NOVEL NEXT Chapter 105: Hard boiled eggs
As the black cloak crumpled to the ground and the final embers of twisted time energy faded into the night, Damien stood alone.
The wind returned. The light resumed. The world remembered itself.
But Damien didn't move.
Not yet.
The system pulsed in his mind. Calm, clinical, eternal.
[Devour Confirmed.]
A rush of energy surged up through the ground beneath him, curling around his boots like roots dragging a body into the grave. The death energy around him flared, then condensed inward. It pulled the mage's essence from the empty shell and ripping it free from the remains like smoke being drawn into a silent flame.
The Temporal Archmage's incredibly rare Time Energy flowed into Damien's body at that moment.
[Time Energy Essence absorbed]
[Enhancing Necromantic Core with Time Energy]
[Congratulations, Damien Bloodbane]
[You have gained access to Time Energy]
[Please devour higher ranked Time Energy wielders to enhance Time Energy purity]
"Hmm? I have gained access to Time Energy!" Damien was stunned.
"Was it something to do with the fact that I have devoured an extremely high ranked awakened? But what's with the devour higher ranked Time Energy wielders?"
But Damien did not get to wonder for long as a surge of power flooded into Damien's veins like liquid understanding.
He could feel his very being begin to awaken to time energy.
His bones trembled. His breath caught.
It was as though the very fabric of time itself was right there… At his finger tips…
Damien reached out…
And there it was.
Time Energy.
At his current level, he instinctively knew he was able to both accelerate and decelerate small objects at will.
This wasn't a physical effect, but instead a temporal effect that affected how time flowed around that object.
It was wondrous, massively mystifying and without a doubt, ridiculously powerful.
And then the system chimed again.
[New Ability Acquired: Temporal Death Lock (S-Rank)]
A high-tier necromantic technique empowered by time energy. Locks a target in place using corrosive death mana, halting their movement for a brief period while aging their body by years with each passing second.
But that wasn't all.
Another surge followed. This one deeper.
Foundational.
The system was not simply rewarding him with a new spell.
It was also stabilizing the changes that had been growing inside him from the moment his Necromantic Core had awakened. The absorption of a high-tier time mage's soul had triggered a leap in evolution.
The system restructured his body. His mana veins pulsed brighter. His perception widened, and his senses expanded as if someone had cleaned the fog from the corners of his mind.
Damien blinked slowly, letting it all settle.
His fingers flexed once.
The blade of death flickered across his palm.
Then the system whispered again, soft and low in the back of his mind.
[Leveling Path Adjusted.]
[New Job Acquired: Time Reaper]
A screen opened before him.
[Status Updated]
Name: Damien Bloodbane
Class: Death Necromancer
Job: Time Reaper
HP: 2600 / 2600
MP: 2600 / 2600
Strength: 26
Agility: 26
Vitality: 26
Intelligence: 26
Sense: 2.6
It was a ridiculous leap.
Five full points in every main stat. Across the board. Strengthened muscles, faster reflexes, reinforced mana channels, sharper thoughts, and an even denser necromantic core.
It was the kind of growth that would take most centuries to gain…
It even took him many decades just to gain 20 points within the Super Soldier Basic Training Program. But now… A quarter of it was compressed into a single instant of devouring a broken legend.
Damien exhaled.
A slow, steady breath into the cold night.
The corpse at his feet had long since turned to dust.
He stood in the silent aftermath, his breath curling into the night air.
The warmth of power still pulsed faintly beneath his skin, as though time itself had brushed his soul and left a signature behind.
But the exhaustion crept in.
Not physical, not even magical.
It was soul-deep. A heaviness behind the eyes and beneath the bones, as though holding time in his hand for even a few seconds had exacted a price.
He turned back toward his dorm.
No more drama.
No more cloaked lunatics.
Just one night. One good, long sleep.
He walked through the academy's hushed halls like a ghost, slipped into his room, dropped into his bed without bothering to change, and closed his eyes.
The moment his head hit the pillow, he was gone.
Peace.
Warm, deep, absolute.
It lasted all of—
BANG. BANG. BANG.
"Open up, boy!"
BANG!
"We know you're in there, Damien Bloodbane! Don't make us blow this door off its hinges!"
Damien groaned.
The knocking continued.
"Three… two… one—Maru, prepare to ram the damn door down—"
"Ram it? You want me to dislocate my shoulder? Dumbass. Why don't we just blast the door down with a fireball instead?"
"Wait, wait!" came the unmistakable voice of General Hong Fei. "Let me try one last time!"
BANG.
"Damien! Did you lose your virginity last night?! Did you die?! Or worse… did you forget your quarterfinal match?!"
Damien rolled out of bed like a corpse reanimating from the grave. His eyes were red. His hair looked like a crow's nest. One slipper was missing.
He opened the door.
The three generals stood there in full uniform, steaming cups of coffee in hand, and absolutely zero shame on their faces.
"Told you he'd oversleep," General Riki said smugly.
General Maru sniffed and elbowed Hong Fei. "I bet it's not oversleeping. He probably got lucky."
General Hong Fei's eyes widened. "You don't think… he did the naughty?"
"No!" Damien said hoarsely. "I was fighting a goddamn time mage all night!"
General Riki blinked. "So… metaphor for your first time?"
Damien slammed the door.
Click.
"NOPE," he growled.
From behind the door, muffled voices continued.
"I wanted him to give his virginity to my granddaughter!" General Hong Fei wailed. "She even made cupcakes!"
General Maru coughed. "That's the problem with prodigies. No stamina."
"Oh, shut up," General Riki muttered. "He's awake. That's what matters. We've got two hours until the quarterfinals start. Let's go eat!"
"Bring him some eggs!" General Hong Fei yelled. "He needs lots of proteins to replenish everything he had discharged last night!."
Inside the room, Damien stared at the ceiling, pillow over his face.
This was not the life he asked for.
But damn it… at least the eggs sounded good.
"I want ten hard boiled eggs!" Damien hollered.