Shaurya's fist hit the exact center of the overseer's stomach. According to old science, the navel acts as the absolute center point of the human body. It controls the entire physical balance. Shaurya did not know this scientific fact, but his muscle memory knew exactly where a man breaks.
The kinetic energy from the punch did not just bruise the skin. It shot straight through the man's organs like a fired bullet. The sound of the impact echoed loudly against the stone walls of the cavern.
The overseer's eyes bulged completely out of their sockets. His mouth fell wide open, but no scream came out. His lungs completely locked up.
The blue energy rifle slipped from his sweaty, trembling fingers. It hit the rocky dirt with a dull clatter.
The overseer's face showed a rapid cycle of emotions. Initially, he felt pure surprise. A weak 'Void' moving faster than a trained guard made no sense to him. Within a second, that surprise shifted into deep confusion. His brain frantically searched his downloaded 'Neuro-Link' files to understand the situation.
But downloaded data cannot process real physical trauma. Finally, a complete disillusionment with reality washed over his face. He realized his artificial strength meant absolutely nothing in a real fight.
He fell hard onto his knees. In this strange universe, gravity did not just pull physical mass; it also responded to inner intentions. The overseer carried the heavy, dirty guilt of a thief and a corrupt tyrant. Stripped of his false confidence, that guilt became a physical weight.
It pushed his shoulders down. He slumped forward against the cold floor, unable to lift his heavy head. He suddenly looked like a fragile, powerless child.
Shaurya stood over the fallen man. He did not feel a single drop of anger anymore. He only felt cold, silent pity.
"You relied on your data," Shaurya said. His voice stayed low and flat. "But data always crashes when the hardware gets smashed."
Shaurya turned his back on the whimpering overseer. He walked over to the massive, lifeless body of the Blood-Scale Beast. A foul stench of thick, dark blood filled the entire tunnel.
He gripped the sharp iron head of his broken pickaxe tightly. He used the sharp edge to cut through the soft flesh under the beast's broken neck plates.
He reached his bare hands deep into the messy chest cavity. Universal energy laws dictate that heat always flows naturally from a hot object to a cold one. The dead beast's internal heat immediately warmed Shaurya's cold, tired arms.
He pushed past the thick muscles until his fingers wrapped around something hard and round.
He pulled it out into the open air.
It was the beast's energy core. The core looked like a fist-sized ruby. It glowed with a fierce, blinding red light. It held raw fusion energy inside, born from the extreme biological pressure of the beast's body. The red glow painted Shaurya's sweaty face and cast long, dancing shadows on the cave walls.
Shaurya stared at the glowing stone. In Neurentia, this simple stone meant massive wealth. It bought power, respect, and status. His own family threw him away like spoiled meat just because he lacked this exact kind of power.
A bitter taste coated his tongue. He remembered last night. He remembered his father's emotionless voice offering him a glass of poisoned milk. He remembered Isabella. She stood there in her expensive silver dress, her eyes cold and empty, signing the paper that sent him to this death trap.
That betrayal cut far deeper than any physical blade ever could. It felt like someone pressed a red-hot iron rod directly against his bare heart. The people who were supposed to protect him chose to erase him instead.
The sheer suffocation of that rejection gripped his throat for a moment. They did not even see him as human.
He closed his eyes tightly. To fight the darkness of that memory, his mind pulled up a different image.
He saw a small, half-broken earthen lamp. He remembered his mother back on Earth. She worked eighteen hours a day on construction sites, carrying bricks on her head until her neck bled. Yet, she always saved a few drops of cheap oil to light that small lamp for him. She wanted to make sure he never slept in total darkness.
He remembered buying her a cheap red plastic bangle with his very first daily wage. It cost only ten rupees. But she wore it on her thin wrist as if it were a solid gold bracelet made for a queen. Her selfless love asked for absolutely nothing in return. That love gave him ultimate comfort in a cold, brutal world.
That memory acted as a strong shield against the toxic reality of the Valerian family. He opened his eyes. The pain of betrayal vanished, replaced by a cold, sharp focus. He squeezed the hot core tightly in his hand. He would survive this hellish world. He would conquer it for her.
Suddenly, a blue screen flashed in front of his eyes.
[System Alert: High-Density Energy Core detected in host's hand.]
[Option 1: Consume the core immediately to unlock 'Phase 2: Muscle Refinement'.]
[Option 2: Store the core in the system. Current inventory space: 1 slot.]
Shaurya did not hesitate for a single second. He needed raw power right now to stay alive. The overseer would eventually wake up and alert the guards. Isabella would send professional assassins next time. He could not fight swords and magic with just a rusty iron pickaxe forever.
"System, I choose Option 1. Absorb the core."
The hard red gem in his palm suddenly dissolved. It turned into a thick, glowing red mist. The hot mist wrapped around his right arm like a snake and seeped directly into his open pores.
A terrifying, explosive heat erupted inside his veins. Shaurya dropped to his knees. He bit down hard on his own forearm to stop himself from screaming out loud. Every single muscle fiber in his body tore apart violently and stitched itself back together in a fraction of a second. It felt as if someone poured molten steel directly into his bloodstream. His bones cracked and hardened.
But his mind did not break. His past life gave him an infinite tolerance for physical pain. He treated the agony like another heavy sack of cement on his shoulders. He simply carried it.
The pain vanished as fast as it started. Shaurya fell forward onto his hands, gasping heavily for air. Sweat poured from his forehead and mixed with the dry dust on the mine floor.
[System Alert: Phase 2 Complete.]
[Base Strength increased by 30 points.]
[Base Agility increased by 20 points.]
[Warning: The massive energy spike just triggered an ancient sensor in the upper levels of the Valerian Estate.]
Shaurya slowly pushed himself off the ground. He stood up completely straight. He looked at his hands. They did not look pale or weak anymore. His veins pumped with a heavy, visible power. He felt rooted to the ground, heavy and dangerous like a loaded cannon.
Suddenly, a cold wind blew through the tunnel. All the yellow torches on the cave walls flickered wildly and died at the exact same time. Total, pitch-black darkness swallowed the entire cavern.
A slow, rhythmic clapping sound echoed from the dark tunnel ahead.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
"Impressive," a smooth, unfamiliar, and incredibly calm voice drifted through the darkness. "Very impressive for a dead boy."
Shaurya narrowed his eyes. He tightened his newly forged fists. The real test of his new life had just arrived.