Bloodsteel Horizon
Episode 3 — The Hunt World
Current Level: 22
Evolutions: 0 / 150
Mods: Target Lock Mk. I, Overcharge Burst, Precision Strike
Currency: $25,000
Arrival
The Rift spat Kael out into chaos.
The air was thicker here — not just humid, but oppressive, charged with a wild energy that made the hair on his arms stand up. The sky was an unnatural violet, streaked with storms that didn't move. Far below the jagged cliff where he stood, an ocean churned like molten glass, waves smashing against crystalline rocks and breaking into sparks instead of foam.
His HUD blinked a new assignment:
OBJECTIVE: Eliminate 4 Monsters (Multi-Hunt)
World Class: Tier 3
Reward: +3 Levels per Kill
Bonus: $3,000 per Monster
Kael felt the weight of his guns as they materialized in his hands — familiar now, like the rhythm of his own heartbeat. He cycled the barrels once, feeling the mechanical-magic hum through his arms.
Monster #1 — Glass Mauler
The first target came fast.
A deafening crack echoed from below as something leapt from the molten-glass ocean. A massive crustacean-like beast landed on the cliff, each leg stabbing into the stone with a metallic clang. Its body was armored in shards of reflective crystal, claws the size of cars.
LVL 23 — Glass Mauler
It charged, claws snapping with the force of steel traps. Kael sidestepped, using Precision Strike to paint its joints in red reticles. His guns roared, rounds slamming into the hinge of its left claw until the crystal shattered and exploded in a burst of rainbow dust.
The Mauler shrieked, turning just in time for Kael's Overcharge Burst to punch through its chest. The body went limp, falling back over the cliff into the sea.
LEVEL UP!
Current Level: 25
Monster #2 — Storm Howler
The sky screamed.
Kael barely had time to reload before lightning split the air, and a winged silhouette dove through the storm clouds. The Storm Howler was a predator built of both flesh and cloud — feathers sparking with electricity, talons leaving arcs of lightning where they touched stone.
LVL 26 — Storm Howler
It moved too fast for normal tracking, but Kael's Target Lock adjusted instantly, painting predictive arcs where the beast would be. He rolled sideways as it struck, firing into its underside. The first shots pierced flesh; the next overloaded with magic, detonating mid-flight.
The Howler crashed into the cliffside, twitching once before going still.
LEVEL UP!
Current Level: 28
Monster #3 — Rift Goliath
The ground trembled.
Kael turned slowly, seeing a humanoid figure twice his height emerge from a jagged tear in the air. Its body was half organic muscle, half exposed bone, with four arms ending in jagged claws. The Rift Goliath's hollow eyes locked onto him, and the Rift behind it closed.
LVL 29 — Rift Goliath
It charged like a freight train. Kael ducked under its first swing, feeling the wind of its claws tear past his head. He emptied half a magazine into its chest, but the thing didn't slow — it swiped with the lower set of arms, forcing him back toward the cliff's edge.
Kael triggered Overcharge Burst in both guns, unleashing a wall of magic-infused rounds at point-blank range. The Goliath staggered, roaring as its body broke apart into motes of light.
LEVEL UP!
Current Level: 31
Monster #4 — Abyss Fang
The last Rift opened at his feet.
From its depths came a creature unlike the others — long, eel-like, armored in dark steel plates that pulsed with faint red light. It slithered across the stone with unnatural speed, vanishing into the cracks of the cliff and emerging behind him.
LVL 32 — Abyss Fang
Its jaw unhinged, revealing rows of needle teeth. Kael spun just in time, firing into its mouth. The rounds tore down its throat, detonating inside its body. It convulsed, coils slamming into the cliffside hard enough to crack the rock before it collapsed.
LEVEL UP!
Current Level: 34
Aftermath
Kael stood alone on the cliff, breathing hard, the wind whipping around him. His HUD tallied the results:
Levels Gained: +12
Current Level: 34
Currency Earned: $12,000
Total Funds: $37,000
His guns pulsed before dissolving into his arms, the etchings brighter now, patterns more intricate. He could feel them hungering for more — and so was he.
⸻
The Rival
Just as the Rift began to open for his return, a shadow stepped through it first.
A man — tall, lean, wearing a coat stitched with Hunter clan insignias. His eyes glowed the same silver as Kael's, but colder.
"Didn't think I'd find you so soon," the man said, resting a massive blade on his shoulder. "A vampire hybrid with guns that grow stronger? The clans have a bounty on your head already."
Kael's fingers twitched, summoning his guns. "They can get in line."
The man smirked. "We'll see."
The Rift flared, and they both stepped through.