Chapter 19: The First Fallen
His body visibly began to heal rapidly—from the hole in his stomach to the torn-off arm and the burned skin.
However, suddenly, another wave of pain hit Daniel.
It felt like someone was stabbing a needle directly into his eye and piercing it—only dozens or even hundreds of times worse.
The leveling-up process had started, and a spiritual sea was forming.
The spiritual sea forms somewhere in the head, in the part where a barrier exists between the soul and the body.
That barrier completely shattered, and a brand-new space formed deep inside his head—a space that connected the two dimensions of the body.
There, a massive sea started to form.
Without wasting time, he focused all his attention on the spiritual sea that was forming. It was large and vibrant.
Its size was around ten thousand miles, and at its center, a source was beginning to form—shaped like a cycle, a cycle of life and death.
"This...?"
Not just the cycle but something else caught his attention—the water of the spiritual sea.
The water in his spiritual sea was completely black. That shouldn't be possible.
[ Level up completed successfully... ]
[ Spiritual Sea formed successfully ]
Daniel slowly stood up and first looked around. The frozen river was completely destroyed, and many trees nearby were broken.
On top of that, the destructive power of the One-Eyed Winter had caused even more damage.
"I hope this doesn't attract other monsters."
With all the explosions and noise, it wouldn't be surprising if other monsters had noticed them.
Even though he had leveled up, he wasn't in the right mental state to fight another monster right now.
"Looks like she's still alive." He then walked toward Lunaryl and checked her body.
She was still breathing—just unconscious.
After that, he checked his own body. All his wounds had healed, and his energy had returned to its peak.
That's one of the benefits of leveling up—every time you level up, your body recovers to its peak condition.
Finally, he glanced at his spiritual sea.
The spiritual sea is the core of a person's power—the place where mana can be created.
Before forming the spiritual sea, newly awakened individuals can only absorb mana from the air in an impure way, and that process is slow and filled with impurities.
That's the method usually taught in academies to 16-year-old awakened students, and for two years, it's one of the main ways they grow stronger.
It gives them a much more solid foundation than awakened people like Daniel.
However, upon reaching Rank E, a spiritual sea forms inside the body. It can generate and purify mana automatically.
Though, a spiritual sea at Rank E is very weak and slow—maybe producing only one unit of pure mana every hour.
Also, the mana cap of his body is 40, meaning he can't hold more than that.
Mana is required for using skills.
Daniel turned his attention to One-Eyed Winter's corpse.
"Should I use my innate talent?" he mumbled with hesitation.
Since gaining his innate talent, he hadn't had a chance to use it. But now, he could try it on this monster.
"Whatever." He walked toward the beast and cut his finger with his nail, letting a drop of blood fall onto One-Eyed Winter.
He wasn't sure if it would work—it was dead after all. He didn't know if his skill worked on corpses.
But trying it cost nothing.
He looked at the phrase needed to activate the skill and then quietly spoke it.
"Rise."
"..."
Before he could react, a light appeared from the sky and surrounded One-Eyed Winter's entire body.
A purple light with a strange allure.
[ Attempting to create first Fallen Follower ]
[ Error: Awakened Rank too low... Attempt failed ]
[ Trying again... ]
[ Error: Awakened Rank too low... Attempt failed ]
[ Final attempt... ]
[ ... ]
[ Attempt successful! ]
[ You have successfully gained a Fallen Follower! ]
The light faded from around One-Eyed Winter and revealed a completely different creature.
Its fur was no longer white, but the color of the night sky—dark yet glowing.
Its body had grown larger and more muscular, and a mane like a lion's had formed around its head. The mane was purple and electric, and it shimmered with light.
Its eye was still golden, but it now emitted a strange, moving glow that gave off a feeling of dread.
Like a foggy hallucination—but its presence was powerful and terrifying.
[ Please choose a name for him ]
"Vorak."
Daniel thought for a bit, then chose that name.
[ Name Vorak has been selected ]
[ His panel has been completed. Would you like to see it? ]
Before he could read the notification, Vorak appeared in front of him and bowed respectfully.
"I have seen the Lord."
Daniel placed his hand on Vorak's head and patted him gently. He didn't know why, but from the moment he saw One-Eyed Winter, he had wanted to do that.
"..."
Apparently, Vorak didn't mind it either.
"Show me his panel."
[ Confirmed ]
[ Name: Vorak ]
[ Race: Fallen ]
[ Rank: Minor Fallen ]
[ Power Level: Comparable to Rank D Awakened ]
[ Innate Talent : Eyes Of Destruction ( S ) ]
[ skills: Light of Destruction, Death Light, High-Level Regeneration ]
[ Stats:
Physical Strength: 250
Spiritual Power: 311
Intelligence: 130
Endurance: 400
Mana: 60 ]
[ Loyalty: 100% ]
[ You have gained 10% of your first Fallen Follower's stats ]
[ Ding... You have gained one extra life...]
[ Ding... You can copy one of your Fallen Follower's abilities ]