The next morning arrived with a gentle golden light filtering through the curtains of their modest home.

Amon woke before dawn, as had become his habit.

He quietly slipped out of bed, careful not to disturb Kayla, and checked on Ciara in her crib. The little girl slept peacefully.

After a quick glance at Mira’s closed door, he made his way to the living room.

’System, sign in.’

[Ding!]

[Congratulations on signing in! You have received the Coin of Uncertain Destiny (S-rank).]

[Congratulations on signing in! You have received the skill: Death Mark (SS-rank).]

Amon’s brows rose slightly as he glanced at the rewards.

Those were surprisingly good rewards.

The Coin of Uncertain Destiny appeared in his palm.

It was a silver coin covered in intricate black engravings. One side depicted a faceless figure holding scales, while the other bore a single closed eye.

After reading its description, Amon discovered that it could be flipped once per day.

If it landed on heads, the next action he performed within one minute would have its chance of success significantly increased.

If it landed on tails, nothing would happen.

It was simple, mysterious, and extremely useful, especially due to the coming calamity. Besides, from the system screen, he noticed the {+1} icon. If he could increase the rank of this artifact with fate points, just what sorts of miraculous abilities would it have?

The second reward interested him even more as he glanced at it.

Death Mark was an SS-rank skill.

Once activated, it allowed him to place an invisible mark upon a target.

For the next twenty-four hours, he would always know the target’s exact location.

Illusions, disguises, and concealment techniques beneath his level would become ineffective against the marked target.

Additionally, attacks directed at the target would become subtly more lethal.

Only one target could be marked at a time.

Amon’s lips curled upward.

That was a skill worthy of an SS-rank rating.

Escaping him would become nearly impossible.

Similarly, the prospects of it being upgradable spoke of horrors he couldn’t begin to imagine.

He stored the coin inside his spatial ring before preparing breakfast once again.

Oatmeal with fresh berries, eggs, and warm milk for the girls.

The familiar domestic rhythm helped ground him before the violence that would soon follow.

By the time Kayla emerged carrying Ciara, the table was ready.

Mira joined them shortly afterward, still rubbing sleep from her eyes.

Breakfast passed in comfortable silence, and after they were done and the couple had freshened up, Amon informed his wife that it was time to head to work once more.

"I need to take care of a few things," he replied calmly.

"But I’ll be back before evening, just like yesterday."

Kayla gave him a warm hug before escorting him out of the house, leaving her and Mira behind.

As soon as he sensed his wife’s departing figure, he walked a safe distance away from the house before his aura shifted.

The gentle father disappeared.

The Butcher returned.

He retrieved the Dungeon Compass once more.

The needle spun before pointing toward several distant locations again.

Multiple SS-rank signals glowed on his mental map, along with a handful of SSS-rank signatures.

His gaze lingered briefly on the strongest beacon.

Not yet.

He still wasn’t confident enough to challenge that one.

Satisfied, he activated Close Yet So Far, crossing an absurd distance until he arrived in a region overflowing with high-level dungeons.

The Sevenfold Mirror Talisman appeared in his hand, and his mana surged into it.

Moments later, seven perfect mirror bodies stood before him.

"Same protocol as yesterday."

"Each of you takes a different SS-rank dungeon."

"Gather everything useful."

"Kill everything hostile."

"And report immediately if you encounter anything unusual."

The clones nodded, then vanished in seven separate ripples of distorted space.

Amon chose an SS-rank dungeon known as the Crimson Labyrinth and stepped inside.

The Winter Frost Blade materialized within his grasp.

The Elegant Netherblade Sword Technique descended upon the labyrinth like a merciless winter.

Through the shared senses of his mirror bodies, Amon witnessed seven more massacres occurring across the globe simultaneously.

Entire dungeons were once again emptied at an alarming rate.

Ancient families and hidden organizations once again found themselves staring at devastated resource sites, unable to understand who was responsible.

SSS-rank experts swept their senses across continents.

Yet the four fragments of the Ataroth Mask concealed every trace of Amon’s presence.

Ding!

[Level increased to 50!]

Ding!

[Level increased to 51!]

Hours passed, and by the time the sun began to set, the mirror bodies gradually began to dissolve.

However, it wasn’t without merit.

Amon’s presence grew extremely faint and feeble.

His aura continued shrinking inward, compressing upon itself over and over again as though an invisible force was trying to crush a raging ocean into a single droplet.

The space around him distorted slightly, producing faint ripples before settling down once more.

Then, something inside him snapped.

Before exploding outwards like a surging tide.

SSS-rank!

A rank he never imagined ever reaching, he had finally gotten there.

An overwhelming amount of killing intent and strength spread throughout the world.

The Watcher, who was in a hidden dimension, instantly raised his gaze in the northern direction, a solemn look appearing on his face.

For a long while, he simply stared.

Then, a bitter smile appeared on his aged face.

’I didn’t think that kid would become so strong this fast...’

His fingers unconsciously tightened.

Countless years ago, he too had believed that enough strength could solve everything.

In the end, reality had proven otherwise.

He thought for a bit, then muttered to himself.

’Could there be some hope?’

The old man felt melancholic, but it was only for a brief moment before he shook his head, shaking the thought away.

Countless powerful forces with strength detection artifacts had their artifacts ringing wildly in alarm the moment Amon’s strength was released for the world to see.

He was now at SSS-rank, but with the boost from his techniques and physique, he could slaughter gods!

Amon felt a strange feeling in his heart, almost as though he could rule the world without a care.

It was a truly mysterious feeling; however, he quickly calmed himself down.

There was no need to think too deeply on this. He had to keep to himself.

There was no use for arrogance. Rather, he still needed to humbly prepare for what was coming next.

With that in mind, Amon’s aura began receding like a tide, rushing into his body till it was all perfectly concealed.

The outside world could no longer sense anything in his body, and Amon kept it that way.

He glanced up at the darkening skies, his gaze lingering on it for a moment longer.

The goal for today had been accomplished.

It was time to head back to his family.

The next day, he would break into God-rank, and then the rank above it, and another rank more, until he no longer had to fear anyone in the world.

With that in mind, Amon took a light, casual step and in the next instant had returned home to his wife...

The night was bound to pass peacefully between the couple...