The Polluted Core's Power
E-grade Awakener Eugene stared intently at the dark red orb sitting on his desk. A trophy from capturing the necromancer. But no matter how much he scoured the internet, no information turned up. Even searching "black orb" on Awakener communities yielded nothing.
"What the hell is this thing?"
Eugene fixed his gaze on the orb. The unpleasant sensation he felt every time he touched it was a first. Normally, mana beasts only left behind mana stones—nothing else. That was common sense in this world, like how a tiger leaves its hide after death. Well, mana beasts did leave hides too, didn't they?
"You know what this is?"
At Eugene's question, the shadow at his feet rippled. But it just shook side to side, mimicking ignorance.
He pondered for a long while, but no answers came. With a sigh, Eugene channeled mana into his ring. Calling Aria every time something happened felt like summoning a genie with a lamp, but who else could he rely on in this situation?
"Aria."
Yes!! Master!
As expected, the response came back in 0.1 seconds. No delay, as if she was always on standby.
"Got a question."
Ask me anything! I will tell you whatever Master desires, even if it's... about my body!
Aria's voice from the ring sounded even more flushed with excitement.
"Not... curious about that."
At Eugene's indifferent reply, a short sigh of "Ahh...!" echoed from the ring. Disappointment and hurt mixed in her tone at being rejected.
Before the conversation could derail further, Eugene cut to the chase.
"You know what this is?"
He brought the ringed hand close to the orb. The gem in the ring trembled as if reacting to the orb's ominous energy, and Aria's voice grew solemn.
Hmm... A Polluted Core.
"Polluted Core?"
Yes. A cursed conduit made by grinding tens of thousands of souls. Most seem to be from mana beasts. Think of it as a runaway catalyst that forcibly warps space. Master, where did you get this?
"...From a gate."
As Aria's explanation continued, Eugene's brow furrowed deeply. Runaway catalyst. That single term muddled his mind. Twisting space to make gates go berserk. So all those incidents weren't bad luck or coincidence?
Someone intentionally manipulating gates that threaten humanity. He'd never even heard of such a thing. Gates changing under a third party's influence would upend everything they knew. Gates were just natural disasters that appeared out of nowhere.
But if someone could control and exploit them... Then Barcas and the necromancer were just pawns in someone's trap?
Eugene touched the black orb. The sensation creeping up his fingers screamed danger.
Indeed. I suspect someone deliberately planted this inside the gate. To disrupt spatial balance and summon something.
Summoning someone? Eugene stroked his chin, lost in thought. If Aria's analysis was correct, this was no small issue. Those past events weren't mere accidents.
Manipulating gates to summon out-of-spec beings like Barcas? That was the opening shot of a massive catastrophe for humanity.
Think about it. Even one Barcas-level monster was a disaster. If they poured out one after another? Not just a gate mishap—that was the signal for humanity's extinction.
But Master. On the flip side, this Polluted Core could be helpful to you.
"What do you mean...?"
A normal human would go mad from soul corruption the instant they touched it, but you're different, Master. Your soul possesses a realm far beyond such filth.
Realm? Barcas had said something similar. Had becoming a Dungeon Master truly elevated his soul's quality?
But that wasn't the point now.
"...So I can absorb this?"
Yes. You can manage it easily, Master.
Eugene hesitated briefly before gripping the orb. Icy chill and swirling dark red mist crawled up his palm. No matter how he looked at it, ingesting this screamed hellish agony. What if it backfired? A cursed conduit, after all. The smoky haze looked like instant doom on consumption, wrinkling his nose.
"How do I even absorb this?"
Just toss it to the shadow.
"The shadow?"
Yes. The shadows will chew and swallow it, refining only the mana to flow through the link to your heart. You could eat it directly, but...
Aria paused, then continued with evident distaste.
As your guardian, I must prevent Master from putting such low-grade filth in your mouth.
Her tone evoked a loyal servant refusing to serve spoiled food—or an overprotective guardian shielding her master from impurity.
"...Got it."
Eugene dropped the orb to the floor without further questions. He had no intention of eating it anyway. It looked more like poison than elixir.
Before it hit the ground, the shadow at his feet gaped open like it had been waiting.
Crunch!
The quiet room echoed with bone-shattering sounds. The moment the shadow fully devoured the core, scorching heat swirled through his body, and a blue window appeared before his eyes.
Skills: Gravity (S)
Eugene's eyes widened at the status window. What he'd thought was the worst curse had turned into the greatest boon.
'This is why people risk their lives for elixirs.'
He finally understood why folks shelled out fortunes for anything beneficial. Horrific looks aside, the effect was undeniable. Feeling the mana flooding his body, Eugene slowly clenched and unclenched his fist.
Awakener Evaluation Center.
The lobby buzzed with Awakeners and staff as usual. Eugene headed familiarly to the rank evaluation counter in the corner.
"Hello... Eek?!"
The receptionist recoiled in terror upon seeing Eugene, nearly tumbling backward off her chair. No wonder—days ago, a summon from his shadow had nearly strangled her to death. Nightmares haunted her since, and now the source of her fear was back.
Her hands trembled like aspen leaves as she stared at him.
Eugene scratched the back of his head. He had no ill intent, but her reaction showed the trauma from that shadow was worse than imagined.
'Kinda feel bad now.'
Sorry was sorry, but business was business. Eugene forced a gentle smile.
"...Here for rank promotion evaluation."
"Ah, y-yes! Promotion... right away, I'll check right away!"
The receptionist hammered the keyboard without meeting his eyes.
Eugene opened his bag and dumped 43 skeleton mana stones on the counter.
Clink.
Her shoulders jerked at the sound. Eugene's rush for promotion was clear: low-grade gates offered no more lessons or EXP. Growth had limits. To level faster, he needed stronger mana beasts, which meant higher-rank gate entry permits.
The receptionist's fingers froze on the keys. The quantity was shocking, but the quality? Flawless, pristine stones without a single scratch. Normally, hunting scarred them amid battle. Yet these looked machine-extracted.
And it had been mere days since his initial F-rank evaluation.
'What... is this guy really F-rank?'
It implied he'd razed an F-rank gate in record time. Even prodigies needed three months for that many stones—that was Awakener common sense.
"43 mana stones. Enough?"
"Y-yes! More than enough! You've exceeded the 30-stone benchmark!"
Eugene exhaled. F to E was simple: first eval by scanner, then proof via gate-hunted stones. With 43 skeletons submitted, the hard part was done.
Beep.
A new card emerged from the terminal.
"...Renewal complete. Here's your E-rank Awakener ID."
The card she handed over with shaking hands bore Eugene's photo and a bold 'E'.
"Excluding the 30 for evaluation, we've bought the remaining 13 at 100,000 won each—1.3 million total, incoming to your account."
"Thanks."
Eugene nodded curtly and left. Considering her fidgeting and averted eyes, leaving quickly was polite.
Shh.
Fresh air hit as the doors closed. He pulled out the new card for another look.
The black orb. Worry gnawed at the unknown puppetmaster, but whether it proved boon or bane remained unseen. If he could convert it to power as Aria said, the game changed. Not mere levels—a permanent mana boost treasure.
'Might even be an opportunity.'
Eugene gripped the card tighter. Even if engineered disaster, devouring it for his own growth was all that mattered.
Yuseorin sank deep into the sofa, sipping cold coffee. Her eyes fixed on the tablet on her lap, displaying a report on recent anomalies around Incheon gates.
1. Black Abyss Gate
2. Red Dragon
3. Irregulars
Defying-common-sense mutations. The data pointed to one conclusion: someone at the center of the chaos.
"Who could it be?"
The report photo showed the Red Dragon gruesomely bisected. Yuseorin had hunted S-rank beasts, but this overwhelming destruction was new. Chills ran down her spine from the image alone.
Her gaze halted on one word in the report.
'Incheon, huh...'
The name triggered a tidal wave of old memories. As a frail child bullied relentlessly, one friend always shielded her.
'That idiot... wonder how he's doing now.'
Since awakening, she'd charged ahead, driven by duty to protect the world. Years later, at the pinnacle as world's top Awakener, that childhood warmth resurfaced unbidden.