"Open Character Status," he called out.

━━〔 BASIC INFORMATION 〕━━━

Name: Marlon Ashleigh

Talent: Absolute Attack (EX)

Power Level: 19 (4%)

Power Rank: F

Health Points: 400/400

Health Regen: 20 HP/min

Aether Points: 400/400

Aether Regen: 1 AP/min

━━━〔 STATS 〕━━━

Strength: 160  | Agility: 140

Vitality: 40 | Intelligence: 105

Free points: 0

━━━〔 ATTRIBUTES 〕━━━

Physical Attack: 400 | Magical Attack: 275

Physical Defense: 12% | Magical Defense: 5%

━━━〔 SKILLS 〕━━━

Passive: Drain (C), Night Instinct (F), Stone Body (E)

Active: Steel Punch (C), Punch of Judgment (B), Inspect (F)

━━━〔 BLESSINGS〕━━━

Lifeflow (Sacred-rank)

[ INVENTORY (6/7) ]

×50 Mid-grade EXP Orb

×10 Mid-grade Aether Crystal

×5 Mid-grade Strength Stone

×5 Mid-grade Healing Potion

×8 F-grade Monster Core

×34 FF-grade Monster Core

....

Observing his character status, there was not a single improvement in his stats, as he hadn't leveled up during the competition.

But looking at his inventory, a grin appeared on his face.

On that fateful day during the meeting with Norian Sterling and the other hunters, he had ensured to request all of these.

He requested high-grade ones, but as they were unavailable, he was given mid-grade ones instead — which were several times better than low-grade, so naturally, he was satisfied.

He made no use of them during the competition because he had no need at the time and was confident in his own strength to beat the Lunaris.

Now that he was alone and idle, he decided to make use of them to improve himself.

He took out the EXP orbs.

They looked bigger and brighter than the low-grade ones he had consumed before.

Without hesitating, he tossed the first one into his mouth and consumed it.

[ You've consumed a Mid-grade EXP Orb. +5,000 EXP ]

Not wasting time, he followed up with the others.

After consuming five more, his level rose from nineteen to twenty and continued.

[ You've consumed a Mid-grade EXP Orb. +5,000 EXP ]

[ You've consumed a Mid-grade EXP Orb. +5,000 EXP ]

A few minutes later, after consuming all the EXP orbs in his possession,

he rose by three more levels, reaching level twenty-three, which was significant considering how leveling up becomes harder the higher one's level.

To attain this much EXP, he would have had to clear at least three FF-rank, blood-level danger zones alone.

With that dealt with, he moved on to the strength stones.

Strength stones are one of the four stat stones rarely found in danger zones. Only certain monsters could drop them; hence, they were quite expensive.

A low-grade stat stone grants 5 stat points to its respective stat, mid-grade grants 10, and high-grade grants 20.

With five of these mid-grade strength stones in his grasp, he could gain fifty strength points from consuming them — equivalent to leveling up ten times!

He brought out the strength stone.

It was red in color, tiny, and had a rough crystal-like appearance.

Upon first observation, it looked like an unrefined red diamond and tough. But it was the opposite.

Marlon tossed one into his mouth.

The strength stone dissolved into a tasteless liquid the moment it landed on his tongue, making it several times easier to swallow than EXP orbs.

A comforting warmth spread throughout his stomach instantly.

[ You've consumed a Mid-grade Strength Stone. STRENGTH +10 ]

He did the same with the remaining four stones.

[ Strength 210 (+50) ]

[ Attack Power 400 ------> 525 ]

"Not bad..."

Marlon muttered to himself as he proceeded to make use of his other resources.

Time went by as he gradually improved himself.

Meanwhile, at the same time, a dark and crucial change was about to take place in another part of the world.

====

After the Great Cataclysm that led to the birth of monsters and hunters, and the rebuilding and division of Arden into five great nations, there were places left behind — areas discarded by both the governments and the world at large.

They were known as the Deadlight Districts.

A part of the planet remembered for its demolished state — collapsed infrastructure, broken towers, and roads that led to nowhere.

Once-thriving cities now stood in silence, buried under the weight of time and ash. The sky above was often dim, clouded with industrial smog and the faint glow of malfunctioning neon lights.

Those who lived there were either born into ruin or had nowhere else to go.

The weak died quickly, and the strong learned to survive by any means.

Gangs ruled most of the streets, their colors and symbols painted across the walls like marks of dominance.

In the Deadlight Districts, there was no law — only power. The police and hunters rarely came here, and when they did, it was either to claim a bounty or to make something quietly disappear.

Crime wasn't a problem here; it was the system itself. Everything had a price — safety, food, information, even life.

Children ran errands for gang lords to survive, while black markets bloomed, trading everything from stolen monster cores to broken gears, even corpses.

And on this land riddled with crime and destruction, the pale crescent of the moon barely illuminated a lonely street where a young boy lay helplessly on the ground. Three bigger boys, their scars and tattoos marking their gang involvement, rained blows on him mercilessly.

"You little rat! How dare you snitch about our operation to those bastards!" one shouted, landing a kick to his chest that made the boy cough up a mouthful of blood.

"Because of you, we lost the lead on everything and now have to answer to the boss!"

"We'll kill you today!"

The three continued cursing and beating him without restraint.

The young boy, who looked to be around fifteen, received the beating without the strength to fight back or flee.

With every strike, every bruise, he let out not a single cry and simply waited for the pain to end.

He held onto one image in his mind.

The image of the person he had sworn to protect, the only one who had kept him alive and moving in a world he had long grown detached from.

His sister.

"Ahh, so the rumours about him being numb to pain are real," one of them let out, frustrated by the lack of reaction from the young boy.

"He has a little sister, right..." one of them muttered.

The beating ceased as the three contemplated.

The red eyes of the young man glinted alarmingly at once.

He pressed his hand on the ground to lift his body. Ignoring the pain from the bruises all over, he rose.

The three bigger boys turned to him, their sharp glints returning.

They could see the worried look on his face.

It made them grin with satisfaction.

The reaction they had been seeking had finally appeared.

But this was not enough. For what he had made them lose, they wanted him to suffer more.

"How are you going to react when it is your sister in pain while you're bound to watch?" one said with a smirk.

He turned to another, much shorter, and ordered him to fetch the sister.

The beaten young boy reacted immediately.

"N-no..."

His voice was emotionless and barely audible.

The strength to speak louder had long since been exhausted.

The three bigger boys turned to look at him with taunting gazes.

"So you can speak?.. unfortunately, it is too late for you." The one acting as the leader spoke. "Go and bring his sister, do not touch her until you get here."

The one ordered to go bring the little sister left immediately, sprinting to get there faster.

The other two continued taunting the young boy who was already panicking, trying to chase after the third boy before he reached his sister, but he was too weak.

His legs were weak, each two steps followed by a fall.

He stood up each time, neglecting his own comfort in a futile attempt while the others laughed at him.

Nonetheless, just then—

A body was sent flying towards them like a rag doll.

The body crashed into the ground and tumbled several times before landing directly in their midst.

The three turned to look at the body.

Upon observation, it was their colleague, the one they had sent to get the girl.

Now he was unrecognisable.

The flesh on his face was gone.

A sharp and ghastly cut could be seen on his chest, which bled and soaked his clothes red.

The two shuddered at the sight while the little boy simply stared with no reaction. He even felt delighted and relieved inwardly, but his face revealed none of what he felt.

"Humans will always be dishonourable and animalistic..."

A cold voice echoed from the dark.

The three darted toward the location of the speaker, who strolled casually from where the corpse had been flung.

The eyes of the two bigger boys widened. They shivered, their feet quickly losing the strength to budge as they saw who it was.

Purple-skinned.

Long ears.

Cloaked in black armor that matched the darkness of the night.

A Lunaris.

What was one doing here?

Even in the Deadlight Districts, there were TVs, and though the internet was weak and unstable, it was still accessible in these areas.

They all knew about the entire competition and invasion, as well as the wiping out of the Lunaris.

But what was one doing here?

"Pathetic..."

Zareth observed the two frozen gang members with disgust before flicking his wrist.

Two arcs of condensed black matter flew out like blades, slicing the bodies of the two boys into equal halves, killing them without the mercy of a last cry.

Silence followed.

The young boy stared at the three corpses with no remorse and then turned to Zareth.

It was natural for someone his age to feel frightened, but there was no emotion in his eyes as he stared into Zareth's. Only a hint of curiosity.

Zareth grinned.

The right candidate for my cause…

"What is your name, human?" he asked.

"Draven."

"Not a bad name for a human…" Zareth's eyes glimmered with something dark. "Join me as my first candidate, and I will give you the means to rise above every threat and protect your sister."

Saying this, he brought out a red glowing crystal that shone in the dark, reflected by the red eyes of Draven.

If Norian and Crimson were here, they would have easily recognized it as the same crystal that transformed their lives..

And now it was about to become the catalyst to the birth of darkness...

....

End of Volume 2 - The Ascension

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