I dropped from the sky like a meteor, crashing onto the shattered asphalt.
The impact cracked the ground beneath me, kicking up dust and debris as the scattered remains of buildings groaned under the weight of their own destruction.
I hated this.
Villains.
They always loved destruction. They tore through anything and everything in their path just to fulfill their own twisted desires.
The sight of collapsed homes, the distant cries of survivors, the smell of burnt cars. They didn't care about the families that lived here.
The children. The dreams that had taken years to build, now reduced to nothing in a matter of seconds.
I will destroy all of them if I have to because with each villain I erase, I become stronger.
The Forever Core jeered inside me as I walked briskly, observing my environment.
I stopped in my tracks when an ominous scream rang out into the air.
Almost instinctively, I spun around in search of the origin of the scream.
Was someone in danger?
I had spent the last two minutes pulling people out of a burning building with my Cloaking Skill activated, so I was still on the lookout for any potential victims.
The scream rang out again.
And then I located it—on the rooftop of a building.
I blasted into the air and landed swiftly on the roof, and I was surprised by what I saw.
People. Lots of them. They were tied up together—at least twenty of them—bound tightly with ropes.
'Who would do something like this?'
I paced forward, ready to cut them loose when my Compass Needle kicked in.
[Compass Needle Activated]
[Unknown Source of Killing Intent]
I spun around immediately.
The Forever Armor had picked up an intense aura of killing intent, but I hadn't laid eyes on the source yet.
Then, a massive shock ran through my body as a brick-like arm swung toward my head.
My instincts screamed, and luckily, I dodged the blow, backing up a couple of meters.
Finally, I saw it.
A hulking brute with six arms, each wielding rusted cleavers.
It smelled like rotten flesh, its entire body stitched together from the corpses of its victims.
A freak. That was the best way to describe him.
I glanced at his grotesque composition, then back at the hostages—his captives.
This asshole was planning to use their body parts to replace his rotting ones.
Diabolical.
"Step away from my dollies...!" it bellowed.
[Compass Needle Activated]
[Target Name: Gut Grinder]
[Class: B-CLASS]
[Category: Berserker / Mutilator / Cannibal]
A sour look spread across my face. "You eat them too...?"
"Step away from my dollies...!" It bellowed again.
"Step away from my dollies...!"
It sounded pathetic. It looked pathetic. This specific one—Gut Grinder—I really wanted to kill.
I glanced at the civilians again. They had seen me. My image was now etched into their memories. There was no changing that.
After this, they would tell the authorities what they saw, and the ISA would have grounds to hunt me down under the act of being a rogue metahuman rampaging through the city.
What would you have me do?
I can't reassess now because my core talent is continuous advancement. Evolving Infinitely.
If I reassess now, I will forever be a C-Class hero. And what good will that do for me?
Gut Grinder growled loudly into the air and charged toward me.
I scoffed.
"For crying out loud..."
I darted at him, charging up my right gauntlet to blast him off.
"...You villains are always a pain in the ass, no matter what sector!"
Whooooshhhh!
Gut Grinder didn't get a chance to do anything as the golden pulse blasted out of my palm and obliterated the top half of his body.
Every hostage on the rooftop stared in shock, their eyes wide and mouths ajar.
[Enemies Defeated: ✓✓/3]
I was lucky these villains were spread far apart.
What would have happened if they had attacked me all at once?
The final task was another B-Class villain with formidable prowess.
The Forever Armor had already adjusted to the B-Class damage level after my fight with Blood Jaw, and my skill 'Regenerate' always seemed to kick in at the right time.
Within a matter of minutes, I had destroyed the last villain and vanished into thin air just as I saw the ISA first response team approaching.
I wondered what their faces would look like when they realized the threat had already been neutralized by an unknown force.
I flew back to Sector D after a long day of heroic intervention.
Somehow, I wasn't physically tired—but mentally? I was exhausted.
Regenerate only worked on physical exhaustion and damage, not mental fatigue.
[Enemies Defeated: ✓✓✓/3]
[Task Successful!]
[You have leveled up!]
[You have leveled up!]
[You have leveled up!]
[You have leveled up!]
[Class Barrier will be breached in no time]
[Host will be the first and the last to continue moving up classes. This is a crucial step to evolving infinitely.]
[Congratulations!]
A smirk played across my face as I shoved my hands into my pockets, strolling down the street.
I wondered what my exact class was at the moment. Maybe an 85-score C-Class? Or a 95?
Who knows what will happen when I eventually reach S-Class.
Is there another ranking beyond that?
Or… do I turn into some kind of god?
Twoungg!
The system chimed gracefully.
[New Skill Unlocked: Spatial Awareness]
"Ohhhh!" I gasped. "The system has been generous today!"
[Spatial Awareness: This skill heightens the host's sensory ability, allowing him to sense meta energy over a vast distance.]
[Level 1/5: Allows for a distance of 10 meters.]
"Nice..." I chuffed as I walked up the stairs leading into the lobby of my apartment building.
I plopped onto my bed like a ton of bricks, a massive headache washing over me.
I replayed everything that had happened today—the fights with all three villains, the victims and survivors I saved, every single "thank you" I received.
I felt proud of myself.
I was finally becoming the hero I had always wanted to be.
Now, with the Forever Core, I can evolve infinitely. That means my limits knows no bounds.
That's really crazy to think about.
I just hope that as I evolve, who I am as a person doesn't change with it.