Jade read his profile again.
And again.
And again.
Each time his gaze returned to the same line.
Flaw: Blood Debt.
His expression darkened.
The crimson beach of his Soul Sea suddenly felt colder.
"When your essence is depleted, corruption will consume you."
"The corruption can only be suppressed by drinking blood."
Jade stared at the words.
Silently.
For a long time.
Corruption.
There was no Initiate, Awakened, Elite, or even Sovereign who did not fear corruption.
Some feared death.
Others feared monsters.
But everyone feared corruption.
Because corruption was worse than death.
It twisted the soul.
Destroyed reason.
Turned heroes into nightmares.
Jade had seen corrupted creatures countless times during the Trial.
Their bodies warped.
Their minds shattered.
Their humanity erased.
Many experienced warriors would rather die than suffer such a fate.
Yet here he was.
The moment he became an Initiate...
The System had gifted him corruption as a flaw.
"Thanks."
Jade looked at the sky.
"Very generous."
The System naturally ignored him.
Jade sighed.
He had once imagined returning to the Human World.
Opening a restaurant.
Helping his mother cook.
Living peacefully.
Avoiding the dangers of the Spiritual Realm whenever possible.
Unfortunately...
Blood God apparently disagreed.
Jade shook his head.
"What kind of flaw is this?"
He could already imagine future problems.
Running out of essence during battle.
Going insane.
Then desperately searching for blood.
The thought alone made him uncomfortable.
Still...
A flaw was a flaw.
Complaining wouldn't change anything.
If he wanted to survive, he would simply adapt.
Just like he always had.
The System suddenly spoke.
"Welcome to the Human World."
The Soul Sea vanished.
The crimson ocean disappeared.
The blood-red sky collapsed into darkness.
Jade felt his consciousness being pulled away.
The next second—
Cold.
Extremely cold.
Water rushed into his mouth.
His eyes snapped open.
Bubbles escaped his lips.
For a moment he was completely confused.
Then realization struck.
"I'm drowning."
Above him was a faint light.
Below him was endless darkness.
He was underwater.
Deep underwater.
Jade nearly cursed.
He had survived a year and a half in the Trial.
Fought Tyrants.
Killed an Overlord.
Recovered his Fate.
Inherited a Divine Lineage.
And his reward was drowning.
"Wonderful."
His enhanced Initiate body allowed him to hold his breath longer than a normal human.
But not forever.
Without hesitation, Jade summoned Obsidian Vine Shadow.
Dark vines exploded from his body.
The familiar armor wrapped around him.
Immediately afterward, Jade forced the vines to shift.
His body twisted.
His arms disappeared.
His legs fused together.
Scales covered his skin.
Moments later, a large black fish appeared underwater.
The transformation wasn't perfect.
He still couldn't breathe underwater properly.
But he could swim.
And that was enough.
The fish shot upward.
Faster.
Faster.
The light above grew brighter.
Jade could already see the surface.
Then—
A presence appeared.
Powerful.
Unbelievably powerful.
Jade froze.
Someone was above him.
Someone strong.
Far stronger than anything he had ever faced.
The pressure reminded him of standing before a mountain.
A Master.
A real Master.
Floating above the ocean was a woman.
Her silver hair swayed in the wind.
Her blue eyes calmly observed the water below.
She wore a simple dark coat decorated with government insignias.
Her name was Aria.
Master Aria.
One of the official overseers responsible for recovering newly awakened Initiates.
Recently, spontaneous awakenings had increased throughout the world.
Some appeared in deserts.
Some appeared inside forests.
Some unfortunately appeared inside active monster zones.
And some—
Like Jade—
Appeared in the middle of the ocean.
Aria had been dispatched to investigate.
The moment she arrived, her senses detected a strange fish racing toward the surface.
More accurately—
A human pretending to be a fish.
She wasn't surprised.
After years of work, very little could surprise her anymore.
The fish finally burst through the water.
Splash!
Aria reached forward.
Her hand moved effortlessly.
Before Jade could react—
She grabbed him.
The next second—
Jade immediately realized his mistake.
The transformation vanished.
The fish disappeared.
A two-meter-tall human suddenly appeared.
Hovering in the air.
Completely naked.
Silence.
Aria closed her eyes instantly.
Jade froze.
Several seconds passed.
Then he slowly looked down.
"..."
"..."
"...Oh."
The realization struck him like a hammer.
Jade wanted the ocean to swallow him again.
Immediately.
Without hesitation.
Without mercy.
Instead, he frantically summoned Obsidian Vine Shadow.
Black vines wrapped around his body.
Armor formed.
Covering everything.
Only his face remained visible.
A long silence followed.
Finally—
"You can open your eyes now."
Aria opened one eye.
Then the other.
Her expression remained perfectly calm.
Professional.
As though nothing embarrassing had happened.
Unfortunately—
The slight twitch at the corner of her lips betrayed her.
She was trying not to laugh.
Jade pretended not to notice.
Neither of them mentioned the incident.
For the sake of everyone's dignity.
"So."
Aria glanced at him.
"New Initiate?"
"Yes."
"First Trial?"
"Yes."
"Accidental ocean appearance?"
"...Yes."
Aria nodded.
"Congratulations."
Jade blinked.
"That's it?"
"What else would you like?"
"A medal maybe."
Aria laughed.
The sound surprised Jade.
For someone carrying such overwhelming pressure, her laugh felt unexpectedly normal.
She retrieved a notebook.
Then a pen.
Both appeared from thin air.
Jade's eyes widened.
"What creature did she kill to get that?"
The notebook looked ordinary.
The pen looked ordinary.
Yet both had simply appeared.
A storage-type Data.
Probably a high-ranked one.
Aria clicked the pen.
"Name."
Jade immediately became cautious.
No way.
Absolutely no way.
He wasn't giving strangers information.
Especially government officials.
Especially after everything that had happened with Fate.
Aria waited.
Jade thought quickly.
Then answered confidently.
"My name is Robin."
Silence.
Aria stared at him.
Jade stared back.
More silence.
Finally—
"Robin?"
"Yes."
"Robin."
"Correct."
Aria wrote something in her notebook.
Then sighed.
"Of course."
"What does that mean?"
"It means that's obviously fake."
Jade's expression didn't change.
Aria continued.
"And my name is Fate God."
Jade almost choked.
Aria smiled slightly.
"Relax. You don't have to tell me your real name."
Jade blinked.
"Really?"
"Really."
Then her smile vanished.
"But if you commit crimes under the name Robin, I'll personally arrest you."
"...Fair."
Aria snapped her notebook shut.
Then extended her hand.
A portal of blue light opened beside her.
"We're heading to the Government Residential Quarter."
Jade stared at the portal.
The Human World.
His new life.
His new journey.
Everything was waiting beyond that door.
Aria stepped forward.
Then looked back.
"Coming, Robin?"
Jade sighed.
This woman was never going to let that go.
With a shake of his head, he followed her toward the portal.
And together—
They disappeared from the ocean.