Chapter 21: The search of hope

After the news spread, the society collapsed. Despair shrouded people's will to strive. The economy stalled, and a food crisis erupted as logistics broke down.

Some took their own lives upon hearing the news. Others, after confirming the tragedy firsthand by visiting the homes of the severer candidates who had committed suicide, followed suit.

Plundering, murder, rape, and countless other crimes worsened. Because of this, people began to glare at one another, their trust in each other completely broken. Unending screams and cries echoed across the globe, day and night, for many days after the news was broadcast.

Amid all the chaos, a week had passed with Nova taking care of Cyre and talking with her uncle. Like Nova, her uncle still hadn’t found any of his family members except for Cyre, since people had been scattered across the world.

With so much time gone by and not much left to talk about, silence often filled the room. Whenever the silence settled in, Nova would always find himself lost in thought.

This time, he thought, ‘Who expects something like the ninth boss to appear… and who knows Cyre will end up joining the fight? If I know this, I’ll help from the start. But the truth is, up until the ninth boss, no one dies—even without me. So… sigh, there’s no point in thinking about this now.’ He paused for a moment and straightened his sore back.

'But what’s going to happen now… The last candidates took their own lives… They say the next ones in the rankings are already pushing themselves to get stronger. But everyone already knows—confirmed by the government itself before the two take their own lives—that only these two have any chance of succeeding within the limited time of one to two months. Must I become a Severer? I have some ideas in mind, but… haha, there's no way I can really become one. Still… I should prepare, just in case. If no one else shows up… I can’t let Cyre’s sacrifice be in vain.' added Nova in his thoughts.

Nova stood up from his chair beside Cyre’s hospital bed. “Uncle, I’m going to join the final boss raid. So, I’ll go train. Please take care of Cyre.” said Nova, walking out of the hospital room.

But as he opened the door, a familiar face surprised him. A wave of relief and goosebumps washed over him. Standing there was his twelve-year-old, long haired little sister. Her small hands clutched a photo of him. It looked like she had been showing it around to ask for help finding her family. She was the same little sister who used to mock him relentlessly and sometimes pushed him until he fell—not hard enough to hurt, but enough to bruise his heart back then.

Nova gave a crooked smile. “Y-you are safe Lyn.” said Nova to the little girl in front of him.

“Big brother!” she hugged him gently, rubbing her face against his chest.

Nova’s expression turned pale. Sweat beaded on his cheeks. “Uncle! Call a doctor—my little sister’s sick. She’s never acted like this before!”

Seeing Nova’s face, Cyre’s uncle immediately rushed out to find a doctor.

He didn’t hate his little sister for everything she’d done. He was just worried she’d badmouth him or push him around like before. The truth was, he cared deeply for her.

As she still hugged his chest, Nova gently carried her to the bed beside Cyre’s.

“Hey, where does it hurt? I’ll try to ease the pain somehow until the doctor gets here,” he said hurriedly, scanning Lyn’s body with concern in his eyes.

"I'm fine, big brother. I hugged you because I missed you, not because I collapsed from sickness," Lyn replied with a small smile.

"But you—" said Nova. Lyn cut him off.

“Maybe you will not believe me, but I regress from the future. In short, you saved me and died for me in the future. That’s why... now, I love you. I’ve changed because of you." explained Lyn.

“It’s fine, Lyn. It must’ve been hard surviving in that alien military school,” Nova said gently. “Your mind must be seriously affected by everything you’ve been through. We’ll heal it, little by little. And I’ll protect you—so there’s no need to worry.”

Nova truly believed Lyn was suffering from a mental breakdown—hallucinating or escaping into a made-up reality to cope.

But Lyn pinched him, hard enough to make him twist in pain.

“Ow—what?” Nova winced. “How? I’m already ranked almost top ten among the severer candidates.”

“That’s because I’m the first Severer ever born,” Lyn said, finally letting go of her pinch. “And by the way, the man with glasses—the third silhouette the aliens showed during the first two months? That’s our father. You believe me, right? There’s no way a little girl like me could become this strong without some kind of cheat ability like regression. And not just strong—I became the very first Severer.” said Lyn, finally letting go of her pinch.

“And if you still don’t believe me,” Lyn added, her tone turning sharper, “I know you survived that time near the river, when you were surrounded by those gray, humanoid creatures with huge mouths. You escaped by skipping across the river on a surfboard, right? Ever wonder why that surfboard was suddenly there, right when you needed it? I was the one who placed it. I wanted to talk to you then, but I had to save Mom first.”

"What you're saying makes sense… I guess I can believe you—somehow," said Nova.

Lyn reached out and gently took Nova’s hand.

“Big brother… this is probably the end, isn’t it? There’s no hope left, right?” Her voice soft. “The remaining candidates are probably doing their best right now, but… I don’t think they’ll make it in time.”

She looked up at him, her eyes soft.

“So, how about we have fun instead—just for the last time? I have a plan. Let’s go on a little vacation with Mother. I know where she is—she’s safe. Dad can’t come because he doesn’t know we might be able to make a deal with the alien. But even if he’s not there… honestly, I think it’s better this way.”

She pull her brother hands slightly.

“Let’s go, big bro. I want to spend time with you. I want to say sorry… for everything I did to you.”

“You’ll be safe, right? You’re already one of the Severers. As for Mother, you can ask the aliens to save her—with both Father’s and your request, I doubt they’ll refuse. But me... even if you asked them to save me, I’d still refuse. I also won’t go on that vacation. I can’t leave the little girl behind me alone. We’ll go next time, okay,” said Nova quietly, gently releasing Lyn’s hands.

“Big brother… you die in the final boss fight!” Lyn shouted, her voice breaking. “And after that… I followed right behind you.”

Her voice softened into a whisper as her head lowered.

“Back then, I wasn’t a Severer. And Mother… Father… they both died too.”

She took a shaky breath, then continued, eyes trembling with emotion.

“I came back because I wanted to stop you. I thought… if I could keep you away from the final battle, I could make a deal later—to save you and Mother. This time is maybe different from before… your leg didn’t get injured in the river, so things may change. But… there’s no guarantee. There is no proof that you can change the outcome or that a miracle will happen. Please, big brother Nova… just come with me. Let’s go on that vacation."

Nova didn’t respond. Instead, he quietly walked out of the hospital room.

“So you will go?” Lyn asked in a disappointed voice.

Nova paused in the hallway, his back still turned to her.

“It’s fine,” he said softly. “Just in case… just in case I can become stronger and save people, I’ll struggle a little more. I don’t want to regret it in the final moment. I don’t want to find myself thinking, If only I’d tried a little harder... if only I’d searched har for more solution…"

He exhaled, then continued. “I’ve already spent nearly a year exploring every corner of the alien world. What’s another month? Besides... I have a few ideas. If no one else steps forward at the end… maybe I can… No, I hope is probably the better word here. Take care of Cyre while I’m gone, okay?”

The girl nodded in response.

Nova started walking again. He disappeared through the doorway—out of the hospital room, out of Lyn’s sight.

…

Nova had a skill in mind—one he believed might even be powerful enough to defeat the final boss, or perhaps something even greater. With that hope, he set out to find the stage where he could obtain it.

As he traveled, he deliberately chose stages he had never explored before, hoping to discover something valuable. That’s when he encountered a new boss—a four-legged mammalian creature that relied purely on overwhelming physical strength. As part of the stage's defense mechanic, this boss had the ability to give birth to another boss mid-fight.

Rumors circulated that this stage was one of the hardest, as the difficulty would spike when multiple bosses appeared at once. Typically, it was a two-boss fight. But luck was not on Nova's side that day. The boss gave birth to twins, meaning Nova found himself up against three bosses simultaneously. A nightmare, even for someone at his current level.

Somehow, he managed to defeat them.

After passing many stages, he found a broken telekinesis staff that had been thrown away by someone. Its upper part, which was actually an alien head, had a hole in its side—revealing the inner components.

This staff was his favorite tool when he wanted to rest. He could take anything from his bag without even needing to stand. Afterward, when night came, he used it immediately to gather wood for the campfire. He channeled his energy into the staff, and from the hole, he could see how the energy flowed inside. He then realized that the energy flow and its thickness were different when channeled through the staff. It was also different from when he used his own energy for telekinesis. The flow was smoother and more stabilized inside the staff, and the energy had been compressed into a thicker, better quality. This was probably the reason why equipment could function using less energy than inner skills. If he could apply the same principles of compression and stabilization to his own skills, he might not only conserve energy—but also become even stronger.

From this, Nova realized that he could still grow stronger and that there were many unknowns he had yet to understand. Therefore, he decided to improve his knowledge and understanding of things.

He observed and analyzed how energy flowed within the bodies of creatures during his fights. Then, he ventured into a mid-level boss stage, similar to the massive snake raid he had fought before, to learn from a boss-level encounter.

The boss he encountered was a necromancer, and Nova saw it as the perfect opportunity to analyze how souls were controlled. He observed how the energy flow—the way it spread, its thickness, the shape and length of the energy strings, and the precise timing of the bursts that reanimated the corpses.

Nova also took note of how the necromancer absorbed energy from the surrounding air, even drawing it from the living beings nearby, and how it stored that energy within its own body.

As for the soul, Nova only noticed that a different kind of energy, which seemed to be the soul, was controlled through the boss's body parts or abilities—something Nova could only gain by using its body parts or acquiring a skill from it. Regarding how the corpses moved, he realized that the control over the flesh was similar to physical enhancement.

‘I feel like I could create my own skill based on all this new knowledge,’ Nova thought. ‘But I don’t have the time right now. I’ll stick to the original plan for now.’

Afterward, he observed how creatures evolved. Nova realized that the energy container had enlarged, and the color and shape of the core had changed. It seemed there was a way to enhance the energy container—the core. He also saw how shape could affect energy output in general. The shape could improve absorption, output, and even the quality of the energy significantly.

By copying this method, Nova created an ethereal self-created shape surrounding his heart, replacing his previous core with this new one.

Additionally, he gained the skill he had been aiming for since the beginning—the Overtake skill. He named it himself.

With this skill, when the energy released made contact with an object or weaker living beings, it would begin a process of contamination. Dark, viscous liquid would seep from the object or creature’s skin, forming an outer coating that spread rapidly over its entire body.

As the liquid enveloped the creature, it would create a black clone, an exact replica of the original in shape and size. This clone, though mindless, would relentlessly attack anything in its path, driven by an instinct to close in on the original body. Once the clone reached its goal, it would be absorbed back into the main body, enhancing and strengthening the original with the energy of the clone.

From his analysis, Nova knew that the overtake skill could absorb both physical and energy, including inner skills or even equipment. He also realized the true potential of this skill. While most people focused on the usefulness of the clones—mindless replicas created from weaker creatures—Nova understood that the true power of the skill lay in its ability to absorb anything weaker than him, but still close to his own strength, and enhance his own power.

But Nova's analysis of the boss using this skill revealed a limitation: the boss's body began to crumble, cracks appearing all over after absorbing hundreds of clones. This meant that Nova, too, could only absorb with limitations.

‘With this, I might be able to defeat the final boss. Maybe even… But does it really have to be me?’ thought Nova, in a snowfield dotted with sparse, snow-covered white trees. He slipped between the flying, plate-like creatures—each about a meter wide—that circled around him. In addition to flight, they could also shift and slither along the ground with an amoeboid motion.

But despite his doubtful cowardice thoughts, Nova's body moved with speed, precision, and unwavering confidence, slicing through the enemies around him. With seamless, fluid motions, he cut them down one by one without uttering a word. The only sound that filled the silent air was the sharp rhythm of blades slicing through flesh.

As time passed, each of Nova's strikes grew faster, stronger, and more precise. Creatures that once required two hits to defeat now fell with a single, well-placed slice to a vital point. Soon, he began incorporating ranged attacks, taking down two or three enemies at once. He even learned to anticipate the timing of their strikes, dodging multiple attacks with ease.

Nova continued to sharpen his skills by observing, adapting, and struggling through countless battles. Applying everything he had learned, he poured all his time and focus into self-improvement, pushing to grow stronger with each passing moment.

Not long after, he decided to end his training and returned to the city. A few days passed, and only three weeks remained until the final boss fight.

When he arrived at the city, he was greeted by a massive line of people stretching for kilometers along the road. They sat silently under the starry night sky, each holding a candle as they prayed together.