SSS-Level Talent: I Can Infinitely Devour Mana

Half an hour later, Kael pushed open the wooden door, its surface etched with the grain of age and time.

Inside, the lighting was dim and warm. His father, Reynold Yadrin, sat in a worn armchair by the hearth, quietly watching the flickering images projected by the magestone screen. From the kitchen emerged his mother, Elisse, carrying a steaming bowl of herbal broth, the scent of crushed greens and faint mana stones wafting in the air.

"Kael, you're back?" Elisse asked, pleasantly surprised. "Hungry? I can make you some pan-seared red mushrooms."

Kael shook his head gently. "No need, Mom. Don't trouble yourself."

He turned to his father, frowning slightly. "How are you feeling today, Dad?"

Reynold gave a bitter smile and shook his head. His voice was hoarse. "The same. The alchemic healers from the White Tower keep saying there's still hope—but we all know the truth. This wound won't heal."

It wasn't an ordinary illness. His father's affliction had come from a grievous injury suffered during a border battle against a beast tide. His commander had died in that battle, and Reynold had been nearly torn apart by a berserk direwolf. Though he'd survived, his body now required alchemical potions every three days just to stay alive. Even so, his strength continued to fade.

"Don't speak like that!" Elisse scowled, pushing the steaming bowl into his hands. "Do you want me to just stand by and watch you die?"

"Then let me die. Better than dragging this broken body around and being a burden on you both."

"If you really want to die," she snapped, "then go to the Helleran family first and get the blood price they owe you!"

Their voices rose, sharp and strained, echoing through the small house.

Kael sighed deeply and retreated to his room. But just as he closed the door behind him, his eyes flicked upward—and landed on the calendar nailed to the wall.

"March eighteenth…" he muttered.

That date sent a chill through his soul.

In his previous life, the day he died… was March twenty-fifth.

And now, though this was a different world, a different timeline, the people, the events… were following an eerily familiar pattern.

Which meant—

If nothing changed, he would still die in seven days.

And it wouldn't be an accident.

It would be murder.

His father, Reynold, would die too.

That year, his father had just returned from the front lines. During the campaign, a dying deputy commander had entrusted him with a rare treasure in his final moments—a "Molten Core" from a peak-tier beast: the Infernal Magmabone Drake. It was the heart crystal of the monster, and the most prized loot of the entire battalion.

Honoring the final wish of the fallen, his father had brought the core home and kept it hidden in the house.

But its powerful aura didn't go unnoticed.

It drew the attention of the Helleran family—especially their heir, the notorious young lord of the city, Arthur Helleran, infamous for his arrogance and cruelty.

Arthur approached with a so-called offer—wanting to "buy" the molten core at a tenth of its true value, under the guise of generosity. In Kael's words, it wasn't a purchase. It was plunder.

Reynold refused. And from that moment on, Arthur marked him as an enemy.

Days later, there was an "accident."

A rampaging manadrive carriage struck Reynold in broad daylight, leaving him gravely wounded, barely clinging to life.

No witnesses. No evidence. The Helleran family had the wealth to hire the best illusionists and codex mages in the city—everything was wiped clean.

But Kael knew.

The hand behind it all... was Arthur.

In his previous life, Kael had once confronted him face-to-face. Drunk and unrepentant, Arthur had laughed and admitted it.

In this life, the method had changed—it wasn't Arthur himself, but someone acting on his command.

But what difference did it make?

The one pulling the strings was still the same man.

Kael stared coldly at the red-marked date on the wall calendar. "Seven days…"

If he wanted revenge, the first condition was surviving until the twenty-fifth.

But staying alive wasn't enough.

He also had to protect his parents.

A man like Arthur, ruthless to the core, wouldn't hesitate to target his family if he failed to eliminate Kael directly.

"There's only one way to make sure he doesn't dare touch me…" Kael's eyes turned icy.

"I must become a warrior!"

On this continent, even the weakest one-star warrior had already stepped into the ranks of the nobility. Every warrior was a vital force of the Empire—a living weapon and shield, the front line in any battle when the beast tides besieged the cities.

Because of this, warriors and their immediate families were protected under imperial law. To harm a warrior's kin was to provoke the very foundation of the warrior caste.

And in this world, nothing was more terrifying than the wrath of the strong.

With that thought, Kael rose from his bed and walked out of the room.

"Dad, where's the core?" he asked directly as he opened the door.

Reynold blinked. "The core? It's in my room, under the cabinet."

"That's not safe. I'll keep it in my room."

"Kael!" Elisse frowned at once. "Are you afraid I'll sell it behind your backs? Your father refuses to part with it—you think I wouldn't respect his wishes?"

Kael gave a small smile and didn't argue. He strode swiftly into his father's bedroom, crouched down, and retrieved a dark crimson wooden box. Then, he returned to his room.

The door slammed shut behind him with a bang.

In the living room, Reynold chuckled. "My son. He knows me best."

Inside the bedroom—

Kael opened the box, and a surge of fiery energy burst forth.

Inside was a blood-red crystal core, pulsing with molten light—it was the heartstone of the Infernal Magmabone Drake.

He reached in and took the core.

In that instant, his system interface appeared with a flicker:

[Beast Core: Fire Element (Supreme Grade) — Eligible for Devouring]

"It works!" Kael's heart surged with excitement. He had worried whether beast cores would be compatible with the system, but now it was clear—this was exactly the kind of fuel it was made for.

Without hesitation, he tilted his head back and swallowed the core whole.

At once, his innate skill—[Devour]—activated on its own.

Flaming mana surged through his veins, flooding his muscles and bones like a baptism of fire. His entire body felt as though it were being reforged in a blazing furnace.

The searing power poured into his limbs, into every fiber of his being. He could feel his bones strengthening, muscles reshaping, senses sharpening.

[Ding! Beast Core successfully devoured! Fire Elemental Tempering: 60%]

[Current Stage: Tempering – Mid Phase]

"I've broken through!"

Kael's eyes snapped open. Deep within his pupils, a faint red flame burned.