Half face's movement was momentarily hindered, but it didn't drop dead.
That wound would've been lethal for any other creature, but not for a Revenant.
Revenants didn't die unless they were cut off from their energy source. That was especially true for evolved ones.
In other words, despite the gaping hole in its chest, its nucleus remained within its body, constantly supplying it with the energy needed to stay alive and move about.
Kev had used overwhelming force but failed to separate it from its greatest strength—and only weakness—its nucleus.
"It's not there?"
Kev had expected its runes to be around its chest.
But it turned out he was wrong.
Still, he wasn't too worried.
The evolved revenant was going to die here, and nothing was going to change that.
Suddenly.
A terrible headache pounded his head like a hammer and a great sense of weakness stuck to his body like glue.
He felt both mentally and physically exhausted.
This was the drawback of using his power to control the shadow of a being with a will of its own and the ability to resist. It was too taxing on his body.
But what about things that had no will and couldn't resist?
As per the memories he had gained at the time of becoming a class holder, it should be less taxing.
"Stay."
Kev's raspy voice was akin to a devil's whisper. It affected reality in a profound manner.
Half Face couldn't see what was coming, but its fear surged to another level. It increased its speed, moving faster than before. Like a gust of wind, it bolted toward the room's exit.
Just as it reached the hole, tendrils of darkness shot up from the shadows cast by the corpses near the entrance.
These tendrils coiled around its ankles like vipers and yanked it backward.
Bam!
Half Face was dragged back into the room and slammed against the ground, forced to kiss the floor.
Kev waved his hand left and right.
The shadows of every object and corpse in the room danced to his will.
Some rose to block the only way out.
The others forced their way inside the evolved Revenant and started their search for its runes and nucleus.
A mouth appeared on its neck as it tried to resist.
But before it could put it to use, a shadowy hand rose and covered it, muffling its ear-piercing scream as the shadows rampaging inside it finally found what they were looking for.
They burst out of its body, exploding it to pieces in the process.
The shadows moved towards Kev's outstretched hand, placing the runes they had collected from the evolved Revenant's body while it was still whole into his palm.
Kev felt like he was reaching his limits. He stopped using his power and the shadows returned to the objects he'd stripped them from. His eyes also returned to normal.
Looking at the runes, there were three of them.
He quickly popped the nucleus in his mouth, hoping to regain his vitality and recover some stamina.
The evolved Revenant's nucleus was overflowing with energy.
As Kev consumed it, his body that was shriveled like a dried-up corpse underwent a massive transformation.
His flesh filled out.
His skin regained its color.
He no longer looked like the walking dead.
Best yet, the sense of exhaustion that had threatened to knock him out cold faded away. The splitting headache vanished as well. He felt invigorated.
Without hesitation, he took the remaining runes in his possession, enhancing his strength by a great margin.
He wasn't clear about how powerful he had become.
He wasn't clear about how powerful he had become. But he didn't need to remain clueless.
When he became a corpse collector, he hadn't just undergone an earth-shaking transformation. He had also established a connection with something out of this world. Something that promised to clear his confusion about the Abyss to the best of its ability.
Kev extended his hand and opened it wide, with his palm facing the ground.
A vortex opened up on the floor.
Two black arms carrying a book emerged from the swirling darkness.
Kev took the book and pronounced two words in a language he had never spoken before.
In English, the words meant, "Open up."
As soon as Kev uttered those two words, the book opened up, revealing the first page.
[Character Status - Kev]
• Class: Corpse Collector in the Dark
[STATS]
• Strength: Extraordinary (Low) — 3 / 100
• Agility: Extraordinary (Low) — 2 / 100
• Stamina: Extraordinary (Low) — 1 / 100
• Extra Life Force: 3 Units
[ABILITIES]
• Shadow Manipulation (Lv. 1) (0/100)
• Corpse Collection (Lv. 1) (0/100)
[TRAITS]
• Esoteric Mutation of the Soul (EX-Rank) (0/100)
[SPECIAL PARAMETERS]
• Corpse Collection Points: Null
• Assimilation Rate: 0%
Kev was unsure about a lot of things, but the book could answer questions related to him.
"How strong am I compared to an average person who suddenly finds himself stranded in the abyss?
The words on the page shifted and reformed into a new message.
"An average person starts his climb at the Ordinary rank which is recorded as the lowest tier in the history of the Abyss. Your Strength is four times higher than that. Your Agility is three times higher. Your Stamina is twice as high."
"What does a unit of extra life force signify?"
"Each unit of extra life force extends your natural lifespan by one month."
"Tell me about my abilities."
"You have two abilities. Shadow Manipulation and Corpse Collection.
[Shadow Manipulation (Level 1)]
[Grants you control over shadows. The cost is determined by the strength of the owner of the shadow you're trying to control.]
[Corpse Collection (Level 1)]
[Allows you to fulfill your duty as a corpse collector. It has two effects.]
[Effect 1: Creates a space where corpses can be stored.]
[Effect 2: Enables you to collect corpses to gain Corpse Collection Points.]
"What do those points do?"
"Corpse Collection Points can be used to gain an instant and permanent boost in your strength and level up your skills. Levelling up your skills can make them more efficient, effective, and powerful."
"What does my trait do?"
"It's a growth type trait that bestow senses unique to Corpse Collectors such as the ability to see in the dark. If you learn to rely on it properly, you can escape deadly situations unscratched."
Kev kept asking questions, and it patiently answered every single one of his questions, clearing most of his confusion.