The world blinked.
The green glow of Hyde Castle dissolved, and a heartbeat later, I materialized on a circular platform inside a crowded teleportation station. Voices, footsteps, and flickering holograms flooded my senses. As my vision stabilized, a giant broadcast screen on a nearby skyscraper flared to life, displaying a neatly dressed middle-aged man.
"Greetings, citizens," the man announced with forced enthusiasm. "Today, I bring wonderful news. Several of our human comrades have just ascended to higher realms. This is a cause for celebration! With every new evolver, we strengthen our standing against the Devas—both here and on the Pathway to Ascension. So work hard. Stay strong. Ascend. We must never fall behind those bastards."
I exhaled slowly, eyes narrowing at the display.
Extra-Ordinary. Ascendant. Paragon.
With my new class… I would surpass them all. All I needed was time.
"Hey, idiot!" someone barked. "Move off the platform before I blow your brains out!"
I snapped back to reality. A female officer stood at the edge of the platform, arms crossed, scowling at me as if I were the bane of her existence.
Right. Standing around like a lost child wasn't exactly allowed here.
I stepped off quickly without looking back.
---
Hundreds of years ago, humanity had nearly destroyed itself. But from that ruin, we evolved—reaching a condition capable of touching the Pathway to Ascension. No one understood what that meant until the first teleporter appeared: a raised platform shaped like a massive Tai Chi symbol. They surfaced across the world, random and unstoppable.
Governments tried to seize them. They failed. Humanity no longer trusted the people who had almost wiped us out.
So ancient families rose instead, claiming teleporters and building bases around them.
The McCall family—my family—was one of them. A sub-branch under the prestigious Graham clan.
Walking through the outer district of the estate now felt… wrong. Bitter. Ever since my mother revealed her true colors, this place no longer felt like home.
On my way to my room, I passed her door—and froze.
Voices.
"I've done what you asked," my mother said, voice tight, pained. "Now leave my son alone, or the pact ends."
"You dare threaten me?" a woman sneered. "For that cripple of a child? What could you possibly see in him?"
"A mother's love can't be measured."
"Hmph. As per the pact, I won't harm a single hair on him. But that doesn't stop me from whispering his name to the patriarch. I wonder what opinion he would form."
"You dare!"
"Oh, I dare. Now… what will you offer to keep me quiet?"
A long pause.
"…The S-class pass to the main branch library," Mother said reluctantly.
"Good. That will do—for now."
"No. Not just now. I want a new pact," the woman said. "One preventing you from ever speaking about your son. To anyone."
"That's easy," Mother replied bitterly. "Unless you want something else."
A low, satisfied hum. "You know me well."
"Fine. Take this." The rustling of paper. "A map to the Crystal Charm Sea Castle."
"Perfect. Though your warnings don't scare me."
"They should," Mother whispered, trembling. "Your greed will destroy you."
"Perhaps. Now… let's seal the pact."
A brief scuffle sounded near the door. I stepped back quickly and slipped into my own room, heart thudding.
So that's what happened…
No wonder she acted strangely that day before sending me out.
The old Derick—fragile, emotional, hopeless—had learned just enough to run off and kill himself. Pathetic.
But… if not for that stupid decision, I wouldn't have reincarnated from that endless white void.
Just remembering that place sent a cold shiver down my spine.
Back in the present, every instinct inside me screamed one thing: leave.
And my instincts? Ninety percent right, always.
So I packed fast.
As I passed my mother's room, her voice called softly from behind the door:
"Derick."
I froze.
"I know you're back. Please… let me see you before you go."
After a moment's hesitation, I stepped in. She stood in front of the window, wiping a tear she pretended not to shed.
"I thought you'd done something foolish," she whispered. "I even sent Erick after you. Thank goodness you're safe. I—I don't know what I would've done if anything happened."
Her relief only lasted a moment before urgency overtook her expression.
"Never mind. You have to go."
"Mom—"
She cut me off sharply. "You must leave. Now. If she discovers you're here… I won't be able to save you again."
She pressed a small box into my hands.
"Take this. It belonged to your father."
Inside was a pendant shaped like an infinity loop formed from a snake's coiled body—half black, half white—hanging from a rope braided in matching colors.
"That pendant…" she whispered. "Your father wore it every single day. Until he vanished. Gone without a trace. And that flash drive inside… it contains the inheritance he left behind."
She motioned me closer.
Her lips nearly touched my ear as she whispered:
"You are not a member of the McCall estate."
My breath hitched.
"Your father was a wanderer," she said softly. "A powerful one. Much stronger than anyone here realizes. Now go. And do not return."
Her voice quivered with finality.
---
Leaving the estate, I found a public teleportation station and activated it. Light swallowed me, and moments later I stood inside my private room on the Pathway to Ascension.
A long breath escaped me.
"That… was too close."
This realm had only one safe place: your personal room. No one—enemy or ally—could enter without permission.
Alone again, I set the box down and lifted the pendant to examine it more closely.
That's when the chime sounded.
Ding.
A translucent screen blinked into existence.
Spark of GENESIS detected.
Integrate?
Yes / No
"What?" I muttered. "Is that good or bad?"
Well… no point overthinking.
Yes.
Ding
Spark of GENESIS can be absorbed.
Host rank insufficient.
Rematerializing object to host's ideal weapon.
Another chime.
Rematerialization successful.
Object now possesses the ability to transform into a dagger when clutched.
I stared at the pendant. "You let me integrate it, then tell me I'm too weak, and then you turn it into a dagger? Seriously?"
Still… not a bad surprise.
A free weapon was a free weapon.
As for the flash drive—useless here. Technology didn't function in the Pathway. Guns, missiles, grenades, bombs—everything turned inert. No explosions, no ignition, no data.
With the drive locked for now, I turned my focus to surviving.
First step? Food.
I cooked the leftover meat of the saber-toothed panther into a broth and devoured it. Warmth flowed through my body.
Sixteen aberrant points.
Sixteen percent full.
Good enough.
"Hunting time."
Stepping outside, gossiping whispers trailed behind me, but I ignored them and headed south toward the grassy plains.
The terrain here crawled with insects—dangerous ones.
Several kilometers out, I found a giant hive dangling from a tree, surrounded by a storm of buzzing feral bees. One massive primeval bee hovered at the center—three times the size of the others.
I observed.
Every ten to eleven minutes, a group of fifteen to twenty bees separated from the swarm, flying off in random directions. Some returned with round objects clutched in their hind legs.
Perfect.
I waited.
When another group peeled away—eighteen this time—I followed them silently, leaving the hive behind.
Once far enough, I triggered my ability.
Class ability activated.
Class copied: Phoenix Carapace.
Phoenix Carapace: active.
Armor materialized over my body—interlocking plates shaped like metallic feathers. Clawed gauntlets covered my hands. A sharp, beak-like visor snapped over my face, crowned with a phoenix-style crest. Rigid fin-like structures folded neatly behind my back—sleek, aerodynamic, not meant for flight, but for slicing through the air.
Now here I go.
I launched myself into the swarm.
Wind roared past me as I gripped the pendant. It pulsed—warm—then melted into glowing metal that reshaped into a sleek dagger. One half obsidian-black, the other bone-white. A chain extended from the hilt and locked to a bangle around my wrist.
Mid-dive, a screen flashed.
Active ability detected.
Activating ability.
The dagger split.
Black blade in my right hand.
White blade in my left.
Chains connecting both to the bangles on my wrists.
Perfect balance. Perfect weight.
I hit the ground hard, rolled, and slashed—wild, instinctive motions carving through chitin. Bee bodies hit the dirt. Their buzzing staggered into chaos.
Then they regrouped.
The swarm lunged.
Stingers battered my armor like hailstones. Each strike pinged harmlessly off the Phoenix Carapace.
Holy—this armor was strong.
Grinning, I spun and cut down the remaining bees, black and white blades flashing in a deadly rhythm until the last body fell at my feet.
---
"Wow… this ability is insane," I muttered. "Overpowered doesn't even begin to describe it."
Who would've guessed that bastard gave me such a broken class?
With this armor, with these daggers—I could finally breathe when facing lower-ranked beasts.
I crouched beside the corpses.
"Time to eat."
Skill activated: Kill and Consume.
Consume activated.
Messages flickered across my vision.
One point gained.
One point gained.
Zero points gained.
Zero points gained.
By the twelfth bee, my stomach felt heavy—full.
Twenty-seven feral points collected.
Twenty-seven percent total.
Not bad.
Creatures only gave ten points max, and repeated consumption dwindled quickly until they gave nothing at all. That's why hunters were always chasing new prey.
I stuffed the unused corpses into a sack.
"Snacks for later."
With the bag slung over my shoulder, I turned toward the deeper plains.
"I have to keep moving forward," I murmured.
And I did.