Sato stared at the flood of notifications, feeling the raw power coursing through every vein. His body felt lighter, sharper, almost weightless — yet heavier with something dark and alive inside his chest.
"I'm… much stronger now," he murmured to himself, almost in disbelief. "With this kind of power… I can finally go home. I've waited so damn long for this."
A faint smile touched his lips — the first real one in what felt like forever.
But before he moved, he needed to sort himself out.
"First things first," he said quietly. "Bonus points and a quick check."
He opened the status window again.
Vitality +15
MP +15
Strength +15
Agility +20
Durability +5
Endurance +5
Intelligence +5
Willpower +5
25 points remained.
He scanned the stats once more. A new line caught his eye: Darkness — currently at 7.
"Is this… the capacity for my Rune energy or something like a Death energy?" he wondered aloud. "Whatever. It's too low anyway. Maybe in the future it might come handy. So for now All 25 into Darkness."
He confirmed.
The number jumped to 32.
Then his mind went back to Arthur — the golden dust, adn some kind of energy he absorbed.
Death Energy… from defeated enemies, he thought. Let's see if this person u der the rocks count.
He extended his hand toward the pile of rubble that had once been Arthur's body.
The system window appeared instantly.
[Absorb Fallen King: Arthur Pendragon?][Yes / No]
Sato pressed Yes without hesitation.
Black energy — thick, cold, and almost liquid — rose from the stones and poured into him. It felt like drinking pure night. His vision flickered for a second.
[Absorbing Death Energy…]
[Congratulations! You have gained 27,000 Death Energy.]
Sato's eye widened.
"27,000… from just him?" he whispered. "I don't know the scale yet… but that's definitely a lot. Maybe not. "
He looked up at the collapsed ceiling of the cave.
"Time to get out."
With one powerful leap, he shot upward — shattering the remaining debris and bursting into open sky.
Sunlight hit his face for the first time in what felt like years. Warm wind brushed his skin. The sky was a clear, endless blue. Mountains stretched in every direction, bathed in golden afternoon light.
"Finally…" he breathed, glancing back at the ruined cave mouth. "Out of that cursed hell."
He inhaled deeply.
"Home. First thing — eat until I can't move."
But he stopped.
"Wait… which way even is home? I don't know where I came from."
He looked east — toward the direction the sun was rising from earlier.
"East it is."
He started running.
No — flying across the ground.
He moved so fast the landscape blurred. He leaped from ridge to ridge, clearing impossible gaps in single bounds. Wind roared past his ears. For the first time since he could remember, he felt… free.
After some time — minutes? hours? — he heard the unmistakable sounds of combat.
"What now?" he muttered, changing direction.
He arrived at a rocky clearing.
A colossal centipede — at least 40 meters long, armored in black and crimson chitin — was locked in battle with a lone fighter.
It was a girl.
Long, fiery reddish-orange hair whipped in the wind like actual flames. She wore reddish-purple armor that glowed with inner heat, gauntlets crackling with fire. In her hands — a wide, angular sword shaped like a frozen blaze.
She fought with desperate fury, flames erupting from every swing — but the centipede's armor shrugged off the fire. She was losing. Badly."
Sato watched from the shadows.
Should I help? he thought.
He studied her.
Young. Female.
If this was the old me… I'd rush in like some fairy-tale knight saving the princess. She'd fall for me, we'd get married, live happily ever after. That would have been the thoughts of old me.
A bitter smile crossed his face.
But that was before. Now… I can't trust anyone. Not anymore.
He observed the fight longer.
She's not bad… but for some reason they all seem slow, he noted.
Then he saw the horns clearly.
Horns? She's a demon? Like in those movies? Hmm… situation looks bad.
But he still hesitated.
I can't just help her.
Then she collapsed completely — trembling on the ground, defenseless. The centipede loomed over her, mandibles opening to devour.
Tears streamed down her face.
"Is this… how I die?" she whispered. "Father… Mother… forgive me…
Sato sighed.
"Whatever happens, happens. I'll figure out a plan later."
He charged.
"Let's test this Death Energy first," he said to himself. "Temporary 15% boost to Strength and Agility."
**[Consume 1,500 Death Energy?]**
**[Yes / No]**
Yes.
He vanished.
The centipede's mandibles were inches from the girl's neck when Sato reappeared between them.
Mana Blade + Death Aura + Camelot's Moon + Single strike— all four fused into one devastating strike.
He swung with full force.
The centipede split cleanly in two — a perfect vertical cut from head to tail. Black ichor sprayed across the clearing like rain.
The monster collapsed in twitching sections.
Sato slowly turned to the girl.
She looked up at him — eyes wide with tears of shock and gratitude. She reached out a trembling hand, lips moving to speak.
But Sato leveled his sword at her throat in an instant.
"If you move even a little," he said in a low, icy voice, "I'll kill you."