The soft warmth of the morning sun spilled across the cracked marble floor, piercing through the shattered dome of the ruined temple. Dust floated lazily in the air, and the scent of old ash clung to the walls. On the cold altar at the center, a boy stirred.
Seth Aurelion gasped, his eyes snapping open.
His vision was blurry at first, but a strange golden glow floated before him—ethereal, almost divine. It wasn't real light. It was in his mind. Words began to form, crisp and absolute.
"System Activation Complete."
"Welcome, Host: Seth Aurelion."
He blinked, his dry lips parting. "System?"
A voice echoed gently in his mind—calm, mechanical, yet not cold.
"You have awakened the All-Devouring Physique. Classification: Unknown Rank. Initial Element Absorbed: Solar Flame. System Binding… Complete."
A surge of heat bubbled in his chest—not pain, but raw power. Something divine had fused with him. He remembered the moment clearly now: the spear of golden flame hurled from the sky, his father's face twisted in disgust, shouting at him.
"You should never have been born!"
They had cast him aside. His bloodline, his siblings, even his own father. His fiancée—Liara—had screamed "useless!" while his elder brother drove into her, her cries echoing with slaps of wet betrayal in that forbidden corridor. That image haunted him like a scar carved into his soul.
And then the divine fire struck.
But he didn't die.
He devoured it.
Now, the golden panels shimmered with information before his eyes, etched into his consciousness like a voice of fate.
---
Status Panel
Name: Seth Aurelion
Age: 14
Race: Divine Human
Physique: All-Devouring Physique (Rank: Unknown)
Cultivation: None
Primary Flame: Solar Flame (Awakened)
Other Flames: ???
HP: 100
Flame Energy: 10
Qi: 0
Attributes
Strength: 2
Agility: 1
Vitality: 3
Intelligence: 4
Willpower: 5
Condition: Recovering
Bloodline: Unknown Origin (Analysis Required)
Titles: None
Abilities: None Yet
Flame Points: 1
---
Seth trembled, not from fear, but something else—purpose.
This was his second chance.
"You tried to burn me out of existence..." he whispered to the sky, "...but now I'll rise from your fire."
A warm sensation bathed his body as sunlight flooded the chamber again. His skin prickled. The Solar Flame now inside him stirred and danced to the rhythm of his breath.
A pulse echoed from within.
"Daily Quest: Breathe Solar Qi... Completed."
+10 Experience Gained. +1 Flame Point.
His body felt… lighter. Not stronger, but awakened. Responsive. And most of all—hungry.
Another screen appeared in his mind.
---
New Mission: Break Your Shackles
Reach the Body Refinement Realm
Absorb 1 Fire-Affinity Core
Devour a Weak Flame Source
Rewards:
100 EXP
??? Flame Technique
1 System Ability Unlock
---
Seth sat up slowly, his pale skin glowing faintly in the sun. His robes were tattered, bloodied from his fall. The marks on his back still burned from where the palace guards had thrown him from the sky hall. But his eyes… they held fire now.
He knew he couldn't return—not yet. Not as he was.
But one day...
"I'll make them kneel."
The Crimson Sun Palace, home of the Solar Emperor, was ruled by power. His three brothers were monsters—each born with legendary physiques and divine bloodlines. Their flames shook mountains.
But Seth had something even rarer.
The All-Devouring Physique.
A cursed blessing. A myth older than time. One that adapted, devoured, and evolved by feeding on the essence of others. The same physique that, according to legend, once swallowed the heart of a sun and lived.
And now it was his.
He clenched his fist, stood on shaky legs, and took his first step toward survival.
Toward vengeance.
And somewhere deep within the continent, a subtle tremor stirred—an omen. For Seth's flame had not just absorbed a divine essence.
It had tasted it—and wanted more.
The wind howled through the broken temple, kicking up ash and embers around Seth's feet. A system chime echoed in his mind—clear and final.
"Main Quest Triggered: Trial of Awakening"
A new window unfolded in his vision, more vivid and terrifying than the last.
---
⟦ Trial of Awakening ⟧
Time Limit: 20 Days
Objective: Break through to the Elemental Manifestation Realm
Required:
Absorb 3 Fire-Affinity Beast Cores
Learn a Flame-Type Combat Art
Kill 5 Wild Flame Beasts
Ignite Your First Flame Seed
Penalty for Failure: Soul Collapse. Permanent Death.
Progress Tracker:
[ ] Kill Count: 0/5
[ ] Flame Cores Absorbed: 0/3
[ ] Combat Art Learned: 0/1
[ ] Flame Seed Ignited: No
---
Seth's breath caught.
"Soul collapse?" he muttered. "You're telling me I really die?"
The system didn't answer—just pulsed once like a heartbeat.
A different panel lit up now. This one glowed green, the familiar shape of a Daily Quest Board from the VRMMORPGs he used to play as a kid in the palace when no one paid him attention.
---
⟦ Daily Quests: Beginner Tier ⟧
1. Absorb Solar Qi for 1 Hour — Reward: +10 EXP, +1 Flame Point
2. Kill 1 Wild Beast (Any type) — Reward: +20 EXP, +1 Basic Loot Chest
3. Practice Flame Control (30 minutes) — Reward: +15 EXP
4. Endure a Sunbath (No Shade, 2 hours) — Reward: +2 Constitution, +10% Solar Flame Adaptation
Bonus (Optional): Complete All for 1 Bonus Stat Point
---
He stared at the missions. It felt like a game—but one where death was real.
And twenty days… was nothing.
He couldn't even sense Qi yet. But the solar flame danced inside his core, faint and flickering, waiting to be shaped. A gift, and a curse.
"I have no choice."
His jaw tightened. He grabbed the rusted ceremonial spear at the edge of the altar and snapped off the heavy bronze blade, turning it into a crude short spear. His legs trembled as he stepped beyond the broken wall of the temple into the charred forest.
---
Day 1 – Ashvale Wilds
The Ashvale forest stretched like a graveyard of flame. Blackened trees crackled with heat. Here, fire beasts roamed—creatures born from the aftermath of fallen meteors and ancient flame battles.
Seth crouched near a shallow ridge, heart thudding in his ears.
In the clearing ahead, a Flame Boar rooted through a smoldering bush. Its skin glowed like cracked lava, tusks sharp enough to pierce boulders.
Wild Flame Beast – Rank: Mortal Tier, Early Stage
Core Affinity: Fire (Lesser)
He tightened his grip on the spear. The system chimed:
"Detected Beast with Fire-Affinity Core."
"Optional Guidance Mode: Activated."
Lines of attack highlighted the beast's weak points—neck, inner thigh, underbelly.
But he'd never fought before.
"If I don't do this now, I'll never make it to day twenty..."
The moment he stepped forward, a branch snapped beneath his foot.
The Flame Boar snorted—eyes glowing with heat—and charged.
---
The next thirty seconds were chaos. Seth rolled to the side, flames singeing his cloak. He thrust the spear toward the beast's belly. It scraped off the hide.
Too shallow.
The beast turned—flames spilling from its snout—and slammed into him.
Crack!
His ribs screamed, and he was thrown backward into a rock. Blood dripped down his chin. The world spun.
-34 HP. Current HP: 66/100.
But then… something clicked.
The Solar Flame in his core pulsed.
A reflex kicked in—Devour.
His hand lit up with burning light. Golden embers reached from his palm to the beast's flank as it charged again. Its flame wavered—stumbled. Its body slowed mid-lunge.
And Seth struck.
The crude spear pierced through the beast's left eye, into its brain.
The Flame Boar fell.
---
System Alert: Beast Killed
+20 EXP Gained
+1 Basic Loot Chest
+1 Fire Core Extracted
Current Progress: 1/5 Beasts Killed, 1/3 Cores Absorbed
Seth knelt over the corpse, gasping. His ribs ached, but he didn't care.
The red gem-like core floated above the beast's body.
"Absorb Core?"
"Yes."
The moment he said it, the system activated. The core dissolved into light and slammed into his chest.
His body convulsed—heat flooding every nerve.
Solar Flame Strength Increased. Minor Adaptation in Progress.
Flame Energy: 10 - 21. Flame Points: 2.
+1 to Constitution. +1 to Strength.
Seth collapsed beside the corpse, grinning like a lunatic.
He had done it.
One beast down. Four to go. Nineteen days left.
And somewhere deep in the Ashvale, stronger things stirred—drawn by the flicker of a newly awakened predator.