Location: Inside the Glitchy Gate (The Primeval Forest)
Date & Time: Unknown
The heavy scent of metallic blood and the acrid smoke of burnt flesh had begun to merge with the thick, cloying fog of the primeval jungle.
Eighty colossal C-Rank bear carcasses lay scattered across the churned earth. The fires had finally died down, leaving behind only the suffocating pressure of the new B-Rank leader's aura.
Rudra sat perched on a high branch, hidden within the lightless canopy. His eyes remained fixed on the scene below, his mind running cold, rapid calculations. He needed to understand exactly how much power had been unleashed within that human.
"Ruin Soul," Rudra questioned internally, his tone flat. "What is the leader's current MP?"
"90,000 MP," Ruin Soul's voice responded instantly, cold as a winter grave.
Behind his mask, Rudra's expression flickered with a rare moment of shock. 90,000 MP. His own mana stood at a mere 17,420. This wasn't just a gap in numbers; it was a chasm in existence. He realized then that the difference between ranks wasn't just a progression—it was an entirely different dimension of power. Against a B-Ranker, a standard C-Ranker was nothing more than a fragile toy.
Below, the leader flicked his blood-soaked Magitech sword and turned toward the huddle of Dungers. His face showed signs of exhaustion, but his eyes were like flint.
"We need to keep moving and find an exit," the leader's voice boomed through the hushed forest. "Stay directly behind me. No one breaks formation. But before we advance... harvest every Essence Stone and Mana Core from these bears. It would be foolish to leave such wealth behind."
"YES, SIR!" the fifty D-Rank Dungers roared in unison, a mix of adrenaline and newfound terror in their voices.
Their eyes now held a state of absolute, blind trust in the leader. They were convinced that as long as this B-Rank titan stood before them, they could be dragged back from the very jaws of death.
Forgetting their fear, the Dungers scrambled to work. They drew their bone-swords and began the grisly task of carving into the massive carcasses to extract the glowing cores and stones.
Rudra remained as still as a stone statue. A scavenger's greatest weapon is patience, and he had plenty of it. Nearly an hour passed. The Dungers were drenched in blood and filth, but they had systematically stripped all eighty bears of their most valuable materials.
"The work is done. Follow me," the leader commanded.
The N.D.A.I. squad moved out, forming a tight, disciplined line behind the B-Ranker. Within minutes, the sound of their footsteps and the faint glow of their weapons vanished into the impenetrable fog.
The moment they were gone, Rudra dropped silently from the thirty-foot tree. His boots landed in the mixture of blood and mud without a sound. He wasted no time. He moved to the nearest bear carcass and placed his hand on its mangled chest. He had calculated that even with a penalty, a 20,000 MP beast should yield at least 1,000 MP.
[Gluttony Activated]
An invisible suction force radiated from Rudra's palm. But the surge of energy flowing into his body was pitifully weak. He wasn't getting 1,000 MP; it was barely reaching 1% of the beast's original power—roughly 106 MP.
Rudra narrowed his eyes and moved with predatory speed, touching one carcass after another. He moved like a shadow across the crimson battlefield, absorbing the fading dregs of mana.
Once the last of the carcasses were drained, he stood up in the silence.
"What is my MP now?" Rudra asked.
"Your MP is currently 25,920," Ruin Soul stated strictly.
"That's it?" Rudra's voice was laced with cold confusion. "These eighty monsters had an individual MP of 20,000. Mathematically, the yield should have been in the hundreds of thousands."
"Listen, kid," Ruin Soul's voice took on a mocking, sharp edge. "First of all, you didn't kill them. When you don't spill the blood yourself, you don't get the pure fraction of the soul's energy. And secondly—look at these bodies. What's left in this flesh? The N.D.A.I. Dungers already ripped out the 'batteries'—the Mana Cores and Essence Stones. What did you expect from a hollow shell?"
Ruin Soul paused before delivering the final strike. "Be grateful. You just gained 8,500 MP for free without swinging a single blade. For a scavenger, that's a jackpot."
Rudra's logical mind processed the reality. It made 100% sense. Without the Core, a monster's body is just a drained battery with a lingering charge. Still, jumping from 17,420 to 25,920 MP without taking a single risk was a massive leap.
He gave a cold, short nod. The air in the Glitchy Gate was becoming even colder and heavier as they descended deeper into the dimension.
Adjusting his jacket, Rudra set off in the same direction as the N.D.A.I. squad. The fog swallowed his form, pulling him back into the abyss.
Chapter Summary
The Power Gap: Rudra observes the B-Rank leader's true power—90,000 MP—realizing he is still vastly underpowered compared to the elite.
The Harvest: Rudra harvests the eighty bear carcasses left behind by the squad.
The Reality Check: Because the Mana Cores and Essence Stones were already removed and Rudra didn't land the killing blows, the mana yield is significantly lower (approx. 106 MP per body).
The Evolution: Despite the penalty, Rudra's MP jumps from 17,420 to 25,920, solidifying his position as a Mid-Tier C-Ranker.
Current Status:
Rank: C-Rank (Mid-Tier)
MP: 25,920
Inventory: High-grade materials (Still stocked).
Location: Following the squad deeper into the Glitchy Gate.