The First Soul Leech
Kael—once seen as invincible, strong beyond measure—was dead.
Slaughtered by nothing more than a lowly level-1 beast.
And just like that, the illusion shattered.
Everyone froze, eyes wide, minds blank. No one could make sense of it. The sheer disbelief twisted the air around them—Kael, who'd been a pillar of strength, was gone in an instant.
Reality came crashing in.
This world… wasn't just dangerous. It was cruel, punishing, and far harder to survive in than anyone had dared to imagine.
Then, the coppery tang of blood drifted in on the breeze, seeping from beyond the village boundary.
Kael's blood.
The smell didn't just hang in the air—it stabbed its way into their nerves, a stark, undeniable reminder.
This wasn't a game.
It killed.
Truly, irreversibly, killed.
And suddenly, everyone was terrified. The atmosphere cracked.
Then came the cold, disembodied voice of the Celestial Will, echoing overhead with that haunting mechanical calm:
[Reminder: Level 1 beasts are rated 3 stars, level 2 beasts are 4 stars, level 3 beasts are 5 stars, and so on.]
[Combat power is rated according to the four-dimensional index. Talent abilities are not included in the base combat rating.]
[Reminder: The Starter Village is protected by a barrier. Beasts cannot enter it during the novice protection period. Once that ends—they can.]
The panic hit full force.
Eyes darted. Whispers turned to shouts.
"We can't just sit here waiting to die! We have to fight—we have to kill monsters and level up, or we're done for!"
"Form parties! Come on, team up—strength in numbers!"
"That's right! If you want to live, get over here. Show your stats, share your talents—let's work smart!"
"Yeah! That makes sense!"
The crowd surged. Voices collided. Chaos—but driven by desperate purpose.
People began organizing fast, grouping up as if their lives depended on it—because they did.
Vir, who had a C-level talent, instantly became the golden boy. Everyone wanted him.
Even those with D-level talents were being pulled into teams, treated like VIPs now that survival demanded every edge.
Black stood at the edge of it all, quiet. Watching.
Expression unreadable. Eyes cold.
He didn't move.
To join a team meant showing your hand—exposing stats, talents, the whole damn playbook.
He wasn't interested.
He didn't need them.
Within a few minutes, a thousand had whittled down into a swarm of roughly two hundred, splitting off into organized parties and heading out, their gear clanking, voices loud with nervous energy.
Fifteen minutes later, the square was empty.
Only Black remained.
From beyond the village, the sounds of fighting rang out—shouts, snarls, the clash of steel and teeth.
Then… silence.
Black stood alone.
They were gone.
He took a breath. Deep. Grounding.
It was his turn now.
Gripping the handle of the steel knife strapped to his side, he stepped forward—toward the invisible barrier that protected the village.
He passed through.
Beyond it lay a vast meadow, wild and untamed. The wind blew cool across the grass. Off in the distance: dark forests, jagged hills, a glimmering river carving through the land like a silver scar.
Weeds and thorny brush grew everywhere, some waist-high, feral and ancient. It felt like the land had teeth.
The breeze shifted.
A new wave of blood drifted in, heavier now—thicker.
A reminder, whispered on the wind:
This world kills.
His grip tightened on the knife. Muscles tense. Eyes scanning. Every movement sharp and deliberate.
He crept forward.
It didn't take long to find Kael.
The body was sprawled in the grass like a broken doll.
His chest was crushed. His gut split wide open, intestines spilling out, glistening and red. The sharp claws of the beast had torn through him like paper.
It was a brutal sight.
Grotesque.
Black's stomach twisted—but he didn't turn away.
Instead, he stepped closer, knelt by the corpse, and reached out.
His palm hovered… then made contact.
Om~!
White light flared from his hand.
[Soul Leech Success! You have obtained D-level talent — Rage Core!]
Holy shit.
Black's heart thudded. A grin broke across his face, wild and hungry.
This talent—this power—it actually let him take Kael's ability.
His fingers trembled as he opened his interface.
[Talent]: Soul Leech (SSS level), Rage Core (D level)
[Rage Core: Strength-type talent. Triples base Strength!]
He almost laughed aloud.
His base Strength stat was 8. With Rage Core, that shot to 24.
Twenty-four. At level 1.
His blood burned with adrenaline.
"So this is how Soul Leech works…"
He felt giddy. The rush was real. Raw. He could steal talent—from the dead.
His mind whirled with the possibilities.
Kael had been powerful—but too one-dimensional. All brawn, no balance. Strength without speed or defense was a death sentence.
Lesson learned.
He'd grow balanced. No weaknesses.
Then, something caught his eye.
Black narrowed his gaze.
Farther ahead, nestled in the overgrowth—something gray.
He moved cautiously, blade ready.
A few paces later, the shape came into focus: a massive rabbit, easily 1.5 meters long. Coarse gray fur, its jaw split open to reveal twin blood-colored fangs.
Bloodtooth Rabbit.
That's what killed Kael.
Its skull was bashed in—clearly the work of the other players who'd rushed in after.
Didn't matter.
It was still useful to him.
Black strode over, knelt beside the corpse, and pressed his palm to its fur.
Om~!
White light flared again.
A gentle warmth surged through his limbs. His body trembled from the inside out.
Strength flooded his system.
[Soul Leech Success! Gained +2 Strength Attributes!]
Hell yes.
He felt it instantly.
His Strength stat had just ticked up to 10—normal human baseline.
But with Rage Core active? That meant his effective strength was 30.
Thirty. At level 1.
That wasn't just a stat.
That was dominance.
Then a thought crossed his mind.
Could he extract more from the same corpse?
He triggered the Soul Leech again, hand still on the Bloodtooth Rabbit.
[Soul Leech Failed!]
[Reminder: Targets below level 20 can only be extracted once.]
Ah. That settled that.
No reaping the same soul twice.
Fine by him.
There were more bodies to find.
He turned, scanning the trail where the teams had gone.
They'd killed beasts. He was sure of it.
And now he'd follow behind—picking the battlefield clean.
Grinning to himself, he jogged back to Kael's corpse and bent to retrieve the rusted knife discarded beside it.
Just another throwaway weapon.
Nothing special.
Most wouldn't even bother.
But Black?
He had plans for it.
He placed his hand on the blade, palm glowing.
[Soul Leech Success! You have extracted the rust and residue from the Rusted Knife. It has been promoted to Refined Steel Knife.]
[Refined Steel Knife: Attack +5. Tier 1 Equipment.]
Perfect.
One more weapon.
More power.
He now held twin blades—his old steel knife and the newly refined one.
Then he looked ahead.
More than a dozen trails wound their way outward into the wilderness, footprints cutting lines through the grass.
He chose the one with the heaviest foot traffic.
More people meant more kills.
More kills meant more corpses.
And more corpses meant one thing—
More to harvest.