A Soldier's Life - Chapter 66: Verdict

Some crowns are forged in blood. Others are drowned beneath it.In a city strangled by smoke and silence, where children are shackled to machines and shadows rule behind gilded masks, Keiran is just another forgotten soul—until the mark appears.Buried beneath the factory’s foundations lies a world long erased from history. Ancient oaths whisper through stone and water, and something older than memory begins to stir. As Keiran is drawn deeper into the abyss, he uncovers a legacy not meant for mortal hands—a crown shattered in defiance, a flood sealed by sacrifice, and a power that demands a price.Hunted by tyrants, haunted by echoes, and bound to secrets he never asked for, Keiran must choose: drown in the tide of what came before, or rise against the current and reclaim what the world was forced to forget.But the deeper he goes, the more the truth unravels…And beneath it all, something still breathes.

…Ring! [ The Unique Skill ‘Grand Devourer’ has been acquired! ]

That’s how it first started.
And then… it didn’t stop:

[ The Unique Skill ‘Evolve’ has been acquired! —
[ The Passive Skill ‘Jelly-like Shapelessness’ has been acquired! —
[ The Passive Skill ‘Resistant Body’ has been acquired! —
[ The Unique Skill ‘Dwell’ has been acquired! —
[ The Unique Skill ‘Skill Copy’ has been acquired! —
[ The Passive Skill ‘Mana Perception’ has been acquired! ]

Up until…

[ The Passive Skill ‘Consciousness’ has been acquired! ]

And then I was through—

Normally, monster-type creatures don’t just pop up in some random place—let alone a human place—out of the blue, and without notice.
Yes, if we’re talking ‘normally’, monsters belong more to places like remote, hostile grounds: they ought to be from dark, nasty forests, old caves, or abandoned, ancient ruins.
As I said, it was only so long as we spoke of the usual deal, however. For better or worse, I wasn’t your regular mob.
So, forget about all the remote, uneasy places humans hardly go to—all the abandoned forests, caves, or dungeons I, a monster, should have been from—and picture a bright, lively family restaurant, in an oh-so-peaceful human village. A restaurant where people ate, chatted, and jested together, all having a good time, blissfully oblivious to the fact that, very soon, I would be cutting them all down.

By magic, a monster-type creature spawned in such a place. It was me.
So far, for the few seconds I had been living, it was quite the good life… I got to listen to a fantastic story being told and shared a cool moment with people.
However! Following an uncertain course of events, I happened to be put up against a wall, with a sword aimed at my chest, before I was mercilessly killed.

I, a unique monster, just spawned in that restaurant, with no clue regarding what was going on.
All I knew was that I wanted to live and survive.
Also, I knew I wasn’t your regular kind of monster.
Thankfully, I’d been granted unique abilities before I showed up.
That is how I managed to survive.

The world is separated into three realms: Aegaryn, Terranis, and Abyssion.Terranis and Abyssion realms have been in disharmony as the Demon King of Abyssion aims to overthrow all the other realms. In the tackling of this and to help the humans of Terranis defend themselves from the demons,A street orphan becomes a sacrifice in a summoning ritual for an S-rank beast. But he is given a golden opportunity of a lifetime as he is transmigrated into a hyena. Guided by a mysterious system that helps him unlock his boundless potential, he evolves with each rank upgrade, a feat no one of his kind has ever known. His journey is one of transformation, both in form and spirit. Each evolution brings new powers and challenges as he is summoned into deadly wars, cruel betrayals, and battles that threaten the very balance of the realms.Along his journey, he meets a summoner whose kindness and ideals are a stark contrast to all the summoners that he had met previously. Unlike the others, she treated him differently. Gave him a name. Through her, he begins to question his path, torn between his primal instincts and the flickering remnants of his humanity.But as the Demon God stirs in the shadows, threatening to collapse the realms into chaos, he must rise to face his ultimate destiny. To protect those who matter, to shatter the chains of servitude, and to ascend to the pinnacle of power—Ash must embrace his boundless evolution and become a force unlike any the realms have ever seen.