After entering the convenience store, Ethan followed his memory to where he had first found it.
He took out his mace, preparing himself for combat.
The closer he got, the eerier the place felt.
There was more blood and more products scattered across the floor.
But when he finally arrived… there was nothing there.
His expression soured.
"What's wrong? Did I come too early? But the body being gone is proof that it's here."
He set his helmet on the ground.
He searched the area thoroughly—checking the ceiling, the walls, and the floor—but found nothing.
"Fuck… no! I need it. Did someone already get it?"
He scanned the shelves again and again, but there was no sign of it.
There was no trace of the parasite.
"No… this can't be." He collapsed to the floor.
Then… his eyes reddened.
Punching the ground hard enough to make his knuckles bleed.
If he couldn't find it, his title as the strongest human from his previous life would vanish, and all his plans would fall apart.
Then…
For some reason, his gaze was drawn toward the alcohol section.
There, he saw an antenna wiggling inside a whiskey bottle.
A matte-black centipede with a crown on its head was happily wiggling around like its drunk.
"There you are… no wonder I couldn't find you."
He immediately stood up and walked toward it, picking up the whiskey bottle.
Because the parasite was drunk, it didn't even notice him.
Removing his leather gloves, he started pouring the whiskey into his palm until the centipede was wiggling there.
Ethan broke the whiskey bottle and used a sharp shard to slice open his palm.
He cursed, his hand jerking as the alcohol scorched the fresh gash.
As if smelling the blood, the centipede started to wiggle and entered Ethan's wound.
His eyebrows slammed together in pain.
It felt like the centipede was eating his flesh from the inside—and it really was. All he could do was clench his teeth.
Thick drops of sweat pooled at his chin before splashing onto the floor, but he endured it all until the centipede finally stopped.
[ CONGRATULATIONS! YOU ACQUIRED ONE OF THE HIGHEST PHYSICAL STRAIN! ]
Despite the pain, Ethan looked happy and satisfied.
If the parasite hadn't been drunk, he would have had to fight it.
It looked small—barely the size of a finger—but it could swallow a person whole.
He remembered when it devoured half of his body in his previous life.
If it hadn't taken his body as a host back then, he would have died.
After confirming that the parasite had started merging with him, he immediately checked his status window.
---
[ STATUS WINDOW ]
Name: Ethan
Core: Dual (1/2)
Strain: Physical/Adamas Strain
Parasite: Defense-type Parasite (Sovereign)
Ability: Immutable Physique
STRENGTH: 10
AGILITY: 13
ENDURANCE: 7
INTELLIGENCE: 10
---
Even though he finally got a strain… he was still worried about one thing.
Kruskha… the strongest beast that survived the parasite invasion and even conquered the parasite survivors.
"By now, Kruskha might have also gotten the other sovereign parasite…" he muttered to himself as he put his gloves back on.
He was about to go outside when his hand shook against his will.
The same hand the parasite had entered.
At this moment, the merging wasn't finished yet.
"Fuck… it's waking up."
Sovereign-rank parasites were different from unique or normal parasites.
They actively seized their host's body until the merging was complete.
And the process usually took a full month.
"Just accept it! You'll be part of my body again!" Ethan spoke through gritted teeth.
But the parasite wasn't listening.
It dug deeper through his arm.
Being eaten alive was painful… horrifyingly painful.
Blood leaking from his seven orifices was proof that the parasite was eating his insides.
His vision blurred as he nearly collapsed.
The pain was unbearable that he slammed his head on the wall.
More blood spilled, blurring his vision.
Ethan felt like a thousand insects were devouring him from within.
His veins bulged, and even his eyes turned red.
He saw a bottle of whiskey and remembered how much the parasite liked it.
Without hesitation, he chugged a whole bottle—the same brand the parasite preferred.
Only then did he feel the parasite inside him calm down and go quiet.
He leaned against a shelf as his last source of strength to keep from collapsing.
"It's still the same as before…" Despite the agony, he was actually happy.
In his previous life, he had been forced to endure this hellish pain for a whole month, but now he had found a remedy.
He searched the shelf again.
Only five bottles of whiskey were left.
It was far from enough, but he took them anyway.
Once the parasite was perfectly still, relief showed on his face.
He chugged a bottle of water before dragging himself out.
Ethan was greeted by Dan, who immediately noticed his tired face.
They hadn't heard a fight inside the convenience store…
'So why is he tired?' Dan thought.
"What happened, dude? You look like you went through a life-and-death battle. Are you okay? You look pale as shit!"
"Nah, don't worry. I'm good. I checked the inside already. There's nothing in there," Ethan replied casually, but his eyes couldn't hide his fatigue.
"Holy shit! What the hell happened to you?" Dan exclaimed, seeing Ethan's ears bleeding.
Ethan realized he had left his helmet inside.
'I forgot to wipe the blood…'
He had wiped his face with a tissue earlier, but he'd missed his ears.
"And why do you reek of alcohol, man? Did you drink inside or something?"
Ethan just nodded. "I was feeling guilty and couldn't help but drink a little," he lied.
He didn't want the others to know about his unstable power yet—especially not with Claire there.
He didn't know her well, and the way she had joined them was still suspicious to him.
"I—" Dan wanted to say something but in the end, no words came out.
Dan didn't ask anything else. He was feeling guilty himself.
The three went back inside and started picking up canned food and water.
They were busy gathering supplies when a loud growl echoed from the convenience store entrance.
Hearing this, Ethan's hand froze.
"Fuck… hurry! Follow me immediately if you don't want to die!"