"What… is a Grafting Ritual?"
David didn't know.
The fragmented memories he had slowly recovered contained no such knowledge. But he knew one thing—
This was his only chance to survive.
Rumble…
The moment he chose "Yes," the dark crimson arm suddenly burst into a torrent of information that flooded his mind.
The impact struck his soul directly, leaving him dizzy and disoriented.
In the next instant—
The arm vanished from his hand.
It had… entered his body.
[Grafting Ritual Complete. Obtained: Arm of a Dead God]
[God Corpse Arm I: Consumes an unspecified amount of Spiritual Energy or Life Energy to activate.]
David stared at his own hand in shock.
A new ability had appeared on the panel within his vision.
"God Corpse Arm… I see…"
He muttered, raising his palm.
The information that had just poured into his mind quickly taught him how to use it.
This… wasn't "grafting" as he had imagined.
At that moment, the monster had already reached him.
The fallen noble lay slumped on the ground as the creature loomed overhead, its foul breath pouring from between its fangs.
A massive shadow engulfed David.
The monster seemed convinced that this human had lost all will to live.
Excited, it raised its sharp claws toward him—
Then suddenly—
It froze.
Blinking, as if doubting its own eyes.
Because it saw—
A massive crimson arm burst out from behind its prey.
Before it could react—
Its head was seized by a hand covered in dark red patterns.
David stared blankly at the scene.
His fingers tightened slightly—
Pop!
The monster's head exploded instantly.
Its massive body collapsed to the ground with a heavy crash.
But David felt no joy.
At the exact moment the arm crushed the monster—
His heart lurched violently.
A wave of intense pain and weakness flooded his body.
Only then did he notice two additional bars on the panel:
[Life Energy: 20 / 120]
[Spiritual Energy: 0 / 100]
The moment the arm activated, his Spiritual Energy had been completely drained.
Then his Life Energy plummeted—
All the way down to 20.
David felt as if his entire body was collapsing.
Though he had no visible injuries—
Right now, even a child's kick might be enough to kill him.
"So… Life Energy is basically my HP. If it hits zero… I die instantly."
This wasn't something an ordinary person could possess.
The overwhelming information told him—
He had become something else.
A supernatural being.
But…
A dying one.
Yes, this world possessed mysterious power.
But touching the unknown—
Always came at a price.
Any ritual of unknown origin was strictly forbidden by the Church.
Because even if it succeeded—
You would never know what horrifying thing you had invited.
And now—
David was experiencing that price firsthand.
Thick black mist began to seep out from the surrounding void.
It slowly gathered—
Taking shape on his body.
A grotesque, indescribable phantom appeared.
It looked like a mass of rotting sludge wrapped in a tattered black cloak.
Its "head" was nothing but a massive maw—
Like a bottomless abyss.
It roared endlessly.
Hunger… Hunger… Eternal hunger…
David felt it too.
A maddening hunger surged through him.
An endless torment—
That would haunt him for life.
[Ritual Evil Spirit Possession: Devourer]
This—
Was the price of the Grafting Ritual.
And worse—
The starving spirit, driven by both David's weakness and its own hunger—
Was trying to consume him entirely.
Its disgusting phantom mouth latched onto his back, constantly feeding.
Each movement—
Drained 1 point of Life Energy.
"Damn it!"
David nearly lost his mind.
He had just escaped death—
Only to face another one immediately.
His Life Energy dropped steadily.
His breathing grew weaker.
Even as death approached—
The unbearable hunger still consumed him.
His eyes turned bloodshot.
He was on the verge of losing control.
Then—
He saw the massive corpse in front of him.
Driven by hunger—
He reached out, grabbed the arm—
And bit down on its hard claw.
Something unexpected happened.
A prompt appeared in his mind—
And his consciousness snapped back.
[Detected: Demon Arm. Initiate Grafting Ritual?]
[Hint: Consuming the arm of a recently deceased demon will absorb its Life Energy.]
It felt as if something—
Was pushing him deeper into the abyss.
But he had no choice.
"YES! Devour it—let me live!!!"
The demon's arm dissolved instantly—
Fusing into his body.
At the same time—
A surge of Life Energy flooded into him.
[Demon Arm absorbed. Life Energy capacity increased by +200.]
David's eyes lit up.
His "HP" bar surged upward—
Even exceeding its original limit.
[Life Energy: 220 / 320]
[Spiritual Energy: 20 / 100]
[Grafting Ritual Complete. Obtained: Demon Arm]
[Demon Arm I: Consumes 10 Spiritual Energy or Life Energy to activate.]
But David didn't care about the new ability.
He was immersed in the overwhelming relief of restored vitality.
However—
The price came again.
Another mass of black mist burst into reality—
Piercing straight into his eyes.
"AHHH! My eyes!!!"
He screamed, rolling on the ground.
Blood tears streamed down his face.
This time—
The evil spirit resided in his eyes.
[Ritual Evil Spirit Possession: Watcher]
…
David didn't know how long he lay in the valley.
Until—
The pain in his eyes faded.
His Life Energy fully recovered.
And that unbearable hunger returned.
He struggled to his feet.
His vision had changed.
The dark valley seemed clearer—
But distant shadows sent chills down his spine.
More monsters were coming.
Gritting his teeth—
He ran.
As he fled, he tried to organize his chaotic thoughts.
Life Energy was his HP.
It recovered slowly over time.
Spiritual Energy…
Was like mana.
And it came from the evil spirits bound to him.
His Spiritual Energy had recovered to 20—
Because he had fed the Devourer.
In this world—
Supernatural beings relied on Spiritual Energy to fight.
But he…
Seemed different.
Suddenly—
As he crossed a ridge—
A massive green demon appeared.
It lunged at him instantly.
Fast. Brutal.
David's pupils shrank—
Then he noticed something strange.
A health bar appeared above the monster.
"Life Energy…?"
He realized—
The Watcher spirit in his eyes had given him this ability.
The demon had—
200 Life Energy.
So that's how it works…
In that instant, everything clicked.
The God Corpse Arm had dealt 200 damage—
By consuming 100 Spiritual Energy and 100 Life Energy.
"Then…"
He tried to summon the crimson arm again—
But suddenly—
A terrifying whisper erupted from every cell in his body.
Warning him.
He couldn't do it.
Cold sweat covered his body.
He checked the panel again—
And noticed new information.
[God Corpse Arm I: Cooldown – 60 minutes]
[Demon Arm I: Cooldown – 3 seconds]
"There's a cooldown…!"
The God Corpse Arm was dimmed.
His body simply couldn't handle it repeatedly.
At that moment—
The demon's claw struck him.
Slash—!
100 Life Energy vanished instantly.
Deep wounds tore across his body.
The pain nearly knocked him unconscious.
But he fought back.
As the claw hit him—
Another green claw manifested behind him—
And stabbed straight into the demon's chest.