My SSS-Rank Innate skill: Infinite Adaptation core

A few minutes earlier...

Nova arrived at the central area of Frostholme, following the directions given by the Imp Archon resting on his shoulder.

According to the Deadborn, three mysterious masked men wearing dark hooded robes were hiding inside the small building standing before him.

The Deadborn had also informed him that this entire area was oozing with a thick demonic aura. Standing in front of the building now, Nova finally understood what it meant. He couldn’t directly sense the aura itself, but the demonic energy within his body was resonating with something inside the building.

{It seems there is something inside that is deeply connected to demons. Normally, only demonic beasts would be able to sense it, but since you possess pure demonic energy, you can feel its presence from this close, even if it’s faint.}

”I see...”

Nova narrowed his eyes at the building. ”So the reason Frostholme was attacked by the beast tide is inside this place.”

{You are right.}

Before Nova could say anything else, he sensed someone approaching the building. Instantly, he slipped into a nearby alley and concealed himself.

A few moments later, he spotted a masked man wearing the exact same robes and description the Deadborn had reported.

Nova watched as the man hurried toward the building and entered through the front door. Seeing this, he told the Imp Archon to return.

Its mission was complete.

Nova promised he would reward it later before dismissing it back into his shadow. Now that he understood the situation, there was no need to involve the Deadborn further.

He took out his disguise mask and put it on. In an instant, his appearance changed into that of the Slaughter Monarch.

Then he calmly walked toward the building and approached the front door. As he stood outside, he could clearly hear the conversation taking place inside. The more he listened, the colder his expression became.

These people were responsible for everything. The beast tide, the deaths and the destruction. Nova knocked on the door.

Knock. Knock.

A few moments later, it opened. One of the masked men stood before him. Since Nova was wearing his disguise, the man couldn’t recognize him. Looking directly at the cultist, Nova smiled beneath his mask and said,

”Hello, motherfuckers.”

Seeing that Nova was wearing a mask, the robed man became even more irritated. His mood was already terrible after hearing that their plan had failed, and now some masked stranger had appeared at their door early in the morning to play prank.

”Listen to me, you fucking idiot,” he growled angrily. ”My mood is already bad, so get the fuck away from here before I beat the shit out of you.”

”Oh?”

Nova tilted his head slightly. ”And how exactly are you going to do that?” His tone was calm and amused, though he was barely suppressing his anger.

”This bastard!”

The man finally lost his patience and threw a powerful punch straight at Nova’s chest. Surprisingly, he was around Level 150, making him far stronger than an ordinary awakened individual.

Unfortunately for him, his opponent was Nova, the fist slammed into Nova’s chest.

Nothing happened.

The man felt as though he had punched a steel wall. Nova didn’t even move an inch. His physique had long surpassed what his level normally suggested.

Nova couldn’t be bothered wasting any more time on this scum. Without even raising a hand, he activated Voidborne Telekinesis.

The man’s eyes widened.

Before he could react, an invisible force grabbed him and hurled him through the doorway like a rag doll.

BOOM!

His body crashed through the wooden wall inside the building, shattering it apart before he tumbled into the next room.

The other two masked men froze, shock covered their faces. The man who had just been thrown away was the strongest among them. If he had been defeated so effortlessly...Then they were completely fucked.

Nova stepped inside the building. The two remaining masked men were already frozen in fear and didn’t dare move. One of them began trembling violently the moment he recognized who was standing before them.

”Y-You are that—”

Nova didn’t let him finish. Using Voidborne Telekinesis, he instantly shut the man’s mouth and spoke in a cold voice.

”Listen to me, you filthy rats. I’m the one asking questions here, and your job is to answer them. If your answers satisfy me, I’ll grant you a painless death.”

His voice was completely different from his usual self. It carried a chilling calmness that made the atmosphere inside the room turn heavy. The two men felt a cold shiver run down their spines and nearly collapsed from fear.

Nova slowly swept his gaze across them before asking, ”So, who are you, and why are you here?”

The two men immediately began shaking their heads, clearly unwilling to answer. Seeing this, Nova’s patience began to wear thin.

”Looks like you really want to be tortured.” He slowly raised his hand, causing both men to panic.

”Wait!” one of them shouted. ”Don’t kill us! Even if we wanted to tell you, we can’t!”

Nova paused and looked at him. The man hurriedly continued, afraid that a second of hesitation would cost him his life.

”There’s a curse inside our heads. If we reveal even a little information, our heads will explode.”

The other man nodded frantically beside him, clearly agreeing with every word.

Nova narrowed his eyes and carefully observed them. From what he could tell, neither of them seemed to be lying. At the very least, he couldn’t sense any deception from them.

A slight frown appeared beneath his mask.

This complicated things.

He needed information about the Blood Moon Cult, but if what they were saying was true, extracting that information wouldn’t be as simple as threatening them.

{Did you forget? Use your class skill, Blood Harvest.}

Nova froze for a moment before his eyes widened.

”Fuck! I nearly forgot about that. I do have that useful skill granted by my class. This makes things much easier now.”

[Blood Harvest]

Absorbs a portion of the life force and memories from slain enemies, restoring Mana, Stamina, and Health.

The moment Nova reread the skill description, an evil grin bloomed beneath his mask. He had been so focused on extracting information through questioning that he completely forgot he possessed a much simpler method.

He didn’t need them to willingly reveal anything. He didn’t need to worry about the curse inside their heads either. All he had to do was leave them barely alive and use Blood Harvest to absorb their memories directly.

The two men suddenly felt a chill run down their spines. Looking at the masked man standing before them, they had no idea why, but the way he was staring at them made them feel as though they were prey being watched by a predator.

”Fortunately...” Nova said as he slowly stepped forward, his voice calm yet terrifying. ”I have a solution for that.”

The smile beneath his mask widened further.

”And unfortunately for you three, you are about to have the worst time of your lives.”

Nova used Voidborne Telekinesis to pull the man who had been thrown into the other room back before him. The cultist was still unconscious, so Nova casually gave him a small lightning shock to force him awake.

The moment the man regained consciousness and saw the situation, his face turned pale. At this point, all three cultists had already accepted that death was inevitable. They had been prepared for such an outcome ever since they joined the Blood Moon Cult.

But accepting death and facing it were two completely different things, every man feared death and they were no exception.

”Please don’t kill us!”

”Y-Yeah! Please don’t! You can take all the money we have!”

The three men began pleading desperately, hoping for even the slightest chance of survival.

Nova looked at them for a few moments before shaking his head.

”If only this was as simple as money.”

His voice remained cold.

”You rats plotted against an entire city and used shady methods to destroy it without caring how many innocent people would die. Thousands of lives were put at risk because of your actions, and now you want to live?”

The three cultists couldn’t deny his words.

Nova slowly stepped closer.

”Even if you’re nothing more than pawns, the sins on your shoulders are far too great for me to ignore.”A dangerous aura began leaking from his body.

”And I won’t ignore them.”The three men felt their hearts sink. After all, the person standing before them wasn’t some merciful hero.

He was the Slaughter Monarch.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

[ A/N]

I heard some of my readers prefer to enjoy the novel in audio format. Since using ”=” was causing issues, I made some changes. Let me know if it’s still inconvenient.

Thanks for reading...