Leon stared at the panel hovering in the air with a stunned expression. "What the hell is this?" He looked around but found nothing. "There is no projector nearby. What’s with this screen then? Is it some sort of laptop or TV screen that can run without any electricity?" Leon asked himself.

Before Leon could process further, more writings popped up in the panel.

[System ’Eternal’s Grace’ is binding with the host.]

[Progress 1%

Progress 47%]

Leon had no idea what was happening. He looked around for that mysterious person but found none.

Meanwhile, the progress continued without any interference.

[82%

Progress 100%]

[Binding complete.]

Leon felt a jolt throughout his whole body. A sharp pain spread. But it faded as quickly as it had appeared.

More notifications popped up one after another.

[Host: Leon Bale

Cultivation Rank: None

Physique: Nil

Bloodline: Nil

Soul Status: Nil

Special Ability Awakened: Nil]

Leon looked bewildered.

[You have unlocked a reward for successfully binding with the system]

[Reward: Heaven Grade Curse Eradicator Key]

[The key is reacting with the 1st curse placed on your body]

Leon had barely stood up, but right after that notification, his body doubled over in pain.

[The 1st shackle is broken.]

Leon felt something snap inside him as if a heavy burden that was pressing on him suddenly vanished.

[Host: Leon Bale

Cultivation Rank: None

Physique: Heaven-Devouring Physique — Level 1

Bloodline: Nil

Soul Status: Nil

Special Ability Awakened: Nil]

"Heaven-Devouring Physique? It sounds like something straight out of a fantasy novel."

The massive centipede beneath him began to fade. Its body disintegrated into countless motes of light and scattered into the air like glowing dust.

Leon lost his balance and slipped.

"Argh!"

He fell on his back and hit the ground hard. His back screamed in pain. His entire body was already beyond exhausted and tortured from the battle. There was nothing he could do but accept the pain helplessly.

He lay there, staring up at the crimson sky, chest heaving.

But then he noticed something.

Just where the centipede’s corpse had been, something remained. A small, crystal-like sphere, glowing faintly with an eerie inner light.

"Hmmmm!! What’s that?" Leon whispered.

"That’s a monster core."

A sudden familiar voice made Leon almost choke on his own breath.

He jerked his head to the side.

"You! It’s finally you. But what are you trying to do — give me a heart attack?"

The man from earlier was standing a short distance away, same as before.... calm, composed, as if he knew nothing about Leon nearly dying while fighting a monster.

"Why would I want that?" the man replied with a faint, mysterious smile. "If you die, I will cease to exist as well."

Leon frowned. "What do you mean by that?"

The man tilted his head slightly. "I can’t answer that question. But you’ll find out soon enough. I hope you do."

Leon struggled to sit up, biting back pain. "You know, that’s getting annoying. What are you, some kind of riddler? Can’t you talk like a normal person?"

"I can," the man said. "But you wouldn’t want that."

Leon stared at him. "I wouldn’t want that...? I really don’t get you."

His eyes shifted back to the floating orb. "Anyway... I somehow defeated that monster. So, are you going to explain what’s going on now? What’s with the curses? And what’s this panel?"

The man went quiet for a moment, as if considering how much he could say.

"This," he finally said, gesturing toward the panel still hovering in the air, "is the ’Eternal’s Grace’. A system that binds you to an Eternal. It will help you arise again."

"Eternal? What’s that?" Leon asked. But he missed the word ’again’.

"Can’t answer that."

"Why not?"

"You wouldn’t want me to explain that much."

"Seriously? Again with those same tactics."

"I really can’t say."

"Okay. How about this? Why did this system choose me?"

"The more you ask questions, the more you will get puzzled. Isn’t it better to enjoy the perks? Didn’t you want strength? Didn’t you want to help your mother recover? Didn’t you want your sister to have a normal life? You can have all of that. Just accept the system as it is. And slowly, you will have all your answers. It’s just, now isn’t the time."

Leon facepalmed helplessly and let out a long sigh. "So you’re going to keep dumping riddles on me until I magically remember something. Great."

He dropped his hand and glanced again at the glowing orb.

"At least tell me what that thing is."

"I already told you," the man said. "That’s a monster core."

Leon’s eyes narrowed. "Can I sell it for money?"

The man burst into loud laughter.

"You can sell it, yes," he said. "But are you sure you want to sell it?"

"What else should I do with it?" Leon shot back. "I really, REALLY need money right now."

"You can earn more money if you get stronger," the man replied calmly. "Do you want to know what else you can do with that core? This will be the last thing I tell you... for now. Saying this much won’t change the course of your actions."

Leon squinted suspiciously. "Sure."

"You can devour it," the man said. "Your physique should have been unlocked, right?"

"Yes. It’s something called ’Heaven-Devouring Physique’. What a weird name!"

"Weird? Someday, you will feel blessed to have this physique. Whatever, with this physique, you can refine any cultivation resource instantly and absorb it."

"Why would I absorb something for cultivation? I am a person, not some fertile land." Leon said with a puzzled expression.

The person before Leon didn’t say anything for a while, his face unreadable. Then finally broke the silence after some thoughts. "The cultivation you are referring to, and the cultivation I am talking about, are entirely different. Cultivation is a process of nurturing your own body, strengthening it, and taking it beyond limits. You know what reinforcement magic is, right?"

"Yes."

"Its result is more like reinforcement magic, boosting your strength and speed. But unlike reinforcement magic, it’s permanent and not some magic effect. The higher your cultivation realm, the stronger you are. Now, please don’t ask me anything more. That monster core... It’s a cultivation resource. Swallow it, and you will understand everything."

Leon looked back at the monster core. It lay there silently, pulsing with condensed energy.... terrifying and tempting at the same time.

His throat went dry. ’Swallow it? Seriously? Is he really trying to help me or kill me?’

Instead of moving toward it, Leon stayed rooted to the spot, his legs refusing to cooperate.

Seeing his hesitation, the man clicked his tongue. "What a pain!" He muttered mildly.

He then lifted his hand and made a subtle gesture.

The core flew toward him as if obeying a command, landing gently in his palm. It looked even more dangerous up close.... concentrated power in the form of a shimmering, translucent sphere.

The man extended his hand toward Leon.

"Here," he said. "Swallow it. Don’t worry. If I wanted you dead, I wouldn’t bother helping you."

"That’s... not reassuring at all," Leon muttered. He shakily accepted the core. It felt warm against his palm.

He lifted it to his mouth with trembling fingers, paused for a brief second...

And then shoved it in and swallowed. ’Fuck it,’ he thought. ’If I die, I’ll haunt you like a ghost for eternity.’

The core slid down his throat in one hard gulp. He braced himself, half-expecting his stomach to rupture and his guts to explode everywhere.

But instead...

The instant it reached his stomach, the core dissolved.

Melted into pure, dense energy.

A storm erupted inside his body.

"Ghh!"

Leon doubled over as a terrifying surge of power rushed through his body.

[You have absorbed enough qi to form a dantian.]

Leon felt something piling up inside, just beside his stomach.

[You have formed a dantian.]

[You have reached the 1st level of Body Refinement Stage.]

[Congratulations on becoming a cultivator.]

"I am a cultivator now?" Leon whispered as he clenched his fist and stared at it. He could feel it, the power coursing through his whole body. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

The person standing before him chuckled, seeing Leon’s expression.

[Qi: 5000/5000. You have absorbed enough qi for a breakthrough.]

[You have reached the 2nd level of Body Refinement Stage.]

"It’s not done yet?"

[Qi: 10,000/10,000. You have absorbed enough qi for a breakthrough.]

[You have reached the 3rd level of Body Refinement Stage.]

Leon felt his body changing. The clothes he was wearing grew tighter. But his body was becoming lighter.

The notifications didn’t stop.

[Qi: 20,000 / 20,000. You have absorbed enough qi for a breakthrough.]

[You have reached the 4th level of the Body Refinement Stage.]

[Qi: 40,000 / 40,000. You have absorbed enough qi for a breakthrough.]

[You have reached the 5th level of the Body Refinement Stage.]

Leon felt his sight becoming clearer. His jaw slackened. His mind failed to produce any words.

"This is cultivation?" he whispered, dazed. "This is insane..."

The notifications finally stopped.

"Good," the person before him said softly. "I think I don’t need to explain further how you can grow stronger going forward."

"Yes. I just need monster cores. Those monsters from the gates, will I get monster core from them as well?"

"Yes. There are other resources as well. But for now, you can only rely on monster cores for qi."

"Then I will go and join a guild to hunt monsters."

"Don’t. You are strong now. But not enough. You are equivalent to an F-class knight now. Once you are awake, you will receive a mission. That mission will let you hunt weaker monsters. With those cores, you can reach up to E-class level. Then you have to decide how you want to progress further."

Leon listened to his words carefully. Finally, he had a chance to change his fate, and grow stronger.

The man turned his gaze toward the bloodstained ground where the centipede once lay.

"Until next time, then," he said, looking back at Leon. "Remember this well, Leon... your only goal is to become stronger. As strong as you can, as fast as you can. If you don’t..."

His smile faded slightly, replaced by a distant, almost sorrowful look.

"You won’t want to live long enough to regret it."

Before Leon could respond, the man’s body began to fade again, edges dissolving into smoke, form growing transparent.

"Wait....!" Leon shouted. "At least tell me your...."

But the man was already gone.

Silence returned to the barren land.

Leon stood there alone, heart pounding, body overflowing with power, mind buzzing with confusion.

"At least, you could have told me how to wake up."