Darkness.
It wasn't just the absence of light—but the heavy, pressing kind. The kind that clings to your skin, wraps around your bones, and sits in your lungs like smoke. He stirred for the first time, a gasp pulling air into unfamiliar lungs. His body was foreign—small, raw, burning with heat and newness.
"Where… am I?"
The thought surfaced slowly. And then came memory—flashes of his old life. His name was Nero, once a renowned martial artist who transcended weapon styles, fusing them into his own creation: Nero Style. He died in a moment of selfless instinct—saving a child from a runaway truck. Then, silence.
Now he was here.
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True Name: Numen registered
Welcome to the Path of Demon God.
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The voice rang cold and mechanical inside his skull, a presence woven into his very soul.
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System Activated — Path of Demon God
You have been reborn in Hellworld, the crucible of demons.
Assigning base parameters…
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A glowing panel opened before him like a sheet of glass suspended in the air.
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[Status Window]
True Name: Numen
Alias: Nero
Race: Demonkin (Variant – Non-Elemental)
Level: 1
EXP: 0 / 100
STR: 4
DEX: 5
VIT: 3
INT: 6
Skills: None
Traits:
GOD Furnace (Locked)
Gluttony (Dormant)
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Nero blinked at the screen, his mind racing to adjust. His hands—long and clawed—trembled slightly. His skin was obsidian black, his form lithe, barely adolescent. This was no human body. He was now something else. A demonkin, reborn without an elemental trait in a world that thrived on them.
The cavern he was born into pulsed with ambient heat. Around him, he sensed others—newborn demonkin, raw and unstable, their power infantile but bloodthirsty.
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System Mission — Emergency
Objective: Survive
A hostile Lesser Ember Demon approaches.
Reward: 50 DGP, 30 EXP
Time Limit: Until death
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A low growl snapped his focus. A molten-skinned creature emerged from the shadows, eyes burning like coals. A Lesser Ember Demon—twice his size, primal and aggressive. It had sensed a weakling to devour.
His heart pounded, his instincts screamed. He stumbled backward, every fiber of his new body sluggish and untrained.
No weapon. No time.
He clenched his fists.
"This body… is my first weapon," he muttered.
The Ember Demon lunged. Claws met claws. Nero dodged, barely—his movement unrefined, his balance shaky. The heat scorched his skin. His footwork faltered.
But his mind remained sharp.
He had lived a life mastering the human body. His senses, his angles, his rhythm—all drilled to perfection. Now it was about recalibration. Even if he'd been reduced to an infant-like state, he still had knowledge.
He moved again—ducked low, pivoted behind the demon, raked his claws across its back. It screeched, swiped, caught his side. Pain exploded in his ribs, but he turned it into momentum.
He leapt, dug his claws into the demon's throat, and tore.
Blood and fire spilled.
The Ember Demon collapsed.
Silence fell.
---------------------------------
Mission Complete.
Reward: 50 DGP, 30 EXP
EXP Earned: 30
Total EXP: 30 / 100
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Trait Activated — Gluttony
Devour the defeated to gain strength. Chance to absorb stats, skills, or traits from consumed targets.
---------------------------------
Nero panted, still crouched atop the corpse. The victory felt unreal—earned not by power, but by will.
Then came the hunger.
Deep, gnawing, unnatural. His hands trembled not from exhaustion, but from need. His eyes locked on the still-warm flesh beneath him.
> Consume <
He hesitated. The system urged him. The hunger clawed at him. He was human—he had been. This was cannibalism.
And yet…
He took a bite.
The meat was tender. Like roasted beef—savory, rich, satisfying. His eyes widened.
Then came the surge. A pulse of warmth in his core, spreading to his limbs.
---------------------------------
You have consumed a Lesser Ember Demon.
+1 STR, +1 VIT
No skill or trait acquired.
---------------------------------
He wiped his mouth, stunned.
This… was real.
He looked at his claws again, no longer in disbelief, but with understanding.
"This world rewards the strong… and I will become stronger."
The furnace in his soul pulsed gently.
The hunger had only just begun.