Lin Feng returned to his apartment as dusk bled into the city's gutters, the wolf's head already delivered, the spoils stashed away. He shut the door behind him, and the chaos of the world dissolved into silence. On his finger, the silver ring—a reward from the Association—glinted with faint, frostbitten light.
He sat cross-legged on the cold floor, the city's distant hum like a heartbeat beneath the stone."System," he said quietly, "analyze the ring."
A translucent prompt blinked into view:
[Frost Channeler's Ring]Increases magic cultivation speed by 30% when worn. Effect stacks with environmental bonuses.
He slipped the ring on fully. A cold surge ran through his veins, and in his soul space, the curse stars pulsed—seven malignant lights arranged in twisted orbit. Their flickering steadied. Their sickness gleamed with new vitality.
So this is what a real artifact feels like.
Thirty percent faster. He imagined the old mercenaries scoffing, then going quiet. If only they could see him now.
He exhaled and began his nightly cultivation. Mana flowed cleaner, carving through the old resistance like a blade through wet cloth. His curse constellation responded. The seven stars shifted, aligning with minimal effort.
It's not easy, he thought. Just... less of a fight. The more I kill, the more this power listens.
There was hunger in the magic, yes—but also something like loyalty. As if it recognized its wielder. As if each life taken made the curse bend a little more to his will.
One Month Later
Time passed—measured not by days, but by death. In the rat labyrinth below the city, Lin Feng hunted in silence.
The System chimed with each kill: sometimes gold, sometimes nothing, always progress.
His status screen now read:
_________________________
[ Status Screen ]
Name: Lin Feng
Race: Human
Level: 19 lEXP: 1,420 / 4,000
Element:Curse (Epic)
Magic Awakening Status: Novice
➣Magic: Mist Of Fear (Lv2).
➣Title: The Predator.
Mana: 2,300 / 2,300
Mana Recovery: 3.5 / min
Gold Coins: 662
_________________________
Back in his apartment, Lin Feng lounged in half-shadow, curtains drawn tight. The city murmured beyond the glass, unaware of the abyss growing beneath its streets.
He opened the system shop out of habit. Artifacts. Potions. Junk.
Then—a new icon pulsed under the Epic tier. A ghostly tome hovered, veiled in pale mist. A red tag flashed:
[99% OFF – Limited Time: 500 Gold][SoulCollector (Epic Skill Book)]
His eyes narrowed. "System. Details."
SoulCollector (Epic Skill Book)Requirement: Curse MageA forbidden art that allows the user to harvest and refine souls from slain creatures and humans.
Full souls and soul fragments are absorbed from nearby kills.
Soul fragments are compressed into pseudo-souls that strengthen constellations.
Full souls may be stored, refined, or used in rituals.
Warning: Soul extraction from external vessels incurs high mana cost.
Lin Feng didn't hesitate. He hit [Purchase].
Gold drained. A spectral tome materialized in his inventory, cold to the touch, its cover shifting with runes like living shadows.
He smiled, something dark and triumphant curling in his chest.
Now, even death has value.
He sat cross-legged again. The book floated in his lap, humming.
"System," he said, "activate the skill."
The tome dissolved into black mist, flooding into his chest like icewater. His curse constellation shrieked.
[SoulCollector (Epic) Activated!]
Soul Storage Capacity: ∞Soul Processing Efficiency: 1:20 (Minions) | 1:3 (Commanders)Soul Extraction: Available (High Mana Cost)
System Processing The Star Chart
Inserting ???
Awakening the Abyss
Lin Feng's soul space transformed. The familiar stars dimmed. In their center opened a new void—vast, starless, alive.
He touched its edge with his mind. A voice whispered back:
Feed me.
Hearing this ling feng also felt a hunger a hunger deep within gawning at his mind which requires blood and death of others to satiate itself.
He returned to the rat labyrinth that night, Mist of Fear coiled like smoke around his fingers. The Cyclops Rats rushed him, single eyes gleaming while seelin fear evident in their eyes.
The first fell to a scalpel's kiss.
[Cyclops Rat (Minion) Defeated!]+EXP | +5 Gold Coins[SoulCollector: 1/20 Soul Fragments]
A wisp of gray light rose from the corpse, drifting into his chest.
He moved fast—silent, surgical. The abyss drank each kill, compressing fragments like coal into cursed gems.
The tunnel was filled with screams of these rats which only seemed to make lin feng more berserk and making him kill them more brutally.
Twenty kills later:
[SoulCollector: 20/20 Soul Fragments][Pseudo-Soul (Minion) Formed!]
The void pulsed. A pale, flickering light bloomed within the abyss—his first pseudo-soul. Lin Feng leaned forward slightly, reaching out with his mind to inspect the new fragment. It shimmered weakly, like a newborn star, barely stable but undeniably present.
So that's what it looks like…
Just as he was about to delve deeper, the ground trembled.
A guttural hiss echoed through the dark tunnel, low and wet, like meat dragged across stone.
Lin Feng looked up.
From the shadows slithered a monstrous form—twice the size of the others. Its three heads jerked unnaturally on thick necks, each crowned by a single crimson eye that radiated baleful light. Its fur was patchy and scabbed, its claws sharp enough to gouge stone. The air grew cold.
The Alpha Rat.
"Finally," Lin Feng muttered, rising to his feet. "Something worthy."
The beast charged with startling speed, all three heads screeching in unison. Lin Feng sidestepped, narrowly avoiding a swipe that cleaved a gouge into the tunnel wall.
Mist of Fear erupted from his hands, spreading like a living fog. The rat froze for half a second, disoriented—just long enough for Lin Feng to dash in. His blade flashed, slicing a line across one of the beast's shoulders. Blood sprayed, thick and black.
The left head lunged. He ducked.
The center head spat a glob of corrosive bile—he rolled aside, but some splashed his coat, burning holes into the fabric.
He cursed under his breath, then retaliated—Mist of Fear surged into the beast's senses. Its center eye twitched, then widened in panic. That was all he needed.
He slashed upward, carving through the left neck. A head tumbled to the ground, still twitching.
The Alpha shrieked and spun, catching him with a glancing blow. Pain burst along his ribs. He stumbled, but his title—The Predator—dampened the damage. Gritting his teeth, he used the momentum to spin into a low strike that severed a tendon in the rear leg.
The beast staggered.
He leapt.
With both hands, he drove the blade into the second neck. Bone cracked. Blood erupted.
One head left.
It roared in fury, biting wildly, but Lin Feng had already vanished into the mist again. The Alpha hesitated—then its remaining eye widened as he reappeared beneath it, blade raised high.
He plunged it into the final throat.
The beast thrashed once, then collapsed into stillness.
[Three-Headed Alpha Rat (Minion) Defeated!]+EXP | +50 Gold Coins[SoulCollector: 1 Full Soul | 2 Soul Fragments Collected]
A brilliant red orb floated up from the corpse—dense, vibrant, complete. It shot into his chest, devoured by the void.
The newly formed pseudo-soul pulsed once, then dimmed as the full soul's power soaked into it. The abyss roared in silent hunger, satisfied for now.
Lin Feng dropped to one knee, clutching his chest as the curse stars surged with new intensity. Their edges shimmered crimson.
This… he thought, breath ragged, this is power.
He looked down at his bloodstained hands.
And this is only the beginning.