted an Absolute beast near the Poisoned Valley."
A chill ran down my spine.
Absolute?
"That close?" another person murmured with disbelief. "No wonder Aberrant beasts have been acting strangely."
I felt my heartbeat quicken. Their hushed conversation continued:
"They said the creature's presence is making all lower ranked in the region to run rampart. Even the pathway near the grassy plains has become unstable."
My breath caught.
The grassy plains.
The same plains where I'd barely survived the saber-toothed panther's ambush and the green-fanged snake's assault.
So that explained it.
It wasn't coincidence. It wasn't random bad luck.
The work of an Absolute beast…
No wonder I'd encountered three Aberrant beasts in such a short distance. It should've been impossible. Aberrant beasts didn't stray that close to the castle normally, and they certainly didn't roam such heavily traveled paths.
Weaker beasts—Feral and Primeval—always avoided areas with dense human activity. They were driven by simple instinct: fear. But Aberrant beasts… Absolute beasts… They weren't crude creatures guided by fear alone. Their cognitive abilities were far more developed.
They weren't afraid. They were calculating—curious sometimes, murderous at others.
Which meant…
My near-death experience earlier wasn't just bad luck. It was the ripple effect of something far more dangerous lurking nearby.
My throat went dry.
If I'd been even a little more careless…
If I hadn't reacted on sheer instinct…
I would've died—again.
I swallowed hard and forced myself to walk away from the gossiping crowd. Their words clung to me like a cold fog. But returning to the castle remained my priority. Everything depended on what I did next.
Today…
Today marked the first step of my real beginning.
Whether they mocked me or not.
Whether the world believed me trash or not.
I would rise.
Even if I had to claw my way up from the dirt stained with my own blood.
I was still lost in thought—still replaying everything I'd overheard—when a rough voice snapped me violently back to reality.
"Hey. Move, trash."
Before I could even turn fully, a harsh shove struck my shoulder.
My body jolted sideways.
My feet slipped over loose gravel.
And then—
thud
I landed squarely on my backside.
A sharp sting spread across my spine, but the pain didn't matter. What mattered was the screen that flickered suddenly into existence before my eyes—glowing faintly, translucent yet unmistakably real.
New Class Detected
Class Copied
Type: Armourer
Class: Phoenix Carapace
---
My heartbeat skipped.
Something had been bothering me ever since I discovered this new class.
I had never heard of anything like it before. And I still had no idea how to activate it properly. Apparently, mere skin contact with someone triggered it… but when Erick touched me earlier, it wasn't direct skin contact. ahh that's why I see.
A class like mine—
It shouldn't even be possible.
Classes were fixed, inherited, awakened. They were not meant to be transferred or duplicated. But somehow, mine broke that law.
A strange sense of unease crept through my chest. Excitement, too—but mostly fear.
I didn't understand what I had become.
Back to the present—
The man who shoved me hadn't walked away. No. He stood towering above me, casting a large shadow across the ground as he sniffed dismissively.
"Hey! Watch where you're going unless you want your hands chopped off."
His tone was sharp—almost delighted at the chance to threaten someone weaker. My jaw tightened. My hands curled automatically, nails digging half-moons into my palms.
Anger flickered inside me.
A small, trembling flame.
This wasn't the first time someone had pushed me around. But today… something inside me had shifted. Maybe it was the near-death experience earlier, or maybe the vow I'd made in the forest had sunk deeper into my bones.
But I was tired—so unbelievably tired—of being stepped on.
Still, strength was strength.
And I didn't have enough.
Not yet.
So I swallowed everything down and turned my gaze away.
"Just wait…" I muttered under my breath while standing up, "Soon we'll see who laughs last."
"Huh?" His voice sharpened. "You talking to me?"
I didn't even have time to raise my head.
A blur.
That's all he became.
A rushing wind slammed into me before my mind caught up.
He bent his knees—
coiled like a spring—
and then—
crack
His left fist shot upward in a vicious uppercut.
My chin exploded in pain.
The world spun.
Suddenly, sky and earth traded places twice, and my body hit the ground face-first with a bone-rattling smack.
Warmth spread along my tongue.
Blood dripped.
My vision flickered in and out.
From far away—like someone shouting through water—I heard his voice:
"Weak. You don't even deserve to die by my hand."
My fingers twitched weakly.
He continued:
"But for daring to compare yourself to me… for saying those words…"
His boots scuffed the dirt.
"I'll make sure you pay."
He spat near me.
Then he straightened, turning toward the scattering crowd. His voice rang loudly:
"Listen well! Anyone who decides to group up with this trash—this waste of space—will answer to me. Disperse!"
The crowd scattered immediately. Not a single person argued. Not a single person even hesitated.
Fear of him outweighed any sympathy for me.
I lay there for a moment, tasting dirt and blood on my tongue, my head spinning and my pride burning hotter than fire. I heard more whispers as people backed away:
"He actually angered Mister Oskara…"
"Idiot… the one they call the True Son of the Phoenix?"
"He has Phoenix-type abilities. Why would you provoke him?"
I pushed myself up slowly, my body trembling.
"Shit…" I muttered under my breath. "What's wrong with this guy and his bird abilities?"
No answer came.
Only throbbing pain and the bitter sting of humiliation.
I staggered to my feet and forced myself to move—straight toward the castle. The faster I reached my room, the faster I could breathe again. The faster I could focus.
Oskara's attack wasn't the thing that hurt most.
It was the way everyone simply accepted it.
As if it was natural—expected—for people like him to crush people like me.
But not for long.
Not forever.
Not this time.
By the time I reached my room and locked the door behind me, my heart still hadn't calmed. My jaw throbbed. My cheek burned. But I didn't rest. I refused to.
Instead, I summoned my status screen.
The glowing class information appeared before me.
This—
This would be the foundation of my rise.
Whatever it cost.
The moment the status screen appeared, the room's dim light seemed to fade around me.
Everything else—my throbbing jaw, the humiliation, Oskara's words—fell into the background.
This was what mattered.
My Class.
My future.
My rise.
The glowing letters reorganized themselves, forming words that made my heart pulse faster.
---
Class: Armourer
Armour Name: Phoenix Carapace
Armour Description:
An armor that materializes upon command, crafted from ultra-dense, interlocking feather-shaped plates. A pair of clawed gauntlets sheathes both hands, while the helmet forms a sharp, beak-like visor crowned by a crest reminiscent of a phoenix's plume.
Instead of wings for flight, rigid fin-like structures extend from the back—retractable, sleek, and aerodynamically shaped
I stared at the description.
This… was unlike anything I'd ever heard of.
Armourers usually summoned bulky protective suits, although there were some rare cases of people with special types of armour
Armor made of feathers?
A beaked helmet?
Wing-shaped fins?
And yet… it felt right.
Like something that belongs to that bastard
Abilities
first — Ultra-Lightweight Durability
Armor extremely light and flexible.
Harder than most known metals.
I exhaled softly.
A lightweight armor stronger than metal? That alone could change everything.
second — Adaptive Physiology
Natural temperature regulation.
Enhanced vision and expanded field of view.
My mind raced.
Enhanced vision…
That meant fighting, hunting, and surviving would all become easier.
third — Enhanced Mobility
Boosted jumping ability.
Greater balance and stability.
Reduced impact damage.
Capable of maneuvering and gliding through the air whenever the rigid wings are fully unfurled, allowing travel across short or long distances with minimal energy expenditure.
My pulse quickened.
I could glide.
Even if it wasn't full flight—gliding was freedom.
Escape. Mobility. Advantage.
Just imagining it made something deep inside me tremble.
And then—
fourth — Last-Stand Defense
When close to death, the armor hardens, locking the user's body to prevent fatal injury.
A shiver ran down my spine.
A life-saving instinct embedded directly into the armor.
No wonder this class felt different.
It was nothing like a normal Armourer class.
Nothing like anything I'd been taught. also no wonder that bastard dares that act rashly and no one dares to confront him.
This class of his was a very strong class
alive in a way.
A silent guardian.
A second chance.
My breath deepened.
No—
Not a second chance
My rise.
My evolution.
The end of being trash.
Well this class also belongs to me now.
I closed the interface slowly, letting everything settle inside me.
Oskara's fist.
The whispers.
The humiliation.
None of them mattered anymore.
Because I finally had something real—
something powerful—
something that will help me thrive in this godforsaken place
And this was only the beginning, because I am going to copy more stronger classes and abilities
well I have to thank that bastard someday.