Inside the gate...
We were greeted by a horde of six-legged wolves—around two hundred of them. Their crimson eyes gleamed under the moonlight, staring at us like prey.
Moments later, a system window appeared in the air.
[Entering Gate]
[Dimension #0472 : Valeum Lupin]
The place felt cold and quiet, a vast green field under a night sky.But the air was heavy—the full moon above was unnaturally bright, and the tension was suffocating.
Before we could even take a breath, a killing intent flooded the air.
The wolves howled in unison.
And they charged.
We readied our weapons.I raised my hand, ready to use the ability I had stolen before—but… nothing happened.
It felt like my body had forgotten how.
I tried again.Still no response.The familiar surge from Muscle Addict was gone.
I quickly opened my ability subspace.
[Ability Subspace]
[1. Muscle Addict (Copy)]
[Previously devoured abilities can no longer be reused]
I froze.No longer be reused?
Does that mean… once I use an ability, it's gone forever?
"What...? I can't use it again…?" I muttered in disbelief.
My teammates stared, waiting for me to move.As a fighter, I was supposed to lead the charge.
"Hey, Ryuumin!" shouted Min-Jun. "What are you doing!?"
I hesitated. Before I could answer, Dong-Hyun rushed forward, taking the front line.
"I'll pull aggro! Soo-Min, cover my flank! Ji-Hoon, circle to the rear! Min-Jun, charge up your long-range spell!"He glanced back at me mid-battle."And you, Ryuumin! Move your ass already!"
Gritting my teeth, I shouted back, "My ability... it's not working!"
The entire party froze for a split second."What?!" Dong-Hyun yelled. "Why didn't you say that earlier?!"
"I didn't know this would happen!" I shot back.
The fight turned ugly.Without me, Dong-Hyun had to tank everything.Cooldowns stacked, stamina drained, and half the pack was still alive.
I clenched my fists.This couldn't go on.I still had one card left.
I activated my unique ability.
[Starfall Greedy]
[List of Devourable Skills]
[1. Iron Pulse (Kang Dong-Hyun)]
[2. Shade Step (Lee Ji-Hoon)]
[3. Sonic Mirage (Jung Soo-Min)]
[4. Ember Rune (Kim Min-Jun)]
[5. Blood Howl (Six-Legged Wolf)]
[6. Venom Fang (Six-Legged Wolf)]
[7. Lupine Rush (Six-Legged Wolf)]
[Select one to copy]
I scanned the list.All tempting.But one stood out—Lupine Rush. A predator's speed and ferocity—perfect for a close-range fighter.
I chose it.
[Lupine Rush]
[A burst of primal speed and strength, increasing 13% agility and 11% strength for 30 seconds. This Ability will decrease by 0,5% per second after 15 seconds after activation. Maximum 5% reduction ]
[Lupine Rush (Copy)]
[A burst of primal speed and strength, increasing 10% agility and 7% strength for 30 seconds. This Ability will decrease by 0.3% per second after 15 seconds after activation. Maximum 3% reduction.]
Energy surged through my veins.My body grew lighter—every step faster.I darted into the pack, cutting down wolves one after another.
Minutes later, the entire horde lay dead on the grass.
The others stared at me, speechless.
Dong-Hyun laughed between gasps."Ha! Look at this guy—first gate and he's already a monster!"
Min-Jun exhaled, smiling faintly."If not for him, we'd be dead by now. Nice work, Ryuumin."
We pressed on until we reached a rocky plain.In the center stood a massive beast—three times the size of the others.Its black fur shimmered under the moonlight, and a scar shaped like a crescent ran across its chest.
Alpha Lupin, King of Valeum.
The battle began.
Dong-Hyun took the lead, I followed on his right. Soo-Min's arrows rained from above, Min-Jun's runes exploded in fiery bursts, and Ji-Hoon sliced through the beast's legs.
But even after minutes of relentless assault…
"Its HP's still half!" Min-Jun shouted, panting hard.
My ability timer ran out.Breath ragged, I opened the system again.
[Starfall Greedy]
[List of Devourable Skills]
[1. Iron Pulse (Kang Dong-Hyun)]
[2. Shade Step (Lee Ji-Hoon)]
[3. Sonic Mirage (Jung Soo-Min)]
[4. Ember Rune (Kim Min-Jun)]
[5. Lunar Devour (Alpha Lupin)]
[6. Roar of Dominion (Alpha Lupin)]
[7. Night Prowl (Alpha Lupin)]
[8. Shadow Heal (Alpha Lupin)]
[9. Berserker Instinct (Alpha Lupin)]
[Select one to copy]
My eyes widened."Five abilities? Do all Invaders have multiple skills like this...?"
I chose Lunar Devour—it looked the most powerful.
[Lunar Devour]
[Grows a moon symbol on the forehead. Absorbs lunar energy to increase 15% physical status for 5 seconds and regenerates wounds 3x faster.]
[Lunar Devour (Copy)]
[Grows a moon symbol on the forehead. Absorbs lunar energy to increase 7.5% physical status for 5 seconds and regenerates wounds 1.5x faster.]
I lunged forward again.But before we could finish it, the Alpha howled.The ground cracked open—moonlight pulsed violently from its body.
Boom!
The explosion flung us away.
Dong-Hyun screamed, his arm torn. Soo-Min collapsed. Ji-Hoon's face was bleeding, Min-Jun could barely stand.
Then—more wolves appeared.Dozens of them.Twice as many as before.
We held on as best we could to hold off the enemy.
Half an hour had passed, and we were only able to hold off a quarter of the wolves that had appeared.
Ji-Hoon and Min-Jun were still trying hard, but the weakened Dong-hyun could only block one attack from each wolf, unable to draw aggro.
An hour passed, and with his remaining strength, Min-Jun was finally unable to use his abilities due to his stamina exhaustion. Ji-Hoon, trying to finish off another monster, was knocked back.
"Damn, we wasted so much time on the green gate, and we almost got wiped out," Ji-Hoon said after being knocked back.
Dong-Hyun was powerless and crouched down after knocking back two monsters that were attacking him simultaneously.
"Are we… gonna die here?" Ji-Hoon growled.
"Stay calm! As long as we kill the boss, we win!" yelled Dong-Hyun, his voice trembling.
"With what, huh!? Our ranger's down, our mage's out of mana, and you're bleeding out!" Ji-Hoon barked back.
I stepped forward.
"Don't worry. I've got an idea."
Moments earlier…
I had opened the system again.
[Starfall Greedy]
[List of Devourable Skills]
[1. Iron Pulse (Kang Dong-Hyun)]
[2. Shade Step (Lee Ji-Hoon)]
[3. Sonic Mirage (Jung Soo-Min)]
[4. Ember Rune (Kim Min-Jun)]
[5. Roar of Dominion (Alpha Lupin)]
[6. Night Prowl (Alpha Lupin)]
[7. Shadow Heal (Alpha Lupin)]
[8. Berseker Instinc (Alpha Lupin)]
[Select one to copy]
I thought carefully.In this situation… Dong-Hyun's toughness will help the most.
I selected it.
[Iron Pulse Bastion]
[Hardens the user's muscles and skin for 120 seconds, granting absolute resistance to physical damage but reducing the user's damage output by 20%.]
[Iron Pulse Bastion (Copy)]
[Hardens the user's muscles and skin for 120 seconds, providing resistance to physical damage but this effect will only reduce the damage received by the user according to 2x the user's strength and the user's attacks will decrease by 15%.]
Then, the system chimed again.
[Fusion Function Unlocked]
[Starfall Greedy has devoured four distinct abilities. They can now be fused into a single unique ability.]
[Ability Subspace]
[1. Muscle Addict (Copy)]
[2. Lupine Rush (Copy)]
[3. Lunar Devour (Copy)]
[4. Iron Pulse (Copy)]
[Would you like to combine them?]
[Y/N]
Without hesitation, I pressed Yes.
[Creating New Ability...]
Back to the present.
I stepped forward through the dust and smoke, my body battered and bleeding.
"Ryuumin! Stop! You'll die!" shouted Dong-Hyun.
Ji-Hoon gave a bitter laugh."Let him go. If he wants to die, let him do it his way."
I stopped a few meters from the Alpha Lupin.Our eyes locked—predator to predator.
It roared.
I exhaled.
"It starts now."
[New Ability Created]
[Lycanbound Overdrive]
[A combination of strength, instinct, regeneration, and defense. The user enters a semi-lycan state, increasing all stats by 60% for 600 seconds. Risks: temporary loss of control and extreme fatigue afterward..]
To Be Continued....