The pain was endless.
Not the kind you scream through. No—this pain was silent, crawling. Like a thousand red-hot wires threading through my bones and nerves. My muscles clenched on their own. My skin cracked and stitched itself back together. My eyes burned until I thought they'd burst.
And then, just like that… it stopped.
I gasped.
My hands trembled in front of my face. The blood was still there—but it wasn't mine anymore.
I could see in the dark. Every jagged stone, every twitching limb of the thing I'd killed—clear as day. My breath didn't fog. The air down here was deathly cold, but I felt warm.
No, not warm.
Alive.
More alive than I'd ever felt before.
> Skills Assimilated Successfully.
[Bone Hardened Skin] – Passive Defense Boost: Your skin has hardened, resistant to blades and low-grade magic.
[Predator Instinct] – Danger Sense: Gain slight precognition in life-threatening scenarios.
[Dark Vision] – You can now see in total darkness.
I grinned, teeth bared. I could feel it—my body changing. Not just stronger. Sharper. Like a blade honed by hell itself.
A rustle echoed nearby. My head snapped toward it.
Two more of those corpse-wolves slinked into the open, sniffing at their fallen kin.
They saw me.
Growled.
Charged.
I didn't hesitate.
I moved.
The dagger in my hand felt lighter. My steps were faster. My eyes tracked everything—the twitch of a muscle, the shift in their weight, the tiny breath before they leapt.
Predator Instinct kicked in.
I ducked under the first one, spun, and jammed the blade upward through its neck. It gurgled, legs twitching. The second beast lunged at me, jaws wide.
Too slow.
I raised my left arm, let it bite down—and felt its teeth snap against my hardened skin. I drove the dagger into its eye. Again. And again.
It stopped moving.
Blood soaked my clothes, my arms, my face.
But none of it felt wrong.
If anything… it felt right.
> Beasts defeated. Additional traits available for assimilation.
I accepted them all.
[Acid Resistance], [Beast's Balance], [Acute Smell].
Every time I did, my body warped—bones grinding, muscles tightening, senses sharpening.
I was changing.
And I didn't care.
---
I don't know how many hours passed. Time didn't work the same down here. No sun. No stars. Just endless stone and blood and monsters.
But I learned.
I adapted.
I survived.
I killed.
I carved meat from beasts I'd slain and roasted it over makeshift fires. Ate it raw when I had to. I reforged my dagger with materials I gathered from bones and claws. Made armor from chitin. Cloak from fur.
I became something more than human.
Something less.
---
At some point, I found a shallow pool.
Crystal clear. Unnaturally so.
I leaned in and saw my reflection for the first time.
My eyes were no longer brown—they glowed faint red, slitted like a predator's. My skin had taken on a faint sheen, like living stone. My hair was longer, matted with dried blood.
I looked like a monster.
But all I saw… was freedom.
Freedom from weakness.
Freedom from Kaito and his fake smile.
Freedom from the cowards who let me fall.
I clenched my fist. The stone beneath it cracked.
"I'm not the same Ren Yamato," I said aloud, my voice low, rough.
Not anymore.
---
> Quest Triggered: Path of the Abyss Forged
Objective: Reach the Core of the Abyss and survive its final trial.
Reward: ???
Penalty for Failure: Death.
So the Abyss itself wanted to test me now?
I chuckled.
"Bring it on."
I turned and walked deeper into the dark.
Not as prey.
But as a hunter.