The Grave-Warden's foot—a mass of calcified bone and iron—descended like a falling mountain. Kael let out a pathetic, wet sob, closing his eyes.
But the impact never came.
[Skill Activated: Shadow Step (Rank E)]
In a flicker of black mist, Han Jue vanished from the impact zone. He reappeared ten feet in the air, level with the Golem's glowing red chest core. His Scavenger's Cloak billowed, making him look like a dark executioner suspended in the flickering light of the chamber.
"My Mana is at 120," Han Jue whispered, his voice calm amidst the chaos. "Let's see what happens when I give it all back at once."
He didn't use a knife. He shoved his entire arm into the cracked Core of Stability—the very spot he had weakened moments before.
"Sovereign's Extraction: Reverse Flow!"
Instead of pulling energy out, Han Jue forced the siphoned, volatile mana he had stolen from Kael's Sun's Wrath directly into the Golem's core. It was like pouring liquid nitrogen into a furnace.
The azure and crimson energies collided. The Golem's internal structure screamed, the bone-joints grinding as the conflicting mana types began to tear it apart from the inside out.
[Critical Hit!] [Executioner's Mark Propped: True Damage applied to Core.]
CRAAAACK!
The Golem didn't just die; it detonated.
A shockwave of pure spiritual energy blasted outward. Han Jue was thrown back, slamming into the far wall, his Vitality dropping dangerously low. But the Golem was gone. It had collapsed into a heap of lifeless, grey dust.
[BOSS SLAIN!] [The Grave-Warden of the Sunken Epoch has been harvested.]
Collected: 250,000 Soul Points. Bonus: 50,000 Points (Solo Kill Penalty). Current Balance: -693,750 Soul Points.
[Level Up!] [Level Up!] ... [Level Up!] [Current Level: 22]
Silence reclaimed the chamber, broken only by the crackle of Kael's dying fires.
Han Jue stood up, wiping a trail of blood from his lip. He felt... immense. His muscles were dense with new power, and the air around him seemed to vibrate with his increased Mana capacity.
He walked over to where Kael lay. The "Golden Hero" was a wreck. His armor was melted to his skin, and his legs were pinned under a fragment of the Golem's ribcage.
Kael looked up, squinting through the blood in his eyes. "You... the scavenger... how?"
Han Jue looked down at him. There was no anger in his gaze, only a terrifying, cold indifference. He reached down and plucked the Golden Dawn guild badge from Kael's chest.
"You said I wasn't worth the mana, Kael," Han Jue said quietly. "But it turns out, your mana was exactly what I needed."
"Help... please..." Kael rasped, reaching out a charred hand. "The guild... they'll pay you... millions..."
"I don't need the guild's money," Han Jue replied, turning his back. "I'm a debt collector now. And your account is still in the red."
He didn't kill Kael. In this dungeon, with these injuries, Kael was already a dead man walking—or a broken man crawling. Leaving him alive to face the humiliation of being "saved" by the janitor was a much deeper wound.
[Condition Met: First Boss Cleared Solo.] [Initiating 'Class Awakening' Protocol...]
A massive, obsidian-black gate appeared in Han Jue's mind. Three glowing sigils burned into the darkness, representing his potential paths.
[Select Your Class]
Soul-Reaper (Assassin Path): Focuses on instant kills and stealth. Your debt clears 20% faster per kill, but your Vitality is halved.
Abyssal Monarch (Summoner Path): You can raise the monsters you extract as undead thralls. They fight for you, but they "consume" Soul Points every hour to stay active.
Dread Sovereign (Warrior/Mage Hybrid): The "True" path of the Debt Collector. Your stats grow exponentially as your debt decreases. You can weaponize the "Debt" of others, turning their sins into physical damage.
Han Jue didn't hesitate. He knew which path led to the top of the food chain. He reached out and grasped the third sigil.
[Class Confirmed: DREAD SOVEREIGN.] [New Skill Acquired: 'Tribute of the Fallen'.] [New Skill Acquired: 'Debt Sense'.]
"I'm coming out now," Han Jue looked up at the ceiling of the rift, his eyes glowing with a terrifying, dark light. "And everyone who thinks they're a 'Hero' is about to find out they're just another debtor."