《Global Apocalypse: Awakening the Soul Devourer Talent》 Chapter 1: The Regret Elixir [Fate Coin used successfully!] [Obtained Mythic-grade unique item ¡ª Regret Elixir!] Even fate wants to grant me a second chance? Liam Luo, his face smeared with blood, forced a bitter smile. With his last ounce of strength, he poured the elixir down his throat. This time, every betrayer will perish! [Data interface initialized. Global apocalypse begins in 10 seconds. Prepare, players.] The icy voice echoed in everyone¡¯s mind. Liam snapped his head up. The familiar classroom materialized before him. The elixir worked. He was back. Around him, classmates exchanged bewildered glances. "Hey, did you hear that weird voice?" "Holy shit, you heard it too? I thought I was hallucinating!" "Global apocalypse? I just finished my homework!" "HA! Who cares about homework? I awakened a Diamond-tier ability¡ªLightning Arrows! I¡¯m unstoppable!" "Damn it¡­ My talent¡¯s Black Iron-tier¡ªScouting. Useless¡­" Liam turned toward the voice. By the window sat Anthony Xing, lamenting his misfortune. This guy dies in the first second of the apocalypse. Before Anthony could finish, glass shattered. A child-sized mantis monster lunged into the classroom. Its bladed arm flashed¡ªslicing off half of Anthony¡¯s skull. Silence. Then chaos. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! "Monster¡­" "His head¡­ it¡¯s gone¡­" "IT¡¯S COMING!" Students stampeded toward the door. Liam, however, crept toward the monster. Blade Mantis. The first-tier predator of the apocalypse: lethal but fragile. Strike its neck, and it crumbles. Liam grabbed a chair¡ªbut paused. A lightning bolt crackled past him, slamming into the mantis. Jason Zhao. The Diamond-tier "genius" had struck first. Jason¡¯s fear morphed into arrogance. "Back off! Watch my Lightning Arrows!" But Jason didn¡¯t know the mantis¡¯ weakness. His wild attacks only enraged it. Sparks flew as the monster charged. Liam seized the chaos to reach Anthony¡¯s corpse. [Soul Devourer]activated. [Devoured Lv.0 player soul. Divine Soul Points +1] [Stolen Ability: Scouting (Black Iron)] [Retain soul consciousness?] Liam chose ?**[Yes]**. Anthony¡¯s consciousness might prove useful later as a soul guard. Across the room, Jason¡¯s relentless barrage finally crippled the mantis. Liam approached its twitching body. [Devoured Lv.1 monster soul. Divine Soul Points +2] [Stolen Ability: Blade Arms (Bronze)] "Liam! What the hell are you doing?!" Ethan Ying, Jason¡¯s lackey, snarled. Liam feigned humility. "Testing my ability. Scouting¡ªBlack Iron-tier." Ethan sneered. "Pathetic. Get lost!" Jason raised a hand. "Wait. What¡¯s ¡®Scouting¡¯ good for?" "Locating monster cores." Jason¡¯s eyes glinted. "Where?" "The head." Liam stepped back subtly. "Ethan¡ªget the core." Ethan¡¯s Silver-tier ?**[Sharp Claws]** tore into the mantis. He retrieved a gray-black core and handed it to Jason. "A Tier-1 core." Jason absorbed it, smirking. "We need more cores to level up." Ethan barked at the crowd: "Everyone hunt cores for Jason!" Protests erupted. "Why should we risk our lives for him?!" Jason¡¯s palm crackled with lightning. "Because I have Diamond-tier power¡­ and you don¡¯t." Chapter 2: Lay Low and Level Up! The crackle of lightning arrows filled the classroom. Jason Zhao¡¯s latest victim, reduced to a charred husk, silenced the crowd. ¡°How could you kill someone?!¡± ¡°He was our classmate! Are you insane, Jason?!¡± ¡°I want my mom¡­!¡± Another lightning bolt silenced the protests. Two corpses now smoldered on the floor. Liam Luo slipped behind the crowd, dragging the bodies aside. [Soul Devourer] activated. [Devoured Lv.0 player souls. Divine Soul Points +2] [Stolen Abilities: Swiftness (Silver), Brute Force (Silver)] Jason sneered at Liam¡¯s servile act: ¡°Learn from Liam! Even a Black Iron trash like him knows survival means obeying me!¡± The crowd glared at Liam with disdain. But he ignored them. Soul Devourer was overpowered¡ªbut fragile in its early stages. Lay low. Grow stronger. Whispers rippled through the room. Wendy Wang stepped forward, batting her lashes. ¡°Jason, I have Gold-tier ?**[Healing Touch]**. Let me stay.¡± A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Jason nodded. Then Thomas Tian shouted: ¡°My Bronze-tier ?**[Scouting]**¡¯s better than Liam¡¯s! Replace him!¡± Liam¡¯s eyes narrowed. This backstabber dies first. Jason barked: ¡°Liam, scavenge monster cores outside. Thomas¡ªyou¡¯re my new scout.¡± Liam left without protest¡ªrelieved. Every second counted.
Beijing, Zhao Family Estate Patriarch Zhao glared at holograms of his three descendants: Patriarch Zhao silenced their bickering: ¡°Find promising Zhao descendants! Prioritize Platinum-tier talents!¡± Jake groaned: ¡°All branches in Yongcheng are tapped out!¡± The Patriarch¡¯s voice turned icy: ¡°Then recruit from lesser lines. Blood binds us all.¡±
Yongcheng First High, Back Mountain Liam reached the mantis nest¡ªa pulsating mass of head-sized eggs. His plan? Destroy them before they hatch. [Devoured Lv.0 mantis eggs. Divine Soul Points +20] [Divine Soul Points: 50/50 ¡ú Soul Soldiers Unlocked!] A notification flashed: [Global Announcement: Jason Zhao (Diamond-tier) First to Reach Lv.1! Reward: Black Iron Upgrade Chest!] Liam smirked. Let him bask in glory. His reign ends soon. Chapter 3: Two Matriarchs! Liam Luo crouched low as he approached the mantis nest, a pulsating mass of eggs nestled in the rocky hillside. With no guards in sight, he lobbed a stone into the cavernous entrance. A shrill screech echoed, and a violet-scaled mantis the size of a grown man burst forth, blade-like arms slashing the air. [Name: Mantis Matriarch (Lord-tier Creature)] [Level: Lv.5] [Warning: Target exceeds player level! Immediate retreat advised!] Liam ignored the alert. At Lv.0, he knew this beast¡¯s true weakness: its dependency on unhatched offspring. His right arm morphed into a crystalline blade¡ª[Blade Arms (Silver-tier)]¡ªwhile ?**[Brute Force]** and ?**[Swiftness]** amplified his strength. "Come at me, you overgrown bug," he taunted, pelting the matriarch with rocks. Enraged, the mantis lunged. Liam dropped into a slide, his blade slicing upward through its abdomen. The creature staggered, but before it could retreat, he decapitated it with a flourish. [Global Achievement Unlocked: First Lord-tier Kill!] [Reward: Pioneer¡¯s Chest ¡Á1 (Claim with announcement? Y/N)] Liam chose ?**[Delay]**. Glory could wait. He extracted a crimson ?**[Tier-2 Monster Core]** from the carcass¡ªworth 10 XP¡ªbut pocketed it instead of absorbing it. ?**[Soul Devourer]** activated: This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. [Devoured Lv.5 Monster Soul: Divine Soul Points +10] [Stolen Abilities: Blade Arms (Silver), Swarm Intimidation (Gold-tier)] [Blade Arms Advancement Quest: Kill 100 Mantis Drones in 24 hours (0/100)] "Impossible on Day One," Liam muttered. He¡¯d reclaim the ability later. For now, the nest¡¯s unhatched eggs beckoned¡ªeach a trickle of ?**[Divine Soul Points]**. But as he stepped toward the cave, a second matriarch¡ªlarger, fiercer¡ªexploded from the shadows! Its scythe-like arm grazed his chest. "Shit, two matriarchs?!" Liam rolled clear, narrowly avoiding decapitation. "Liam! Over here!" Sophia Xu¡¯s voice cut through the chaos. The ponytailed girl stood with two allies: Kevin Wang, his skin hardened like stone, and Martin Ma, wielding a flaming bow. "Why are you here?" Liam demanded, retreating toward them. "To save your stubborn ass!" Sophia snapped. Her hands glowed as ?**[Amplification Aura]** enveloped the group, boosting their abilities to Platinum-tier. "Kevin, pin it! Martin, aim for the neck!" she commanded. Kevin charged, tanking the matriarch¡¯s blows while Martin¡¯s arrows went wild. Liam covertly triggered ?**[Swarm Intimidation]**, freezing the monster mid-lunge. "Now!" Martin¡¯s flaming arrow struck the exposed neck. The matriarch collapsed. Sophia stared at Liam. "How¡¯d you know its weak spot?" "[Scouting]," Liam lied, eyeing her aura. So this is how she built her team last life. He devoured the second matriarch¡¯s soul: [Divine Soul Points +15] [Blade Arms (Gold-tier)] [Swarm Intimidation Advancement Quest: ???] "Let¡¯s clear the eggs," Liam said, ignoring Sophia¡¯s probing gaze. The nest¡¯s secrets¡ªand his own¡ªwould wait. Chapter 4: Swarm鈥檚 Wrath Sophia Xu¡¯s cheeks flushed faintly. Before Liam Luo could react, she blurted: ¡°I¡¯m the class monitor. It¡¯s my duty to protect everyone!¡± Liam smirked. ¡°Such idealism. It¡¯ll get you killed.¡± His tone sharpened: ¡°Tell Martin to aim for the neck.¡± Sophia hesitated but barked orders: ¡°Kevin, pin it! Martin¡ªneck shot!¡± Kevin Wang roared, slamming his stone-armored body into the matriarch. Martin Ma fumbled his flaming bow: ¡°Dammit, hold still!¡± The mantis thrashed. Liam triggered ?**[Swarm Intimidation (Gold-tier)], amplified by Sophia¡¯s ?[Amplification Aura]** to Platinum-tier. The monster froze mid-lunge. ¡°Now!¡± Martin¡¯s arrow pierced its neck. The matriarch collapsed. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°How did you know its weakness?¡± Sophia demanded. Liam shrugged. ¡°[Scouting] works if the target¡¯s within 10 levels.¡± As the trio gaped, Liam devoured the second matriarch¡¯s soul: [Devoured Lv.6 Monster Soul: Divine Soul Points +15] [Blade Arms (Gold-tier)] [Swarm Intimidation Advancement Quest: Kill 1 higher-level player in 24 hours (0/1)] Sophia pressed: ¡°Can your ?**[Scouting]** locate monster cores?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The reply auto-triggered the quest. Liam cursed under his breath. Sophia misread his frustration. ¡°We¡¯ll split the core 50/50. Fair?¡± Liam waved dismissively. ¡°It¡¯s in the skull.¡± Kevin smashed the matriarch¡¯s head, retrieving an amber ?**[Tier-3 Monster Core]**. Martin whistled: ¡°This could boost someone to Lv.3!¡± ¡°Absorb it, and you¡¯ll die,¡± Liam warned, striding toward the nest. Sophia stiffened. ¡°What¡¯s your problem?!¡± Liam vanished into the cavern. Inside, he found a second, smaller matriarch corpse. ¡°Did he kill this one?¡± Sophia murmured, noting the clean decapitation. Martin theorized: ¡°Probably two matriarchs fought. Liam just scavenged.¡± ¡°Genius!¡± Kevin fist-bumped him. Sophia spotted Liam disappearing into the nest. ¡°Liam! What¡¯re you doing?!¡± ¡°Figure it out, Monitor,¡± Liam called back, vanishing into the darkness. Chapter 5: Capped Potential Sophia Xu stormed after Liam Luo, fuming. ¡°You¡¯re impossible!¡± The mantis nest¡¯s narrow tunnel opened into a cavernous chamber. Martin Ma ignited his flaming bow, illuminating walls lined with pulsating eggs¡ªeach the size of a human head. ¡°If these hatch¡­¡± Sophia paled. Liam shrugged. ¡°Clean them up if you want.¡± For hours, they smashed the defenseless eggs. Liam¡¯s notifications buzzed: [Divine Soul Points +20 ¡ú Total: 50/50] [Soul Soldiers Unlocked!] A spectral Blade Mantis materialized¡ªLv.2, indestructible as long as Liam¡¯s Divine Soul Points remained. Bonus: the eggs counted toward his ?**[Blade Arms]** quest. [Blade Arms Advanced to Platinum-tier!] Before Liam could plan his next move, a global alert flashed: The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. [First Lv.1 Player: Jason Zhao (Diamond-tier). Reward: Black Iron Upgrade Chest!]
Beijing, Zhao Estate Jake Zhao grinned at the announcement. ¡°Jason Zhao¡­ not a main family member. Perfect recruit.¡± He summoned Hugo, his scar-faced enforcer. ¡°Bring this Jason from Yongcheng First High. Alive. Take ten Monster Cores¡­ and weapons.¡±
Classroom 3-B ¡°Fuck this daily absorption limit!¡± Jason roared, hurling a chair. Wendy Wang massaged his shoulders, sycophantic. ¡°The cap helps you, Jason. With Diamond-tier power, you¡¯ll dominate even at equal levels.¡± Jason tossed her three Monster Cores. ¡°Good point. These are yours.¡± Ethan Ying, seething with envy, blurted: ¡°Open your upgrade chest! Let us see!¡± A lightning bolt sent Ethan crashing into desks. ¡°Know your place, dog.¡± Wendy healed him with ?**[Rejuvenation]**. Ethan crawled back, groveling. Jason displayed the Black Iron Chest. Crimson light erupted as it opened, revealing a blood-red ?**[Tier-2 Monster Core]**. Thomas Tian, his ?**[Scouting]** active, shouted: ¡°Double XP value! Jason¡¯s unstoppable!¡± Jason¡¯s smirk faded. No special stats. Useless today¡­ unless¡­ He pictured Sophia Xu. A Tier-2 core might win that ice queen over. Ethan¡¯s voice interrupted his fantasy: ¡°Jason! Liam¡¯s back!¡± Chapter 6: The Fallen Prodigy "Liam Luo? That trash is back? Let him in." Ethan Ying entered first, followed by Liam. Jason Zhao craned his neck, noticing Sophia Xu and her squad lingering outside. Pathetic. That bleeding-heart Sophia collects strays like garbage. "Look at that loser ¨C probably scared shitless by the monsters." Jason sneered, eyeing Liam¡¯s dirt-stained clothes. But Liam remained silent as Ethan groveled: "Jason! Liam¡¯s got something good!" "Show me." Ethan produced a blood-red ?**[Tier-2 Monster Core]**. Jason¡¯s eyes widened. "A Tier-2 core? How¡ª" Ethan¡¯s ?**[Razor Claws]** erupted, spearing Jason¡¯s throat. Blood geysered across the classroom. "Die!" Ethan screamed, madness twisting his features. "Who¡¯s the dog now?!" This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. Wendy Wang lunged to heal, but Ethan shredded Jason¡¯s neck. "Help him, and you¡¯re next!" Thomas Tian pleaded: "Kill Jason, and who protects us?!" "Protects?" Ethan dragged Jason¡¯s corpse toward Thomas. "He used you! I¡¯ll slaughter those monsters myself!" The room froze. Jason¡¯s corpse stared vacantly. Liam stepped forward, closing Jason¡¯s eyelids. "Stop the act, Liam!" Ethan wiped bloodied claws. "Let¡¯s team up. Rule this shithole." Sophia entered with Kevin and Martin. "The core came from a Lv.5 matriarch killed by a Lv.6 rival. Liam just¡­ found it." Gasps erupted. Daisy Cheng, Jason¡¯s ?**[Storage Space]** lackey, trembled. "A Lv.6 matriarch? Outside?!" Kevin blurted: "We killed it! Sophia¡¯s got the¡ª" Martin gagged him. Idiot. Flaunting loot gets you dead. Sophia raised a hand. "We cooperated. That¡¯s how we survive." Wendy begged: "Sophia! Let me join! My ?**[Healing Touch]**¡ª" "Everyone¡¯s welcome," Sophia cut in, glaring at Ethan. "No more tyrants." Ethan scoffed. "You¡¯ll turn into another Jason!" "My ?**[Amplification Aura]** needs allies," Sophia countered. "Stay or leave. Just stop killing." Ethan eyed Liam, then Sophia. "Fuck your teamwork." As he turned to leave, Kevin blocked the door, skin hardening into stone. "Leave the core." Ethan¡¯s claws glinted. "Try taking it."
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