---
Arthur awoke to a series of sharp notifications slicing through the silence of his sleep—accompanied by the familiar mechanical voice screaming in his ears without mercy.
[Wake up… Wake up… Wake up]
His eyes snapped open, and he shot to his feet like someone dragged out of a battlefield—instinctively ready to counter an ambush.
But… there was no danger.
Instead, he found himself standing before a scene capable of melting tension itself.
He was on a dew-covered hill, the cold morning breeze drifting through him as if carrying whispers from a purer world.
Below the hill stretched a vast meadow shimmering with droplets of dew, and at its end lay a small village.
A village that looked rural—yet bore metallic structures, energy panels, and advanced conduits.
A strange blend of simplicity and technology, the kind that could only exist in a world without boundaries.
Arthur stood there, watching the golden light spread across the sky, closing his eyes for a moment to breathe in the fresh air scented with damp earth.
A faint smile—rare and fragile—appeared on his lips, as if his body itself longed to forget the chaos that had devoured him not long ago.
And as expected… the system refused to let him enjoy this peace.
[Well… it seems my little Arthur is finally smiling like a normal human.]
The serenity vanished.
Arthur ignored the comment, keeping his gaze on the horizon as he muttered:
"When will you tell me what happened back there?"
A brief silence followed.
[First… I'm truly sorry. I was supposed to help you, but I was restricted.
And no—before you ask—I can't tell you who they are or what their purpose is.
What you need to know for now… is that they're extremely interested in you.]
Arthur remained still, staring at the scenery without seeing it, trying to calm the turmoil burning inside his chest.
"And that… unknown entity helped us? Why?"
The silence stretched.
[…]
Then a hesitant answer followed:
[I don't know.]
Arthur turned sharply.
"You don't know? Don't treat me like an idiot. I know you know."
[I said I don't. All I'm aware of is that he called you the 'perfect vessel'… and he wants you to grow stronger for his goal.]
Arthur slowly lowered himself onto the grass, exhaling a heavy breath that seemed to weigh on his lungs.
As he adjusted his clothes, something caught his attention.
"Wait… my clothes aren't torn? How—?"
[I reconstructed them.
I refused to let someone with a royal face and a sculpted body appear in public half-naked.
Trust me… people would either kill you out of fear for your potential, or kidnap you because of your looks.]
Arthur's eyebrows rose, his face freezing into an expression that couldn't be described.
"I hate this face… I don't know why, but I'm sure it'll bring nothing but trouble."
[Yes… your face provokes most men—
No, actually, all of them.]
Arthur released a long, exhausted sigh, heavier than the air itself.
Suddenly—
Ding
A mission notification appeared:
Mission Name: Shards of Fate
Objective: Save "Son of the Sea" before corruption takes over
Status: Completed
Rewards:
— Water Affinity
— Advanced Healing Potion
Ding…
A status window expanded in front of him—detailed, sprawling—like a document revealing an entirely new life.
---
[Name]: Arthur Gray [Mike]
[Age]: 13
[Rank]: Commoner — Unclassified
[Race]: Human (Corrupted)???? [Undefined Error]
[Origin]: Unknown?
[Physical Condition]: Strong — Energetic
[Curses]: 4 Curses ????
[Synchronization]: Body Integration Ratio: 55.02%
[Note]: Increase your integration ratio to avoid complex power-related issues.
[Distinguishing Traits]:
• Emotional Coldness
• High Intelligence
• Combat-Analysis Ability
• Extremely High Mental Resistance
[Stats After Mutation]:
• Strength: 30.19%
• Magic Power: 19.04%
• Mental Power (New): 5.01%
• Endurance: 20.90%
• Intelligence: 74.97%
• Luck: 18.55%
• Mana: 19.04%
• Charisma: 80.00%
[Special Elements]:
• Shadows
• Corrupted Lightning
• Corrupted Nature
• Corrupted Fire
• Water (New)
Description:
[All current elements possess Corruption.
If an element of corruption touches a living being, it will begin consuming them depending on the host's strength.]
[Skills]:
• Insight Eye — Lv.1
Description:
Analyzes abilities, weaknesses, and potential paths.
[Special Attributes unlocked after development]
• Pebble Throw — Lv.1
Description:
Almost useless… but may distract a squirrel.
And maybe a monster—if it's very stupid.
[Upgradeable]
• Iron Will [Passive] — Lv.4
Description:
A will that defies pain, toxins, and temptations.
Allows movement even with a destroyed body.
Activates automatically; no mana required.
Attributes:
— Blocks mental and spiritual attacks
— Reduces pressure from powerful auras
— Lessens damage from natural elements
• Voracious Predation — Max
Updated Description:
Devours all types of power and converts them to modify the body.
Works on all living beings and energy-bearing creatures.
• Lightning Steps — Lv.2
Speed depends on your mastery of your element.
[Upgradeable]
• Instant Gate — Lv.1
Opens a teleportation gate and cloaks the user in black smoke.
Teleports to any location the user imagines, provided enough mana.
[Upgradeable] (New)
• Shadow Manipulation
Allows the user to mold shadows into powerful weapons.
[Not upgradeable]
• Corrupted Vines
Summons corrupted plant tendrils to attack or restrain.
[Not upgradeable]
• Flame of Ruin (Locked)
Usable only under special conditions.
• Corrupted Cluster — Lv.1
Covers the user with a stone-like armor capable of absorbing power
and channeling it back into the user to redirect it at enemies.
[Upgradeable]
• Destructive Lightning — Lv.1
Electrocutes the target, raises its temperature, evaporates its fluids,
and causes an explosive end due to internal pressure.
[Upgradeable]
[Transformation Modes]:
• Berserk Krypton Mode — Lv.1
[Available Stat Points: 5]
[Note: The system has suppressed your Corruption Aura.
If anyone sensed such power, they'd assume you were an agent of the Abyss.]
After finishing the long list, Arthur stared at it in silence before murmuring:
"Mental Power… extremely rare. In the game, only the Saintess had it.
And Water… that's a great element.
But mastering all this… will be a curse of its own.
Unaligned corrupted elements? That's training hell."
He paused, then continued:
"Iron Will becoming passive is good.
And Flame of Ruin activating only under special triggers…
that means it's tied to extreme combat states."
He closed the interface and rose to his feet again.
The cold breeze passed through his hair, the golden light lifting above the village as if the world itself was offering him a new beginning
even while fate hunted him with invisible strings.
He looked down at the waiting village.
"I'll think about everything later… after I eat something."
Then he began walking, calm and steady, toward the first chapter of his new life.
-------
Within the Void… Before Arthur Awoke
The abyss was so dark that even light itself seemed afraid to approach.
In that suffocating stillness, a wet, resonant snap echoed as the jaw of the strange creature—
that beast with the luminous, eldritch eyes—
clamped shut with a bestial roar that swallowed the void before it slowly retreated, dissolving into shadows deeper than nothingness itself.
As the creature's presence faded, the gaze of the unknown entity shifted toward Arthur's shattered body.
For a fraction of a second—barely long enough to acknowledge—
something flickered in its eyes.
A trace of sorrow.
But even that sorrow was terrifying, like an emotion remembered by force,
a feeling forgotten thousands of years ago and dragged back into existence.
Then came its voice—calm, toneless, inhuman:
[Break this fragile shell… unless you want me to erase him from existence.]
A heavy silence followed.
The system hesitated.
[…]
But under the pressure of that entity's presence, it obeyed.
The protective shell surrounding Arthur dissolved—
that frail barrier separating his spirit from absolute death.
In that instant, though Arthur was unconscious… half-dead…
his existence was not erased.
Something—someone—refused to let him go.
That strange flicker returned to the entity's eyes.
A faint softness… a hazy sorrow without a clear source,
as if it were desperately trying to recall what grief even felt like.
And then—from somewhere beyond the laws of the world—
a drop fell.
A golden drop.
Large, heavy, radiant.
It descended slowly until it touched Arthur's ruined body…
then enveloped him entirely, bathing him in an otherworldly glow.
Bones fused together.
Torn muscles rewove themselves.
Skin restored its layers.
And his heart began to beat with a strength it had never held before.
With a weary calmness, the entity spoke:
[Take care of him… well.
We have a very, very long discussion ahead of us…]
Its eyes closed.
And the last trace of its presence vanished,
as though it had never existed at all.
Silence returned.
[...]
Moments later, the system's voice emerged—quiet, nearly a whisper:
[Yes… indeed.
But not now.
And not any time soon.]
---
End of the first volume