After acquiring the Soul Core, Vahn carefully hid it beneath his clothes.
The tour through the city market had been exhausting, but more so for his patience than his body.
Noella had picked up dozens of souvenirs, some glowing faintly with magical energy. They were enchanted items, no doubt, each one worth a small fortune in silver.
Vahn's fingers itched to claim just one. But now wasn't the time. He had something even greater tucked against his chest.
"Archon, we're leaving. Load everything onto the carriage," Vienna ordered curtly.
"Ah, yes," Archon replied, masking the unease in his voice with forced calm. Inside, his thoughts swirled with regret.
"Mutt, why are you standing there like a fool? Go help him!" snapped one of the female guards.
Vahn narrowed his eyes but stopped himself from talking back. His gaze drifted to her firm arms, bare and sexy muscles tight beneath her sleek armor.
He swallowed hard.
"…Yes, ma'am," he muttered, stepping forward in silence to help Archon.
For some reason, Noella kept glancing at him occasionally, and it made Vahn feel uneasy.
She was supposed to be part of Archon's slave harem, so her attention felt unexpected. Unsettling, even.
Did she sense something? No, she shouldn't have. If she had that kind of perception, she would've taken the Soul Core from Archon in the original timeline.
Whatever the reason for her interest, he forced himself to stay calm.
Eventually, they boarded the carriage to return.
Vahn was eager to get back. Thrilled, even. His excitement was barely contained beneath his quiet exterior.
By evening, they arrived at the mansion.
After unloading everything with careful hands, Vahn was finally dismissed and allowed to return to his small slave quarters.
Once inside, Vahn glanced around cautiously, checking for any prying eyes.
Seeing no one, he carefully retrieved the ash-colored stone from where he had hidden it at his waist.
The faint lamplight flickered over its surface, revealing the hard, crusted shell of the Soul Core.
At a glance, it resembled one of those cheap gemstones often used in scams, but it wasn't.
This stone was the key. The turning point to change his fate, to rebuild his destiny. Not as a side character, not as a disposable extra.
But there was a problem.
What if it rejected him? It wasn't meant for him originally. It could lash out. It could kill him.
Still, he had no other choice.
He refused to live like an extra. A background character, just like he'd been back on Earth.
He wanted power. He wanted status. He wanted women. All the things he had never had in his past life.
After mentally preparing himself, Vahn opened his mouth wide and swallowed the stone in one gulp.
At first, nothing happened.
A few seconds passed. His stomach churned, and he began to worry.
Buthen, he felt something.
A burning sensation ignited in his belly and began to spread throughout his body like wildfire.
It wasn't swelling from nervousness—it was something else entirely.
His limbs trembled. His skin prickled. His insides felt as though they were expanding, stretching, about to burst.
The Soul Core was rejecting him.
"No… why?" he gasped, clutching at his chest. "I worked so hard to get it. Why won't you choose me? Just because I'm not the destined Star?"
This wasn't supposed to happen.
Despair clawed at him as pain wracked his body. His skin cracked. Blood leaked from the seams. The pressure from within kept rising.
He was dying.
"No... I won't give up!" he screamed in his mind, fighting to stay conscious. "Happiness, women, riches—everything is finally within reach. I can't lose it now!"
But no matter how strong his desire, the Soul Core continued to rip him apart from the inside.
"Damn Heaven! Damn Fate! Damn Author! I'll kill you all!"
Just as he felt himself on the verge of collapsing—
Ding!
A notification flashed before his eyes.
[ A Foreign Soul Core Detected. ]
[ Do you wish to synchronize? Yes / No ]
His eyes widened.
This was his chance.
His fingers trembled as he mentally screamed: "YES!"
> [ Unknown Soul Core Synchronizing... ]
[ 0.1%... ]
The moment it began, Vahn's consciousness faded.
He collapsed onto the cold concrete floor of his slave quarters, his breath shallow, body twitching as if resisting death itself.
The night was silent.
Only the faint hum of unseen energy pulsed from within him.
The Soul Core worked slowly, repairing the damage it had nearly caused. Cracks along his skin began to seal, mending with a gentle glow from beneath. Muscles reknit. Bones hardened. Even his soul, once fragile and ordinary, was reforged in silence.
A subtle yet absolute transformation unfolded in the shadows.
And as the first light of dawn spilled over the city walls, the process neared completion.
> [ Synchronized 99.99%... 100% ]
Ding!
[ Synchronization Successful! ]
Ding!
[ Synchronization Successful! ]
With the repetitive chime of system notifications echoing in his mind, Vahn slowly stirred awake.
As his eyes fluttered open, a series of glowing messages flooded his vision:
[ You have acquired the Soul Core: Gaizar ]
[ Description: Once known as the King of Souls, Gaizar left his legacy behind for the chosen one. ]
[ You have stepped onto the path of Soul Evolvers ]
[ Your Soul has evolved to 1st Order ]
[ You have acquired the main skill: Serenity's Touch (Evolvable) ]
Ding!
[ By acquiring the Soul Core, you have changed the course of fate greatly. You have gained 2,000 LP ]
Vahn sat up, blinking rapidly, rubbing his eyes as if the visions were a dream.
"…No way," he whispered, stunned.
But as his body responded feeling lighter, stronger, and more alive,he remembered the agonizing lasy night, the rejection, the near-death, and finally, the last-minute salvation.
A grin stretched across his lips.
"Finally… I've done it." he whispered with relief, emotion welling in his chest.
"I've become a Soul Evolver. A real 1st Order Soul Evolver. I can feel it… my body, my mind, everything is sharper. It's like I've found the missing piece to my existence."
His hand trembled slightly as he clenched it into a fist.
"I've stepped onto the path… the path to steal everything the protagonist was supposed to have. His strength. His fate. His luck."
Vahn took a deep breath, calming his excitement before it carried him too far.
"Calm down, stupid Henry," he muttered to himself with a crooked smile, using his old Earth name. "Let's check the status first. One step at a time."
He opened the system panel, eyes burning with anticipation.