Chapter 148: Blackout

Eden wiped the blood from his mouth and summoned the system interface.

His eyes immediately settled on the newly acquired skill.

[Ferocious Evolution]

[Rank: S]

[Description: A powerful skill that combines physical enhancement with instantaneous regeneration. Upon activation, the user develops black scales across their body, increasing their physical attributes. The enhancement grows stronger as the scales spread and multiply.]

[The skill converts large quantities of Essence into instantaneous healing. The greater the amount of Essence consumed for regeneration, the faster the enhancement develops.]

[Warning: Repeated activation and excessive healing within a short period accelerate the user’s Blackout progression.]

[As Blackout increases, the user’s body undergoes increasingly monstrous transformations. These may include black horns, a tail, wings, and other physical alterations.]

[At 100% Blackout, the skill reaches its maximum potential. However, the user will lose their sense of reason and indiscriminately attack all beings within their vicinity.]

Eden read the description twice.

Then a third time.

"...Well."

He leaned back against a nearby root.

"That’s certainly something."

Sylvia peered over his shoulder, reading the information with increasing concern.

"A skill that heals you while strengthening your body?"

"That’s the basic idea."

"And the more you heal, the stronger it becomes?"

"Seems like it."

She frowned.

Eden tapped the warning of the Blackout with one finger.

"Looks like nothing good ever comes without a catch."

He wasn’t entirely surprised.

Evolution had allowed the guardian to grow stronger through regeneration. Violent Vitality had provided him with extraordinary healing, while Warrior’s Spirit had strengthened his durability.

The fusion had combined all three concepts into a single skill.

A self-reinforcing cycle.

The more damage he sustained, the more Essence he could convert into healing. The more he healed, the faster his physical enhancement developed. And the longer the enhancement continued, the more dangerous he became.

In a prolonged battle, the skill could be terrifying.

An opponent who couldn’t kill him quickly would eventually find themselves fighting an increasingly powerful monster.

There was just one problem.

The word monster seemed a little too literal.

Eden’s eyes returned to the final warning.

’At 100% Blackout, I’ll lose control of myself.’

He could imagine the consequences.

His strength would increase, his body would transform, and his reason would disappear. Anything nearby would become a target, friend or foe alike.

Considering how destructive his abilities already were, the thought of unleashing that kind of power without restraint was... concerning.

Very concerning.

And yet, he couldn’t deny the potential.

A skill capable of healing catastrophic injuries while continuously increasing his physical attributes could save his life in situations where even Devour wasn’t enough.

If used correctly, it might become one of his most valuable abilities.

If used carelessly, it might turn him into a threat to everyone around him.

Sylvia crossed her arms.

"Master, I don’t like this."

Eden glanced at her.

"That makes two of us."

"You shouldn’t treat this like one of your other skills. If the Blackout progresses too quickly, you could lose control before you have the chance to deactivate it."

His voice was quieter now.

Eden studied the description once more, committing the details to memory.

He needed to understand how the percentage increased, how quickly the transformations occurred, and whether the process could be reversed. Most importantly, he needed to determine whether reaching 100% was inevitable once he began using the skill or whether the progression could be controlled.

Until he knew the answers, he would treat Ferocious Evolution as a last resort.

A very powerful last resort.

Eden closed the interface.

"Don’t worry. I’m not planning to turn into a mindless demon anytime soon."

"You say that as though you wouldn’t do something reckless the moment it became convenient."

"That’s a rather unfair accusation."

"Is it?"

He opened his mouth, but closed it right after feeling a weird sensation.

Somewhere deep inside his dark matter, Obsidian who had been dissolved, nodded.

’Who’s Retainer are you?’

Eden rolled his eyes.

"...Fine. It’s a slightly fair accusation."

Sylvia sighed.

Eden pushed himself to his feet.

His legs trembled for a moment before he regained his balance. He checked his body for lingering injuries, then rolled his shoulders and stretched his arms.

Everything seemed to be functioning normally.

Whatever damage the fusion had caused, his body had recovered.

He glanced at the enormous carcass of the centipede, most of which had already been consumed by Devour. The remaining pieces were scattered across the forest floor, slowly dissolving into black particles.

Eden brushed the dirt from his robe.

"Well, shall we?"

Sylvia looked at him in disbelief.

"You’re already planning to continue?"

"???"

"Why wouldn’t I?"

"You were on the ground coughing up blood less than five minutes ago!"

"And now I’m standing."

She pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Master, one day, you are going to give me a heart attack."

"Yeah, right."

He turned toward the deeper reaches of the forest.

The enormous trees continued into the distance, their towering trunks obscuring whatever lay beyond them. Somewhere ahead, he could feel a faint but unmistakable fluctuation of Essence.

Something was waiting.

Perhaps another guardian.

Perhaps a treasure.

Or perhaps the answers he had come here to find.

Eden slipped his hands into his pockets and began walking.

Behind him, Sylvia dissolved into dark Essence, joining Obsidian in the familiar space within his dark matter.

Eden continued alone.

His new skill remained at the back of his mind, its warning impossible to ignore.

Eden had learned long ago that the most dangerous things were often the ones that began innocently.

He would need to be careful.

The deeper Eden ventured into the forest, the stranger the silence became.

He had expected to encounter more Abyss Creatures. After all, the enormous centipede guardian had been powerful enough to make his previous visit an exercise in survival. It stood to reason that something of comparable strength, if not stronger, might be lurking farther within the forest.

Yet nothing appeared.

No enormous beasts emerged from between the pillar-like trees. No hostile presences approached him from the shadows.

Eden wasn’t particularly bothered by that.