The first thing I noticed was the smell.
Rot.
Not the mild kind you get from an old trash bag or a forgotten fridge. This was thick. Wet. It crawled up my nose and settled in my throat like something alive.
I gagged and sat upright.
"Ghk– what the hell...?"
Cold wind brushed against my skin. Not normal cold either. This felt wrong. The air carried a faint metallic taste, like rust and old blood.
I looked around.
Grey. Everything was grey.
The sky above me churned with slow-moving clouds that looked like dirty smoke. The ground was cracked and dry, scattered with brittle grass that snapped like bones whenever the wind shifted.
In the distance, mountains rose like jagged black teeth.
And floating above all of it...
A faint crimson eclipse hung in the sky.
My heartbeat quickened as the realization settled in.
"...No way."
A translucent blue screen suddenly flickered into existence in front of my eyes.
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[SYSTEM INITIALIZATION COMPLETE]
Welcome, Awakened.
You have entered your first Abyss Scenario.
Abyss Realm: Shrouded Wastes
Scenario Objective:
Find and destroy the Three Treasures of the Lost King within the Eclipse Mountains.
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I stared at the screen, my tired black eyes glaced with disbelief.
Then I slowly dragged a hand down my pale face.
"...Right."
I sighed.
"So i've actually Awakened."
Awakeneds. Everyone knew about them.
Every year people went to sleep and... some of them woke up in a different world. Or rather, several worlds. Now known as the three Abyss Realms, are worlds that are home to several Civilizations, and monsters known as Abyss Beasts.
If those people managed to fulfill their objective, they would come back to earth. Stronger. Marked by the System with God-like powers.
Some came back with powers that could level buildings.
But most never woke up at all.
And apparently, I was now one of them.
I looked down at myself.
"...What the hell am I wearing?"
Torn shirt. Rough cloth pants. Boots that looked like they belonged in a medieval museum.
None of it was mine.
"Does everyone get such weird clothes? I look homeless."
I pushed myself to my feet and stretched my arms.
Nothing really felt wrong.
Actually—
Everything felt... sharp. Focused.
Like my body had been freshly reset.
'This should work.'
"Status."
The blue screen flickered again.
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[SYSTEM STATUS]
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Name: Endo
Level: 1 [F-Rank]
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Attributes
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Strength: 10
Agility: 10
Endurance: 10
Vitality: 10
Intelligence: 10
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Skills & Authorities
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Apocalypse — Requirements not met. [max lvl]
Devour — Consumes fallen entities and mana to extract their dominant attributes. [Lvl 1]
Critical Strike — Chance to unleash an attack that ignores the opponent's defense and increases damage ×4. [Lvl 1]
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I blinked.
Then I leaned closer to the screen.
"...Apocalypse?"
My eyes moved up and down the skill description.
'No explanation. No percentage.'
'Not even any details. But apparently it has already reached it's own Level Cap.'
All the System told me was that the Requirements are not met.
"Weird. I thought the system would be pretty specific. Atleast about the skills."
I focused on the next skill.
Devour.
I frowned.
"Consumes fallen entities and mana to extract attributes."
So basically...
I looked around at the wasteland.
"...I eat monsters?"
I ran a hand through my messy, black hair.
"Well that's not disturbing at all."
Then there was Critical Strike.
That one at least made sense.
"Random chance... ignores defense... four times damage."
My lips curled slightly.
"Okay. That's actually pretty good."
Still.
Level 1. Rank F.
Basically the bottom of the food chain.
I looked toward the distant mountains.
'Eclipse Mountain.'
'That must be the place the System mentioned.'
But before heading there...
I glanced down at my empty hands.
"Yeah, no."
'Even an idiot wouldn't walk into a territory this ominous unarmed.'
"Let's find something that doesn't get me killed in five minutes."
---
I wandered through the wasteland for what felt like half an hour.
The ground crunched under my boots.
Wind howled through broken stone pillars scattered across the plains. Some looked like the ruins of buildings long since swallowed by time.
It felt ancient. Dead.
Then I saw something half-buried in the dust.
"Oh?"
I knelt down and brushed away dirt.
'A sword?'
'Okay, Calling it a sword might have been a bit generous.'
The blade was rusted, chipped along the edge, and the grip was wrapped in cracked leather.
And yet, I lifted it.
It had some decent weight.
"Better than fighting bare handed I suppose."
I swung it experimentally.
The movement felt natural. Weirdly natural.
Like my body already understood how to move.
I blinked.
"Huh."
'Maybe the System's doing?'
'Wouldn't surprise me.'
Next to the sword was a piece of armor.
Leather chest armor.
Worn, scratched, but intact.
"Jackpot."
I slipped it on.
It fit almost perfectly.
"Okay... that's suspiciously convenient."
I adjusted the straps and stood up.
Sword in hand. Armor on.
"Alright."
I took a deep breath.
"Let's get going."
---
Ten minutes later, I found the first corpse.
It was lying near a cluster of dead trees.
A human.
Or at least... it resembled one.
The body was partially eaten. The chest was torn open, ribs snapped like twigs.
Dark blood soaked the dirt beneath it.
My stomach twisted, a weird sense of hunger clawing at my very core.
'What the–?'
One word immediately came to my mind.
'Devour.'
'Is this weird feeling because of my skill?'
I crouched beside the corpse.
"Alright, alright."
I rubbed the back of my neck.
"I just woke up in a cursed nightmare land and now I'm supposed to what? Eat the dead?"
Silence answered me.
The wind whistled across the wasteland.
I stared at the body.
"Well, I guess you're already dead anyway."
My voice came out quieter than I expected.
"If I survive... maybe this won't be meaningless."
I hesitated.
Then I placed my hand on the corpse.
"Devour."
Nothing happened for a moment.
Then, purple flames shot out my palm, completely enveloping the corpse.
The body slowly began to collapse inward.
Like ash being sucked into a vacuum.
Red particles streamed from the corpse and flowed into my hand.
My eyes widened.
"What the—"
The corpse disintegrated completely.
Gone.
And suddenly—
A surge of warmth spread through my body.
A notification appeared.
[Attribute gained: Strength +1]
I froze.
"Wait."
I opened my status again.
[Strength: 11]
My heart skipped.
"No way."
I clenched my fist.
My muscles felt... tighter.
Stronger.
And I got that from one corpse.
"Holy shit."
My gaze slowly lifted toward the wasteland.
Toward the distant mountains.
Toward the countless shadows moving across the horizon.
Then a thought slipped into my mind.
Quiet and dangerous.
'If I devour corpses...'
'Is it really wrong to grow stronger from it? I mean, doesn't this give them meaning? A Purpose?'
I swallowed and shook that thought away.
"Let's just survive first."
I stood up.
Sword in hand.
Eyes fixed on the dark landscape ahead.
And somewhere far away something roared.
"What a warm welcome."
I adjusted my grip on the rusty blade.
The wind howled across the wasteland again, kicking dust across the cracked ground. For a moment I just stood there, listening and waiting.
Nothing jumped out. Nothing tried to eat me.
Which somehow made everything worse.
"I don't like this." I whispered.
'I'd rather face whatever thing caused the corpse earlier than get ambushed by it.'
I started walking again.
Slowly. Carefully.
Every step crunched against the dry earth. The sound felt far too loud in the endless silence.
The eclipse above didn't move.
It just hung there, like an eye watching everything below.
I kept glancing at it.
"Is that thing... permanent?"
I kept moving toward the distant mountains.
They looked closer now. Not close enough to reach any time soon, but at least I had a direction.
Then I saw movement.
'...!'
I froze.
"...Okay."
Something crawled between two broken stone pillars about thirty meters ahead.
Low to the ground.
Four thin and long limbs.
My grip on the sword tightened.
"Please be weak." I whispered.
The thing stepped into the open.
And I immediately regretted any life choices that may have led me to this situation.
The creature looked like a wolf that had been starved for years.
Its ribs pushed against gray skin stretched so tightly I could see every bone. Black veins crawled across its body like cracks in glass.
Its mouth hung open slightly.
Rows of jagged teeth.
And its eyes—
A bright and what I assumed to be a very hungry red.
A faint message appeared above it.
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Abyss Beast
[Lvl. 1]
[F-Rank]
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'...!'
"It's The lowest rank. I might have a chance."
The beast sniffed the air.
Then its head snapped toward me.
Our eyes met.
"...Hi."
For one long second we both stood still.
Then it screamed.
Not barked or growled, no. It literally screamed.
The sound tore through the wasteland like metal scraping across stone.
The creature lunged at me way faster than I expected.
"Shit—!"
I barely threw myself sideways as its claws slashed through the air where my throat had been.
The beast landed, skidding across the dirt.
Then it turned again immediately.
There was no hesitation or fear it the way it carried itself. It was literally fueled by spite and hunger.
"Alright" I yelled, scrambling to my feet. "Come get me."
The creature rushed again.
This time I didn't dodge.