After the man left, Leo turned around and saw Danny approaching.
"Sir, are you okay now?" Danny asked, his tone laced with concern.
Leo gave a brief nod. "Take care of the corpses. I have something to do."
With that said, he turned and headed for his truck. Before he could take more than a few steps, a light tug on his pant leg stopped him in his tracks. Leo glanced down to find Lily hugging his calf, staring up at him with wide puppy eyes.
A soft smile touched his lips as he ruffled her hair.
"I have something important to take care of right now. I’ll give you something later, okay?"
A bright smile bloomed on Lily’s face.
Leaving her to it, Leo climbed into the truck and shut the door. Once settled inside, he spoke to the system.
"System, I can sense that the surrounding Aether and Zen are in complete disarray. They’re constantly being pulled toward me, even now. Is it always like this when someone breaks through?"
The system chimed in response.
[Ding!]
[This is a rare phenomenon. Such occurrences are not unheard of, but they usually happen in high-tier worlds.]
[Host, you can consider yourself very lucky.]
[This is happening because your body currently requires a massive amount of energy to break through into the Superhuman realm.]
[The Aether and Zen concentration in this world is still too low to support your advancement. As a result, your technique is forcibly siphoning energy from the surrounding environment.]
The explanation made sense. Leo grabbed a fresh backpack and packed the Robe of Shroud along with the Reaper’s Gauntlets. Slinging the bag over one shoulder, he hopped out of the truck. He offered a parting nod to Danny, who was busy dragging away one of the bodies, before darting away from the area.
The system’s voice echoed in his mind.
[Host, where are you going?]
"I don’t know if others can sense the energy being drawn toward me. But just to be safe, let’s change locations. I don’t want anyone becoming suspicious of me."
The system paused.
[The Host has a point.]
Once he reached a deserted stretch of land, Leo opened his bag and equipped the Robe of Shroud and Reaper’s Gauntlets. A moment later, his figure vanished into thin air.
When he reappeared, he stood within the limits of Rendell City. Slipping into an abandoned building, he found a quiet, secluded corner and sat down cross-legged to meditate.
He could still feel the ambient energy flowing into him. But the moment he closed his eyes and focused, the pull grew stronger. A heavy wave of energy surged in his direction, washing through his body to refine his skin, muscles, bones, and organs. Along with the physical changes, a steady stream of information about his awakened ability and new skills flooded his mind.
The intense process carried on for another hour until the swirling energy finally settled.
Leo slowly opened his eyes. He looked down and noticed a thick layer of black, sticky grime coating his skin beneath his clothes—the impurities forced out of his body. The sticky sensation made his skin crawl, but there was no place nearby to wash up.
Then an old memory surfaced. He recalled a neat trick Gill had taught him back when Leo used to complain about not having time for a bath.
Drawing on the Zen within his core, Leo carefully guided the energy along his skin, targeting the grime. Wherever the Zen touched, the dark sludge dried up and flaked away into dust. Before long, he was completely clean.
He tilted his head back with a sigh. "Of all the abilities I could have awakened, I had to get this one."
He let the thought linger in the quiet room. "Is this really just a coincidence... or is it fate, just like Master always said?"
The system’s mechanical voice broke the silence.
[Ding!]
[Congratulations, Host! You have finally become a full-fledged Superhuman and awakened a very rare ability.]
Leo shook the stray thoughts from his head and pulled out the Origin Card.
As the card materialized in his palm, Leo froze.
A shift in its weight and texture told him something was wrong. He studied the object in silence, flipping it over to inspect both sides. The Origin Card he remembered was gone, its familiar design entirely erased.
Now, it was a deep, light-devouring black. It wasn’t just painted dark; it looked like a solid sliver of the night sky. Unfamiliar patterns crept across the surface. They mimicked ancient text, though Leo couldn’t decipher a single stroke. Jagged runic shapes wove into interlocking circles that spanned from edge to edge.
As he held his gaze on the design, the lines appeared to shift and writhe.
His eyes narrowed. Tracing a thumb over the surface, a biting chill seeped into his skin. A pulse of cold, dark energy traveled from his fingertip up his arm. His jaw tightened.
[Ding!]
[The Origin Card has undergone an unknown transformation.]
[The transformation occurred during the Host’s breakthrough.]
[The Origin Card has absorbed a portion of the massive amount of Aether and Zen consumed during the breakthrough.]
[The Origin Card has synchronized with the Host’s awakened ability.]
Leo raised his eyebrows.
"Synchronized with my ability?"
[Affirmative.]
He kept his gaze fixed on the black surface.
"Can you tell me why it become like this ?"
A beat of silence passed before the system replied.
[Unable to determine.]
Leo frowned.
"Unable to determine?"
[The Origin Card is directly connected to the Host’s existence.]
[Its current state exceeds the System’s existing database.]
[Additional information cannot be provided at the current stage.]
Leo’s expression became complicated.
Even the system couldn’t properly analyze the card?
That was something he hadn’t expected.
He lowered his gaze and studied the strange patterns covering the card once again.
For some reason, they gave him an indescribable feeling.
As if it reminded him of something .
Leo stared at the strange card for a moment longer.
Whatever had happened to it, he couldn’t determine whether the change was good or bad.
But he had a feeling...
The transformation was far from ordinary.
For now, there was nothing he could do about it.
He flipped the card over and checked his status.
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter