Chapter 2: The High Cost of Survival
The darkness at the bottom of the rift wasn't empty. It was heavy, pressing against Han Jue's lungs like cold water. Every breath tasted of iron and ancient dust.
His ribs were shattered. His left arm was a twisted mess of meat and bone after the fall. But the red holographic screen hovering in front of his eyes didn't flicker. It pulsed with the steady rhythm of a heartbeat—a predatory one.
[Warning: Life Signs Critical.] [Current Balance: -1,000,000 Soul Points.] [Time until Soul Erasure: 23:54:12]
[Emergency Protocol: Would you like to take out an 'Initial Survival Loan'?] [Terms: 50% Interest. Repayment mandatory via Soul Harvest.]
"Initial... loan..." Han Jue's voice was a wet wheeze. He looked up at the jagged tear of light far above him. That was where Kael and the Golden Dawn were. They were probably already celebrating their "successful" raid, writing off a D-Rank scavenger as an unavoidable casualty.
Not worth the mana.
Kael's words burned hotter than the pain in his chest. If he died here, his sister would be evicted from the life-support ward. She would die because he was too weak to be "worth" saving.
"I... accept," Han Jue hissed through blood-stained teeth. "Give me... the loan."
[Loan Approved!] [Principal: 5,000 Soul Points] [New Balance: -1,007,500 Soul Points (Interest applied)]
[Distributing Stats to ensure Survival...]
Strength: 5 → 15
Agility: 4 → 12
Vitality: 3 → 20
Mana: 1 → 10
[Automatic Skill Acquisition: 'Sovereign's Extraction' (Rank F - Growth)] [Automatic Healing Initiated...]
A surge of violent energy exploded in Han Jue's gut. It wasn't the warm, soothing light of a Priest's healing spell. It was hot, jagged, and agonizing. He screamed as his bones snapped back into place, the marrow bubbling with new power. His torn muscles knit together so fast it felt like a thousand needles sewing his skin.
He pushed himself up, his hand sinking into the damp soil. He felt... different. The world, which had always been a blur of threats he had to avoid, suddenly felt clear. He could hear the drip of water fifty meters away. He could smell the musk of a predator nearby.
Skreeee!
A shadow detached itself from the cavern wall.
It was an Abyssal Crawler—a Tier-E monster that scavengers usually ran from in terror. It looked like a hairless, six-legged wolf with rows of needle-like teeth. To a D-Rank scavenger, it was a death sentence.
To Han Jue, right now, it looked like a walking paycheck.
"You're the first installment," Han Jue whispered.
The Crawler leaped. In the past, Han Jue's eyes wouldn't have even tracked the movement. Now, the creature seemed to move through syrup. He pivoted on his heel, his new Agility allowing him to move with a grace he'd never possessed.
He didn't have a sword. He only had his rusted Scavenger's Extraction Knife.
As the Crawler flew past, Han Jue slammed the knife upward, driving it deep into the creature's soft underbelly. He didn't just cut; he ripped.
The monster thrashed, its black blood spraying over Han Jue's face. He didn't flinch. He pinned the creature down, his hands—now reinforced by 15 points of Strength—crushing its neck against the stone.
[Target Neutralized.] [Would you like to initiate 'Debt Extraction'?]
"Do it," Han Jue growled.
A dark red aura erupted from his palm. The Crawler's body withered instantly, turning into grey ash as its very essence was sucked into Han Jue's skin.
[Extraction Successful!] [Collected: 50 Soul Points.] [Loot: 'Minor Agility Essence' (Consumed automatically).] [Current Balance: -1,007,450 Soul Points.]
Han Jue looked at his trembling hands. 50 points. He had killed a Tier-E monster and only cleared 50 points out of a million-point debt.
The math was staggering. If he wanted to live, he couldn't just survive. He had to become a god of slaughter. He had to kill bigger, stronger, and faster.
"Fifty points isn't enough," Han Jue said, his eyes glowing with a faint, predatory red light. He looked deeper into the darkness of the rift, where more red eyes were beginning to blink open. "I need more."
Far above, the rift began to close. The surface world thought he was dead. Let them. By the time he climbed out of this hole, he wouldn't be the man they left behind.
He was no longer a scavenger. He was the Debt Collector.
And the world owed him a lot of blood.