Fengyan's journey began at dawn. That morning, Fengyan immediately headed toward the ruined city of Seth. The trip would have been quick if Fengyan had run as he used to, but to avoid trouble, he decided to walk slowly and observe his surroundings.
The environment outside in the morning was shrouded in fog for some reason, creating a mysterious atmosphere, as if he were in high mountains, which limited visibility.
Not long into his foggy walk toward the ruined city of Seth, Fengyan encountered a demon said to be the cause of the Ragnarok disaster.
The demon was red, small, and thin, with ears resembling elongated leaves, making it an unpleasant sight. It was one of the low-level demons that fell from a sky tunnel on the day the tunnel was formed.
Seeing the demon a few meters away, Fengyan cautiously tried not to draw its attention. However, the demon soon noticed the presence of a human nearby and turned its gaze toward Fengyan, becoming aware of him.
Feeling the demon's gaze on him, Fengyan became alert. The world was no longer safe with demons causing Ragnarok roaming around.
Sensing prey nearby, the demon immediately charged at Fengyan, leaping with its sharp claws aimed at him, its tongue extended as if eager to catch its prey.
Knowing he couldn't run and had to face the demon, Fengyan gathered his strength for a punch.
"Clang!"
The sound of Fengyan's punch colliding with the demon's claw echoed like metal striking metal.
The demon was thrown back several meters, as was Fengyan, who staggered a few steps from the impact.
Fengyan wasn't sure if his punch could counter the demon's attack, but it surprisingly had a significant effect.
Fengyan recalled that he was one of those chosen to experience awakening with divine power, so he had to test if this was true. From the recent results, it seemed he was indeed one of those chosen for awakening with divine power.
"Kckckck... Kckckkck!"
A roar of anger emerged from the demon attacking Fengyan.
Fengyan then ran toward the demon, gathered power in his fist, and delivered another punch.
"Bang!"
The punch hit the demon, causing it to be thrown and fall to the ground. Without waiting for the demon to counterattack or call for help, Fengyan quickly gathered strength in his fist and delivered more punches.
Fengyan repeatedly punched until the demon was completely defeated.
"Is it over?"
Fengyan sat down, exhausted after delivering many punches. During the fight, Fengyan noticed that when he gathered strength in his fist, it seemed to be enveloped in black energy, which likely helped him defeat the demon.
[Congratulations! The next nameless god has defeated a low-level Barion demon]
[Karma Core Acquired]
[Immediately absorb the obtained Karma Core]
A voice sounded after Fengyan defeated the demon, and from the demon's body, a rough black stone appeared.
Fengyan took the rough stone and held it in his hand. As he held it, another voice was heard.
[Do you want to absorb the Karma Core?]
[Yes/No]
Fengyan chose 'Yes' to absorb the Karma Core. Shortly after, black energy emerged from the stone and entered Fengyan's body.
Seeing this, Fengyan was slightly panicked but soon understood that the black energy was the source of his strength and that absorbing it would make him stronger. He realized that the rough black stone was what was called the Karma Core.
"Show status," Fengyan said after absorbing the Karma Core.
Fengyan looked at the black screen with blood-red text and drew some conclusions.
He realized that the Karma Core from the low-level Barion demon he had just defeated was worth only 1 Karma Core. Performing several punches had drained half of his Karma Energy.
Fengyan also understood that to advance to the next level, he needed to defeat 50 low-level demons equivalent to Barion demons to evolve to a new level.
"I now understand a few things, but will my Karma Energy always be this limited and not increase?"
Fengyan was still confused about some aspects, including how to use the Karma Explosion skill. During the previous punches, he had unintentionally channeled black energy into his fist, but he wasn't sure if this was indeed the Karma Explosion power.
But of all these concerns, the one that worried him the most was the fact that his Karma Energy was now down to half and how he could replenish it. Fengyan understood that Karma Energy was the source of his power to attack demons and defeat the demon responsible for Ragnarok.
Would his Karma Energy replenish on its own later, or was there a way to recharge it? This was what made Fengyan feel somewhat confused and troubled. He knew that to increase his Karma Energy capacity, he needed to absorb Karma Cores and evolve to advance to the next level.
Seeing that there were many things making him confused and unable to take any action, Fengyan decided to postpone his journey and find out how to replenish his Karma Energy. This was the only way to combat the demons causing the Ragnarok catastrophe and determine whether Fengyan would succeed in reaching the shelter city of the Southern Union.
In the shelter city of the Southern Union, now known as the newly established Seth Sanctuary, large-scale city construction was underway. The city walls were beginning to rise, and within the city, the construction of residential areas and government buildings was also in progress.
Outside the construction area, many people were setting up their homes and buildings so they could live closer to those receiving divine awakening.
In a building with architecture resembling an ancient structure, presumably built earlier by the government outside the city walls, a large number of people, totaling in the hundreds, were gathered. Many were relaxing and chatting at the provided tables and seating.
Others were examining a large notice board placed in the center of the room.
"Hey, it looks like there's a pack of demon beast tigers near the old Seth city. Should we go there and take this mission?"
A woman pointed to a sheet of paper pinned to the notice board and asked her companion.
"I think it might be too dangerous. There are many demons wandering around there, not just demon beasts. But I think we could handle it. Let's ask the others first, Cessie."
"Alright, let's ask the others first."
The woman and her companion then went back to their group of friends to inquire about taking on the mission posted on the wall.
At this time, each government in every country was assigning missions to humans who had experienced divine awakenings, managing those who had awakened, and offering rewards such as wealth and power for their efforts. The Southern Union was no exception, also giving missions to the awakened.