Venix recalled the last day he spent with Ronan.

  At that time, Ronan had just become a Seedbound, his face radiating an unquenchable enthusiasm.

  He talked endlessly, detailing every aspect of his newfound power with sparkling eyes, almost making Venix forget the doubts that had once clouded his mind.

  Ronan’s confidence soared like the stars in the night sky, reminding Venix of an endless cosmic expanse.

  Venix could still remember how Ronan was so certain that Earth’s civilization was about to enter a golden age, surpassing all of its past achievements.

  But now, all of that had turned to ashes—Ronan included.

  “Ronan… he was killed in the war,” said Rael hoarsely, his voice cracking. He coughed repeatedly, clutching his chest as if the words themselves weighed too heavily to be spoken.

  Venix stared at Rael's frail body, feeling a tightness in his chest for a brief moment.

  But he quickly took a deep breath, setting aside the grief pressing against him. He focused his mind on channeling energy into Rael’s battered body, carefully checking for the hidden wounds beneath his tattered clothing.

  It became evident that Rael’s body carried severe internal injuries, a testament to the grueling trials he had endured over the past month just to survive.

  Though Venix wasn’t trained in medicine, one glance was enough to tell him that Rael’s condition was dire.

  Venix furrowed his brow, his sharp gaze probing Rael as though attempting to uncover the secrets behind his exhausted face. “Tell me—what really happened? How did you end up like this?”

  Quickly, Venix accessed his inventory system, his eyes darting with precision as he searched for what he needed.

  He retrieved a pale green pill, an item specifically prepared for situations like this—to heal significant physical injuries.

  “Swallow this,” Venix said firmly but gently as he carefully opened Rael’s mouth and placed the pill on the edge of his lips. “Don’t move too much. Let your body do the work.”

  With his strength, Venix aided in pushing the pill into Rael’s system.

  A minute later, Rael began to feel his body recovering. The healing effects of the pill seeped through him, steadily restoring his vitality.

  “What… what did you give me?” Rael asked, astonished.

  The pill’s effects were so potent that the changes in his body were almost immediate.

  “It’s a healing pill. If I explained where it came from, we’d be here all day,” Venix replied, shaking his head slightly before continuing, “Now, tell me—what’s been happening over the past month?”

  Rael let out a long, heavy sigh, the sound resonating deep in his chest as though carrying the weight of his burdens.

  He looked at Venix, as if searching for the courage to speak, before finally recounting the events of the past.

  When fighter jets attacked their city, leaving countless dead, a combined force of hundreds of Seedbound from the Police Department had managed to repel the assault.

  Hearing there were hundreds of Seedbound, Venix silently cursed.

  The strength hidden by the Police Department far exceeded anything Venix had anticipated.

  With unwavering confidence, the leaders of Sundance City had rallied hundreds of Seedbound to counterattack their enemies.

  Though Rael no longer looked like the person he once was, he explained that those in charge had long been aware of the factions possessing Awaken powers.

  That’s why the counterattack was launched within less than a day—proof that the enemy’s location was already known.

  Venix had suspected as much. But he hadn’t expected the numbers to be so vast.

  And perhaps there were hundreds of other factions across the globe building armies of Awaken.

  And this was just Earth. What about other planets, like Mars, Europia, and Titania?

  How far had they progressed along the path of Origin?

  Ronan, who had been among the first recruits to join the Police Department, also fought in that war.

  Briefly, Ronan had told Rael that they had won the battle, successfully driving back their enemies—who turned out to be residents of a neighboring city.

  Rael also mentioned that at the time, Ronan appeared different, burdened, as if he had been forced into it.

  Then came the rise of Monsters, a real threat looming over humanity.

  Rael explained how the Seedbound worked tirelessly to hunt and slaughter Monsters. Even if the Monsters fled the city, the Seedbound would chase them down, leaving no escape.

  That’s why Sundance City had such a substantial supply of Monster corpses in their storage.

  Ronan had said that within a Monster’s body lay a Monster Core, along with other components crucial for a Seedbound’s advancement.

  Thus, while Monsters brought danger, they also offered blessings to the Seedbound, providing valuable resources to enhance their powers.

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  Two weeks ago, Rael mentioned that Ronan’s mother had passed away in this very mall building. Ronan had tried to seek medical assistance for her, but his requests were ignored by his superiors, who claimed they had more critical missions to attend to.

  Under such conditions, Ronan had been forced to continue hunting Monsters. Rael even recalled a moment when a seductive woman threatened to strangle Ronan’s younger sister, Nina, unless Ronan followed her orders.

  Rael said Ronan had begged for Nina to become an Awaken, agreeing only then to comply with their demands.

  After a long debate, Nina was finally transformed into a Seedbound and signed a contract with the leader of Sundance City.

  That was the last time Rael saw Ronan.

  A few days later, Nina, now a Seedbound, approached Rael to inform him that Ronan had fallen in battle.

  Nina explained that during a Monster hunt, Sundance City’s hunting group was ambushed by enemies, resulting in the death of every member, including Ronan.

  At the time, Nina told Rael that she was being reassigned elsewhere—likely their final goodbye.

  Before leaving, Nina handed Rael a small cloth bag containing two Monster Cores.

  These were items Ronan had prepared to give to Rael once he became an Awaken.

  But with Ronan gone and Nina leaving, she had no choice but to pass them directly to Rael.

  “Let me guess… You were hunted by the Seedbound in Sundance City, and they stole the Monster Cores from you?” Venix asked coldly.

  Rael smiled bitterly. “That’s right. I knew how valuable they were, so I refused to give them up easily.”

  Venix’s gaze sharpened. “You tried to fight them?”

  “Sharp as ever, aren’t you?” Rael replied with a cynical smile.

  The two Monster Cores were stolen, and Rael failed to protect the precious items.

  His resistance angered the Seedbound, leading to his mistreatment—being denied daily rations and subjected to humiliation.

  This explained his emaciated condition, worsened by the grueling labor he was forced to do for the Seedbound.

  Venix, on the other hand, couldn’t blame Nina for entrusting the valuable items to Rael.

  Inexperience and ignorance of humanity’s greed often blinded people to such mistakes.

  Venix himself had once intended to give an Awaken Elixir to Alice with good intentions, only for Alice to realize that possessing something valuable could be a curse for the weak.

  With a long sigh, Venix struggled to suppress the anger brewing within him.

  “Now it’s your turn… How are you still alive?” Rael asked, curiosity filling his face.

  Ronan and Rael had both seen Venix’s corpse—identifiable by the unmistakable cut to his neck.

  If it had been a hand or foot, survival might have been remotely possible. But the neck? Not even a Seedbound could survive that.

  “Would you believe me if I said I was reborn today?” Venix replied calmly.

  “I get it. Everyone has their secrets,” Rael said with a relaxed smile.

  “I’ve been honest with you,” Venix sighed.

  Sometimes, the truth was harder to accept than a lie.

  “Venix…” Rael said softly, looking at him, “Are you a Seedbound?”

  “Yes and no,” Venix replied, meeting Rael’s gaze. “I’m at the Awaken level but haven’t reached Seedbound yet.”

  Rael froze. “What’s the difference?”

  To Rael, an Awaken was someone who had awakened their powers, while Seedbound was simply the next level.

  Venix sighed. “Awaken and Seedbound are two entirely different things. They—”

  Before he could finish, a deafening siren blared throughout Sundance City, waking everyone from their sleep.

  Hearing the siren, Venix felt a surge of tension.

  “A group has entered Sundance City illegally,” Rael said, shaking his head slightly, as though accustomed to this.

  Venix turned to look at him. “Why would they enter Sundance City? Are they looking for war?”

  Rael responded calmly, “They’re here to steal resources needed by the Seedbound. It’s happened several times before.”

  Seeing Rael’s calm demeanor, Venix frowned. “Why are you so indifferent? Have you given up on living?”

  The enemies had come to attack this place, and it was natural that this situation was quite dangerous, especially for ordinary humans like Rael.

  "Their target is far from here," Rael shook his head slightly. "The warehouse storing the Seedbound resources is located in the core area of Sundance City, where the Seedbound reside."

  The enemy's previous attacks were similar to this one, neither disturbing nor targeting ordinary humans without clear reasons.

  "They don’t care about us, ordinary humans, because, in the end, aside from making us work for them, we’re useless to them," Rael said with a cynical smile.

  As Rael had said, Venix noticed that the people who had been woken up by the blaring sirens were now lying back down, trying to resume their sleep without a hint of worry.

  Seeing this, Venix finally breathed a sigh of relief.

  Venix pulled out ten healing pills and handed them to Rael.

  "This is the perfect opportunity for me to leave this place," Venix said as he placed the ten pills into Rael’s open palm, which then closed around them tightly.

  "You’re leaving?" Worry flashed across Rael's face. "That contract isn’t simple. If you leave, they’ll kill you in seconds!"

  Rael had once witnessed a Seedbound who tried to steal resources from the storage warehouse and planned to flee Sundance City. But before the person could escape, a voice stopped him, rendering him immobile.

  After that, the voice ordered the traitor to skin himself alive.

  To Rael's shock, the man actually skinned himself, accompanied by horrifying screams and pleas for mercy.

  "Who said I made a contract with them?" Venix replied with a small smile. "I entered Sundance City as an ordinary human."

  "How is that possible?" Rael was stunned.

  Venix shook his head and said, "Do you remember why I was always asleep, even to the point of being taken to the hospital with the help of you two?"

  Rael immediately recalled an incident from a month ago when his life had been running smoothly as planned. Though it had only been a month, Rael felt as if ten years had passed during that time.

  "I already had Awaken powers back then," Venix said gently, continuing, "My powers took me into a dream world where I had to complete certain tasks to gain strength."

  Venix shared half the truth with Rael, concealing the Virtual Ascension system.

  Rael looked at Venix with a mix of confusion and disbelief. "Then, the reason you didn’t wake up for days back then…"

  "I was on a specific mission in the dream world," Venix explained. "If I failed, I would die, and there was no way to stop the mission midway."

  Rael fell silent at this revelation.

  "I also have an important mission in the dream world now," Venix added. "If I fail, I might lose myself. Even though I want to take you away from this place, failing would put you in danger as well."

  Rael smiled and patted Venix on the shoulder. "I trust you."

  Whether Rael truly believed him, Venix couldn’t tell.

  "At most, one month," Venix said, continuing, "I’ll come back here and take you away."

  "I’m just an ordinary human. I’d only be a burden to you," Rael admitted, aware of his own limitations.

  "I might be able to help you become an Awaken," Venix said with a serious expression.

  Hearing this, Rael’s eyes lit up slightly. "Really?"

  "Where do you think I got those pills from? I can bring some items from the dream world into reality," Venix explained honestly.

  Rael glanced at the pills in his hand and felt slightly reassured.

  "I’ll wait for you then," Rael said after a brief moment of consideration.

  "Don’t cause any trouble, and be careful," Venix said firmly.

  It was impossible to completely convince Rael, but Venix had done his best.

  If Venix were in Rael’s position, he would likely feel the same way, perhaps even suspecting that his friend simply didn’t want to carry a burden on his back.

  With that, Venix said his goodbyes to Rael and left the mall building.

  Seeing Alice, who was trying to sleep, Venix sighed, knowing he couldn’t give her anything and would only end up making her a target for others.

  Venix took out an Acceleration Pill from his inventory and swallowed it.

  Using it twice in succession would weaken his body for a few days, but Venix didn’t mind.

  Amid the blaring sirens, Venix saw colorful lights in the sky, indicating that the battle had already begun.

  "It’s time to go," Venix said softly but firmly.

  In the midst of this chaos, the Seedbound were focused on blocking those entering Sundance City, paying no attention to Venix as he carefully approached the perimeter fence, preparing to leave Sundance City.