Chapter 120: Corpse Selection

Taking a deep breath to steady his racing heart, Malrik raised his hand and tapped the first of the final two options.

[Opening Corpse Selection...]

The golden interface rippled, and a new list cascaded down the screen. Unlike the Runic Vault, this list was overwhelmingly long.

[Grommash the Mountain Breaker] - [Rank: Transcendent]

[Lady Carmilla the Crimson] - [Rank: Transcendent]

[Liang the Iron Paradox] - [Rank: Transcendent]

[Thalassa the Drowned Sun] - [Rank: Corrupted]

[Kaelen the Shadow] - [Rank: Transcendent]

[Sylas the Horizon Piercer] - [Rank: Transcendent]

[Blight-Walker Oros] - [Rank: Corrupted]

...

Malrik stared at the screen, a genuine, almost unsettling smile spreading across his face.

"Is this even legal?" he muttered, letting out a dry chuckle. "The System is literally offering dead bodies as prizes. Am I browsing the Dark Web or something?"

His eyes scanned the ranks. Transcendent. Corrupted. Every single name on this list belonged to the equivalent of a Saint.

He didn’t click on the first few. The scrollbar on the side was terribly thin, indicating hundreds of other options. Curious to see how deep this rabbit hole went, Malrik scrolled down, bypassing dozens of names until he randomly stopped at the middle of the list.

He tapped a name that caught his eye and expanded its details.

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[Name: Corvus the Silent]

[Race: Human]

[Rank: Transcendent]

[Class: Tactician (Epic)]

[Laws: Law of the Unseen Hand, Law of Inevitability]

[History: A peerless strategist whose beloved was killed during a war between three rival empires.

She had never taken part in the conflict, yet became one of its countless nameless casualties. Corvus did not seek revenge through open warfare. He vanished into the shadows and spent decades manipulating politics, economies, alliances, and wars from behind the scenes.

He turned kings against one another, guided armies toward battles they could never win, and quietly dismantled the foundations of the three empires responsible. By the time they realized that an unseen hand had been moving their fate for decades, it was already too late. All three empires collapsed from within.

With his revenge finally fulfilled, Corvus returned to the place where he had once promised to spend the rest of his life with her. He sat alone among the ruins, placed her old keepsake beside him, and ended his own life.

He had spent decades making the world pay for taking her from him. Once there was nothing left to avenge, he had no reason to remain.]

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Malrik stared at the screen for a moment, his expression slowly changing as he reached the end of Corvus’s story.

"He spent decades dismantling three empires because they took the woman he loved from him...Now that’s some dedication."

He glanced back at the description, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"He didn’t challenge them head-on. He manipulated everything from the shadows until they destroyed themselves." Malrik gave a quiet chuckle. "And once he finally got his revenge, he simply killed himself because there was nothing left for him to live for."

His smile widened.

"A man capable of turning grief into decades of cold calculation... and possessing the patience to bring down three entire empires without ever revealing himself."

"Brilliant, obsessive, and apparently completely insane." A faint, amused smile tugged at Malrik’s lips.

"Exactly the kind of tactician I need to deal with those two crazy imperial siblings."

Still amused, he scrolled slightly and tapped another name, this time from the Morveth side.

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[Name: Morbus the Pale]

[Race: Morveth]

[Rank: Corrupted]

[Class: Plague-Architect (Epic)]

[Laws: Law of Pestilence, Law of Decay]

[History: A terrifying Morphis Abomination that transformed a major border city into a sprawling hive of disease and decay.

Its plague spread through the streets, corrupting flesh, poisoning the land, and turning the living into hosts for its creations. The city became a breeding ground for countless mutated abominations, forcing the Empire to abandon it entirely.

Its reign of terror ended only when a human Supreme happened to pass by. With a single casual strike, the Supreme incinerated the entire city—and everything within it.]

___________________________________

Malrik studied the description for a moment before letting out a quiet, amused chuckle.

"So he managed to turn an entire border city into a plague-ridden hive and spread his influence across the region...And then a Supreme happened to pass by and erased everything with a single strike."

Malrik shook his head with a faint smile.

"I suppose it doesn’t matter how terrifying you become when someone that far above you decides to take notice."

He clicked on a third name, expecting another tale of dramatic ruin, but as he read the description, the sarcastic amusement completely drained from his face.

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[Name: Vyrndraco]

[Race: Abyssal Frost Dragon]

[Rank: Transcendent]

[Class: Cataclysm Invoker (Epic)]

[Laws: Law of Absolute Zero, Law of Spatial Severance]

[History: A genius prince of a ruling dragon dynasty who mastered the pinnacle of Draconic magic. Yet, he was inexplicably afflicted by an unknown form of "Corruption" that bypassed his magical defenses and drove him into irreversible madness.

His rampage forced his own kin to hunt him down. In the end, the prince was slain by those who once called him family, bringing an end to his descent into madness]

___________________________________

Malrik’s brows knitted together as he read the description again.

"Tainted by an unknown Corruption...?" he muttered, his voice losing its usual humor.

His gaze shifted to the dragon’s Laws.

"I still don’t understand Laws well enough to judge them properly, but even I can tell that Laws with names like Absolute Zero and Spatial Severance aren’t ordinary."

He fell silent for a moment. "Yet whatever this Corruption was, it bypassed all of Vyrndraco’s defenses, drove a Transcendent mad, and ultimately led to his death..."

Malrik’s expression grew grim. "I’ve never even heard of something capable of doing that. Just what the hell is this Corruption?"

Seeking a distraction from that unsettling thought, his finger hovered over the screen before tapping a fourth and final name.

___________________________________

[Name: Xylok the Whisper]

[Race: Vaelorian]

[Rank: Transcendent]

[Class: Astral Knight (Epic)]

[Laws: Law of the Astral Veil, Law of the Falling Star]

[History: A peerless general who led his realm’s armies through a decade-long war. In the final battle, Xylok fought until victory was secured, exhausting his mana and life-force.

Fearing his growing popularity would threaten his throne, the king betrayed him and sent royal assassins to kill him. Exhausted from battle, Xylok was slain on the battlefield he had just won.]

___________________________________

Malrik paused. His eyes didn’t linger on the tragic betrayal. They immediately locked onto a single word.

Vaelorian.

He closed his eyes and began searching through the original Malrik’s memories, recalling everything he knew about the races that inhabited this world.

There was absolutely nothing. There was no race known as Vaelorian.

"I have never heard of this race in my entire life," he muttered.

His eyes narrowed in suspicion.

Instead of jumping to conclusions, Malrik quickly swiped the screen back to the main list, rapidly tapping to open the brief details of three other unknown corpses further down.

Race: Kaelthari...

Race: Lumina-Kin...

Race: Star-Devourer...

He stopped. The golden light of the screen reflected in his wide eyes as the realization finally clicked into place.

"I was right," he murmured, his voice laced with awe and a creeping sense of dread. "There are dozens of races here I’ve never even heard of. None of these exist in Valthera’s records."

He looked back at the massive, seemingly endless list of corpses. "This means... this vault isn’t just limited to Valthera. There are other worlds out there...Many of them."

He looked back at the massive, seemingly endless list of corpses.

"So... there are other worlds out there," he said quietly, crossing his arms. "I suppose if Earth exists, and Valthera exists, it only makes sense that there are others. It seems the universe isn’t as simple as I thought."

He looked back at the four corpses he had just reviewed, his mind analyzing the threads of their lives.

Each of them had a vastly different story, shaped by completely different circumstances. They were all absolute geniuses of their respective generations, wielding Epic classes and commanding terrifying Laws.

"Yet, despite all that..." Malrik whispered, the grim reality settling heavily on his shoulders. "...none of them possessed enough power to actually face their destinies."

Every character he read about had a different story, a different fate. They had all been geniuses of their respective generations, possessing Epic Classes and powerful Laws that promised them greatness.

Yet, in the end, none of them had possessed enough strength to overcome the fate that awaited them.

Some lost the people they loved. Others were driven mad. Some were betrayed by those they trusted, while others simply fell victim to cruel misfortune.

No matter how brilliant they had been, their talent had not been enough to save them from their fate.

They all lacked that final, absolute strength needed to overcome their fates.

It didn’t matter how much talent someone possessed. It didn’t matter whether they were the hero of their world or a once-in-a-century prodigy.

In the end, talent, ambition, and even the greatest destinies could not save them. All their struggles, their grand destinies, and their epic powers merely turned them into a prize waiting to be selected on a glowing screen by someone else.

"Potential means nothing if you don’t survive."

He let out a long, slow breath, clearing his mind of the heavy thoughts. There was still one section left. The most mysterious one of them all.

His gaze shifted to the final line of text hovering quietly in the golden light.

[Legacy Tower]

Without another word of hesitation, Malrik raised his hand and tapped it.

[Opening Legacy Tower...]

*****

Author’s Note:

I’ve noticed from some of the comments that there is still a bit of confusion regarding the power system. Although I’ve mentioned some of the changes in previous Chapters, I’d like to quickly clarify everything again to avoid any further confusion.

For human Ranks:

Mortal → Awakened → Ascended → Transcendent → Sovereign → Empyrean → Zenith

Due to the immense power associated with the Transcendent and Sovereign realms, each holds a distinct title that sets them apart from the other ranks.

Transcendents are known as Saints, while Sovereigns are known as Supremes.

Each rank contains 50 levels.

For Morveth Ranks:

Mortal → Awakened → Fallen → Corrupted → Great → Dread → Abyssal

If there are any other inconsistencies or details that you feel need clarification, please let me know in the comments, and I’ll be happy to explain them.

Thank you all so much for your understanding and continued support. Love you all!