I Siphon the Dead to Become the Strongest

”Get off! Move!” Germaine shouted, shoving Ethan aside as she scrambled out of his grip.

She pressed her palms flat against the earth. For a second, the world went silent. Then, a low hum began to vibrate through the ground, and a whirlwind of gritty, brown energy began to coil around her hands.

With a sharp, violent whip of her arms upward, Germaine unleashed the storm.

VROOOOOM!

A roaring tornado of solidified sand and grit erupted from the earth. It wasn’t a colossal storm that leveled the forest, but it was formidable—roughly four times their size—a concentrated pillar of abrasive death that acted like a giant vacuum, sucking the remaining stunned wolves into its whirling heart.

Inside the vortex, the wolves were helpless, trapped in a centrifuge of grinding sand. Germaine’s eyes were cold, her stance poised and rigid as she directed the storm with surgical precision, sending a continuous chain of slashing sand-blades raining down on the trapped beasts.

Ethan, lying flat on his back and staring up at the spectacle with wide, bewildered eyes and his jaw practically hitting the dirt, felt a surge of genuine awe.

”Oh... my... god,” Ethan whispered, his voice trembling with genuine excitement. ”It’s a... it’s a... it’s a... SANNNND...NADO!!!”

Germaine stopped the vortex with a sudden, sharp snap of her arm, returning to a poised, upright stance. Her breathing was steady, her eyes cold as ice.

”It’s called ’Sand Gale,’” she corrected him, her voice dripping with a mixture of exhaustion and disdain.

Ethan remained sprawled on the ground, his armor caked in dust and his spirit completely broken by the sheer effort of existing. He looked up at Germaine, who was still standing there like a statue of cold, lethal efficiency, and he couldn’t help himself. The logic gap was just too wide to ignore.

”Okay, hold on. Timeout. Let’s talk about the branding here,” Ethan said, his voice dripping with sarcastic confusion. ”Previously, ’Sand Gale’ was those five sharp, crescent-moon finger-blades that sliced things into neat little ribbons. Right? That’s the established lore. That’s the Brand Identity.”

Germaine stood up slowly, sheathing her sword with a sharp click. ”Yes. That is correct.”

”Right,” Ethan continued, finally sitting up with a heavy metallic clank. ”And then you just summoned a literal, rotating pillar of death—a swirling vortex of abrasive doom—and you’re telling me that’s also called ’Sand Gale’?”

”Yes,” Germaine replied flatly.

Ethan stared at her, his visor tilting in utter disbelief. ”Wow. Just... wow. Your naming sense is absolutely tragic. It’s a crime. We live in an age of epic skill names! People name their moves ’Heaven-Shattering Void Strike’ or ’Eternal Flame of the Seven Hells,’ and you’re over here just calling everything ’Sand Gale.’ It’s like calling every single dish at a restaurant ’Food.’ ’Excuse me, waiter, I’ll have the Food, please.’ It’s lazy, Germaine! I’m the one who’s supposed to be lazy here! Don’t steal my brand!”

Germaine turned to him, her eyes narrowing into slits of pure, icy judgment.

”Listen, you pathetic tin can,” she snapped. ”It is a complex, unique ability. The skill is Sand Gale; the application of that skill is what changes. It is an evolving power. Depending on my intent, the mana flow, and the environment, it can manifest as piercing crescents, a defensive wall, or a concentrated tornado.”

She stepped closer, her voice becoming a clinical lecture. ”The more I master the flow, the more forms it takes. It is an organic process of growth. Whether I manifest a sliver or a storm depends entirely on my current stamina and mana reserves. If I spam the tornado, I’ll be unconscious in ten minutes. Now, are we finished with the vocabulary lesson, or do you want to keep lying in the dirt while the exit gate waits?”

Ethan blinked, processing this. Oh, so it’s one of those ’versatile’ skills. Great. She’s not just a human blender; she’s a customizable kitchen appliance.

”Right, right. ’Same but different.’ I get it,” Ethan sighed, hauling himself to his feet with a loud groan that sounded like a rusty gate. ”I’ll accept the terminology for now, but I’m telling you, if you ever let me rename your skills, we’re going with ’The Great Sand-Sucker 3000.’ It’s got more punch. More marketing appeal.”

Germaine didn’t respond. She simply turned and began walking toward the exit, leaving Ethan to stumble after her, still muttering about the lack of creativity in modern Hunter nomenclature.

...

Leaving the Gate was, in some ways, more stressful than fighting the wolves.

For ten excruciating minutes, Ethan and Germaine found themselves in a diplomatic stalemate with the Gate Guard—a man whose primary personality trait seemed to be ”extreme bureaucracy.” He had been insisting on a full equipment inspection and a rigorous ID verification process.

Ethan, desperate to avoid any one-on-one scrutiny that might reveal his skewed rank, tried everything. He tried playing the ”I’m just a humble Ranker” card, and he tried pretending he had a sudden, violent bout of allergies that made it impossible to open his helmet. Nothing worked.

Then, Germaine stepped in.

She didn’t use a spell. She didn’t draw her sword. Instead, she activated her Seduction skill. Now, technically, it was only Level 1, which meant it wasn’t a mind-controlling siren song—it was more of a ”strategic adjustment.” With a subtle shift in her posture and a very calculated, rhythmic jiggle of her chest, she leaned in toward the guard with a soft, flickering smile.

It was like watching a cheat code being entered into a video game. The guard’s brain practically short-circuited. His eyes glazed over, his posture slumped, and he waved them through with a dreamy, vacant expression, forgetting entirely that he was an officer of the law.

”Well,” Ethan muttered as they stepped onto the sidewalk, ”I’ll add ’tactical cleavage’ to the list of viable combat strategies.”

The city air was cool, smelling of exhaust and street food. It was 5:49 PM, and the sky was bruising into a deep purple. They stood at a pedestrian crossing, waiting for the light to turn green.

Ethan was completely tuned out, his thumb flying across his phone screen. He was catching up on a mountain of messages from Mia, and the timestamps told a story of growing desperation:

[12:31 PM]: Big brother! Are you still in that scary hole? Don’t forget to breathe! 💖

[1:37 PM]: I hope you aren’t fighting something with too many teeth! Be careful!! 😭

[2:21 PM]: What time are you coming home? I’m starting to get hungry... just saying... 🍱

[2:45 PM]: Please don’t overwork yourself! You always do that thing where you pretend you’re fine and then you sleep for twenty hours! 💤

[4:56 PM]: LIFESAVING MISSION: Please buy Korean Soy-Garlic Fried Chicken on your way home! The extra crispy kind! I’ll pay you back in hugs! 🍗✨

Ethan sighed, a small, genuine smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. He started typing a reply, completely oblivious to the fact that Germaine was staring at him.

She wasn’t just glancing; she was analyzing. She kept stealing looks at his profile, her eyes tracing the line of his jaw and the way he held himself now that the armor was gone. Inside the gate, he had been a walking tank, a chaotic force of nature. Now, he just looked like... a guy.

”Is there something on my face?” Ethan asked, finally noticing the staring. ”Or am I just so handsome that you’re experiencing a spiritual awakening?”

”Nothing,” Germaine replied, her voice returning to its usual cool clip, though there was a hint of curiosity in it. ”I was just thinking... you looked like a clumsy alien in that helmet. I honestly thought it was just a piece of equipment, but seeing how you toggled it on and off... I didn’t realize that was a skill of yours.”

She looked him up and down, her gaze becoming slightly critical. ”Now that you’re standing here as a civilian, you look... fragile. Like a tree that would be easy to snap in a light breeze.”

Ethan gasped, clutching his chest in a theatrical display of heartbreak. ”How cruel! I am a sturdy oak! A majestic sequoia of a man!”

He paused, his eyes wandering downward for a fraction of a second. ”Besides, you can’t talk about ’fragility’ when you’re carrying around those... avant-garde mountain peaks.”

Germaine froze. Her eyes snapped to his, her fist clenching. A vein began to throb in her temple. ”What did you just call them?”

BEEP.

The walk signal turned green.

As they stepped onto the crosswalk, the tension shifted. The adrenaline of the gate was fading, leaving behind a strange, quiet intimacy. Germaine slowed her pace, her shoulders relaxing.

”Hey,” she said softly. ”Let’s introduce ourselves. Properly.”

Ethan groaned, leaning back. ”What... that’s such a hassle. Why do we need names? We can just be ’Tin Can’ and ’Sandnado.’ It’s efficient.”

”Ethan,” she warned.

”Fine, fine!” he chuckled, his voice softening. ”I just need to get to the chicken shop and grab some ingredients. With the amount of money we made today... ehe... I might even buy the expensive soy sauce.”

Germaine let out a small, rare chuckle. It wasn’t a cold sound; it was warm, almost shy. ”I agree. The chicken sounds... acceptable.”

She stopped walking and turned to him, her expression becoming uncharacteristically sincere. ”Actually... thank you. For today.”

Ethan paused, looking at her.

”I’ve always been held back by fear,” Germaine admitted, looking down at her boots. ”I have the abilities, but I lacked the nerve. I felt like a fraud, constantly terrified that I’d fail or get hurt. But watching you... your absolute lack of fear—even if it’s just because you’re too lazy to be afraid—it helped me. I felt like I could actually break through. I actually felt... capable.”

Ethan shifted his weight, suddenly feeling very awkward. He looked away, scratching the back of his neck, his usual sarcastic deflectors failing him for a moment.

”Uh... yeah. Well. You’re not exactly a damsel in distress. That ’Sandnado’ thing was... okay, I guess,” he muttered, his voice lacking its usual bite.

”I’m Germaine Blumenthal,” she said, extending her hand.

Ethan looked at the hand, then at her face. He reached out and shook it, a small, mischievous glint returning to his eyes.

”It’s my pleasure, Germaine Blue-Lethal.”

The silence lasted for exactly one second.

”You son of a—!” Germaine snapped, her face turning a shade of red that rivaled the stoplight.

Ethan didn’t wait for the punch. He pivoted on his heel and sprinted down the sidewalk at a speed that would have put the Fulminar Wolves to shame.

”GET BACK HERE, YOU TIN-CAN TRASHBAG!” she screamed, launching herself into a full-speed chase, her hands outstretched to choke the life out of him.

As Ethan rounded the corner, yelling about the urgency of his fried chicken mission, one couldn’t help but wonder: if she actually caught him, would he be strangled by her hands, or would he simply be suffocated by the ”Avant-Garde Peaks” in a final, clumsy collision?

Either way, it was a much more peaceful end to the day than being eaten by a wolf.

---

”Alright, can we all just take a moment to appreciate the ’Sand-nado’? I think the world needs more skills named like ’The Great Sand-Sucker 3000.’ Also, I’m pretty sure Germaine’s Seduction skill is officially the most powerful weapon in this universe—Gate Guards don’t stand a chance.”

”And finally, a little bedtime prayer for all you wonderful readers:

May your pillows be cool, your blankets be cozy, and may you never wake up to find a Fulminar Wolf in your bedroom. May your dreams be filled with jiggling slimes and high-tier loot drops, and may you all wake up tomorrow with the strength of an Ogre and the luck of a fraud. Sleep well, everyone! 🌙💤”