"Move it, you piece of trash!"
An armored boot slammed into Kael's ribs, sending him flying face-first into the bloody mud of the dungeon floor.
The air reeked of ozone and burnt flesh. Around him, members of the "Steel Dragons" guild were celebrating their victory over an Orc horde, completely ignoring the scrawny young man they had just kicked.
Kael wiped the blood from his split lip but said nothing. He couldn't afford the luxury of pride.
"I'm sorry, sir," he muttered, lowering his head.
"Just make sure the loot is clean before you haul it out," the warrior spat. "F-Rank 'Awakened' like you should be grateful we even let you breathe the same air."
Kael clenched his fists, digging his nails into his palms until they stung.
F-Rank. Trash.
That was his fate. In this world, upon turning eighteen, everyone received a System ability. Some got fire manipulation; others got super strength.
Kael got [Recycle].
Its description? "Allows the user to break down broken items to recover a fraction of their basic materials."
A useless ability for combat. A skill fit for a garbage man. And that's exactly what he was: a "Cleaner." Someone who enters dungeons after the battle to haul monster carcasses for a miserable wage, while the true heroes take all the glory.
"Attention!" someone shouted near the entrance. "She's here!"
The raucous atmosphere of the cave vanished instantly. The temperature dropped ten degrees in a second. Frost began to creep up the rocky walls.
A solitary figure walked in.
She wore silver armor that seemed woven from moonlight. Her hair was white as snow, and her eyes—a piercing, icy blue—looked at the world with absolute indifference.
Seraphina. The "Sword Empress." The only SSS-Rank human in the country.
Kael watched her from the ground, mesmerized. She was beautiful, yes, but it was a terrifying kind of beauty. Like staring at a glacier moments before it collapses on top of you.
She walked past him without even a glance. To a goddess, an ant isn't worth noticing.
"The Dungeon Boss is in the next chamber," Seraphina said. Her voice was soft but sharp as a blade. "Do not interfere. I will kill it alone."
The warriors of the Steel Dragons nodded frantically, too terrified to argue.
Seraphina unsheathed her rapier and crossed the threshold into the darkness.
Kael sighed and went back to work, dragging a severed orc leg toward his sack. Just one more day, he told himself. Save enough money for your sister's medicine and go home.
BOOOOOOM!
A massive explosion shook the entire cavern. Stalactites crashed down from the ceiling, crushing two nearby warriors instantly.
"What the hell?!" the guild leader screamed.
A shockwave of pure, chaotic mana shot out from the Boss room, slamming Kael against the wall. His vision blurred.
This wasn't a normal battle. The air felt heavy, toxic.
"Retreat!" someone yelled. "The dungeon is collapsing!"
The "heroes" didn't think twice. They sprinted toward the exit, trampling the wounded, shoving each other out of the way. No one looked back. No one looked at Kael.
In less than a minute, the cave fell silent, save for the sound of falling rocks and an agonizing wheeze coming from the Boss room.
Kael coughed up dust. He should run. If he stayed, he would die.
But something made him turn his head toward the darkness where the explosion had originated.
There was a trail of blood. Glowing blue blood, charged with mana.
The Empress's blood.
"Damn my curiosity," Kael whispered.
He gripped his rusty shovel—his only weapon—and moved toward the smoke.
The scene he found froze his blood.
The Dungeon Boss, a giant Chimera, lay dead, cleanly decapitated. But the victor wasn't celebrating.
Seraphina was on her knees in the center of the room.
Her sword had fallen far out of reach. She was hugging herself, trembling violently. But the most terrifying thing wasn't her physical wounds—it was her skin.
Thick, black veins were pulsing, climbing from her neck up to her face, corrupting her porcelain skin.
She coughed, and a mouthful of black blood splattered onto the floor. The blood hissed as it touched the rock, melting it like acid.
"Stay back..." she gasped, without looking up. She had sensed his footsteps. "If you come closer... you will die."
Her voice was no longer imperious. It was broken.
Kael took a step back. He had heard the rumors. "Mana Overflow." When a mage is too powerful, their own body breaks down. They become radioactive. Approaching her now was like hugging a nuclear reactor.
I should leave. She would never help me.
Grrr...
A guttural sound emerged from the shadows.
Three "Corpse Eaters"—scavenger monsters resembling hyenas—crept out from the cracks. They had smelled the weakness of the alpha predator.
Seraphina tried to raise a hand to conjure an ice spell, but she only managed to spit more blood. She was defenseless.
The hyenas coiled their muscles, ready to pounce.
Kael looked at the exit. Then he looked at the woman trembling on the floor.
"I'm such an idiot," he groaned.
Kael charged.
He had no technique. He had no strength. He only had a rusty shovel and the desperate instinct of a survivor.
"HEY!!" he shouted, banging the shovel against the stone floor.
The hyenas snapped their heads around. Kael used the distraction to throw himself between the monsters and Seraphina.
"What are you doing...?" she whispered, her eyes wide with disbelief. "You are... an F-Rank..."
"Shut up and save your energy!" Kael yelled, trembling with fear.
A hyena lunged.
Kael swung the shovel. The impact shattered his hands. The wood splintered, and he was sent flying backward, landing directly on top of Seraphina.
The contact was immediate.
Her skin was burning. No, not burning... it was worse. It was a chaotic, malignant energy trying to drill into Kael's flesh.
The pain was blinding. He felt like his arms were disintegrating.
"Let go!" Seraphina screamed, trying to push him away with the little strength she had left. "It will kill you! My mana will kill you!"
Kael wanted to let go. He wanted to run. But his hands were stuck to her shoulders, as if they were magnets.
And then, the sound that changed his life echoed in his head. A mechanical chime, cold and beautiful.
[DING]
A transparent blue screen appeared before his eyes, illuminating the darkness of the cave.
[SYSTEM ALERT]
[Massive source of SSS-Rank Corrupt Energy detected.]
[Analyzing...]
[Object Identified: "Broken Human Vessel" (Seraphina).]
Time seemed to stop. Kael read the last line, unbelieving.
Object? The System considers her a broken object?
A new window blinked into existence, red and urgent.
[Corrupt energy can be processed.]
[Do you wish to activate skill "RECYCLE" on the target?]
[YES] / [NO]
The hyena prepared for a second jump, drool dripping from its jaws. Seraphina closed her eyes, waiting for death.
Kael smiled, his teeth stained with blood.
"Recycle," he whispered.