After finishing the registration of his guild with the Awakener Association, Sam left the office and returned to the main lobby.

The bright fluorescent lights and the steady hum of conversations surrounded him, but he felt detached, his mind was focused on the next task.

He approached the reception desk once more, looking for guidance on where he could sell the growing collection of items he had acquired.

He was guided to the room from before, and the same man who had appraised his items before looked up.

"Back so soon?" the man asked with a friendly nod.

Sam simply nodded and pulled out the large pile of weapons and gear from his [Spatial Inventory].

[Undead’s Weapons, Bones, The Reaper’s Scythe, The Archmage’s Staff, Art of Necromancy, Abyssal Swords, Abyssal Spear, Abyssal Sword Spear and Abyssal King Armor...]

All these items which he acquired from the corrupted rift and the first sub-layer.

The man’s eyes flicked over each item carefully.

He was no stranger to the undead materials; they were rather common as more awakeners.

But the moment his gaze landed on the [Abyssal Sword Spear] and the [Abyssal King Armor], confusion flashed across his face.

"This..." he murmured, almost to himself. "It’s the first time I’ve seen these items..."

More than that, he noticed the words "Abyssal King", the same name from the announcement.

He looked up at Sam directly, a bit startled by the faint crimson aura flaring from Sam’s eyes.

"These are good items," the man said with a professional smile, masking his surprise. "We can offer you $56,930 for everything."

Sam’s grin widened. That was a substantial amount of money. More than enough to secure himself for a long time.

He finally understood why some people preferred to stay at novice rank, it was safer, had a steady income, and no need to risk their lives.

Being an awakener was already dangerous enough as is, but it was a career full of opportunities.

"Pleasure doing business with you," the man said as he took Sam’s awakener card to complete the transfer.

But the moment he saw the name, his expression shifted.

"Sam Walker..."

"Yes," Sam said calmly, "We’ve met before."

The man’s eyes flickered nervously. Even though he was an Adept rank, Sam’s presence felt overwhelming, an undeniable force.

Yet, the man maintained his professionalism.

"Very well," he said quietly, returning the card.

Sam left without a word.

The Awakener Association didn’t have much information about Sam, but they knew he was active, and that was enough for them.

Outside, stepping onto the crowded streets, Sam overheard whispers and rumors.

"Did you hear? Guilds are sending their top novice-rank parties into the first layer to investigate that announcement!"

"I saw it on the news—it’s madness! The first layer is flooded with novices now."

Sam’s lips curled slightly. The announcement had stirred a frenzy, turning what was once considered the tutorial layer into a hunt.

[What a waste of time. None of those novice parties would stand a chance.]

Sam nodded, but he knew better than to say anything or reveal what he truly knew to anybody. That would be foolish.

Instead, he quietly turned and made his way back to his cheap hotel room.

He needed rest, but first, there was work to do.

’I’ll let my new skills evolve,’ he thought, ’then I’ll head to the second layer.’

Growing stronger was the only thing that mattered now. The big events were probably fast approaching, and he had to be ready.

Though he was now an Apprentice rank awakener capable of defeating a high-level 10 apprentice, there were still countless dangers lurking.

Besides, his guild had zero achievements. Without achievements, it would remain unnoticed.

Climbing the rankings and gathering information were crucial. And to do that, he had to clear the second layer.

Once inside his room, Sam summoned his skill panel.

A window appeared before him, displaying all of his skills.

[Skills: Primordial Sword Technique (Forsaken), Abyssal Obliteration (Forsaken), Eternal Barrier (Forsaken), Tendrils of Oblivion (Forsaken), Shadow Flames (Common), Abyssal Step (Rare)]

His eyes settled on [Shadow Flames].

Then he focused on [Primordial Evolution], and a ripple of dark energy pulsed from his core, spreading across his body and flowing into the skill panel.

Ding!

[Shadow Flames (Common) has evolved into Umbral Embers (Uncommon).]

Sam smiled.

"Not bad," he muttered.

Below the panel, a timer ticked down.

[Primordial Evolution — Next Use: 23:59:59]

He had to wait.

Based on the current time and skill ranks, it would take seven days to evolve all his skills to forsaken rank.

For now, there was nothing else to do.

Sam prepared to rest, but before sleep could claim him, his phone buzzed.

A message from David Union appeared.

[Many guilds are sending expeditions to find the "real" first layer. Be careful.]

Sam glanced at the message but didn’t respond immediately. He already knew what was happening.

[Thanks. It’s in the ruins.]

He typed back simply, then put his phone down and finally closed his eyes.

...

Surprisingly, the week passed quickly.

Sam kept to himself, sparing only brief exchanges with Lily and Alicia via messages.

They shared updates on minor happenings, but nothing urgent.

By the end of the seven days, Sam’s skills had evolved fully again.

[Umbral Embers (Uncommon) → Wraithfire (Rare) → Hollow Blaze (Epic) → Ashen Requiem (Legendary) → Sovereign Inferno (Forsaken)]

The name alone sounded devastatingly powerful.

But Sam hesitated to try it out in his cramped hotel room, worried about accidentally burning everything down.

He also evolved the skill he received as a bonus.

[Abyssal Step (Rare) → Phantom Stride (Epic) → Eclipse Shift (Legendary) → Void Rush (Forsaken)]

During the week, Sam also took time to shop for new clothes.

But oddly, every time he examined a piece of armor, a single panel appeared beneath it.

[Hell-Mode Analysis: Useless.]

It was as if armor was useless to him. But that was fine.

He relied on his Eternal Barrier for protection, and that was more than enough.

Meanwhile, news of the newly discovered sub-layer spread like wildfire.

Though no one had cleared it, warnings were everywhere.

[Do not attempt to find or beat the sub-layer.]

The difficulty was far too high for novices. But this only fueled curiosity about Sam Walker.

Who was this person that had already cleared it?

Sam took a deep breath and smiled. Two messages popped up on his phone.

[Lily Gremoire: Alicia and I will be heading to the second layer soon, but we have some things to take care of first.]

[Alicia Union: Yeah, I need to handle some responsibilities and make sure I’m strong enough.]

Neither of them was available, but that didn’t bother Sam.

He’d enter the second layer alone. If he recalled correctly, Alicia had said each layer had a name.

The first was the [Tutorial Layer].

The second was called the [Ruined Layer].

After a quick meal at a nearby restaurant, Sam boarded a bullet train heading to the [Outer Ring].

From there, he would enter the next challenge.

But as the train sped forward, Sam gazed out the window, and a familiar crimson panel appeared before him.

[You have a very bad feeling about this.]

"I expected that," Sam said with a small smile. "But I still need to clear this layer and grow stronger."

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by lotustale.com