Reincarnated With The Degenerate System

Dax was on his back, dragging air into his lungs . His legs… weren't so much legs anymore as they were two torn stumps, shredded by the rotational pull of my strike.

His fingers—the ones he'd been so proud of—were shredded to pieces. Probably from his brilliant idea of trying to stop my attack. Dumb for so many reasons. But hey, at least he tried.

"H… How can you be this strong…" His eyes jerked up at me...wide, terrified.

I walked closer, crouching beside him just enough for the green light in my eyes to reflect on his face.

"You really wanna know?" I asked with a sarcastic tone. "Because I can make this very simple for you."

He didn't say a word—just stared at my grinning, victorious face.

"Extreme luck. Loads of money. Pretty girls. Overwhelming power. Mix it with talent. That's me."

I let the words roll off my tongue like a casual lecture on why life clearly had a favorite.

"Honestly," I continued, voice filled with sarcasm, "I'm suffering because of too much success. It's like the universe itself just decided I should win all the time."

"You..." Blood spattered at his lips as I slowly poked at his stomach with the tip of my spear—lightly, teasingly, like a teacher poking a misbehaving student.

"Even if you kill me," he rasped, refusing to back down even with death already chewing on his heels.

"You'll die here too. There's no way someone like you survives long enough for help to come."

My eyes narrowed." How can you be so sure? Didn't you just watch me turn your entire squad into a joke?"

I tapped his forehead lightly with one finger.

"Come on, use those dying brain cells. You've seen exactly how powerful I am."

Instead of getting angry, he just gave me a mocking smile.

"You'll need at least an S-rank to take down a boss on this floor. And sure, you might be powerful… but you're still a long way from that."

His words snagged my attention like a hook.

Am I really that far from S-rank?

No. It was probably just that I hadn't shown him the true extent of my power yet.

'Resonance'

'Shadow Aura'

My aura spilled out like a dark tide. My shadow stretched across the ground, twisting, thickening, breathing. The killing intent I've been trying to smother finally snapped free and slammed into him like a dropped mountain.

His smirk froze.

He wasn't just looking at me anymore. He was staring at General Sun Wang—the monster whose name alone carried the weight of countless deaths, a man who had left so many bodies in his wake that rumors whispered he could have built walls from them.

"You honestly think I went all out just to sweep up trash like you?" I paused, putting more pressure on him.

"If I wanted your little group gone in one strike, you would already be a memory. I let you run. I let you think you had a chance. I wanted to watch that tiny spark of hope flicker… and crush it myself."

"Th-that… that wasn't you going all out?" he mumbled. His voice kept tripping over itself, like his throat couldn't decide whether to speak or choke. "No… no, that's impossible. Someone like you… doesn't deserve that kind of strength."

"You hate me that much, don't you? Come on, then. What's your story? Maybe I'll spare you… if you manage to move my heart."

Dax coughed, blood dribbling down his chin as he glared up at me.

"You rich people..."

bang!

My fist met his skull before the last syllable finished leaving his mouth.

I shook my hand once, flicking off the excess gore.

"Sorry, Forgot we're in a state of emergency. Can't let you launch into a tragic flashback monologue."

"Also," I added, tapping his now very unresponsive chest with the butt of my spear, "let's be honest—background characters like you never have stories worth hearing. It's always something predictable. Abusive dad. Sick mom. Betrayed by society. Grew up poor and decided to become a criminal before awakening your powers?"

I sighed dramatically. "See? I just summarized your entire life, and I didn't even need a flashback sequence."

His corpse, shockingly, offered no rebuttal.

'Nice. My bar's almost maxed.'

A slow smile curled on my lips. All that holding back, didn't go to waste.

Just imagining the reward I would get once I grabbed the avatar card was enough to put me in a ridiculously good mood.

With no more trash to dispose of, I headed back towards my two companions.

The fight with those five probably looked long from the others perspective, but in reality it barely lasted a couple of minutes.

Unfortunately, a couple of minutes was more than enough noise to wake up every wandering monsters in the city.

At the rooftop, I heard a sound that could only be described as a calamity peeling itself open

Thunderous noise ripped through the air. A wave of crazy screams followed—so loud the air actually trembled. Then one of the buildings exploded outward as countless flaming monkeys burst free from the windows.

Their sheer number was so overwhelming that, from a distance, it looked like molten lava was pouring out of the building.

They kept leaping from one rooftop to the next, a blazing infestation on fast‑forward, and it was only a matter of time before our spot get wrecked.

From my peripheral view, I caught movement on the street—armed figures sprinting for their lives, gear clattering as they pushed through a wave of monsters.

A full horde clogged their path, but they carved through it with their coordination, cutting a trail like they did this countless time already.

Seekers.

Not just them—more groups who'd been hiding earlier finally cracked and bolted out of their spots. They ditched the ordinary civilians without a second glance, because hauling deadweight right now was basically signing up for your own funeral. It was the most sensible decision .

SWOOOSH!

I landed back beside Amanda and Hai-Min.

"Let's go. We need to run toward the forest. This place isn't safe anymore."

Without waiting for their reply, I held them both in my arms and jumped from one rooftop to the next.

Roughly five minutes later, we reached the forest, and the difference between this place and the city was glaring. The trees here were far larger than normal, some even four stories tall—but I didn't care and headed inside.

Contrary to my expectations, there were almost no monsters inside, probably because they were in the city, hunting more humans.

While I was looking for a safe place to hide, I saw a large tree in the distance, and an idea came to me.

We landed at its base and started digging. I made the two wait while I tunneled underground toward the tree, then dug upward to create a cavern inside.

After that, I told them to go inside while I covered the entrance with dirt and leaves.

Now that they were safe, I headed back to the city to meet the other Seekers. As strong as I was, I still needed to assemble a group to increase my chances of defeating a floor boss.

"KEEP ON ATTACKING THEM!""DON'T LET THEM GET CLOSE!""BEHIND YOU! BE MINDFUL OF YOUR SURROUNDINGS!"

Shouts erupted in the distance as I saw twenty Seekers fending off the monsters while slowly retreating.