Ieros sat in silence, carefully going through the rewards the system had presented for his first level-up. His expression remained calm, almost indifferent, but beneath that composed exterior, his heart churned with excitement and suspicion.
Out of all the rewards, he had narrowed his choices down to three.
The first was a cultivation technique supposedly exclusive to the heir of the Sacred Sect. That alone unsettled him. In all his years on Earth, he had never once heard of any Sacred Sect. The name sounded ancient, mysterious, and far beyond the understanding of ordinary humans. Yet, despite the strange origins of the technique, one thing was clear to him—power was power. As long as it could help him survive in this terrifying forest, he would exploit every ounce of its potential.
The second reward was a defensive formation capable of sealing the entrance of his cave. According to the system, it could even repel Grade 7 monsters. The sheer value of such a treasure made his breathing grow uneven for a moment. In his current situation, safety was priceless. With such a formation, he could cultivate and rest without constantly fearing death lurking outside the cave walls.
The final reward was a Grade 8 sword, a weapon that would automatically attack anything harboring malicious intent toward him. The description alone sounded absurdly overpowered. However, the sword required qi to operate, and he possessed far too little of it at the moment. Using it recklessly would drain him dry and drastically weaken the weapon's true strength.
Even so, the rewards themselves left him deeply disturbed.
If every player on Earth had truly received rewards of this caliber, then humanity should never have fallen so quickly. Entire cities would not have been reduced to ruins within days. The thought alone made his eyes narrow slightly.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
Yet his instincts screamed at him to take whatever he could while the opportunity existed. Perhaps this was some kind of system error caused by managing countless players across the globe. Even a seemingly omnipotent existence might have flaws. The idea sounded ridiculous, but compared to everything he had witnessed since the apocalypse began, it was not impossible.
Eventually, he exhaled softly and made his decision.
A faint smile appeared on his lips as he selected the cultivation technique.
Compared to the dazzling sword and the heaven-defying formation, the technique appeared plain and unimpressive. However, the moment he read its description, he noticed a connection between it and the sacred pill he had consumed earlier. That alone convinced him it was the right choice.
The instant he confirmed the reward, an overwhelming torrent of information surged into his mind.
Ieros clenched his fists tightly as countless images, breathing patterns, meridian pathways, and incomprehensible symbols flooded his consciousness. The sensation was both agonizing and soothing. Pain shot through his skull as though his brain was being torn apart, yet at the same time, an indescribable warmth spread through his body.
Minutes passed like hours.
By the time the flood of information subsided, sweat drenched his entire body.
His breathing was ragged, but his eyes shone with newfound clarity.
It was as though he had practiced the Sacred Sect cultivation method his entire life. Every circulation route, every principle, every hidden requirement of the technique felt deeply engraved into his soul.
As the dizziness faded, Ieros slowly calmed himself.
At that moment, he realized something important.
His revenge would have to wait.
The burning hatred he carried for those who abandoned him and the creatures that destroyed humanity was still there, but it no longer consumed him entirely. Compared to blind revenge, this cultivation technique represented something far greater. If he could truly master it, then he might obtain power beyond imagination.
And so, for the first time since the apocalypse began, his focus shifted from mere survival to true growth.
However, he also understood that he could not begin cultivating immediately.
Although the sacred pill had granted him the required physique for the technique, his body had not truly adapted to it yet. The pill had merely transformed his body externally while simultaneously purifying his meridians and boosting his initial attributes to extraordinary levels.
The benefits were terrifying.
Even if he consumed other heavenly treasures, spirit pills, or rare elixirs in the future, none of them would likely compare to the foundational gains he had already received from the sacred pill.
Because of this transformation, every future level-up would grant him attributes far beyond what an ordinary human could handle. Fortunately, his strengthened physique could endure those increases.
Which meant only one thing.
From this point onward, every level-up would make him vastly stronger than the average player.
A slow smile crept onto his face as that realization settled in his mind.
The gap between him and the rest of humanity had already begun to widen.
Ieros stepped out of his ruined clothes, the torn fabric barely clinging to his body after everything he had endured. His gaze shifted toward the monster fur he had skinned earlier before choosing his reward.
The blood on the hide had already dried, leaving the thick fur rough but usable. He wrapped it tightly around himself, the coarse material providing warmth against the cold cave air.
Taking a slow breath, he resisted the urge to begin cultivating immediately.
According to the Sacred Sect technique, his body first needed to adapt to the physique granted by the sacred pill. Without proper control, his newfound strength could end up harming him instead.
Lowering his stance, Ieros began performing the exercises described within the technique.
Each movement was slow and deliberate, causing his muscles to tremble as he adjusted to the overwhelming power flowing through his body. Faint cracking sounds echoed from his bones and joints as his physique slowly synchronized with the changes brought by the pill.
Though the process was exhausting, excitement gradually rose within him.
For the first time since the apocalypse began, Ieros felt himself truly stepping onto the path of power.