The violent energy surged wildly within him, raging through his body until something deep inside Max cracked like shattered glass. Immense power flooded him all at once. Black winds erupted from beneath his feet, rising around him in a tornado of death.

They spun with terrifying speed, spreading in every direction, cutting through everything in their path as if the world itself had become too fragile to withstand him.

Gertrud’s eyes widened. She moved without thinking, shooting to the side as her wings carried her toward the exit, but even with all her speed, she could not outrun the dark gale. It slammed into her back with brutal force, driving her into one last desperate counterattack.

Green wind exploded from her wings and clashed against the darkness as she dropped all of the orbs to the ground. They shattered on impact, and green energy spilled through the cracks like living snakes, twisting and dancing across the broken floor.

The storm devoured it instantly.

It wrapped around the green energy and dragged it toward Max, who could barely hold his thoughts together. His mind was drowning beneath the pressure. His body felt like it was being ripped open from the inside. He tried with everything he had to control the power, afraid it might kill Gertrud and destroy all of the treasures he needed to build his empire.

"Run! Get out!" he screamed through the storm. Every word cut his tongue, and blood poured from his mouth before the wind tore it away.

Gertrud still refused to listen. She pushed forward with her green wind, forcing her way through the slicing gale as she tried to repel his magic and reach him. She hated Max. She hated him for what he had done, but she could not watch him die. Not after that promise. Not after every orb had already been swallowed by him.

"I won’t leave you. You can control it, just—"

The dark wind answered before she could finish. A violent gust smashed through her magic and struck her body, sending her tumbling into the wall. Stone cracked behind her. Blood splashed from the deep gash across her arm, and her body slid down before collapsing to the ground.

"Shit..." Max cursed as he watched her pass out. More wind energy flooded into him, pouring into his body faster than he could withstand. His power spiraled out of control, turning the entire chamber into a storm of slicing darkness. He gritted his teeth and fought against the pain, trying to force his own body to obey before the outburst destroyed everything around him.

His fingers bent at the wrong angle as he forced his hand toward Gertrud. The walls cracked under the pressure. The ceiling trembled. Dust and broken stone rained down around them, and Max knew he had only seconds before the entire place gave in.

He dragged the energy back into himself by force.

The winds tore into his body from the inside, ripping through flesh, veins, and bones as blood burst from everywhere at once.

But his suffering was not without reward. The black winds slowly returned to him, sinking back into his body like obedient beasts, while the green wind rune on his magic soul blazed with immense light, as bright as a burning sun.

The moment the winds calmed down, Max felt light. Far too light. His body felt as if it could drift into the air at any moment, even though his feet were firmly planted against the broken floor.

His gaze fell on Gertrud.

She lay unconscious among the dust and shattered stone, so still that for one horrifying second, she looked dead. Max’s heart dropped. He forced himself to take a step toward her.

Pain exploded across his forehead.

The second his foot touched the ground, black winds burst from beneath him and launched his body forward like a phantom. He vanished from his spot before his mind could even register what had happened, then crashed headfirst into the wall with a brutal impact. His skull rang. His vision spun. The wall cracked even more under the force, and dust, stone, and broken pieces of the ceiling slowly rained down around him.

Max grabbed his nose. His fingers came away covered in blood. His nose was flattened, crushed into a bloody mess, and the pain made him want to scream until his throat tore open. He swallowed it down, breathing harshly through his mouth.

His vision was almost useless, nothing but blur and shaking shadows, but within that blur, the system window slowly formed, forcing him to squint through the blood and pain.

[System error registered. User’s mental and physical state has been dangerously affected due to system miscalculation. Processing solution... Offering compensation...]

"Fuck you... fuck, fuck! I hate you... damn thing..." Max cursed loudly.

Whenever he truly needed this damn system, it was never there. Today, he had almost died, and even though some part of him knew it was his own greed that dragged him into this mess, that knowledge only made him angrier.

The system could have warned him. It could have reacted sooner. It could have done anything. He had almost died twice today, first with the gem earlier, when it had tempted him toward suicide, and now again, after leaving him alone to survive the raging magical energy tearing through his body.

[Please accept our apology. We would like to offer an ability as compensation. This power is required for your current situation. We hope this reduces user dissatisfaction...]

[You have received a new ability — Void Pocket: The user can absorb non-living items into a dimensional space within his own body, like a personal treasure vault. This space allows the user to store valuables and retrieve them whenever needed.]

"Nah! This system can’t be for real! It actually believes I would— wait... Dimensional space?"

Max wanted to smash the screen to pieces. He wanted to curse the system, spit blood at it, and tell it to leave him alone forever. But the second the ceiling groaned above him, his rage froze.

His treasure.

The entire chamber was about to collapse and bury everything he had fought, bled, and nearly died for.

His priorities changed immediately.

One hand wrapped around Gertrud’s soft waist, pulling her limp body close, while his other hand unleashed a wave of darkness. The black energy surged out like a hungry maw, swallowing every treasure in its path just as the ceiling finally gave in.

Stone, dust, and rubble crashed down on him.