Kael stepped out of the tower, and the world shifted around him.

For a brief moment, his senses lagged behind. The air felt different, lighter somehow, and the faint pressure that had wrapped around him inside the tower vanished all at once. It left him slightly unsteady, but he recovered quickly, exhaling as his gaze lifted.

Taras was waiting not far off, leaning lazily against the massive eagle mount. The creature’s feathers shimmered faintly in the fading light, its sharp eyes half-lidded as if resting. As though sensing him, Taras turned, and a grin slowly spread across his face.

"Well, I’ll be damned. You made it."

Kael raised an eyebrow as he walked closer. "You say that like you didn’t expect me to."

Taras shrugged, pushing himself off the eagle. "No hard feelings, man. I’ve been guiding new hunters in this rift for a long time." His tone lost some of its humor. "I’ve seen a lot of new hunters walk in here thinking the tower’s just a game. Something they can rush through and walk out stronger."

His eyes flicked toward the tower behind them. "Most of them don’t even make it past the tutorial."

Kael nodded once. "Fair enough. No hard feelings."

That seemed to settle it. Taras gave a small smile. "Good. Then let’s get moving."

They climbed onto the eagle, and within moments, the creature launched into the air. Wind rushed past them as the tower shrank behind, the base coming into view soon after. The ride was quiet, but Kael didn’t mind. His thoughts were already elsewhere.

After landing, he parted ways with Taras and headed straight for the rift exit.

The moment he appeared outside, everything felt calm, almost too calm.

The area around the rift was empty, which made sense. The sun was already going down, casting long shadows across the ground. Most hunters had already left.

Kael booked a transit and took a seat at the back. As the vehicle moved, city lights slowly came alive outside the window. He leaned back, letting out a quiet breath, and before he realized it, a smile had already formed on his face.

"Damn... I’m actually overpowered."

His mind drifted back to his status.

---

[Name: Kael Voss]

[Title: -]

[Class: Void Sovereign]

[Class Perks: Void Absorption, Null Field, Sovereign Claim, Echo Strike]

[Level: 1] [0%]

[Health: 406]

[Mana: 240]

•—Stats—•

[Strength: 13]

[Agility: 10]

[Endurance: 11]

[Intelligence: 16]

[Vitality: 12]

[Constitution: 15]

•—Stat Points: 0—•

•—TC Balance: 800—•

•—Talent: Infinite Reward Multiplier—•

---

[CLASS PERKS]

Void Absorption — Absorb part of a monster’s essence after a kill. Chance to gain a random trait after integration.

Null Field — Creates a suppressive field within a 3-meter radius that prevents intrusive magical probing,

Sovereign’s Claim — Once every 24 hours, claim a random entity within 100 meters. Grants random traits from the claimed target.

Note: Target must be beneath you.

Echo Strike — Every third hit on the same target detonates a Void echo.

Current damage: 180% of total damage dealt in sequence.

---

[TALENT]

Infinite Reward Multiplier — All rewards received are subject to multiplication.

Multiplier range: x2 to unlimited. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Activation: Automatic upon reward receipt.

---

The base stats alone were absurd. From what he remembered, even having a single stat above ten at the start was considered impressive. Yet all of his had crossed that threshold.

And then the class perks.

Void Absorption was already ridiculous. The ability to gain traits from monsters meant his growth wouldn’t be limited in the usual way. Null Field was just as valuable in its own right. Status information was supposed to be private, but there were abilities that could pry into it. Having something that blocked that made a huge difference.

Sovereign’s Claim, though... that one was unclear. The condition at the end wasn’t specific. What exactly counted as "beneath" him? Level? Strength? Something else? And the randomness didn’t help either. Still, it was something he would figure out with time.

Then there was Echo Strike.

Kael exhaled slowly, his gaze lowering slightly.

That one was on a completely different level. Hunters struggled most with dealing damage. Monsters were naturally stronger, tougher, and harder to bring down. In most teams, the heavy hitters were treated as the core because they made the biggest difference in fights.

With a perk like that, he was already set apart.

But even that wasn’t the most shocking part.

His talent... Infinite Reward Multiplier.

Talents were rare. Far rarer than skills. And his wasn’t just rare, it was absurd. If it worked the way it sounded, then everything changed. Growth, resources, money... none of it would depend on just luck anymore.

It would only be a matter of time.

The transit slowed to a stop, pulling him out of his thoughts. Kael stepped out and looked up at the old apartment building in front of him. The walls were worn, the paint faded, and the lighting was dim.

Home.

As he made his way inside and climbed the stairs, a thought settled firmly in his mind. This place wouldn’t do for long. Ever since rifts began appearing, livable areas had shrunk, forcing people to settle closer to unstable zones. Places like this were cheap, but they came with risks.

Too much ambient mana. Too much exposure.

His expression hardened slightly.

That was exactly how their mother fell ill.

By the time he reached the fourth floor, he had already pushed the thought aside. Light seeped through the cracks of the door, and faint sound could be heard from inside.

Lyra was back.

Kael stepped in, finding her seated on the couch in her usual loose home wear, eyes fixed on the television. At the sound of the door, she turned.

"You’re back."

He nodded, closing the door behind him. For a moment, neither of them spoke, the silence stretching longer than usual.

Kael broke it. "How was the exam?"

"I passed. E-rank."

"That’s good." He paused briefly. "I passed too. I even cleared the tower tutorial—"

"What?"

She shot up so suddenly it caught him off guard. "You did what?"

"I—" he started, but she cut him off.

"Do you have no regard for your life?" Her voice rose, but it wasn’t anger. It was fear. "How could you do something like that without any preparation? Do you even understand how dangerous that is?"

"I prepared," Kael said quickly. "I trained. I bought equipment—"

"That’s not enough."

She stepped closer and grabbed his hand tightly. Her grip trembled.

"Please don’t do that again," she said, her voice breaking. "I don’t know what changed your mind or why you suddenly want to become a hunter, but just stop."

Kael felt his chest tighten as she continued.

"You can stay home. I’ll get you a better setup since you like gaming. Just stay in your room and leave everything else to me."

Tears were already streaming down her face.

"I’m still struggling with mom’s condition. I can’t... I can’t lose you too. Please... just promise me."

Kael looked at her, really looked, and for a moment, he couldn’t say anything. The fear in her eyes, the exhaustion she tried to hide, all of it pressed down on him.

Slowly, he pulled his hand free, then stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her.

She didn’t resist. Her body softened instantly as she leaned into him, her quiet tears turning into heavy sobs.

Kael said nothing. He simply held her, gently patting her back until her sobs slowly faded. Her breathing grew steady, and before long, her body went limp in his arms.

She had fallen asleep.

Carefully, he lifted her and carried her to her room, tucking her in before stepping out quietly. As he walked back, her words echoed in his mind.

She didn’t want to lose him too.

Which meant she had already given up on their mother.

He couldn’t blame her.

Mana sickness at that stage wasn’t something people recovered from. The damage spread slowly through the body, and there was no real cure. Only ways to delay the inevitable.

Kael stepped into his room and closed the door behind him, his gaze darkening slightly.

Three months.

That was what his memory told him. An elixir would appear at an auction, one rumored to cure any illness.

The price... three billion credits.

For most people, it was impossible.

Kael sat down slowly, his fingers curling slightly as a faint smile formed on his lips.

"With this talent..."

His eyes sharpened.

"Maybe it isn’t."