Shin collapsed the moment he fell.
The pain was too much.
The blood loss was too severe.
Darkness swallowed him whole.
If not for the thick, elastic spider webs spread across the depths of the dungeon, his body would have been shattered on impact. Beneath the bridge was not merely a drop—it was a void. Endless. Bottomless. A fall that no human could ever survive. The webs caught him, stretched, snapped apart one after another, and finally softened the descent just enough to keep him alive.
Barely.
Time lost meaning.
When Shin's eyes finally opened, they did so slowly, painfully.
"Where… am I…?"
His voice was hoarse, almost unrecognizable.
Memories flooded back—running, the dungeon, the ants, the bridge, the betrayal, the fall.
His breath hitched.
Panic surged through him.
He scrambled upright, hands shaking as he touched his face, his chest, his arms.
"Am I… dead?"
His heart thundered wildly.
He punched himself in the cheek.
Pain exploded through his skull.
"…Yeah. Still alive."
The realization left him weak.
He looked around.
The cavern stretched wide and deep, illuminated by clusters of crystalline formations embedded in the walls. They shimmered faintly, casting fractured light that made the dungeon feel unreal—beautiful, yet oppressive.
For a moment, he forgot where he was.
Then something cold touched his shoulder.
A droplet.
Another followed.
His breath stopped.
Slowly—too slowly—Shin looked up.
Fear carved itself into his face.
Above him, clinging to the cavern ceiling, was a monster-sized spider—its grotesque body wrapped in layers of thick webbing, its many eyes locked onto him with ravenous intent. Its mandibles opened wide, enough to swallow a human whole.
Shin tried to move.
His body didn't respond.
The ant's poison still burned through his veins, paralyzing his limbs.
The spider dropped.
Then—
A blur of motion.
A violent impact.
The spider never reached him.
Something leapt from the shadows and tore into it mid-air.
A deafening screech echoed through the cavern as the spider was ripped apart—its body split cleanly in two by massive jaws.
Shin falls on his knees, his breath ragged.
A wolf beast stood over the corpse, its frame enormous, muscles dense and powerful, its presence suffocating. It devoured the spider ruthlessly, tearing flesh and chitin apart as if it had been starving for ages.
Blood splattered the stone floor.
Shin couldn't move.
Couldn't breathe.
Couldn't even scream.
When the beast finished feeding, it turned.
Its gaze fell on Shin.
Shin's heart sank.
So this is my turn.
The wolf approached.
Up close, the pressure was unbearable.
Then—bang.
The beast struck him with its paw, smashing Shin into the dungeon wall like discarded trash. Bones screamed. Air left his lungs in a violent gasp.
The message was unmistakable.
You are not even worthy as my prey.
Shin slid down the wall and collapsed onto the stone.
The beast's body twisted, reshaping itself.
Bones shifted. Flesh compressed.
In moments, it stood upright in a man-beast form—the true master of this dungeon.
"The smell of weakness is disgusting," it said coldly.
"What is a human like you doing here?"
Its eyes burned with contempt.
"I despise the weak. Useless things. You aren't even worth eating."
A cruel grin spread across its face.
"But I enjoy games."
It tore off a portion of the spider's remains and forced it into Shin's mouth, laughing as Shin choked and swallowed.
"For humans, monster meat is poison," the beast said mockingly.
"If you survive, it becomes strength. If not—well."
It turned away, disappearing into the shadows.
As it left, its voice echoed through the cavern.
"Let's see if you survive.
I sense great potential in you.
Come and find me when you are strong enough.
Don't disappoint me."
Then it was gone.
The spider meat took effect almost immediately.
Shin's body convulsed.
Blood poured from his mouth. His nose. His ears.
His stomach twisted violently, organs screaming as if they were being torn apart from the inside.
He lay there, shaking, half-conscious, drowning in agony.
Is this… how it ends?
Hallucinations crept in.
His mother's voice.
Memories of warmth in a world that had never spared him mercy.
Why…?
Why am I treated like this… when I've done nothing wrong?. He finally gives up his consciousness fading away
Then memories of his father fighting to protect him and his mother from The Assassins surfaced
Something inside him snapped.
No.
No more.
I won't accept this.
I won't bow to a monster.
I will find him.
I will kill him.
Even if it costs me everything.
With shattered nails and trembling arms, Shin began to crawl.
Each movement was torture.
Skin tore. Bones screamed. Blood smeared the stone.
He crawled and crawled, driven by nothing but sheer will.
Eventually, he reached a small pond nestled within the cavern.
His vision blurred.
Just… a little more…
His hand slipped.
Fell into the water.
Light erupted.
The water glowed brilliantly, surging into his body.
Shin's eyes snapped open.
His body ignited with blinding radiance.
Mana flooded his veins like wildfire, scorching hot, violent, alive. Every Awakened described it the same way—when mana awakens, the body burns as it is reborn.
His body reconstructed itself.
Muscles refined. Bones strengthened. Flesh compressed and reshaped—not bulky, but perfectly tuned for combat.
This wasn't random.
This was evolution.
In that instant, his innate ability awakened fully.
Apex Predator.
His body adapted beyond normal limits, analyzing the healing properties of the water and replicating them internally. What the pond could do—his body could now do on its own.
Regeneration. Recovery. Survival.
He was no longer prey.
Shin inhaled deeply. Something definitely happened for his manner to awaken and the only thing he could think of was the water that he touched since that was the only thing around. He touched the water again . Nothing at all changed. Then.
He formed a hypothesis.
Monster meat.
Extreme danger.
Those were the catalysts.
"If that's what it takes…"
His eyes hardened.
"I'll become stronger."
He remembered his father's words.
In a dungeon, survival comes first.
Establish a base.
Scout.
Learn the terrain.
Set traps.
Shin used the spider's remains to fashion crude weapons and traps around his base. He altered the webbing, tightening and reinforcing it into a suspended nest that could support his weight—a safe place to rest, hidden above ground.
This was his base.
One at a time.
He would hunt
Adapt.
Evolve.
And when the time came—
He would return for the wolf.