Faced with Snow's curious, almost interrogative gaze, Noah let out a long, exaggerated sigh and muttered, "Don't even get me started. I awakened one of those useless S-tier talents—'Tenfold Absorption.'"
Just as he expected, her chest visibly trembled as she gasped and covered her mouth in disbelief.
"You're kidding, right? A useless talent… and it's S-tier on top of that?" Her eyes widened, as if she'd just heard the biggest tragedy of the year. "Noah, you're not pulling my leg, are you?"
He gave her a flat look, shrugging. "Why would I? You think lying to you gets me anything? Like… free coconut milk or something?"
"Actually, yeah," Snow smirked, pulled open her drawer, and tossed him a chilled bottle of coconut milk.
Catching it midair, Noah could only stare at her in silence for a moment. "Snow, I swear I'm not lying. Do you think I'd joke about something that decides my entire future?" He stabbed a straw into the carton and downed two big gulps, hoping to make his point.
Snow didn't look convinced. She was still staring, distracted enough that she didn't even notice a few drops of coconut milk landing on her snow-white stockings. The combination of her long legs, the silk sheen of her tights, and the sweet scent of coconut filling the room was too much for Noah's teenage brain to handle.
A surge of warmth rushed straight to his nose. Without another word, he bolted for the door.
"Noah! What are you running for?" she called after him, puzzled.
"Don't ask! Just… too much heat!" he yelled back, slamming the bathroom door behind him.
Snow tilted her head, frowning slightly. Something about his reaction felt… off. Before he returned, she casually scrolled through the latest headlines on her phone—and froze.
The newsfeed was flooded with one name: Demon-Slayer.
Reports claimed this mysterious player had awakened an SSS-tier talent and, at level one, had solo-cleared a level 50 beginner dungeon, setting a record that landed in third place on the all-time leaderboard.
The information came from multiple verified sources. It was real. And it left Snow utterly stunned. For a brief, dangerous moment, a wild thought crossed her mind: Could Demon-Slayer… actually be Noah?
That tiny sliver of hope was what drove her to wait by the door, questioning him. But now, after hearing his claim of a useless talent, she could only shake her head and murmur to herself, "Guess I was imagining things…"
Dinner that night proved one thing beyond doubt: if Noah had awakened an S-tier useless talent, it wasn't for lack of appetite.
He devoured every dish that had been cooked for Snow, polished off ten bowls of rice, and left the adults staring at him as if they'd just witnessed a natural disaster.
"What got into this kid today? Did he starve himself at school or something?" Noah's uncle muttered, baffled.
Snow sat quietly at the table, her palm pressed to her forehead. She didn't say a word. Watching him eat like a starving beast convinced her that he was telling the truth. There was no way someone with a game-breaking SSS-tier awakening would be like this.
Tenfold Absorption… could there still be a chance for him? The thought stirred a confusing mix of pity and hope in her chest.
But strangely, despite stuffing himself like a madman, Noah didn't feel even a little bloated. Instead, his body buzzed with energy, every muscle humming with newfound strength.
"Guess Tenfold Absorption isn't useless after all," he muttered to himself, a spark of excitement flickering in his eyes. Maybe, just maybe, eating like this could push his physical stats up in reality, too.
After a quick shower, he waited for Snow to head into the bathroom before locking his own bedroom door with a conspiratorial air. The moment the latch clicked, a grin tugged at his lips.
The truth was, between school and dinner, he hadn't even had time to check the dungeon rewards from his earlier solo run. Holding off this long? That took superhuman willpower. It felt like sitting on an unopened package for weeks, just to see how long you could last.
"Pretty sure I saw a staff among the loot…" he murmured, settling cross-legged on his bed. He focused his mind, linking his thoughts to the Land of Divine Punishment's inventory interface.
A glowing window materialized before him, two separate bundles floating in the ether.
The first was the BOSS kill reward for slaying the Silver Wolf King:
45,000 EXP, 5,000 gold coins, and a pair of Silver Wolf Boots.
Because he'd soloed the dungeon, his rewards were nearly double what a five-man party would've earned.
"Knew it. Solo runs are the real way to play this game!" he chuckled, calculating quickly. One run netted him around 120,000 EXP. To reach the absurd goal of 99.9 billion EXP… he'd only need to repeat this about 830,000 times. "Yeah… let's not think about that right now."
He moved on. The 5,000 coins translated to about 500,000 Huaguo credits—half a million cash. Noah's grin widened. "Big money, baby." If only dungeon first-clears kept dropping gold like this, he could easily dethrone the richest man alive in a week.
The boots were level 50 gear, high-quality S-rank, but completely unusable for his level 1 character. At least they'd sell well.
The second bundle was where the real excitement lay: the Ranking Rewards.
The first item appeared—a bulging sack of shimmering gold.
[100,000 Gold Coins]
"Holy sh*t, that's a fortune!" Noah's breath hitched. Sure, he liked to tell himself he didn't care about money, but who wouldn't love seeing a mountain of gold dumped in their lap? At current market rates, that was a clean 10 million credits, enough to buy a luxury apartment in the heart of the Imperial Capital—or several sprawling mansions back in Jiangnan.
"Yeah, whoever said talents don't change lives? I believe now," he muttered, clutching the bag like a lifeline.
Next came a glinting golden medal.
[Medal of Glory (Gold): +100 to all attributes while worn.]
Noah's pulse quickened. As a Divine Fury Mage, his level would forever stay locked at one. He'd never gain the stat bonuses that normal players earned from leveling. But this medal would permanently patch that gap, giving him a foundation stronger than most high-level players.
"No amount of money compares to this…" he whispered, recalling textbook explanations of base attributes. Anyone in the human race would choose a permanent +100 boost over a mountain of gold without hesitation. This was the kind of edge that let players go further, break past walls others never could, and survive in the higher-level maps where monsters turned humans into paste.
He slipped the medal onto his chest, watching as a faint golden glow flared, then sank into his body. A warm, tingling wave spread from his core, making his skin prickle pleasantly. A low groan slipped past his lips before he could stop it.
A quick glance at his stats confirmed the change:
Constitution: 196 → 296
Spirit: 110
Strength: 110
Intelligence: 110
Agility: 140
Finally, some real numbers to work with.
Then his eyes fell on the last reward—a weapon radiating a deep, bloody light.
[Crimson Dawn (SSS): +60 Spirit, +55 Intelligence, +100% Spell Vamp.
Type: Staff
Level Requirement: 1
Permanent Affix: Each successful hit permanently increases max HP by 10.]
Noah sucked in a sharp breath. An SSS-tier weapon at level 1? And not just that—the permanent affix was only a step below a unique weapon skill. With this staff, every battle would literally make him harder to kill, his health bar stacking infinitely until he became an unbreakable wall of raw vitality.
"Damn… sometimes I forget how lucky I am," he said, a crooked grin tugging at his lips. With this, he could grind mobs endlessly, pumping his HP into the billions until his damage output turned into nuclear-level devastation.
A moment later, he used his Elemental Conversion ability, swapping the staff's Spirit and Intelligence bonuses into pure Constitution:
[Crimson Dawn (SSS): +60 Constitution, +55 Constitution, +100% Spell Vamp.]
His Constitution soared to 311, his HP nearing 10,000. As a Divine Fury Mage, his anti-demon skill now packs a punch north of 70,000 damage.
"Not bad for a day's work," he murmured, sprawling back on the bed with a satisfied sigh, hands folded behind his head. "If third place gives this much loot… what kind of treasure do you get for first?" The thought made his mouth water.
Tomorrow, he'd hit the auction house before diving back into the dungeon. His raw firepower was more than enough now; what he needed was speed. If he could snag a good mobility skill or speed-enhancing gear, his clear times would plummet.
And when that happened, the name Demon-Slayer would no longer sit in third place.