However, the very next moment, a sharp pain erupted from deep within his chest. The agony spread throughout his body, yet the smile on his face never faded.

Instead, his grin widened as he looked at the glowing red Stone and calmly said,

"And I can be... whatever I want." Then suddenly.

"Ugh..."

The pain was far more intense than Nova had expected, but he refused to let go of the glowing Stone. Gritting his teeth, he continued absorbing the demonic energy pouring into his body at an astonishing rate.

Ding!

[You have absorbed a massive amount of Demonic Energy.]

[Warning: Demonic Energy concentration is rising rapidly.]

[Warning: Host’s body is approaching its critical limit.]

Ding!

[Host’s life is in imminent danger.]

Ding!

[Innate Skill Activated: Infinite Adaptation Core.]

Ding!

[Mutation Skill Activated.]

[Analyzing Demonic Energy...]

[Analysis Complete.]

[Energy Purity: 98.7%]

[Threat Level: Catastrophic.]

[Attempting Adaptation...]

[Failure.]

[Reason: Host body unable to withstand Demonic Corruption.]

[Reattempting Adaptation...]

[Failure.]

[Reattempting Adaptation...]

[Failure.]

[Reattempting Adaptation...]

[Failure.]

[...]

[...]

[...]

[Warning: Host body has begun adapting to Demonic Energy.]

[Mutation Rate: 13%... 29%... 47%... 81%...]

[Irreversible evolutionary changes detected.]

[Suppressing Demonic Corruption...]

[Adaptation Successful.]

[Demonic Energy Stability Achieved.]

[Corruption Level: 0.0%]

[Compatibility Rate: 100%]

[Congratulations!]

[Demonic Resistance Acquired.]

[Rank: Expert]

[You have successfully absorbed the highly concentrated Crimson Blood Stone.]

[Congratulations!]

[Blood Affinity Acquired.]

[Rank: Advanced]

[Congratulations!]

[Instant Regeneration Acquired.]

[Rank: A]

[Congratulations!]

[Pain Resistance has leveled up to the Advanced Rank.]

[Your Demonic Aura has leveled up to Rank A+.]

Ding!!

[Congratulations!]

[Your Potential Rank has advanced from B-Rank to A-Rank.]

"What the hell... I feel like I’ve changed so much, yet I don’t feel any different."

As Nova looked at himself, there didn’t seem to be any major changes to his appearance, at least none that he could notice immediately. The changes were extremely subtle on the outside, while most of them seemed to have taken place internally.

{Look at your race first, then tell me nothing has changed.}

Hearing Liya’s words, Nova frowned in confusion before immediately opening his status window.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Name: Nova Valencrest

Age: 15

Race: Human (98%) | Demon (2%)

Class: Slaughter Monarch [Level 2]

Level: 302 (Rank: B)

Bloodline: Human

Affinity: Lightning, Chaos, Blood

Mana: 3624/3624

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

"What the fuck?!"

Nova couldn’t help but shout in surprise.

{Congratulations. You have now permanently stepped beyond humanity... well, at least on a racial level.}

Nova remained silent for a few seconds before slowly calming himself down. It wasn’t as though he hadn’t expected something like this to happen. Honestly, it didn’t bother him as much as he thought it would.

After all, the benefits far outweighed the cost.

His Pain Resistance had advanced to the Advanced Rank, his Demonic Aura had risen all the way to A+, he had awakened Blood Affinity, and most importantly...

His Potential had increased from B-Rank to A-Rank.

To Nova, that alone was worth everything he had gained from absorbing the bloodheart demoic Stone.

"So with only two percent... I gained Instant Regeneration and Blood Affinity as demonic traits? Nothing more?" Nova asked curiously.

{Like I told you before, the demonic energy you absorbed wasn’t originally 100% pure. Even though its purity was extremely high, it only reached true purity after being stabilized and adapted by your body.}

{And in the demonic world, purity is everything. It determines the quality of a demon’s lineage and potential. Based on the purity of your demonic energy alone, you could already be considered a high-level demon. Remember, I’m talking about demonic rank, not your actual strength.}

{As for the changes... externally, you’ve only become a little more handsome than before. Nothing too noticeable.}

"...."

"I see..."

Nova nodded, finally understanding what Liya meant. He didn’t dwell on it any further. Instead, he looked at the Crimson Blood Stone.

The once blood-red crystal had completely lost its color, turning dull white as countless cracks spread across its surface. A few seconds later, it shattered into millions of tiny fragments before crumbling into dust.

Ding!

[You have successfully completed the Hidden Quest.]

[Reward Obtained: 500,000 Evolution Points.]

[All hidden conditions fulfilled.]

[Processing hidden reward...]

[You have successfully altered a minor fate of this world.]

[Congratulations!]

[Title Acquired: Fate Changer.]

[New System Feature Unlocked: Fate Points.]

[By changing predetermined major or minor fates within this world, you will earn Fate Points.]

[Fate Points can be converted into Evolution Points.]

[Conversion Rate: 10 Fate Points = 100 Evolution Points.]

Ding!

Congratulations!

[You have obtained 500 Fate Points.]

Nova silently stared at the system window, his expression unreadable as he tried to understand what kind of reward the hidden quest had given him. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that he had obtained yet another incredible reward.

"You knew about this, didn’t you?" Nova asked without taking his eyes off the panel.

{Well, I am your system, and I was the one who gave you the quest, so that was a rather silly question. Still... I like the emotions you’re actually feeling, even though your expression remains completely calm.}

Nova ignored her teasing.

"So this means I can earn even more Evolution Points now? There should be countless opportunities to change the fates of people and events in this world."

{You understood it correctly. So... yes, you’re welcome.}

"Hmm..."

Nova didn’t know what else to say. In the span of a single night, he had gained far more than he could have imagined.

His gaze slowly shifted toward the three cultists lying on the floor. Their bodies had long gone cold.

Without another word, Nova summoned lightning into his hand and set their corpses ablaze, allowing them to burn into ashes.

Nova wasn’t a cruel person.

At least, he didn’t think he was.

But he had begun to notice something. The stronger he became, the more detached he felt from ordinary human emotions. He no longer found himself sympathizing with people as easily as before.

If someone deserved to die, he would kill them without hesitation.

That didn’t make him a hero.

He wasn’t someone who sought justice for everyone. He would only act when it concerned him... or when he had something to gain or lose.

"Now that I’ve completed all the quests, the city is safe. I know who was behind all this, and I also know how dangerous they are."

Nova looked toward the brightening sky.

"What I need to do now... is train. I can already feel my control over demonic energy slipping."

{You should. Otherwise, it won’t take long for people to discover what you possess. Especially those above Level 1000. If they find out, they’ll kill you like a bug... or worse, torture you until you reveal everything you know.}

{You have three years here. The Duke’s offer is a good opportunity. Convince your parents to transfer to Frostholme. You already have a house waiting for you, and both your lovers would be happy.}

Nova frowned.

"What do you mean, both lovers?"

He already knew exactly who Liya was talking about.

{Try saying that to someone who can’t read your mind, darling. She’s the perfect candidate to become your second wife. On top of that, you already like her, and she likes you back as well. You just need to make her realize it.}

"I never thought the day would come when a system would be giving love advice to its host... especially when the system herself is a hot girl."

Nova said with an amused smile, unable to hide the teasing in his voice.

{Well, at least you finally realize how special your beloved Liya is.}

Liya replied proudly, her tone carrying a hint of smugness as if she had been waiting for him to acknowledge that fact.

Thanks for reading...