Chapter 87: The Price of Wrath
The battlefield had grown still.
The monsters were ash. The demon fragment was gone. Even the unnatural sky had begun to break, its fury dimming as if the temple itself had finally exhaled.
Isaac stood amid the carnage—bloodstained, torn, alive. His body no longer ached. Not from numbness or healing, but because it had adapted.
He opened his status window.
[STATUS – Soulbound Host: Isaac]Level: 35HP: 95,860 / 95,860MP: 33,320 / 33,320
Strength: 10,799Agility: 8,660Endurance: 9,794Intelligence: 6,784Willpower: 5,634Charisma: 4,488Luck: ???
He stared at the numbers. Then softly smiled.
Lira, leaning on the hilt of her sword some distance away, gave him a dry look. "That smug aura is getting worse."
"I earned it," Isaac said. "The hard way."
The system pinged.
[LEVEL MILESTONE REACHED: LEVEL 30]You may select two new skills from the standard tiered progression pool.
He looked at the options that appeared.
And frowned.
His silence stretched a little too long.
Lira arched a brow. "What? Bad?"
Isaac's voice was deadpan. "Worse. Mediocre."
"After all this?"
"Apparently, luck doesn't scale with stats."
He hovered over the choices, unimpressed—but thoughtful. He was just about to make his selections when the interface flickered again.
A new prompt appeared, overlaid with a deep red border.
[System Notification: Override Alert]
You have cleared the Temple of Wrath.Final Verdict: Trial Surpassed.
EX-Rank Skill Unlocked: [Sin of Wrath]
Effect: Permanently multiplies all base stats by 30x.Type: Passive (Always Active)Cost: Eternal servitude to the Great Demon of Wrath.
Warning: This choice is irreversible.
Isaac's smirk vanished.
He went still.
Lira, sensing the change, stepped closer. "What does it say?"
He didn't answer immediately.
Because he was reading it again.
Thirty times. Not ten. Not temporary. Not activated.
Always on.
It would turn him into something far beyond what he already was—beyond demigod, beyond systems, beyond restraint.
But the price…
Eternal servitude.
It wasn't metaphorical. It was real. A soul-level contract. Once accepted, he would be marked—owned.
Lira took another step. "Isaac?"
He didn't respond.
He looked at the mediocre skills. Then at his current abilities. Then at nothing at all.
And something shifted in his eyes.
A thought.
A plan.
He didn't speak it.
He simply made his choice.
[You have accepted: Sin of Wrath – Rank EX]Servitude acknowledged. Contract forged.Passive effect activated: All base stats multiplied by 30x.
The system glowed crimson. A pulse of raw power thundered through his soul.
Lira's breath hitched. "You accepted it."
He didn't reply.
He didn't need to.
Because behind his silence was something else.
Intention.
And Wrath had no idea what it had just claimed.