Chapter 3: Ability

  My gaze lingered on the ability [Death Opposer].

  Solrick never had this before so where’s this coming from so what’s this thing?

  “Ability, huh?”

  I thought about how fascinating and extraordinary these abilities were.

  There are four major intelligent races in this world: dwarves, elves, giants, dragons and humans.

  Among them, humans are both the weakest and the strongest.

  Individually, they are inferior. A dwarf surpasses them in endurance, an elf in affinity with mana, a giant in raw physical power, and a dragon in nearly every conceivable aspect. Yet humans possess something no other race can obtain.

  They are the only race capable of receiving divine blessings.

  Eight orthodox gods stand at the peak of existence, and only worthy humans may inherit their power.

  The God of Light, embodiment of radiance, divinity, and judgment.

  The God of Strength, patron of power, endurance, and honor.

  The God of Sorcery, keeper of knowledge, arcane mysteries, and curiosity.

  The God of Storm, sovereign of thunder, destruction, and ruin.

  The God of Clouds, lord of wind, sky, and freedom.

  The God of Hunting, master of blood, beasts, and survival.

  The God of Scorch, tyrant of fire, ash, and war.

  The God of Darkness, horror in mist, silence, and secrecy.

  Through these blessings, humans gained enhanced bodies and sharpened minds that surpassed their natural limits. With each rank they ascended, they awakened new and increasingly powerful abilities.

  It was this divine favoritism that allowed them to dominate the new era after the decline of the dragon race.

  But the eight gods were not the only divine beings in existence.

  There were others being called the evil gods.

  While the orthodox gods granted blessings, these beings forcefully took them under and turned them into followers.

  Just like how the God of Truth—deity of soul, mind, and history—branded Solrick as its follower against his will.

  Those who received blessings from the evil gods are called cultists.

  The eight gods could not tolerate such heresy. And so, they imposed a universal curse upon every human who accepted the blessing of an evil god.

  From a scripture that Solrick found, the curse was at the following.

  The God of Light marked them as abominations, causing ordinary people to feel instinctive hostility merely by standing near them.

  The God of Strength crushed their physique to that of an average person no matter how hard they train.

  The God of Hunting ensured their blood could never fully conceal their identity; from a single drop, they could be traced.

  The God of Sorcery twisted magic itself, preventing healing or strengthening spells from working properly on them, while amplifying harmful effects.

  This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

  The God of Scorch tainted their fortune, introducing the possibility of failure when activating the abilities from their blessing.

  The God of Clouds shackled their growth, making advancement much more difficult than it should be.

  The God of Storm distorted the flow of power, extending cooldowns the more frequently abilities were used.

  And the God of Darkness interfered with their fate, ensuring misfortune followed them like a shadow in the form of a [Bad Event].

  The curses did not merely hinder — they merged, coiling around the followers of the God of Truth like invisible chains, ensuring their lives would be short, hunted, and miserable.

  And in this world, only one man was openly known to bear that burden.

  Solrick Terrestrial and now I…

  Calling this place a hell designed specifically for me would not be an exaggeration anymore.

  But at least my strength was above average for a normal person due to the ability that I possessed.

  [Eye of Truth] allows me to perceive the status of myself and others along with their abilities, actions, and identities.

  [Thought Manipulation] interferes with the natural current of thought, subtly tilting a person’s reasoning in my favor without them realizing their judgment has been nudged.

  Both abilities originate from the blessing of the God of Truth.

  [Flesh Sacrifice], however, is different. That ability was something Solrick obtained after consuming the flesh of a fiend, granting him the grotesque power to reshape living tissue according to his will.

  Then back to [Death Opposer] …

  That was new.

  Solrick never possessed such an ability.

  Could it have manifested because I revived from death?

  “If that’s the case… why is it recharging?”

  [Death Opposer] was gray, unlike the rest of the abilities that were glistening gold, meaning that it had already been used.

  Was it the reason I returned?

  That still didn’t explain how Solrick acquired it in the first place!

  Perhaps it was born from the ritual. Perhaps from the countless lives he extinguished. Or perhaps the God of Truth had intervened in a way neither of us fully understood.

  I exhaled slowly.

  Whatever the origin, the existence of a new ability — especially one related to death — was not entirely bad news.

  For the first time since waking up, something resembling cautious optimism stirred inside me.

  If I truly possessed a power that could defy death, even once…

  Then this hell wasn’t completely unwinnable.

  The thought steadied my breathing and my hands stopped trembling.

  “Memory of Solrick, sometimes usable abilities and system window—these cards are still shit, but they're not completely unusable."

  I wasn’t completely powerless after all.

  “Now this is what positivity feels like.”

  I unknowingly let out a chuckle before glancing around the once bloodstained ritual chamber with sharper eyes than before.

  “I should go to the surface."

  But first he had to go to where Solrick built his cult at, there should be something left there.

  I slowly walk toward a certain plank of the wall where there should be the entrance to the outside.

  “Alright.” I muttered under my breath, brushing dried sweat from my neck.

  “Let’s get out of here.”

  I reached toward a specific spot on the wooden wall and pressed it lightly.

  Then I stood there waiting for the hidden magic to unfold…

  Nothing happens?

  “...Maybe I should press harder.”

  This place is a hidden room that Solrick coincidentally finds during his searching for “ingredients” that can only be entered or left through a concealed mechanism embedded within the structure, something that I am trying to figure out.

  The nature of this place was bizarre even for someone like Solrick, as it masked all presence within, blocked divine detection, and resisted heavy magical assault.

  A perfect hidden fortress for a wanted criminal like Solrick who is pathetically weak.

  …Not too perfect, though, since it clearly has been breached by a knight.

  Maybe the knight has broken something here, causing the trigger to fail.

  "You've got to be kidding me.”

  I pressed again but slower and with more force this time.

  Still nothing.

  I narrowed my eyes and began to glare at the wall.

  "...Could it be the knight has tampered with it?"

  He doubted a knight could accomplish something like that. But that one had been… strange. So there was a possibility.

  If he went as far as cleaning the pool of blood, who knows what else he might have done to this room?

  I crouched down and began pressing different planks experimentally.

  Left corner.

  Nothing.

  Right side.

  Nothing.

  Middle beam.

  Nothing.

  I exhaled sharply and leaned my forehead against the wall.

  “Of course. Of course, the escape route doesn’t work when I need it.”

  I gritted my teeth and then stepped back before driving my fist into the wooden plank, hitting it out of anger.

  The moment my knuckles struck—

  A pulse of blue light exploded outward across the surface like ripples through water.

  “…Oh.”

  It actually works!

  A blue light enveloped me, and even though my body was still the same, I could see the lower half of my body was slowly disintegrating.

  At the same time, my body has gone still like a statue and a wave of nausea rolled through me.

  “Why does it have to activate like that—”

  Just when the disintegration was about to reach my eyes, a familiar yellow screen flashed before me.

  But this time, it wasn’t about a stats increase or anything positive at all.

  [A Bad Event has occurred.]

  My expression froze.

  “...Shit.”

  Something dire was about to happen.