Lennon bit into the fruit.
The taste wasn't sweet, wasn't bitter – it was indescribable, like swallowing liquid fire mixed with thunder. The fruit dissolved in his mouth, burning its way down to his stomach.
Immediately, his body convulsed.
"Aaaaargh!" The scream echoed through the empty arena.
Veins bulged beneath his skin, glowing like incandescent lines. He fell to his side, twisting, the sword slipping from his hand.
The pain was so brutal it felt like he was being torn from the inside out.
But alongside the pain… came something else.
A dense, fierce energy flooding every muscle, every nerve. The wind around him spun in whirlpools, as if the arena itself was responding to what was happening inside him.
[Essence Fruit consumed successfully.]
[Strength +1 | Endurance +1 | Perception +1]
[Latent ability awakening…]
Lennon's eyes widened. His vision trembled.
Suddenly, the world around him shifted.
He saw the dry bushes like never before, every detail magnified, every shadow betraying movement. The air, once just wind, now sounded like a symphony of whispers.
He gasped, his body slick with sweat and still in shock, but a certainty was forming deep in his mind:
"It works… the system didn't lie. If I keep going… I can really get stronger!"
He looked at the other fruits scattered on the ground.
Fear still gripped him – the memory of death, the chains, the guardian threatening him – but there was also something else, raw and uncontrollable: greed.
His hand trembled as it reached for the next fruit.
Lennon didn't hesitate. He swallowed another fruit, then another, and another – up to the fifth. Each one fueled the fire within him, a torrent no longer contained by his body.
The ground trembled beneath his feet as the energy spread.
His veins burned like embers, his skin vibrated as if about to split, and the sword in his hand felt lighter than ever.
[Strength +10 | Endurance +10 | Perception +10]
[Latent ability: PROCESSING…]
He panted, sweat dripping from his brow, but the smile on his lips wasn't one of suffering. It was a restrained, fierce, almost proud laugh.
"Hahaha… now… now I feel what power really is…"
His vision expanded beyond logic. Every dry bush betrayed the slightest movement.
The wind carried scents of hidden creatures.
He knew, without a doubt: he was in the weakest zone of the arena. The monsters here were no longer a threat.
Yet his body gave out.
His legs shook, and he collapsed to his knees.
Ingesting so many fruits at once had drained his life force, as if he'd fought ten battles without rest.
Even so, he laughed, spitting blood onto the earth.
"No matter… the price is worth it…"
He lifted his gaze to the last two fruits gleaming before him.
He didn't touch them.
He stored the image in his mind. Five. I'll take all five. The mission will be accomplished. But one part… will always be mine… mine alone.
He rose with effort, gripping the sword again.
The wind whipped his torn clothing, and his eyes no longer held fear.
They held hunger.
"Since this hell gives me the chance to taste power… I'll devour it whole."
He spun the sword through the air, testing his newfound strength. The steel sang, slicing the wind in a clean arc. The impact of the strike cracked the dry earth beneath him. Lennon's eyes widened, awed by his own brutality.
"Hahaha… perfect…" he whispered, pride shining in his gaze.
Ambition.
Greed.
Pride.
Everything within him boiled, fused with that demonic, forbidden energy. The system remained silent, merely observing… but Lennon no longer cared.
He trusted it now.
And with a smile hungry for more, he moved forward to hunt the next monster.
Lennon walked with purpose, his steps echoing dryly against the rocky ground.
The sword now felt made for his hand, light as an extension of his arm. Still, he remained alert. He knew he couldn't be consumed by arrogance – newly discovered power wasn't a guaranteed victory.
The wind stilled for a moment. The silence felt heavy. He furrowed his brow.
Suddenly, the ground around him began to shift, as if alive. Thick, dark masses slid between the rocks: seven enormous boas, each with three heads, rising simultaneously with shrill hisses.
"Hmpf… just what I needed." Lennon adjusted his stance, eyes narrowing.
The first strike was brutal.
Two of the snakes lunged at once, their heads swinging to crush him like hammers. Lennon leapt aside, rolling across the ground and slashing upward.
The blade opened one throat, but didn't kill it.
The beast's roar echoed across the hills.
He retreated, heart pounding. They wouldn't fall easily…
Two attacked from behind, attempting to encircle him. Lennon twisted his body, the sword slicing in a wide arc.
The blade severed an entire head, which hit the ground spewing black blood. But one of the other heads seized the opening and struck his shoulder.
The blow threw him against a stone.
"Argh!" Lennon spat blood, his body trembling.
The impact reminded him that, despite his enhanced strength, his body was still human.
He couldn't afford to play around. He gripped the sword tighter, inhaling deeply.
Pride burned within him, now mixed with focus.
He lunged at the second serpent, driving the blade between two heads snapping at him simultaneously.
He forced his newfound strength, slicing both in half, blood spraying across his face.
The others recoiled, surrounding him in a circle. Seven pairs of eyes fixed on him, synchronized, calculating.
Lennon chuckled quietly.
"Then come. I don't run anymore."
They attacked together. The ground shook. Lennon advanced as well.
The clash was savage.
He dodged, slashed, spun his body like never before.
Sharpened perception and reflexes let him see each strike a moment before it came.
Still, his skin bore the marks of grazing bites and whipping tails.
Every cut he opened on one snake left another taking his breath away.
The fight wasn't easy – but it was his.
The final strike was decisive.
Lennon leapt onto a high rock, and when one of the boas raised its heads to reach him, he plunged the sword down.
The blade pierced the central skull, cracking it to the base.
The serpent collapsed, dragging the others down with it.
Silence returned. Only his breath filled the air. Lennon dropped to his knees, exhausted, drenched in blood that wasn't his own.
A weary smile spread across his face.
"Hahaha… seven at once… who would've thought…"
Before him, the bodies dissolved into black dust, leaving seven Essence Fruits glowing like fallen embers on the ground.
Lennon stared at them in silence, committing it to memory: Nine now. My mission is secured.
But his gaze wasn't one of relief.
It was hunger.
"Nine… and I won't stop here."