SSS-Rank Evolving Monster: From Pest to Cosmic Devourer-Chapter 90: Upgrading Lifespan sense

One after another, notifications burst into Ricky’s vision like a relentless storm of glowing runes, each one more staggering than the last.

[20 days of Lifespan absorbed.] freewebnøvel_com

[96 days of Lifespan absorbed.]

[45 days of Lifespan absorbed.]

The messages surged forward like an endless tide, overwhelming his senses.

Ricky’s proboscis trembled, quivering with strain as the torrent of raw lifespan gushed through it. Each breath he took felt like drinking from a raging flood. His spiritual core pulsed with heat, almost as if on the verge of overflowing.

If he had possessed the ability to absorb lifespan in years instead of days, his total might have already soared into the tens of thousands—a figure too vast to even grasp.

But right now, Ricky felt like a lone insect trying to devour an entire ocean.

And then—

A chill coiled around his spine like a serpent.

His wings buzzed involuntarily, and every nerve in his body tensed.

Something... was wrong.

Mixed with the golden essence of lifespan, a thick, tar-like substance had also entered his body. It oozed like shadows made liquid—cold, unnatural, and deeply malevolent.

"What is this...?"

His heart seized with dread. The moment that viscous blackness touched his senses, it was like being stabbed by a memory he didn’t know he had—a buried instinct that screamed enemy.

A primordial, suffocating fear took hold of him. Not the fear of death—but of something worse.

Something eternal. Something unclean.

Immediately, Ricky snapped into action.

His spiritual field flared to life like a dome of silver light, rising within his body to quarantine the foreign substance. Waves of resistance surged through his core as he struggled to halt the black liquid’s advance.

From her position nearby, the Guardian Spirit reacted instantly, her expression paling.

"Abyssal Corruption!" she cried, her voice filled with alarm and disbelief.

"How... how is this possible?!" she gasped. "How can you force the Abyssal Corruption to surface...?"

A tremor of panic crept into her tone. She took a sharp step forward, her amethyst eyes glowing with frantic light.

"You can’t do this, Master! Stop! If you force all the corruption out—"

"—we won’t be able to contain him!"

But Ricky didn’t stop.

He ignored her warnings, his face grim with focus.

He could feel the sludge writhing inside him, alive and malignant. It wasn’t simply poison—it was a will, a parasite that whispered dark promises in a language older than sin.

And yet, he pressed on.

His spiritual field tightened like a vice, drawing clear boundaries between the essence of life and the venomous invader. Every second felt like a battle on a microscopic battlefield.

The Abyssal Corruption seethed and writhed, resisting his control, its malevolence like tiny needles stabbing into his very spirit.

But Ricky held on.

With grit teeth and burning wings, he poured more energy into isolating it. If this corruption had truly rooted itself in the Eternal Origin being—then purging it might reveal the truth hidden beneath the sludge.

Whatever the cost, he would not back down now.

Not when he stood on the edge of something impossible.

Something... world-shaking.

Once the Guardian Spirit noticed Ricky’s firm control over the situation, her expression softened and her tense posture relaxed.

The danger had not passed—but it was no longer spiraling out of control.

The underground chamber returned to a heavy silence, broken only by the faint hum of spiritual currents and the low rumble from the imprisoned giant’s restrained body.

And so, time passed.

In the blink of an eye—twenty hours slipped away.

During this stretch of silence, Ricky remained steadfast, absorbing lifespan like a tireless machine, his body glowing faintly with golden luster. The numbers kept climbing, beyond anything he had ever imagined.

By the time he was finally forced to halt, he had absorbed over 600,000 years of lifespan.

A treasure beyond comprehension.

But despite the ocean of essence still left untouched, Ricky had to withdraw.

The reason?

The Abyssal Corruption.

As the hours dragged on, it had begun stirring again, its movements becoming erratic—its will more defiant. No matter how firm Ricky’s spiritual field was, the pressure of containing such a malevolent force began to mount. It wasn’t a matter of will anymore—it was a question of balance.

He could no longer risk it.

With visible reluctance, Ricky fluttered his wings and flew off the giant’s body, casting one final glance at the immeasurable reservoir of lifespan he had just tapped into.

He sighed.

It felt like finding an immortal fruit tree and being able to pluck only one or two fruits before walking away.

But such was reality.

"Tch... can’t always have things my way."

The thought lingered in his mind like a dull ache. Still, he didn’t wallow in frustration. Instead, his eyes narrowed in quiet contemplation.

"If only there was a way to deal with this Abyssal Corruption..."

His voice was low, thoughtful. Then, slowly, a name emerged from the depths of his memory like a shadow surfacing through mist.

"Abyssal Pact Cult..."

His antennae twitched slightly.

"Hmmm. Looks like I might need to pay a little visit to a cult someday."

It wasn’t just a passing thought—it was a logical thread. The Abyssal Pact was a mysterious, forbidden organization whose name bore the very word ’Abyss’. That couldn’t be a coincidence. If there was anyone who knew something about this bizarre, tar-like corruption—it had to be them.

Ricky floated mid-air, eyes reflecting the ethereal glow of runes etched into the prison floor. The implications were vast. Dangerous. Maybe even foolish.

But also... necessary.

"An organization bearing the name of the Abyss must surely have some link to it..." he murmured. "Even if they’re crazy cultists, they might hold the key to understanding this."

After a few more moments of reflection, Ricky shook his head. His thoughts were drifting too far ahead. He still had tasks to complete here—unfinished business that needed his attention.

There was no point in chasing shadows just yet.

First, he had to focus on the present.

[Stage 2 Ravaging Beast, Rank 2]

[Name: Ricky Stormwind]

[Bloodline: Plague Fang Sovereign]

[Lifespan: 1,100,069 years]

[Evolution Progress: 99%]

[Spiritual Force: 19.5]

"Holy fucking cow..."

Ricky almost let out a whistle as his gaze locked onto the staggering number glowing before him.

Over a million years of accumulated lifespan.

A number so absurd it felt like a divine joke.

Even more astonishing, his evolutionary progress had finally crept up to 99%—one step away from fully ascending to the peak of Stage 2. A threshold few in the Eldros Kingdom could ever hope to reach. He was now breathing the same rarefied air as the true elites.

---

Some time later...

Ricky hovered in the center of a vast, silent hall, his wings still, his compound eyes shut in deep focus.

The space was void of distractions—only swirling motes of light in the air and faint humming from runic engravings lining the high walls.

Today wasn’t about absorbing more lifespan.

Today was about refining it.

More specifically, evolving his outdated Lifespan Sense—an ability that had served him well in the past but now lagged far behind his current strength.

He had stockpiled more than enough lifespan to be indulgent.

And now, it was time to be wise.

"System," he murmured, his tone flat and composed.

"Upgrade Lifespan Sense."

A soft chime echoed in the chamber, and a translucent window flickered into view:

[Use 100 years of Lifespan to evolve FFF-RANK Lifespan Sense]

[Yes/No]

Ricky didn’t hesitate.

Yes.

A nearly imperceptible thread of golden essence peeled away from his massive reservoir of life.

And then—his perception shifted.

He felt himself regressing, becoming once again the primordial mosquito that had spent countless hours lurking in fear and hunger, relying solely on instinct and a primitive form of this very skill. He remembered the paranoia, the countless days of stealth, and how that single sense had sharpened through desperation and repetition.

He had relived a forgotten struggle—and then, like a dream fading at sunrise, the illusion snapped away.

A new window replaced it.

[Superior Lifespan Sense (E-Rank, passive) – Can accurately sense and judge lifespan-rich beings within one kilometre.]

Ricky opened his eyes.

Unimpressed.

This was merely the beginning.

"System," he intoned again, this time colder. "Upgrade Superior Lifespan Sense."

The system responded with the same neutral tone:

[Use 1000 years of Lifespan to evolve E-RANK Superior Lifespan Sense]

[Yes/No]

Yes.

Again, the process repeated—an infinitesimal sliver of Ricky’s colossal lifespan peeled away like a leaf falling from a tree.

The moment it was gone, Ricky’s awareness expanded outward like a pulse.

He could now feel.

Not just vaguely detect—but feel the rhythm of lives nearby. As if the world itself had become a drum and every heartbeat a thrum in his mind.

The system responded:

[Lifespan Pulse Perception (EE-Rank, passive) – Can accurately sense and judge lifespan-rich beings within five kilometres.]

Just the range.

Ricky’s expression didn’t change.

He wasn’t impressed yet.

He could afford more.

He would spend more.

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