I Die to Rise: Resurrection System-Chapter 74: Absorbing Monster Cores!

Kurt followed Rook toward the stash house, hands tucked in his coat pockets. The rest of the guild trailed behind—Emma, Cassandra, Lizzie, Sam, Zaza, and a handful of others.

They stopped at a nondescript building that looked like it stored industrial equipment rather than a fortune in monster cores. Rook unlocked the reinforced door and led them inside.

The cores were arranged on a metal table under harsh fluorescent lighting, each one glowing faintly with internal energy. Some pulsed like heartbeats. Others sat perfectly still, their power contained but still tangible.

Rook gestured at a cluster of smaller cores off to the side. "Twelve F-E rank cores here. Practically useless to the four of us, so the rest of the guild can split them."

A few of the younger members perked up at that. Even low-rank cores could provide a decent boost if you were starting from nothing.

Rook’s expression turned serious as he stepped forward and began pulling out the cores that mattered. "Mid-tier B-rank core from a Kraken." He dropped it on the table. "Another mid-tier B-rank from a Basilisk. High-tier C-rank from an Ogre King." He set each one down carefully.

"And this—" He lifted a core that shimmered with iridescent light. "Low-tier A-rank from a Dream Fairy."

The A-rank core seemed to hum with power even from several feet away. Kurt could feel it pressing against his enhanced senses, like static electricity before a storm.

Emma picked up the Kraken core without hesitation, the deep blue sphere fitting perfectly in her palm. Cassandra claimed the Basilisk core, its yellow-green glow reflecting in her cold eyes. Lizzie reached for the Ogre King core, and it pulsed red-orange in her hands.

The guild members watching broke into smiles and encouraging shouts, and Kurt noticed something odd, how nobody looked worried or afraid.

Rook looked at Emma, Cassandra, and Lizzie, his expression turning serious. "What we’re about to do is risky. But we’ve worked toward this moment. Every dungeon, every fight, every near-death experience, it’s all been tempering your essence pathways for this."

Kurt lit a cigarette, studying the cores on the table. "I’ve heard about this process, but I don’t remember how exactly it works."

Sam stepped closer, tucking a strand of blue hair behind her ear. "Monster cores contain years of accumulated essence in crystallized form," she explained in that careful, studied way she had when she was trying to sound knowledgeable. "Think of it like compressed time. A B-rank core might have a year, two years’ worth of cultivation packed into it."

She gestured as she spoke, her hands moving to illustrate her points. "Every time you train, every time you fight, you’re tempering your essence pathways. Making them stronger, wider, more resilient. It’s like—" She paused, searching for the right analogy. "Like working out. Your muscles tear and rebuild, getting stronger each time. Essence pathways work the same way."

"But not everyone can keep climbing," Sam continued. "Natural talent matters. Some people hit their ceiling at E-rank and can’t push past it no matter how hard they train. Others have the potential to reach S-rank but never make it because they don’t put in the work or they die before they get there."

Kurt nodded slowly, processing. "So the cores are shortcuts? Skip the years of training?"

"Sort of," Sam said. "But only if your foundation can handle it. If your pathways aren’t strong enough, the influx tears them apart. Like..." She smoothened her bow. "Like forcing a firehose through a garden hose. It explodes."

Her expression turned solemn. "The risks are huge. If the influx tears your pathways, you could be crippled permanently. Or die. That’s why absorbing a core isn’t something people do regularly. This sort of thing is done at least once every six months, and only when you’re one hundred percent certain your body has grown enough to handle it."

She tucked another strand of hair behind her ear, a nervous habit. "Your container has to match the volume. If it doesn’t, the essence has nowhere to go and it just... destroys you from the inside."

She paused, her voice dropping lower. "And there’s the mental battle. When you absorb a core, you face the monster’s remnant consciousness in a mental space. You have to defeat it, or outlast it, or it tears your mind apart from the inside."

Kurt raised an eyebrow. "So you’re basically fighting the monster twice. Once when you kill it, and again if you choose to absorb it?"

"Exactly," Sam said. "That’s why high-level healers are so rare. The mental battle doesn’t favor support types. They can’t overpower the remnant, they just have to survive longer than it can attack or get creative."

Kurt studied the faces around him. Still no fear. They seemed to even have complete confidence in Cassandra, who’d only recently joined the guild. "You lot aren’t worried at all, are you?"

"Should we be?" Emma asked, raising an eyebrow.

Kurt gestured at the cores. "You could die."

"And we could die walking into a dungeon," Emma countered. "If we let ’could bes’ guide our actions, how would we ever move forward?"

Cassandra rolled the Basilisk core between her fingers. "I’ve never done this. But I hear it can be quite pleasant."

Lizzie just grinned, staring at her core like it was alive, which for all intents and purposes, it was. "Not pleasant. Not pleasant at all. Just another thing healers suck at I guess."

Kurt realized what he was seeing. They believed in each other. The guild had absolute faith that their three strongest hunters could handle this. Hell, they even had faith in Cassandra, and she’d only been with them a few weeks.

He turned to Sam. "You seem to know a lot about this for someone who’s not an official hunter."

Sam’s cheeks flushed slightly, and she looked away. "I-I learned a lot from the streets. And Mama Imelda gave lessons sometimes, when she was in a good mood. She said knowledge was the difference between staying alive and ending up dead in an alley." She smiled softly. "Guess she was right."

Rook clapped his hands once, drawing everyone’s attention. "Are you three ready?"

Emma cracked her knuckles. "Let’s get this over with."

Cassandra simply nodded, her expression calm.

Lizzie kept staring at the core in an unsettling manner before turning her gaze to Rook. "Born ready! Well, not literally born ready, that would be weird, but you know what I mean!"

***

They moved to the center of the room, where Zaza had already drawn absorption formulas in chalk on the floor, three circles connected by intricate patterns.

"All done," Zaza said, adjusting her glasses. Each woman took a position within her own circle, kneeling with their cores held in both hands.

Kurt watched as they began pulling essence from the cores. The process was gradual at first, thin streams of light flowing from the crystallized spheres into their bodies.

The cores began shrinking, compressing from the size of baseballs down to tennis balls.

Then, in synchronized movements, all three crushed their cores into fine powder in their grips. The dust glowed brilliantly, and they inhaled it in deep breaths.

Their eyes snapped open, glowing with essence.

Emma’s eyes blazed red-orange. Cassandra’s shone ice-blue. Lizzie’s flickered between green and gold. Then they went rigid, sweat immediately beading on their foreheads.

"What’s happening?" Kurt asked, taking a step forward.

Zaza’s voice came from beside him, calm and matter-of-fact. "They’re in the mental space. Battling the remnant consciousness."

Kurt felt his blood go cold. "You mean they’re fighting the monsters right now? In their heads?"

Zaza nodded. "They have to defeat it to fully absorb the core."

Kurt’s eyes snapped to Lizzie. "What about Lizzie? How the hell is she supposed to successfully absorb hers if she has no offensive techniques?" The realization hit Kurt and he understood at that moment what Sam meant by high-level healers being rare.

Zaza tilted her head, considering how to answer. "The mental battle doesn’t favor support types." She paused. "But the guild doesn’t seem worried."

Kurt looked around at the other members. They were watching intently, but nobody looked panicked. Just... focused. Waiting.

He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Right. I should trust Rook’s judgment. He believed she could handle it."

"She probably just has to outlast whatever she’s facing," Zaza said. "Healers don’t win by fighting. They win by surviving. And if she doesn’t survive," Zaza added neutrally, "it would be a waste of a good monster core."

Kurt grimaced. He knew she meant it logically, but that didn’t make it easier to hear.

Minutes passed. The three women remained frozen, sweat now pouring down their faces. Emma’s hands were clenched so tight her knuckles had gone white. Cassandra’s breathing was shallow, controlled. Lizzie was trembling.

Kurt pulled out another cigarette, lit it, and tried to ignore the knot in his stomach. This was different from watching them fight monsters. At least in a dungeon, he could help. Here, they were alone in their own heads, and all he could do was wait.

Suddenly, Emma’s eyes flew open and she gasped, sucking in air like she’d been drowning.

"THAT’S OUR EMMA!" someone shouted, and the guild erupted in cheers.

Emma slumped forward, catching herself on her hands, chest heaving. When she looked up, her eyes were still glowing faintly, and Kurt could feel the difference in her presence. The air around her felt heavier, charged with power.

Cassandra’s eyes opened next, and she exhaled slowly, almost peaceful. "That was exciting," she said, her voice steady despite the sweat coating her skin.

The guild chanted her name and Cassandra smiled slightly like her success was to be expected.

Emma stood, rolling her shoulders, testing her new strength. She caught Kurt’s eye across the room and folded her arms. "Don’t worry too much. She’s got this."

But Lizzie was still under, and something was wrong. Blood dripped from her nose, a thin red line running down to her chin.

Kurt’s heart clenched. "Lizzie..."

Her body jerked, muscles spasming as more blood ran from her nose. Her lips were moving, forming words nobody could hear.

Kurt’s hands clenched. The Ogre King was probably tearing through her defenses while she desperately tried to hold on. And here he was, standing uselessly on the outside, getting stronger by dying while she risked everything for power the hard way.

He couldn’t help but feel guilty for his system in that moment. "Come on, Lizzie," Kurt whispered, not caring who heard. "You stubborn, brilliant maniac. Come on."

Lizzie’s trembling intensified. Blood dripped faster, and her eyes remained closed.