The Calamity's Comfort: I Forged My Own Cheat on a Dead Earth

The stone-skinned challengers were still a short distance from the frontier when Leon and the others stepped beyond the gate to meet them. Up close, the cost of their journey was obvious. Their stone-like armor had been cracked in several places, some carried bandaged wounds, others walked with visible stiffness, and their mounts looked only marginally better than the ones Leon's group had ridden into the frontier. Even following the safer path Lyra had carved through the Frost Expanse hadn't spared them from combat entirely.

The largest of them stepped forward, and Leon recognized him as the one who had spoken when the groups first met.

"Glad to see you survived. I am Dragos" the stone-skinned man leader, who was a head taller than the others said. The stone skin people already averaged around as tall as Davis or Adrian standing at 180 cm.

Leon nodded. "Likewise. I'm Leon." He looked over the battered group. "I've been meaning to ask you something. When we met before, you called us Champions."

The stone-skinned leader nodded. "Yes."

"How did you know?"

"The Salvation Blessing told us."

Several people behind Leon immediately exchanged confused looks. Davis frowned, stepping closer. "The what?"

Miller looked equally bewildered. "Salvation Blessing?"

Leon became completely still, his focus sharpening. "Explain."

The stone-skinned leader seemed genuinely surprised by the question. "You don't have it?"

"No."

The man hesitated, glancing over the Earth survivors. "That's strange."

Leon ignored the discrepancy, pushing for information. "What exactly does it do?"

The stone-skinned leader folded his heavy, rock-like arms. "It guides us."

"More specifically."

"It identifies other Champions," the leader listed fluidly. "It explains things we encounter, assists with our cultivation, and allows us to observe the situation in our home world while giving us active missions."

"Missions?"

"Yes. Completing them grants contribution points."

"What do you do with the points?"

"They can be spent in the Blessing's shop. It has everything."

The Earth group looked at each other in bewilderment as the man continued.

"Every world invaded by the Ouroboros receives the Salvation Blessing," the leader explained. "At least, that's what it told us. That along with moving 0.1% of that world's ruling species to this world as champions."

Miller slowly turned his head to look at Leon, his face twisting with envy. "We got thrown into a death world with none of that."

Davis's expression darkened, his fists clenching. "That would've been useful."

Ethan folded his arms, letting out a sharp breath. "Useful is underselling it."

Adrian looked at Leon, but Leon wasn't listening to their complaints anymore. His expression had completely changed. Then, his eyes widened slightly.

"Actually..." Leon murmured, catching everyone's attention. "I think we did get it."

Miller stared. "What?"

"At least part of it," Leon pointed toward the stone-skinned challengers. "We're speaking to them."

Nobody understood the logic. "So?"

"They're aliens," Leon stated flatly, looking around at his companions. "We're from different universes. They don't share a single language with us. We've also been speaking to the natives of this world since we arrived without learning their language. The translation function is still active."

Adrian's expression shifted as the pieces clicked.

Miller frowned, crossing his arms. "Then what happened to the rest of the Blessing?"

Leon paused, his face slowly turning awkward as his posture stiffened. Ethan immediately narrowed his eyes, zeroing in on the micro-tic.

"Why do you look guilty?" Ethan demanded.

"I don't."

"You absolutely do."

Leon cleared his throat, shifting his weight. "Who knows?"

Ethan stared. "Leon."

"There is a non-zero chance..." Leon paused, looking toward the distant sky. "That I might have, or might not have, possibly, probably..."

Maya closed her eyes, rubbing her temples. "Oh no."

"...swallowed it while completing the Universal Vessel."

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Everyone stared at him in dead silence. Even the stone-skinned challengers looked entirely confused by the sudden shift in the party's dynamic. Leon glanced between his baffled friends. "What?"

Ethan's mouth fell wide open. "You ate our blessing?"

"I didn't intentionally eat anything."

"You ate the apocalypse tutorial!"

"I'm saying it's a possibility. I remember the universal vessel back when it was in black hole form tearing something out of the light that sent us here. " Leon countered defensively.

Miller pointed an accusatory finger at him. "We've been surviving this entire nightmare without missions, without a shop, without cultivation guidance, and without being able to see Earth because you swallowed our Blessing?"

Leon rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "It does explain several things. I always thought the difficulty of this deployment was absurd."

Maya gave him a disbelief look. "You only realized that now?"

"I assumed the selection process was simply brutal," Leon said, looking toward the stone-skinned group. "Turns out everyone else has a guide."

Ethan slowly pointed at him again. "So you're the cause of our suffering?"

Leon considered the ethical math for a fraction of a second. "Yesn't."

Ethan closed his eyes. "That's not a word."

"It accurately represents the situation."

"It represents you avoiding responsibility."

"I didn't know it existed."

"Because you ate it."

"Allegedly."

Adrian finally laughed, a quiet, muffled breath escaping him as he looked away, clearly trying not to encourage Ethan's frustration.

'If they are taking this that badly then I guess I better not tell them about my other theory.... In fact thank god they are bad at math or they would've noticed the anomaly.'

Leon immediately changed the subject, turning back toward the alien vanguard. "Anyway," he looked at the stone-skinned leader, his tone turning professional. "Dragos, right?"

"Yes."

"Good. Here's the story we're going with."

Dragos waited, his rough features serious.

"We don't mention anything about our original worlds," Leon instructed.

Several of the stone-skinned challengers looked confused, but Leon continued without a pause. "If anyone asks about your past, say you were touched by the Night Guest."

One of the challengers raised his hand. "Touched how?"

Leon looked at him. The man continued, "Is the Night Guest some kind of predator?"

Leon thought about the biological lore for a moment. "In a sense..."

Maya immediately looked at him, her eyes widening in warning. "Don't."

"It does touch you inappropriately without consent, so—" Leon began.

Ethan folded over laughing, clamping a hand over his mouth. Adrian covered his face, but the damage was already done. Maya stared at Leon, her expression a mix of horror and exhaustion. "Oh my God."

The stone-skinned challenger looked significantly more confused and disturbed than before, but Dragos let out a long sigh, cutting through the disruption. "I assume there's a reason for this story."

"Yes," Leon became serious again, his humor vanishing instantly. "People touched by the Night Guest either die or lose all memories of their previous life before being transported somewhere they've never visited."

Dragos understood the implication immediately. "So nobody would question why we know nothing about our supposed homeland."

"Exactly," Leon pointed back toward the massive gates. "Once you're done with identification, come to the library. I've learned several things you need to know."

Dragos nodded. "We'll come."

Lyra stepped forward, raising her communication artifact to bridge the security protocol. "The Soul Observer is nearby," she spoke into the device, her voice commanding. "Have him inspect them. Afterward, assign someone to guide them through identification and registration."

A brief response crackled from the artifact, and Lyra lowered it, her gaze tracking the incoming crowd. Leon suddenly remembered another critical piece of research, his eyes narrowing as he turned his attention back to the frontier checkpoint.

"Oh." Leon looked at her, his amber eyes settling directly onto her profile. "The book."

Lyra's expression immediately changed, her posture turning rigid under her winter cloak. "What book?"

"Judging by that expression the soul observer already talked to you."

"The answer is no, Leon."

Leon stared at her, entirely unbothered by the defensive wall. "I haven't even asked yet."

"I know what you're going to ask," Lyra cut him off flatly.

"The Soul Observer has the only dedicated book on the Night Guest in the entire library," Leon explained, his voice level. "He said he'd give it to me if you ordered him to."

"No."

Leon frowned, tracking the blunt refusal. "What do you mean, no?"

"It means no."

"Is that a no means yes kinda thing ? You never know with women, maybe it's that time of the month for you cause I don't really accept being told no without a reason."

Lyra looked directly at him, her silver feathers bristling slightly with genuine irritation. "Because I don't want you cutting your life short."

Leon sighed, adjusting the strap of his talisman holder. "I can handle myself. No need to worry about me. Just give me the book."

"No."

"Lyra."

"If you want to die, find a way to do it far from my frontier," her expression hardened into a strict military mask. "I will not let you invite a calamity to my doorstep because your curiosity convinced you that investigating the Night Guest was a good idea."

Leon stared at her for several seconds. Then, something in his expression changed, a sudden spark of playful defiance breaking through his fatigue.

"You know..." Leon began, pausing just long enough for the group to notice.

Lyra narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"This world has the civilization level of the medieval ages," Leon noted matter-of-factly.

Ethan immediately took one step backward, anticipating the train wreck, while Maya looked between them in growing dread.

Leon continued, entirely deadpan. "When I reach Tendon Transformation—actually, even before that, when I reach Blood Condensation... I'll treat you the same way men treated women in the medieval ages."

An absolute silence fell over the gateway. Lyra stared at him, her face blank for a breathless second before she smiled, a cold, aristocratic smugness taking over her features.

"Remind me again," she said, her voice dropping into a quiet, dangerous register.

Leon raised an eyebrow.

"What family supports you?" Lyra paused, stepping directly into his personal space. "How much is your net worth? I think I'll treat you the way nobles treated peasants."

Ethan's eyes widened to pinpoints. Maya instantly covered her mouth to stifle a gasp.

Leon stared at her. For a full second, his brain was shocked by the verbal strike, and then he burst out laughing.

"Damn," Leon shook his head, a genuine smile breaking across his face. "That's a nice one. Okay, that was really funny. Hats off to you."

Ethan immediately stepped forward, looking deeply offended on Leon's behalf. "Leon, you're just gonna let her take the win? Think of a comeback."

"I have one hundred and twelve lines that could end this," Leon joked, as he gestured casually toward the commander. "But I love the game. That's her rookie season and she made a good move. Gotta let her enjoy it or she won't play with me again."

Ethan considered the explanation, nodding with complete, solemn gravity. "Okay. If you're letting her win, that's a different story."

Lyra looked between the two of them, her jaw dropping slightly. "You two are unbelievable."

Maya let out a long, exhausted sigh. "I was thinking the same thing."

Dragos watched the entire interaction with increasing confusion, his rock-skinned features tightening. He eventually leaned toward one of his companion vanguards. "Are all humans like this?"

The other challenger shook his head, his stones grinding softly. "I hope not."

Lyra ignored the commentary, pointing a gauntleted hand toward the massive iron-reinforced gateway. "Inside."

Dragos nodded, gesturing for his battered platoon to press forward into the courtyard. The Soul Observer was already approaching from within the frontier district, his dark robes sweeping against the stone.

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