Darkness.
It felt like he was floating. No sound. No light. No pain.
Just… cold.
Then the pain slammed into him like a freight train.
Adam gasped, arching off the blood-soaked stone floor, lungs heaving as if he'd drowned. His body burned. Muscles spasmed. His head pounded with memories—death, screaming, that voice.
> [System Installation Complete. Welcome, Adam Kain.]
[Your soul has been marked by Belial, the God of Death.]
[Unique Class: Deathbound Heir — initializing core abilities…]
[New objective acquired.]
[Daily Quests Unlocked.]
Lines of glowing blue text hovered in his vision, just like the hunters' system panels—but this was different. More ominous. The letters looked etched from bone, flickering in shadowy purple light.
Adam's hand trembled as he reached toward the panel. His fingers passed through it like mist, yet the moment he focused on the words, a sharp ping hit his mind.
> [Daily Quests - Complete within 24 hours]
— Do 100 push-ups
— Do 100 sit-ups
— Do 10 km run
— Slay 5 lesser creatures
— Meditate for 1 hour in darkness
> Penalty for failure: Death Trial Room
His breath caught in his throat.
"Penalty…?"
Before he could question it, another screen popped up:
> [You are the sole survivor of the Shadow Trial.]
[You have earned a unique reward:]
— [Skill: Death Sense (Passive)]
— [Skill: Soul Tracker (Active)]
— [Item: Cloak of Hollow Graves (Bound)]
— [Belial's Favor +1]*
Adam forced himself up, his body aching like he'd been hit by a truck. Around him, the dungeon was still—silent. The skeletal warriors had vanished. The torches no longer burned. The statue now stood cracked, hollow, its scythe shattered at its feet.
Everyone else… was dead.
And yet, somehow, he was alive.
The cloak from the reward shimmered into existence and wrapped around him like a second skin. Black, smoky fabric that didn't reflect light, with a chill that kissed his spine. He didn't wear it—it chose him.
Adam staggered toward the dungeon gate, which now stood open.
He didn't know how long he walked. Minutes. Hours. The dungeon was empty now, as if it had consumed its sacrifice and spat him back out.
When he emerged into the sunlight, the world felt wrong.
Too loud.
Too bright.
Too alive.
A team of emergency hunters and paramedics waited at the gate perimeter. They'd been alerted when the dungeon timer ran too long without updates. What they didn't expect was a single blood-drenched F-rank walking out alone.
The crowd gasped.
"Hey! We've got a survivor!"
"Wait—is that… Adam Kain?"
"No way… wasn't he just backup fodder?"
Adam said nothing. His vision blurred. He collapsed on the spot.
---
A few hours later — Seoul Guild Hospital
Adam opened his eyes to the sterile white of hospital lights.
A machine beeped beside him. IV drip in his arm. His body felt lighter somehow, like something inside him had been… unlocked.
> [Vital Status: Stable]
[System Active]
He blinked, and the panel disappeared. No one else in the room reacted. Only he could see it.
He sat up slowly, the memory of the screen and its quests fresh in his mind.
"System," he whispered.
Another window opened immediately.
> [Status Window]
Name: Adam Kain
Class: Deathbound Heir
Level: 1
HP: 120 / 120
MP: 150 / 150
Strength: 25
Agility: 23
Perception: 30
Vitality: 21
Intelligence: 28
Luck: ???
Titles: Belial's Chosen, Shadow Survivor
Adam frowned. These stats were already higher than average for an F-rank. Even some D-ranks didn't hit these numbers.
His mind raced.
This wasn't just a system.
It was a second chance.
But he couldn't tell anyone—not yet. Not until he understood what it meant. If word got out, guilds would swarm him. Worse—governments. Research labs. Hunters went missing all the time. He wasn't about to be one of them.
He clenched his fists.
I'll keep it secret.
A soft knock broke the silence.
The door opened, and in walked a tall woman in a sleek black suit. Long silver hair tied back. Her eyes sharp as knives.
"Adam Kain," she said. "I'm Guild Officer Leena Hoshino from the Obsidian Guild. You were the only survivor of the Taegun Ruins incident."
Adam tensed.
"We've reviewed the footage from the scouts. Your group entered what should've been a standard D-rank gate. What happened in there was… different."
"I don't remember much," Adam lied smoothly.
She didn't blink. "We found twenty-one corpses. All with wounds matching high-level shadow constructs. And yet, you walked out with only a few scratches."
Adam looked her straight in the eyes. "Lucky, I guess."
A faint smirk played at her lips. "Luck. Or something else."
Before she could press further, a heavy knock came at the door.
Another figure stepped in—a broad-shouldered man wearing a long crimson trench coat. His presence filled the room like a stormcloud.
Hunter Rank: S
Adam felt it in his bones. This guy was on a different level.
Leena raised a brow. "Reaper Arin. I didn't expect you to come."
"I was nearby," the man said, eyes locked on Adam. "I came to see the F-rank who walked out of a slaughterhouse."
Arin stepped forward, his gaze piercing.
"What did you see in that dungeon, kid?"
Adam met his gaze.
"Nothing."
A long silence passed. Then Arin grinned.
"You're lying."
He turned away. "But that's fine. If you really are hiding something, it'll show soon enough. Power like that doesn't stay hidden."
With that, he left.
Leena gave Adam a long look before following.
As the door shut, Adam exhaled.
> [New Quest Available:]
[Begin your first Death Trial.]
[Location: Your Mindscape — Activate via meditation.]
[Reward: Skill — Graveborn Strength]
[Penalty for refusal: Shadow Affliction]
He stared at the prompt.
Meditation? Now?
But as the system pulsed with warning, he realized something important.
This wasn't a game.
The system didn't ask.
It commanded.
And disobedience… came with consequences.
He climbed off the bed, closed the blinds, and sat cross-legged on the cold tile floor.
He took a breath.
Closed his eyes.
And whispered:
"Begin."
---
Far away—on a high-rise rooftop…
"Did you feel that?" Leena asked, standing beside Arin.
The S-rank hunter stared up at the sky. A thin ripple of energy passed through the clouds.
"Yeah."
"That wasn't a gate."
"No," he said. "It was worse."
He narrowed his eyes.
"Something ancient just woke up inside that boy."