Satan stared at the transparent screen before him for a long while. His focus was unbroken.
[Penalty for failure: Your beloved little brother will be erased.]
"…Little brother?" he murmured, almost inaudibly.
His gaze dropped. He looked down at his frail, scarred body. Slowly, his fingers moved lower… resting on something far more precious to him than anything else he owned.
Silence.
Then—
"…You've got to be kidding me."
His breath hitched. His voice was barely above a whisper, but it carried a terrifying edge.
"Don't tell me… by 'little brother' you mean Jony…"
[Sensitive Data: Biological confirmation—yes.]
"YOU BASTARD!" he screamed, staggering backward as though lightning had struck his chest.
Clutching his hair, his face contorted in panic and rage.
"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN BY THAT THREAT?! JONY IS MY TRUE COMPANION! MY LIFE PARTNER! MY INSPIRATION!"
[Clarifying: 'Jony' is the user's internal designation for external reproductive organs. Emotional correlation detected at an extreme level.]
"If you erase him, you're basically… killing who I am."
[Confirmed. If mission fails, the entity 'Jony' will be permanently erased from existence—physically and spiritually.]
Satan lowered his head. His eyes went blank for a moment.
He drew in a deep breath.
"…Calm down, Satani. Think this through. This is a new world."
He raised one finger.
"First, this is a magic world, and I have no idea how magic works here. Even spitting might require a ritual."
Second finger.
"Second, I just barely escaped death. My soul's on afterlife discount mode right now. I can't waste it."
Third finger.
"Third, I just got this body. It's cracked everywhere. If they want me to be a hero now, that's just suicide in disguise."
He looked back at the system screen.
"…But if I fail, Jony's gone forever."
[Correct.]
"…Which probably means I'll become a woman. Forever."
[Consequences are not limited to gender transformation. Systemic imbalance may result in total soul annihilation.]
"…"
He closed his eyes, analyzing how long he could survive in this haze. It wasn't thick, but dense enough to distort sight and breathing.
The fog was cold. But not the kind of cold one knows— It felt like walking through the breath of the dead.
Each step echoed too loudly. As if the world itself had gone silent.
Or maybe… the world was already dead.
"I hate this place," he muttered.
"Why is it always fog? Why can't there be a bright fantasy world? Full of sunshine, sexy elves, and honey pancakes?"
[Ding! Congratulations…][Passive Skill: Extreme Adaptation leveled up! Lv. 2 → Lv. 3]
Satan froze mid-step. A sudden warmth spread through his body, and the fog began to feel tolerable—almost familiar.
"…Huh?"
He turned toward the sound echoing in his head.
"Wait, I had an adaptation skill?"
[Additional Information Unlocked…][Local atmosphere contains low-grade toxic fog. Without passive skill 'Extreme Adaptation,' your body would've decomposed into a festering corpse polluting the realm.]
"…Damn it."
He sniffed his arm.
The stench was horrible—but at least it wasn't from poisoning.
"So I've got skills, huh?"
[Yes. Would you like to view your status?]
"Why not?"
[Status: Anomaly in the World of Azeral]Name: Satani Erlan Level: 1 EXP: 0 / 100 Mana: 0 Magic Power: 0 Magic Area: 0 Magic Flash: Not Available Void Core: Active — Void Energy: 0 — Void Skill Unlocked: — Void Step (Lv. 1)Skills: – Passive Skills: — Extreme Adaptation (Lv. 3) — Minor Death ResistanceStorage: Void Storage System Points: – Upgrade Points: –
[Analyzing status… Displaying details:]
Status: Anomaly in the World of Azeral You are an entity unknown to Azeral's governing system. Categorized as an "anomaly."
Level: 1 Basic tier. Leveling up increases stats and unlocks advanced system features.
EXP: 0/100 Gained through combat, exploration, or void consumption.
Mana: 0 Standard magical energy. Currently inaccessible due to incompatibility.
Magic Power: 0 Raw magical strength. Zero due to absence of conventional magic usage.
Magic Area: 0 Radius of magical influence. Locked without access to standard magic circles.
Magic Flash: Not Available Rapid-fire magic activation. Disabled—unsuitable for core type.
Void Core: Active A unique magical core. Does not rely on standard mana. Consumes external energies (creatures, curses, emotions, etc.) and converts them into power.
— Void Energy: 0 Dark energy reserve gained from consumption. Powers Void Skills.
— Void Skill Unlocked: Void Step (Lv. 1) A dimensional shadow-step. Allows short-range teleportation—silent, undetectable. Low energy cost, but slow cooldown at lower levels.
Skills: – No active skills unlocked yet. Can be acquired through experience or upgrades.
Passive Skills: — Extreme Adaptation (Lv. 3) Body auto-adapts to harsh environments (toxins, curses, pressure, temperature). — Minor Death Resistance Hard to kill via minor or non-lethal means. Death remains possible via violent or explicit conditions.
Void Storage: Dimensional space linked to the Void Core. — Initial Size: 5m³ Large enough for weapons, corpses, or magical items. — Features: — Elastic: Expands with Void Core growth — Timeless: Items do not decay — Undetectable: Immune to tracking magic — Particle Mode: Items enter as black particles, easily summoned — Creature Storage Potential: Locked. Requires high Void Rank.
System Points: 0 Main system currency. Earned via missions, defeating elite entities, or abnormal actions.
Upgrade Points: 0 Used to level skills, enhance void capacity, or unlock features. Earned through kills.
In seconds, Satan had it all figured out.
"This Void Core is a cheat. I absorb others and grow stronger. Hah! It's like one of those cliché demon powers from bargain-bin fantasy novels."
A crooked grin curled on his lips.
Then— A faint voice echoed from the distance. Broken. Weak.
"…Help…"
Satan's ears twitched.
The sound was close—and he knew he had no time to hesitate.
He shut his eyes.
And swore. Loudly.
"SON OF A—WHY DO I EVEN CARE?!"
But his body had already moved. His legs advanced, dragging his battered form toward the voice.
The fog thinned, but the cold now felt like it grew from within his bones.
And finally— Past thorns and roots the size of beasts—he saw her.
A hunched figure cloaked in a tattered white robe, bleeding, surrounded by shadowy corpses. More of those dark figures crept from between the trees.
Creatures. Humanoid? No.
Definitely not.
They moved like beasts. Eyes glowing red, claws slicing the air.
Satan gritted his teeth. "At least they're as small as me."
[Mini-Boss Goblins Detected][Recommendation: Aim for the back of the head or neck.][Warning: Current risk of death: 80%]
He stared at the five creatures circling the old woman, then glanced down at his trembling hands.
A deep breath.
"…You'll all regret not killing me while I'm still weak."
With barely a minute of planning, Satan stepped forward into the chaos.