Chapter 234: Three Monsters
Adam’s panel flashed into view again, hovering directly before his eyes as the faint hum of energy around him slowly settled.
╭───────────╮
〖Name: Adam〗
〖Rank: Supreme Master〗
〖Cultivation Talent: G〗
〖Special Talent: Equip ❖ Connect ❖ Analyze ❖ Fuse〗
〖Affinity: Wind ❖ Death+〗
〖SLOT〗
↳ SOUL (8): Rapid Charge D ❖ Cryogen D ❖ Cultivation SSS ❖ Mind Control E ❖ Bone Generation D
↳ BODY (9): JUDGEMENT
↳ Gene (3): Chaos
↳ Blessing: +5 Star Power
╰───────────╯
[Star Power: 92 ±]
[Existence: 200]
[Martial Spirit: Supreme 5 Star]
Adam exhaled slowly, eyes narrowing as he processed everything in order. His slot capacity had increased, just as expected after the surge. That alone was valuable. But it wasn’t what caught his attention the most.
His gaze locked onto a single number.
Star Power: 92.
Only eight points away from a hundred.
A faint smile tugged at his lips as his fingers flexed slightly. At this level, he already knew the truth. Below Master rank, he was practically invisible. Untouchable. And even above that...
Would a Supreme Lord even survive against me?
The thought didn’t feel arrogant. It felt... accurate.
His body still carried the lingering traces of his existence hunt. The countless kills. The silent harvesting. The slow collapse of the rift’s saturation. He had done exactly what he came here to do and more.
Over time, exits had begun appearing across the rift. But he had ignored them. Back then, his existence wasn’t enough. Leaving early would have been a waste.
Now?
Now he had more than enough.
Adam lifted his head slightly, eyes scanning the distant horizon where the air itself felt... wrong. He could create an exit with ease and leave this place behind.
That had been the plan.
But something had changed.
The death affinity in the air had thickened, spreading like an unseen tide and moving toward him.
Adam’s expression sharpened instantly.
Through Connect and his heightened perception, he locked onto three distinct presences in the distance. Each one radiating death affinity far beyond anything he had encountered so far.
Stronger than elite zombies.
Much stronger.
Adam’s fingers twitched as dark energy gathered in his palm. A moment later, JUDGEMENT manifested, its presence heavy and absolute as it settled into his grip. The ground beneath his feet cracked slightly from the pressure alone.
Three targets.
Not bosses.
But not ordinary either.
Adam lowered his stance, body aligning instinctively as his breathing slowed. Every muscle adjusted. Every sense sharpened. His eyes remained fixed on the incoming threat.
"I guess..." he muttered under his breath, voice calm despite the rising pressure.
"...I’ll find out what’s going on from them."
The air split in the next moment and three massive shapes tore through the distance like projectiles, descending at terrifying speed. The ground trembled violently an instant before impact—
BOOM!
BOOM! BOOM!
The collisions struck almost simultaneously, sending shockwaves ripping across the terrain. Dust and debris exploded outward, swallowing the battlefield in a thick cloud as the ground fractured beneath the force.
Adam didn’t move.
He stood still within the chaos, eyes locked forward, JUDGEMENT steady in his hand as the dust slowly began to settle.
And within it...
Three silhouettes began to rise.
****
The dust rolled outward in slow waves, dragged by the lingering force of the impact as the ground beneath Adam’s feet remained cracked and unstable. He didn’t shift his stance. His grip on JUDGEMENT stayed firm.
Then the smoke thinned.
The three silhouettes solidified.
Adam’s eyes sharpened immediately as the first creature stepped forward, its movement unnatural and dragging, as if the world itself resisted its presence. Its elongated, chalk-white frame looked wrong at a glance and it became worse the longer he stared.
Its torso was split open from chest to abdomen, filled with writhing darkness that pulsed like a second heart. Each pulse sent faint ripples through the air, distorting space slightly around it.
Its limbs weren’t limbs.
They trailed behind it like stretched tendons, ending in hooked claws that scraped against the fractured ground with a slow, rhythmic sound. Each scrape echoed louder than it should have.
Then its eye locked onto Adam.
A single, lidless eye.
Adam felt it immediately; it was as if something was trying to pull him inward without touching him at all. His instincts flared, forcing his focus tighter as he resisted the pull.
The second creature shifted next.
A low growl rumbled from its throat as it crouched, muscles tightening beneath its coarse, charcoal fur. At first glance, it looked like a wolf, but that illusion shattered instantly.
Its body was built like a humanoid predator.
Its muzzle split open slowly, revealing four hinged mandibles that unfolded outward like a blooming nightmare. Rows of jagged teeth lined each section, grinding against each other as it inhaled sharply.
Its ears twitched with every movement, every breath, every shift of energy. The creature leaned forward slightly, claws digging into the ground as if preparing to launch at any moment.
Adam adjusted his footing by a fraction.
Then the third one moved.
Each step came with a dull, crushing thud that shook the fractured terrain again. The creature’s form was massive, towering above the others with a grotesque blend of dead flesh and reinforced metal.
Its body was stitched together with thick industrial staples, holding mismatched gray skin in place. But what stood out most were the glowing pylons embedded into its shoulders.
Electricity crackled faintly across its surface, crawling along its arms and dispersing into the air.
Its eyes locked forward.
No emotion.
Adam exhaled slowly, his gaze moving between all three as his mind processed their presence in seconds. These weren’t like anything he had faced inside the rift so far.
They were something else entirely.
His grip on JUDGEMENT tightened as a faint surge of death affinity gathered around him in response, matching the oppressive energy radiating from the three creatures ahead.
"...Yeah," Adam muttered quietly, his voice steady as his stance lowered further.
"Something’s definitely wrong with this rift."
The three creatures moved at the same time.
And the ground shattered beneath them.