The sun was already touching the horizon, plunging the world into a deep gold. The sounds of the village were softer now—the last hammers, more restrained laughter, as if the tribal world felt Seth's departure.
Kerissa walked beside him, her fingers intertwined with his. Bast followed silently, her tail moving slowly. Near the main clearing, Gor'Magh waited for them, arms crossed and eyes alert.
The orc, with deep scars on his face and muscles still impressive, watched Seth with a mixture of respect and melancholy.
"So that's it," Gor'Magh said bluntly. "The world you came from calls you back."
Seth nodded. "But I will return."
"I hope you return with more scars and more good stories. A warrior should not disappear; he should always return… even if it is with half the body and twice the honor." The old orc gave a crooked half-smile, then raised his fist.
Seth followed suit, and they bumped fists.
"And when I get back," Seth said, looking at Gor'Magh and then at Kerissa, "I want a feast. Not just dried meat and bitter tea. I want to see those fires lit, I want dancing, I want tribal music, and I want a feast that even the gods of the other world can hear."
Kerissa smiled, but her eyes were already beginning to water.
"We'll prepare giant buffalo meat. And blackroot liquor. And maybe we'll even let you win one of the ceremonial dances. Just so you don't hurt your human ego."
Seth laughed. "I have no ego. I'm lucky to be here with you."
He paused, taking a deep breath. The air of the world was thicker, more real. He would miss it.
The sound of a tribal gong echoed. Not because of him—but it seemed perfect for the moment.
Kerissa cupped his face in both hands and kissed him firmly. A warm, almost savage kiss, but one that also held a kind of restrained pain.
"Come back in one piece," she whispered. "Or don't you dare come back."
Seth touched her forehead with his.
"Goodbye, Queen of Blood and Sand."
Gor'Magh just nodded respectfully.
And then… the light of the system came on.
[Teleporting in 3… 2… 1…]
Everything shattered—the heat, the smells, the dust, the sound of the tribe, and Kerissa's hand. It was as if the world had been pulled out from under his feet.
White light.
The heat disappeared, replaced by a soft, cool breeze.
Seth blinked, and suddenly he was back in that garden, surrounded by rows of perfectly symmetrical shrubs and flowers. A stone bench supported him—the same bench he had sat on before using the key.
The silence was total. No tribal sounds, no beast roars. Only the ethereal hum of the System.
"Are you alright?" Seth asked, looking at the shadow beside him, and it gave a small shiver. "I am bound to your soul. You won't be getting rid of me so quickly, Master." Bast responded with a purr as she looked… "I need to sleep now. Be careful."
Seth stared for a moment before sighing, "I'm tired." He muttered. "But let's see how we are…" He said and looked at his Status tab.
[STATUS]
[Name: Seth Chambers
[Class]: [None] (Anomalous)
[Title]: Desert Ruler (S-Rank), Sex-Rank (SSS), Bearer of the Primal Sin (SSS-Rank)
[Level]: 40
[Strength]: 109
[Speed]: 118
[Intelligence]: 85
[Stamina]: 88
[Extra Points]: 20
[Skills: The End (SSS-Rank), 'Usurper' (SSS-Rank), Deathblow (E-Rank), King's Presence (D-Rank), Escape Instinct (E-Rank), Storm Spear (A-Rank), Lightning Ascension (S-Rank), Void Flame (S-Rank), Gaze Sovereign's (Rank S), Touch of Dominion (Rank S), Blazing Void Bolt (Rank S)]
[Storage] [Skill Slot: (3 of 3)]
[Temporarily stored copied skills: [Lightning Manipulation (Rank A), [Titan's Rage (Rank C), Authority of Love (Rank S)]
[Next Slot: Level 50]
[Gold: 48,198]
He looked closely at his stats and sighed. He had leveled up 5 times in this little venture into another world and now had 20 stat points to distribute.
'Although it's only a few points that I gain when I level up, I've gained a lot of S-Rank skills… That's worrying, but it's also a relief that they're working properly.' He thought.
Indeed, the system gave him 2 points in all stats every time he leveled up and 2 points to distribute freely. But what was really happening was a bit strange. In just a few hours, he had obtained three S-rank skills.
Flame of the Void (Rank S)
Sovereign's Gaze (Rank S)
Touch of Dominion (Rank S)
And he created the skill "Flaming Lightning of the Void (Rank S)" by fusing Lightning Manipulation and Flame of the Void.
'Indeed, the stats I gain may be few, but the results of the skills make up for this lack of power... many of them just appear out of nowhere...' Seth relaxed a little...
"Well, I can't stay still," Seth said, standing up. "I'm going to do today's daily mission." He said, stretching, after all, he had slept a lot... or rather, his body was quite sore from not having slept. Dealing with an Orc woman is complicated... His hip was screaming in pain.
"Let's see... hm?"
[Daily Mission!]
[Push-ups: 100/100]
[Abdominals: 100/100]
[Squats: 100/100]
[Run: 10/10 km]
"Hasn't it reset yet?" Seth looked confused.
"Are you still here? Didn't I tell you to go back inside and rest?"
The voice came, firm and authoritative. Seth turned his head and... almost sighed.
Standing there, like a medical mirage straight out of a fantasy, was a woman with a white lab coat partially open, revealing a generous cleavage that defied any hospital protocol.
Fair skin, dangerous curves, an irritated expression — but with a glint of curiosity in her eyes.
'...still? Time passed differently... phew.' The relief was immediate. If time had flowed normally in the real world, he would be in the middle of chaos and probably being hunted by an electric snake with PMS and a ninja in lingerie armed to the teeth.
The last thing he wanted was to die surrounded by jealousy and explosive magic.
'System, title change...'
[Title [Rank-Sex] equipped!]
Seth stretched his arms slowly, letting the ripped muscles show even more beneath the sweat that still glistened on his tanned skin. A mischievous smile formed on his lips.
"Doctor," he said in a hoarse, calculatedly serious voice. "Can you tell me the time?"
Dr. Seo Ha-rin blinked. Twice. The third was a nervous blink, as if she were trying to regain her wits.
She had come in for a clinical evaluation, but now she was being clinically evaluated by hormones that had not asked for permission to act.
'Oh my God... what are those abs?!'
She tried to remain professional. She tried. But his golden eyes had a hypnotic, wild glow, as if they could bare her soul. And the rest... well, the rest was almost physically undressing her.
'COME TO YOURSELF, SEO HA-RIN! YOU'RE A DOCTOR, NOT AN EROTIC WEBTOON FAN!'
She cleared her throat, trying to keep her voice steady. "It's eleven forty-eight in the morning. Now go back inside. You've had a spike in abnormal neural activity—not to mention the surge in magical energy. Your body is still unstable."
Seth slowly stood up from the artificial garden bench, stretching his body like someone returning from a vacation—not an interdimensional war. He took a few steps toward her.
"What if I told you I'm feeling... incredibly good?"
Ha-rin took a step back, but her gaze remained on his—or, more accurately, on his chest.
"I'll give you a light sedative if you keep looking at me like that," she threatened, but her voice had already dropped a half-tone, her knees a little less steady.
Seth shrugged.
"It's good to know you care about me. But if you want to tie me to a bed…" He gave a crooked smile, "… I hope you're ready to deal with the consequences."
The doctor clutched the clipboard tightly to her chest, trying to hide the blush creeping up her neck.
"…Idiot," she muttered, turning away quickly.
But she was still smirking as she walked away.
And Seth? He watched with an amused glint in his eye.