The Predator Awakens

The fifth floor of the Tower of Babel.

The Orb of Ascension analyzes a player’s aptitude, stats, skills, and behavioral patterns recorded by the Tower so far, then presents suitable job options.

Clear the advancement trial and the chosen job will become yours.

A marble building reminiscent of the Parthenon.

I looked around. Not a single soul in sight.

Since the fifth floor had to be cleared alone, the trial began immediately without any matchmaking.

-I can feel the presence of the Constellations.

“Pretend you don’t notice them.”

Darkness hung over the building. Countless stars twinkled within it.

The great beings who had carved their achievements into the heavens above—those were the Constellations.

The fifth floor was where they began to show genuine interest in players.

They’re already making a racket.

I brushed my hands off and stepped inside the building.

In the center sat a watermelon-sized orb.

The Orb of Ascension—an item that analyzed a player’s aptitude.

Nyx let out a short, impressed hum.

-So many branching fates are contained within that tiny sphere.

“It’s still bigger than you, Goddess.”

-How insolent.

“Please pray that I get a good job.”

I rubbed my hands together and carefully placed them on the orb’s surface.

The stats I gained through Devour totaled around a hundred points. My internal energy had increased a bit after absorbing the Moonview Stone and performing some cultivation, but there hadn’t been any major breakthroughs. That was just how third-rate cultivation techniques worked.

As for Polar Night, I had dumped every bonus stat I received from leveling up into it. Even I had to admit it was ridiculous.

Melee Dealer: 23 options — 10% bonus multiplier to Strength and Agility

Tanker: 18 options — 10% bonus multiplier to Strength and Toughness

Ranged Dealer: 17 options — 10% bonus multiplier to Agility and Magic Power

Supporter: 5 options — 10% bonus multiplier to Magic Power. Buff and debuff effects increased by 10%.

Extra: 3 options

Melee, Tanker, Ranged, Supporter. Those were the combat styles the Tower used to categorize players.

For an ordinary player, five job choices would already be considered generous. I had sixty-six.

-Is having more options necessarily better?

“Not exactly.”

You could only pick one job on the fifth floor. No matter how many paths were available, it was meaningless if none of them were truly outstanding.

“I have a ridiculous number of skills. That’s why there are so many paths.”

Close-range attack techniques, martial arts, tanking ability, long-range magic, and even buff and debuff skills. I had learned everything across every category.

The same went for my stat distribution. Thanks to constantly raising my abilities through Devour, nearly all my stats had grown evenly.

-It’s not something to celebrate just because there are many choices.

Nyx wore a serious expression. I swallowed a laugh. Of course something good would come up.

One of the criteria the Tower used when determining jobs was the player’s performance in previous trials. From the first floor to the fourth, I had broken the highest record on every single floor during my first attempt. Across both my previous life and this one, no other player had achieved anything so outrageous.

Completely unaware of that fact, Nyx stared at the orb with nervous eyes. Teasing her really was fun.

“Then let’s take a look.”

-Very well.

I stroked the Orb of Ascension once more, and a detailed list of available jobs appeared.

Indomitable Warrior, Berserker, Magic Fighter, Warrior, Late Bloomer, Martial Artist, Magic Swordsman, Monster Hunter, Ghost Swordsman…

Oh ho.

I had expected it, but quite a few usable jobs had shown up.

-Contractor, is there anything decent among all those?

“Yeah. It turned out better than I expected.”

-Hehe, hahaha. Of course it did. That is only natural for my contractor.

“Just the Indomitable Warrior at the top is the highest grade among melee dealers.”

The Indomitable Warrior gained the Battle Continuation ability upon advancement. The Berserker that followed was slightly inferior but still highly regarded among players. On top of that, the Late Bloomer received bonuses when learning martial arts.

Come to think of it, wasn’t Zhang Wufei’s first job also Late Bloomer? He was famous in China for his martial arts.

If I wanted to properly learn martial arts, Late Bloomer would be the best choice… but I quickly looked away from it. I had learned martial arts simply because it was the most effective way to utilize the physical abilities I had strengthened through Devour.

Since the job I was truly hoping for hadn’t appeared yet, I decided to take my time.

Other top-grade jobs like Iron Wall Warrior (Tanker) and Elementalist (Ranged) appeared one after another. However, the supporter-class jobs were mediocre. That made sense—my only proper debuff skill was the Sentence of Weakness.

-None of them seem to catch your eye.

“How could you tell?”

-I simply read the emotions showing on your face.

She usually seemed completely oblivious, yet she could read my emotions perfectly at times like this.

-All that remains is the Extra job category.

“Yeah.”

-I hope there is a job that will satisfy you.

Receiving Nyx’s blessing, I checked the Extra jobs.

Scavenger, Almighty…

There it was, as expected.

Scavenger was the job I had chosen in my previous life. It increased the efficiency of Devour by five percent. True to its name, the condition for obtaining it had been to devour corpses left behind by other hunters.

Back then, that had been the best option available.

But this…

“I didn’t expect Almighty to show up.”

-This is the first time I’ve seen you so surprised.

“It’s a pretty amazing job.”

I let out a short groan and examined the details.

Genius increased all stats by twenty percent. Fusion Qigong allowed the user to combine two or ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠more skills. Both were incredibly powerful options rarely seen at the first job advancement.

Rene’s job had been Almighty. Rene Davis—one of the six Monarchs and a traitor who turned his back on humanity during ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the age of destruction. Even ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠now, he was active as a fairly famous ranker. The word that symbolized him was literally his job name—Almighty. Omnipotent. Disgusting.

I swallowed my rage.

-Are you all right? Your complexion looks terrible.

“Ah, I was just thinking about something else for a moment.”

-I thought your heart had stopped from shock.

I was surprised, that was true. I hadn’t expected to see Almighty among the options.

It was the best job that had appeared so far. No—in fact, it was probably the best possible first job advancement available.

The only downside was the extra experience penalty, but the Genius ability was so broken that it more than made up for it. Skill fusion was the same.

-Then you should choose Almighty.

“Let me check the last one first.”

I looked at the final job without much expectation.

At that moment—

“Huh?”

A mixture of bewilderment and astonishment slipped from my lips.

Predator.

In my previous life I had been a scavenger. This time I was a predator…

A bitter smile tugged at my lips.

It was a job specialized in Devour. Like Almighty, it granted the Genius ability, but instead of Fusion Qigong it increased Devour efficiency by twenty percent. The experience penalty was the same.

-Hmm, this job seems closely related to your ability.

“Yeah. The name is pretty blatant.”

-Even you, with your penetrating insight, did not foresee this. How surprising.

“I’m not a god. How could I know everything?”

Knowledge and experience from my previous life weren’t omnipotent. My memory had limits, and there were things from the future that had never been revealed even then. Things like the job advancement conditions for Almighty and Predator, for example.

-Devour enhancement versus Fusion Qigong. You only need to choose one.

“There’s nothing to think about.”

Without hesitation, I selected Predator.

My origin was Devour.

If Rene had laid the foundation for becoming one of the six Monarchs by choosing ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Almighty during his first job advancement, I had become the strongest among the Monarchs even after choosing Scavenger.

Scavenger was also a job derived from Devour. If I chose Predator, an even higher-tier job…

I could devour even someone like Almighty.

I stared at the Orb of Ascension with eyes full of conviction.

-Calm your excitement, contractor.

“Hm?”

-Your hands are trembling.

My hands were indeed shaking slightly. I clenched them into tight fists and steadied my mind.

Right. Clearing the fifth floor didn’t end just because I chose a job. If anything, this was only the beginning.

“Thanks, Nyx.”

-What are you saying? I only spoke because I feared my contractor would show an unsightly appearance.

Nyx lifted her chin haughtily. I had no idea why the back of her neck had turned so red, though.

Black mud surged up from the ground on the opposite side.

The writhing slime soon took on my exact appearance.

-What an unpleasant sight.

“That’s a bit harsh. Calling my face unpleasant…”

-That is not what I meant!

Nyx raised her voice.

At that moment—

Nyx’s position was forcibly moved outside the building.

-Contractor!

“Don’t worry too much.”

I rolled my neck from side to side. A satisfying crack echoed as my body loosened up.

“This won’t take long.”

I had no intention of dragging things out against a fake.