2025-10-18 00:44:27"Hey! That's my name!" he shouted at the screen. Nobody turned to look at him. Devon was about to run toward that strange, large oval screen, but suddenly, parts of the enveloping darkness moved, coiling around his wrists and waist, pulling him back hard.
Devon staggered backward. He slammed onto a chair that also seemed to be made of that same deep darkness. The screen before him continued to display the next scene, unblinking.
"Anubis. Your final champion candidate will be from the human race. His name is Devon Adams Lambert. Remember, the required time for all of your champions is three months, before the competition between these champions begins."
A voice, sounding exactly like a cold, monotonous machine, announced the chilling sentence. It made the hair on Devon's arms stand up straight.
'What the hell does that mean? Champion? Competition? What does any of this have to do with my name?'
He tried to wriggle free from the strange, dark coils that held his limbs, but it was completely useless. The grip was impossibly strong, rendering him utterly immobile. He couldn't move an inch.
While he struggled in vain, the screen in front of him blinked out of existence. Total darkness enveloped his surroundings, a moist, dead-world kind of dark. Strangely, the vast void did not frighten Devon.
Then, a sudden, blinding golden light erupted from where the screen had been. His eyes instinctively squeezed shut. He couldn't cover them with his hands, of course, they were still tightly bound by those weird, massive dark ropes.
The light softened, losing its agonizing brightness. Devon opened his eyes slowly. His vision still swam, spots of light blooming and fading from the glare.
Standing before him now was a humanoid figure, impossibly tall and broad, like a giant of old. He had the head of a jackal.
Anubis. The famous Egyptian God of Death now stood directly in front of him. Even if this was just some elaborate fever dream, meeting a deity of this magnitude still filled him with pure, slack-jawed awe.
"Whoa... That is straight up dope..."
His mouth hung wide open, a stupid grin fixed on his face.
Anubis simply stared down at him. The god's animal eyes, with their unsettling vertical pupils, seemed to be coldly assessing Devon. Then He spoke. His voice boomed and echoed in the boundless darkness, deep, resonant, and overflowing with authority.
"Devon Adams Lambert."
Devon stammered, feeling like a little kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "...Y-Yes, my Lord?"
"You have been chosen to be one of my champion candidates. You will compete against the candidates of the other devils and gods."
Devon was stunned into silence. He swallowed hard. "Wait, you mean physically compete? Like, fighting and stuff?"
Anubis narrowed his jackal eyes, staring intently at Devon far below. "Correct. I will bestow upon you some of my power, as I will for the other chosen champions. I expect you to use it wisely, and not for acts that would make you indistinguishable from those demons."
Anubis's words held a very clear threat. If he committed evil acts, he would be no better than the devils? The demons? But why were the gods and devils even playing such a risky game with human lives?
Anubis gave a small, rumbling snort, as if the god had clearly heard Devon's internal questions. He ignored the profound thought, however.
"I will give you my power in stages. You must master the first stage within one week. Only then will I grant you the subsequent level of ability."
Anubis's voice began to fade, growing distant and faint. The god's towering form, too, was slowly being swallowed by the relentless darkness.
"You must become strong, and you must do it quickly. The lives of your people are in your hands."
"What? What do you mean the lives of my people are in my hands?!"
Anubis had vanished completely. Devon's frantic question simply hung in the silent, empty void, unanswered.
"Hey! Anubis! Oh, wait... My Lord? My God? Come back!"
He tried to call out to the jackal-headed god one last time. Silence was his only reply. Then, abruptly, he felt his back smack against something hard.
He hit the ground with painful force, jolting him awake. Devon sat up gasping, his heart hammering wildly in his chest, struggling to normalize his breathing.
He remained seated on his worn-out mattress. Once his breathing calmed, the pain in his chest and back felt intensely real. Far too real for just a nightmare.
'What in the actual fuck just happened? Did I seriously meet Anubis?'
He glanced to his left. Raline was fast asleep, curled up tightly under her thin blanket. He reached out, his hand hovering, then gently resting on her forehead to check her temperature.
He let out a long, shaky sigh of relief when he felt that his little sister's fever was finally breaking. It was going down.
His hand was still resting on Raline's head when a golden, transparent panel suddenly materialized right in front of him. Bright, shimmering black text glowed within the gold frame.
[SYSTEM ACTIVATED]
[Welcome, Heir of Anubis]
"Huh? What is this bullshit?"
Devon wasn't unfamiliar with the concept of a system panel. The problem was, these were supposed to exist only in trendy fantasy novels or LitRPG comics. Not in real life.
[You can access your Status Window by calling it.]
The text on the panel shifted. Devon was utterly speechless. "Status Window...? Seriously? This is straight out of a manwha..."
He hadn't meant to say the words out loud, but as soon as he did, the panel changed again. The initial welcome message vanished, replaced by a detailed, glowing display.
[STATUS WINDOW]
[Name: Devon Adams Lambert]
[Title: Heir of Anubis]
[Rank: C — Adept Absorber]
[Level: 1]
[Experience (EX): 0/100]
[Health: 220/220]
[Mortuary Essence (ME): 100/100]
[Statistics:]
* [Strength (STR): 14]
* [Agility (AGI): 13]
* [Vitality (VIT): 15]
* [Intelligence (INT): 16]
* [Wisdom (WIS): 17]
* [Charisma (CHA): 10]
* [Defense (DEF): 13]
* [Luck (LCK): 11]
[Skills:]
* [Death Sight (Passive): Detects the presence, movement, and residual aura of souls, both living and dead, within 200 meters. Clarity of vision depends on spiritual resistance and environment.]
* [Essence Siphon (Active): Draws Mortuary Essence (ME) from corpses or defeated enemies. ME yield depends on victim's rank and soul integrity. Can be channeled into healing or skill evolution.]
* [Minor Life Drain (Active): Transfers a portion of an enemy's life-force into the heir, restoring 5-10 HP and 5-15 ME per second of contact. Overuse induces fatigue, hallucinations, or soul strain.]
* [Spectral Hand (Active): Materializes a shadowy hand capable of grasping or channeling essence from afar (range: 30m). Can manipulate light objects or draw lingering energy.]
* [Ephemeral Shift (Active): Briefly phases the heir into the boundary between life and death. Grants 2 seconds of intangibility and +50% evasion. Cooldown: 60 seconds. Costs 25 ME.]
[Passive System Effects:]
* [Soul Fragment Counter: 0]
* [Anubis's Favor: Dormant]
* [Corruption Gauge: 0%]
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Chapter 88. Rule Implementation
They reached the main building and began organizing the supplies, with Williams took charge in delegating the tasks efficiently. The territory then buzzed with people that were organizing, preparing, or even making their space more defensible and functional.Devon went to the building's upper level, looking out over their territory and the plaza beyond, where hundreds of groups were doing the same thing like their group was.But how many would actually make it through the Second Round?"Penny for your thoughts?" Raline appeared beside him, watching over the buzzling plaza below them. "Just thinking about the odds," Devon admitted. "We lost almost half the participants in the First Round. The Second Round will be worse.""Then we should get better, stronger, smarter, and more prepared. That's all we can do," Raline said simply."You make it sound easy.""It's not easy, but simple, my big bro," she replied, leaning against the railing.Devon smile slightly. His sister had always been b
Chapter 87. Viktor of Mega Faction
Seichi hunched forward, resting both elbows on his knees. His fists pressed against his chin. “Yeah, exactly. Everyone cleared an entire floor when he walked in. No one dared mess with him. That aura was no joke.” Ignatia leaned back against the stone bench she was sitting on, arms crossed tightly over her chest. “He didn’t even say a word. Just stood there, and people backed off. That’s the kind of intimidation we’ll be facing.” Devon exhaled slowly, his eyes narrowing. “So the mega faction is already flexing. Which means Neutral Ground isn’t as safe as it looks. They can move without breaking the rules.” He turned back to Seichi and Ignatia. “Did he see you?” “Yeah. We weren’t exactly hiding. Maybe he noticed us, but he didn’t approach or anything. Just looked for a minute, then moved on.” “He was sizing us up,” Seichi said. “Frida was right, Devon. There’s no way he ignores other strong groups.” “Can you guess how strong he is?” Devon pressed, trying to gather as much i
Chapter 86. Being Watched
“Where do we meet again later?” Raline asked. “Let’s regroup at the fountain after four hours. That should be enough time for everyone,” Grendel decided after thinking for a moment. They split up, each heading toward their assigned destinations to buy the supplies they needed. Devon and Raline walked together toward the medical supply section. The place was quieter, cleaner, and more organized than the rest of the Market District. The sharp smell of antiseptic filled the air. “This place almost feels normal, like when we used to shop back home,” Raline murmured as she inspected surgical tools one by one. Devon chuckled softly. “Except now we’re shopping so we don’t die in a damn death tournament.” “You’re so pessimistic…” Raline muttered, glancing at him while he just shrugged indifferently. For an hour they picked out everything needed for Raline’s medical team to treat and heal the participants. The prices were reasonable, one full medical kit cost 500 SP. They bought
Chapter 85. Shopping
Valdris laughed again, his voice sounding more like a monster than a man, then turned to face his companions. “But I think this is necessary. Devon’s our main death magic user. Boosting his abilities helps the whole alliance.”“That’s true,” Grendel admitted, his thick brows furrowing as he thought hard. “But we also need outfits for everyone, don’t forget. Don’t burn a quarter of our budget on just one damn book.”“What if we use some of our personal points?” Ignatia chimed in. “Each champion has their own stash, so it won’t drain the main pool too much.”“That’s right,” Devon said, checking his total SP, suddenly remembering he had his own.[Personal Survival Points: 18,773]His fourth-place finish in the raid had given him a hefty amount. But spending it all on one book felt risky as hell.“I’ll contribute 10,000 from my personal pool,” Klaus said, stepping forward. “Think of it as an investment in our survival.”“Haha, I’ll throw in 5,000,” Grendel added, slapping Devon’s shoulder
Chapter 84. The Market District
The Market District was massive in scale and messy in every way. Hundreds of people crowded the narrow alleys between stalls, some haggling, some arguing, and others just browsing with sharp, suspicious eyes, always questioning the price or the quality of what was being sold.Through his Death Sight, Devon could see the place was packed beyond belief. Thousands of people, a dozen powerful champions, and the cold, hollow signatures of Guardians standing evenly spaced apart, watching everything with silent vigilance.“Don’t wander off,” Grendel muttered in a low voice. “Don’t get separated, and don’t buy anything without all of us agreeing first.”They moved as one group through the main thoroughfare. Stalls lined both sides, selling anything imaginable.Weapons hung from racks on display. Swords, spears, war axes, bows and arrows, and even strange weapons Devon had never seen before. Some glowed faintly with enchantments, while others looked plain but were clearly well-crafted.Floatin
Chapter 83. Going to Market District
The evening meeting was more crowded than the afternoon one. All the champions were present, along with Williams, Lee, and several other key people in front of their alliance.Grendel stood at the head of the table, looking more rested than he had earlier. “Alright, reports. Devon, Seichi, what did you two pick up?”Devon explained their talk with Frida, including the warnings about the mega faction and the Market District info.“Viktor,” Grendel repeated the name while rubbing his beardy jaw. “Yeah, I know that name. A Rank, Odin’s golden boy. Strong as hell, but his ego bigger than a mountain. If he’s building a mega faction, that’s trouble.”“Should we try talking to them?” Ignatia asked. “You know, try to make friendly ties or something?”“No,” Valdris interjected from his corner. “Groups like that don’t do friendship. They want followers, subordinates. If we approach, they’ll smell weakness.”“So we just ignore them?” Seichi asked.“For now,” Grendel decided. “We stay neutral. Do
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