บท 5: Chapter 5: The Protagonist
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This was perhaps the first day in many years that Jack had genuinely cried out of happiness and felt so much joy. A heavy burden was finally lifted off his chest after he saw his sister's eyes open, and her sweet, sweet smile. It had been so many years since he had not even talked with her, so many years since he couldn't even see her in the eyes, so many years where she was… simply sleeping forever.
Since the apocalypse started Jack had been fighting with everything he had to make a living. Not only did his parents die gruesomely against the monsters swarming the city, but his sister ended up taking a heavy injury to her head, making her fall into a coma. For three long years, he struggled to pay the hospital bills. Although hunters were now protecting society, monsters kept pouring out from the Gates which kept appearing around the world, which connected to the dangerous otherworldly domains, Dungeons.
After having barely awakened strength enough to be at least stronger than an adult male and having slightly better stamina than most people, he started working as a porter, lacking any innate skill to fight by himself, he only worked helping at butchering monster carcasses and collecting the valuable magic crystals that grew inside Dungeons in large quantities.
Every day… it was filled with fear, anguish, desperation, and depression.
Until one day, the unluckiest day of his life happened. A phenomenon named "Double Dungeon" happened, and he was trapped alongside the rest of his party inside a second, higher-ranked dungeon. Originally, the dungeon was merely E Rank, but the second dungeon that emerged was nothing else than S Rank, the strongest dungeon rank to have ever been registered.
This was the day he met true despair. The experts who had been working with him all these months were slain one by one as if they were nothing but ants. Perhaps because he was so weak and pathetic, the monsters didn't give him as much attention, ignoring him as he managed to hide.
Only to be ultimately found by one of them, the ancient dark beast, the devourer of gods, the incarnation of gluttony, the S Rank Monster, Fenrir! A gigantic, fearful wolf that had been hunting down his entire party. Fenrir, however, found in his own pathetic life a certain type of amusement… a certain something.
"Amazing, even before despair, your heart seems to emanate a darkness I had not seen ever before. What is this swirl of emotions? Despair? Anguish? Wrath? Frustration? Interesting, very interesting!" The wolf suddenly gave him an offer.
"You're the perfect vessel for me, hollow, without anything else… yet a girl? Is this little girl within your heart the only thing you desire to protect?" Jack couldn't even speak from the utter fear he felt, yet Fenrir read through his heart.
"I see… If I forgive your life, and you become my vessel, are you willing to do as I command you? Are you willing to kill, to slaughter? Are you willing to go against the gods, the constellations themselves? Are you willing to go so far? Everything will be destroyed, but your life and that of your sister will remain! Don't tell me it is not a good offer for someone so detached from everything!"
Fenrir's red eyes glared into his very soul.
"I can see you. Your hollowness, the void of your soul! It is the perfect {Emptiness} to harbor my powers! With you, I can finally invade the human world and ultimately, eat those gods that sealed me here!" Jack couldn't even consider it. It was either accepting this deal or dying.
"I accept…!"
Fenrir smiled, without saying a single word. Jack could recall this moment very vividly, his jaws opening, and biting his entire body, eating him. Tearing his body down to pieces and then reconstructing it, fusing him with his guts, with his heart, with the god eater's soul!
When he finally woke up, Jack was already in a hospital, miraculously found by hunters who went to investigate the second dungeon. He couldn't believe he had survived… but that wasn't all. At his side, there was something else, no, within his very soul and body.
"You're finally awake, my vessel." With the terrifying voice of the bringer of his most horrendous of nightmares, a game-like window emerged before his eyes.
Ding!
[You have become the Vessel of the [Fallen Constellation]: {The God Devourer Wolf}!]
[Your Body has been completely restructured!]
[All Your Stats have increased!]
[You learned the Innate Skill: [Endless Gluttony (SSS)]!]
[Due to the restrictions of this world, the rest of your powers have been sealed!]
[Devour as many lives as you can, Level Up, and acquire the God Devourer Wolf's abilities to become the Strongest to accomplish his mission!]
[Kill and Devour all Constellations!]
And from that day onwards, Jack's entire life changed forever. Although it was a gruesome way to gain power, he embraced it faster than he expected. He was no longer the prey. He was the hunter.
Dungeons and Monsters? They became his aperitives. Boss Monsters? They were his side dishes. Other corrupt hunters that desired his powers or wanted to kill him? They were the main course. And the Incarnations of the Constellations? They were his sweet desserts.
After only half a year since his Second Awakening, Jack became a feared figure within his country, and even other hunter guilds gave up on persecuting him once he attained the A Rank Hunter License.
After visiting so many dungeons and going through so much hardship, he finally gathered the materials and crafted the Elixir, feeding it to his little sister, the reason for all his efforts. She was the only person he had left, the only one he cared for, and perhaps, the reason for his descent into darkness instead of having accepted his death that day…
"Heh, you've finally done it, haven't you? Now what are you planning to do, kiddo?" Fenrir's voice whispered inside of Jack's mind. "I am growing hungrier! I need meat! And you know which meat is my favorite, right? Incarnations! When are we hunting more?"
"I will settle down and help my sister recover first. Your constellation hunting season will come later, have patience." Sighed Jack.
"Tch, now that she's fine why do you care so much? She's just a weakling anyway!" Fenrir protested, his intimidating voice quickly degrading into that of a conceited child.
"You know? For once in my lifetime I don't even give a damn about your tantrums." Laughed Jack, without a care in the world.
Jack was so happy that he couldn't care about the annoying, grumpy wolf that was inside of his soul. Even less now that his sister was finally awake.
He was so happy that many people glanced at him with weird eyes.
He gave such a cool, yet dark and evil impression that many people felt nervous around him already.
But suddenly seeing him grinning and jumping around, even dancing while walking around the hospital corridors was the creepiest thing!
Everyone began to think "He's going to murder someone, isn't he?!"
As he finally reached the doctor, Jack was about to communicate to him the good news.
"Doctor, my sister is finally awake! Please give her the-"
Ding!
[Several Constellations laugh at your misfortune, Player Jack!]
[They also mock the stupid dog inside your soul!]
"Huh?!"
BOOOM…!
And then, a massive explosion happened on the hospital's second floor, as the ceiling above Jack began to shatter and crumble apart, countless people started to scream.
"A Dungeon Break! It's a Gate!!!"
"RUN! Call the Hunters!!"
"There's like over ten patients that got caught up!"
"Doctor, you need to get to safety!" As the hospital assistants freaked out, the Doctor glanced back at Jack in fear.
"Jack! Wasn't Anna there?!" Jack's face was filled with dread, this dread quickly transformed into anger. His entire body exuded a powerful black Aura.
"You damn Constellations…! Were you bastards waiting for this opportunity?!"
Without hesitating, Jack jumped inside the Gate.
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