A voice reverberated throughout the room, filled with divine power.
Lucas was dumbfounded. It was the same murmurs he had heard a while ago!
He couldn't be mistaken. It was exactly the same—only now, he could hear it more clearly.
Pride seeped into the voice's words, and the disdain in its tone was as clear as day.
To dare despise gods and devils… the corpse must have been a terrifying figure when it was alive!
"Was it the one that killed everyone?"
Lucas thought solemnly, walking toward it. He held no more reservations—so be it if he died. He wasn't going to last long in his current state anyway.
If that was the case, he might as well die knowing the truth!
The voice repeated every half second, and as he got closer, it became more and more powerful.
When he arrived in front of it, Lucas felt as if his eardrums were about to burst from the sheer force and volume.
Feeling shaken, he grabbed one of the ghost lamps for support.
He took a deep breath…
[Talent: ???]
At that moment, three question marks appeared before him.
Others might have been confused, but Lucas recognized it immediately.
It was his useless mystery talent.
When he awakened two months ago, he actually awakened two talents.
But the second one was even more useless than the first.
It was just a series of question marks, and it had no effect.
Originally, he thought it needed a catalyst to activate, so he tried everything he could.
But after a hundred attempts, nothing worked. He gave up and buried it deep in his mind.
He didn't expect it to trigger now…
Lucas's eyes turned solemn.
[Divine energy absorbed.]
[Awakening talent.]
Divine energy? Awakening?
[Talent: Copy]
[Description: Your hand mirrors creation, your body adapts to perfection, and your mind echoes the origin of all things. What you see, you can become. What you touch, you can claim.]
[Effect: Copy any trait, ability, or skill from a target.]
[Potential: SSS-Rank]
An explosion erupted in Lucas's mind!
An SSS-Rank talent!
What did that mean?
In all of mankind's history, only twelve were rumored to have awakened S-Rank talents—and they became the Twelve Emperors who now ruled the world.
In their respective specialties, they reigned on immortal thrones.
No one could surpass them.
No one could touch them.
With their power, they defended humanity. They quelled invasions from other races, giving mankind a chance to grow.
What did that mean for him?
He didn't just awaken an S-Rank talent—but an SSS-Rank one.
Not just any talent… a copy talent.
This wasn't reaching the sky in a single step—this was breaking both heaven and earth in a single breath!
Copying talents?! Then I can have unlimited amounts of them…!
It took a while for Lucas to calm down. Even the reverberating voice couldn't drown out his excitement.
Once he confirmed everything wasn't an illusion, he collected himself.
He could celebrate later.
Right now, he needed to focus on his situation. Originally, he didn't mind dying—he had no hope left—but that wasn't the case anymore.
He had to find a way out and return to the real world.
Using a Return Crystal was out of the question, so he had to clear the dungeon himself.
Lucas thought quickly. With his copy talent, he could absorb the talents and skills of the dead hunters here.
He could start with the healer so he didn't die immediately. He turned and began walking toward the healer's corpse…
But at that moment, a thought crossed his mind.
His talent… could it work on anyone?
Even if they weren't human?
A daring thought froze Lucas in his tracks. His heart skipped a beat. Slowly, he turned around and looked at the corpse.
The skeletal remains of the terrifying figure emitted a golden light.
Could he copy… a God?
Before he could think further, his hand reached out toward the corpse. When it landed, a prompt appeared.
[Copy — (??? - ???)]
[Do you wish to proceed?]
[Y/N]
Without hesitation, he answered yes.
Lucas felt a wave of power surge into him. It was too much—like a tsunami. His eyes rolled back, and his body collapsed.
[Target found. Copy started.]
[0%… 20%… 30%…]
[—]
[Copy process interrupted.]
[User compatibility: insufficient.]
[New Talents Acquired: Divine Comprehension, Immortal Body, Pure Unfettered Will]
[New Skills Acquired: Godslaying Technique, Vanishing Step]
[New Unique Godhead Acquired: Mark of the First Defier]
---
After a long while, Lucas woke up, his hand still holding the corpse's bones.
"…I'm… alive…?"
He asked in horror, cursing himself for the reckless act. Why did he try to copy a God right away?
He didn't even kn—
[New Talents Acquired: Divine Comprehension, Immortal Body…]
Lucas froze.
A dark screen appeared before him, listing his talents, skills, and a unique… godhead?
He didn't know what that was—but anything with the word "God" in it had to be amazing.
Immediately, he pulled up his profile status.
"Profile."
[Name: Lucas Welts]
[Title: (None)]
[Age: 18 years old]
[Unique Godhead: Mark of the First Defier]
[Talent: Lone Star, Copy, Divine Comprehension, Immortal Body, Pure Unfettered Will]
[STATS]
[STR: 14]
[AGI: 17]
[END: 12]
[DUR: 15]
[MAG: 5]
[INT: 19]
[WIL: 36]
[LUK: 22]
[CHA: 18]
[Skills: Godslaying Technique, Vanishing Step]
Lucas's heart raced.
Now that everything appeared in his profile, he had no more doubts.
Every hunter had their own profile, displaying their stats and abilities.
A moment later, he raised his brows, noticing the talent Struggler had vanished.
In its place, a new talent appeared—one not listed among the extracted abilities.
He pressed on the Lone Star talent.
[Talent: Lone Star (Former Name: Struggler)]
[Description: You are the star who is destined to be alone. The purposeless being in the universe. A fierce struggler of fate, and the defier of gods.]
[Effect 1: When encountering a fatal event—where your survival is not guaranteed—there's a 30% chance you can survive.]
[Effect 2: The fewer connections you have, the stronger your progress becomes.]
[Effect 3: Become incomprehensible to other people.]
[Potential: A-Rank (Upgraded due to Mark of the First Defier)]
Lucas was filled with joy. His talent hadn't disappeared—it had been upgraded.
Curious, he quickly tapped on the Mark of the First Defier.
[Godhead: Mark of the First Defier]
[Description: Gods, devils, and the Mysteries have ruled the universe since time immemorial. Only one being has managed to stand up against them and put fear in their hearts.]
[Effect: Upgrade any talent and skill to A-Rank]
[Potential: S-Rank]