The rank up pain came to him, exploded within Eli's body.
The system voice echoed in his mind.
[RANK D UNLOCKED]
[NEW ABILITIES ACQUIRED]
[SOUL PURIFICATION (ACTIVE) - CLEANSE OTHERS' CORRUPTION]
[SOUL CHAIN (ACTIVE) - LINK MULTIPLE SOULS FOR SEQUENTIAL CONSUMPTION]
[SOUL SENSE (PASSIVE) - DETECT CORRUPTED SOULS WITHIN 500M RADIUS]
[SOUL BARRIER: REINFORCED - 15 SECOND DURATION, EXTENDABLE TO OTHERS]
[SAFE ZONE UPGRADE AVAILABLE]
[COMBAT UPGRADES APPLIED]
Information flooded his brain. The new techniques, the new abilities, and a deeper understanding of his powers.
It was also giving him the firearm proficiency directly into his brain. How to clear jams, how to compensate for recoil, and how to lead moving targets.
Eli collapsed to one knee behind an overturned shelf, gasping. Marcus and Linda couldn't see him from their position at the front of the store.
But he felt… different. Stronger, and more in control about his power.
[RANK: D]
[HUMANITY INDEX: 63%]
[SOULS PROCESSED: 35]
[EXP: 180/10,000 TO RANK C]
[GRASP RANGE: 3M -> 10M]
[CORRUPTION RESISTANCE: +30%]
[WARNING: UNCLAIMED REWARDS DETECTED]
[BASIC SUPPLY CACHE X2 UNCLAIMED]
[SAFE ZONE UPGRADE MENU: LOCKED UNTIL CLAIMED]
Eli blinked. Supply caches. He had completed quests but never actually opened the rewards.
'How did I miss this?' he thought, then realized that he had been too focused on survival. Too busy fighting and scavenging to check if there was a reward system beyond experience points.
Eli focused inward, on the system interface that floated in his vision.
[INVENTORY SYSTEM UNLOCKED]
[RANK D PRIVILEGE: BASIC STORAGE (10 SLOTS)]
[CURRENT ITEMS: 0/10]
A new menu appeared. It was simple and clean, like a video game interface. Three notifications blinked at the bottom.
[UNCLAIMED REWARDS: 3]
[BASIC SUPPLY CACHE X2]
[ADVANCED SUPPLY CACHE X1]
[CLAIM ALL?]
Eli mentally selected "YES."
[CLAIMING REWARDS…]
[BASIC SUPPLY CACHE #1]
A shimmer of blue light materialized in front of him. Not physical at first, then it solidified. Items appeared at his feet with soft thuds.
[BASIC SUPPLY CACHE OPENED]
[REWARDS:]
[- MEDICAL KIT (ADVANCED): Contains antibiotics, painkillers, surgical supplies]
[- DRIED FOOD X20]
[- BOTTLED WATER X15]
[- RANDOM ITEM: COMPACT BINOCULARS]
Eli stared at the supplies that had literally materialized from nothing.
"What the hell…"
He picked up the medical kit. The item was real, solid and heavy. A professional grade kit.
The binoculars felt expensive. It was a military grade one with night vision capability.
"Eli?" Marcus appeared around the shelf. "Holy shit, where did that come from?"
"System reward," Eli said, still processing. "From a quest I completed the other day. I just never claimed it."
"You're telling me We've been rationing supplies while you had a magic loot box sitting unclaimed?"
"I didn't know!" Eli said defensively. "The system never explained there was an inventory feature!"
[BASIC SUPPLY CACHE #2]
More lights appeared, and more items.
[BASIC SUPPLY CACHE OPENED]
Ammunition boxes stacked themselves neatly at his feet. Marcus scrambled over, his hands shaking as he picked up a box of rifle rounds.
"Dude. DUDE. This is like… actual video game loot."
"Yeah," Eli said quietly. "It really is."
Linda came over, staring at the supplies appearing from thin air. "This is impossible."
"So are walking corpses," Eli pointed out. "But here we are."
[ADVANCED SUPPLY CACHE]
This time, the light was brighter and the shimmer lasted longer. Eli could feel power radiating from whatever was about to appear.
[ADVANCED SUPPLY CACHE OPENED]
A rifle materialized first. It wasn't a standard M4. This one had faint blue etchings along the barrel, and the grip felt alive to the touch.
[M4 CARBINE (SOUL-ATTUNED)]
[SPECIAL PROPERTY: ROUNDS FIRED DEAL ADDITIONAL SOUL DAMAGE TO CORRUPTED ENTITIES]
[MAGAZINE CAPACITY: 30 ROUNDS]
[EFFECTIVE RANGE: 500M]
[DURABILITY: SELF REPAIRING (ABSORBS RESIDUAL SOUL ENERGY)]
Next came the tactical vest. It was black, lightweight, with strange patterns etched into the fabric that pulsed with faint blue light.
[TACTICAL VEST]
[DEFENSE: MODERATE PHYSICAL PROTECTION]
[SPECIAL PROPERTY: REDUCES CORRUPTION INTAKE BY 15%]
[DURABILITY: HIGH]
[WEIGHT: 3.2 LBS]
Then the potions. Three small vials filled with golden liquid that pulsed warm light, each about the size of a shot glass.
[HUMANITY RESTORATION POTION]
[EFFECT: RESTORES 10% HUMANITY IMMEDIATELY]
[WARNING: MAXIMUM 3 USES PER 24 HOURS]
[SIDE EFFECT: MILD DROWSINESS FOR 30 MINUTES]
Eli picked up one of the vials carefully. It was warm, almost alive in his hand. The liquid inside swirled like liquild gold.
"This…" his voice cracked. "This restores my humanity without the pain. Without meditation. Without the six hour cooldown."
The implications hit him, he could push harder, fight longer, and taked more risks.
Next, was the portable generator. It was compact, maybe the size of a large briefcase. Solar panels folded out from the sides, and a small LCD screen showed battery capacity.
And finally, two rolled up blueprints materialized, bound with blue cord.
It was the water collection blueprint.
Marcus was speechless. He walked around the pile of loot, touching each item like it might disappear.
"This is insane," he said. "You're telling me the system just… gives you this stuff? For free?"
"For completing quests," Eli corrected. "But yeah. I had no idea this was even possible."
Linda picked up the water collection blueprint, unrolling it. Her eyes widened.
"This is incredibly detailed. Engineering diagrams, materials list, step by step instructions… With this, we would never have to risk supply runs for water again."
"And the generator…"Marcus pointed at it with his finger. "We could have lights. Power. Charge phones if the towers ever come back. Maybe even run a radio."
Eli put on the tactical vest. It fit perfectly, adjusting to his frame automatically like it was custom made. The moment it settled against his chest, he felt the difference immediately.
The constant cold pressure from corruption that had been building up since he started consuming souls, diminished noticeably.
[CORRUPTION RESISTANCE ACTIVE]
[BASE RESISTANCE: 30% (RANK D BONUS)]
[VEST BONUS: +15%]
[TOTAL CORRUPTION RESISTANCE: 45%]
[EFFECTIVE HUMANITY TRESHOLD INCREASED]
[CURRENT HUMANITY: 63%]
[CORRUPTION BUFFER: +15% EFFECTIVE=78% RESISTANCE BEFORE CRITICAL TRESHOLD]
"The vest…" Eli whispered. "It's giving me a buffer. I can consume more souls before hitting the 50% threshold. This changes everything."