“How… what’s going on? Did I die again?”

  “No, not this time, Garth. But you were about to.”

  “So, you saved me.” His gaze shifted to the massive banshee demon still frozen in place.

  “I did.”

  “But?” He narrowed his eyes, sensing hesitation in her words.

  “If I return you now, you will die.”

  “So I’m stuck here!?”

  “Not quite.” Calista reached out and placed a single finger on his chest. “In order to survive, you must utilize the Blessings I have given you.”

  Garth squinted in confusion. “I don’t understand.”

  “I will return you now. Once I do, think or say the word ‘Blessing.’ You will understand then.” She started to fade. “Also… be more careful from now on. I don’t believe I’ll be able to save you again.”

  “Don’t worry, you won’t have to,” Garth muttered as she disappeared.

  Garth found himself standing once more, the demon knocked back several feet, struggling to regain its footing.

  He wasted no time. Turning on his heel, he bolted. But as he ran, Calista’s words echoed in his mind.

  “Blessing.”

  The moment the word left his lips, a radiant aura of pure light exploded from his body, illuminating the surroundings with a blinding intensity. Then, as quickly as it came, the light faded.

  Before him, four glowing words hovered in midair:

  [Flight.]

  [Heal.]

  [Boost.]

  [Absorb.]

  Garth stared in bewilderment. He had no idea what any of this meant, but his instincts urged him to act. He hesitantly reached out, his fingers brushing against one of the words.

  TING.

  The word Boost flickered and shone brighter than the rest.

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  [Boost.]

  Increases your strength by twenty-five percent.

  Activate this Blessing?

  Yes or No.

  “Incredible,” he murmured, eyes widening. “Yes.”

  The moment he spoke, a surge of blinding light engulfed him. It coursed through his veins, igniting his entire body with raw power. He clenched his fists, feeling his strength amplify as though his very blood had turned to fire—fire that did not burn, but instead fueled him.

  As the light settled, the words reappeared, but this time, Boost was grayed out. A limitation, it seemed—he could only use one Blessing at a time.

  It would make sense to test out the others…

  But—

  THUMP. THUMP.

  The demon was on the move. Worse, it was closing in fast.

  Even with this newfound power, a twenty-five percent increase in strength did not mean he was suddenly an equal match for a Sparrow-ranked demon. However, the explosion earlier had done some damage—it had to be weakened.

  His best chance was to fight.

  The banshee loomed over him, its grotesque hands reaching to crush him. Just as its claws sliced downward, Garth pivoted, leaping to the side. His feet barely hit the ground before he pushed off, bounding toward the demon instead of away from it.

  He sprinted up its massive arm, scaling its shoulder in mere seconds. His fist clenched. His eyes burned with fury.

  BLAM!

  His punch sent a shockwave rippling through the cavern, snapping the demon’s head violently to the side. But he wasn’t done.

  Pulling his arm back, Garth launched another attack. His fist crashed into the demon’s skull, pouring every ounce of strength the Boost had granted him into the blow.

  The banshee let out a piercing scream—then it collapsed.

  Its grotesque form lay still for several seconds before disintegrating into ash.

  Garth stumbled back, panting heavily as though a boulder had been lifted off his chest.

  As he steadied himself, something caught his eye amidst the remnants of the fallen demon. A Demon Core.

  Up until now, every demon core he had come across had been dull gray—almost indistinguishable from the surrounding ash. Some had been blue, but nothing more.

  But this one…

  It was green.

  A Falcon-grade core.

  The Demon he just fought truly wasn't a Sparrow. But instead a Falcon. Albeit the weakest Falcon he had ever seen. But a good thing considering he was still alive. Perhaps Calista had something to do with it.

  Garth quickly checked his bag. His stomach dropped. The thirty-something cores he had painstakingly collected were now reduced to just nine.

  “Awwww, great,” he groaned. “Now I’ll have to pick them all up again.”

  He sighed and reached for the green core. The moment his fingers grazed the surface, glowing text appeared before him.

  [Absorb.]

  Yes or No.

  “What does that mean?” Garth muttered. He had no idea, but something deep inside urged him to find out.

  “Yes.”

  The core crumbled into glowing ash. The glowing ash swirled around him before shooting into his nose and ears.

  A sharp jolt of pain surged through his body, but it was fleeting. The pain quickly gave way to something else—euphoria.

  Garth could feel himself growing stronger. His muscles tensed, his mind sharpened, and his entire being pulsed with newfound power.

  “This… this is incredible!” He clenched his fists, overwhelmed by the rush of strength.

  With this ability, he could reach heights he had never dreamed of.

  With this ability, the Demon Kings would tremble before him.

  Points his gaze to the roof, Garth attempted to thank Calista for such a Blessing. But he held himself back. Celebrations and gratitude were not yet in order. Not until he had rid the world of the Demons.

  Until then, he would just be very pleased with his newfound power.

  After coming to this conclusion, Garth returned to the caves, picking put cores in an attempt to fill his bag.

  Not too long after, Garth made his way toward the exit—an opening in the cavern’s ceiling, roughly thirty meters high. As he stepped into the light, an invisible force whisked him off the ground, carrying him effortlessly to the surface.

  Just like that, he had escaped the Void.

  Looking back, he felt a pang of regret that after all his efforts, he couldn't still manage to gather much cores. Fortunately, he would make up for that in a day or two by joining more Raids.

  For now, the most important thing was leaving before the Void collapsed.

  Every Void sealed itself shut once the boss demon was slain. If he had hesitated even a moment longer, he would be buried beneath thirty meters of solid rock.

  But as he took in his surroundings, he realized something.

  The carriage that had brought him here was gone. But that was to be expected, the survivors would need a means of transportation.

  A shame they didn't believe anyone they left behind would survive.

  He sighed. Because as of right now, he would have to traverse the forest on foot.

  And to make matters worse, night was approaching.

  By morning, the cavalry would arrive. That much was certain.

  But could he survive until then?

  If this had been him in his past life—at this stage of his journey—he wouldn’t have stood a chance.

  But this time?

  With the knowledge he now possessed? There was no doubt that he would certainly have a fifty percent chance of survival. Or perhaps even less.

  "I'll take those odds." Garth had thought with a forced smile.

  With that thought, he walked away from the Void. A collapsed Void attracted all manner of creatures. Which was why he had to put as much distance between himself and this place as possible.

  Once he was far enough, he could begin preparations for the night.

  A night that, if he wasn’t careful, could be his last.