I took one step back, took a deep breath, and let that tingling feeling from Predator Sense spread out so I could pin their location.
Abyssal Shift.
Yeah… first time actually pressing this weird button. Hope I don't explode.
I didn't know what to expect.
Explosion? Pain? My legs turning into noodles?
Nope.
The moment I activated it, everything… changed.
It didn't ease in or anything. Just one snap and boom — I'm in some dark tunnel thing.
Except the tunnel was dark as hell but somehow still glowing. Don't ask me how. Like someone threw darkness and glowsticks into a blender and hit max speed.
My legs felt light, like I wasn't really standing anymore.
My body? Yeah, it just peaced out on me. No sound, no air, no feeling — I basically became a badly coded ghost.
Everything vanished in one blink.
But somehow I could still move.
Just me floating around like some confused ghost in an empty room.
I blinked, swallowed, tried to look around even though there was nothing to look at.
"…Huh," I muttered. "This is… something."
Weird.
Quiet.
Strangely comfortable.
I should've panicked.
I mean… whole place went dark-but-not-dark, like I'd walked straight into one of those movie scenes where the idiot hears a creepy noise and still says, "Yeah, let me go check that."
And for some reason?
My brain did the same thing.
"Sure. Why not. Let's just walk deeper into the spooky void. Great idea."
It was stupidly calm in there — too calm — like the darkness was welcoming me in or something. Creepy.
I didn't even walk. I just popped 250 meters ahead, standing on a ground I was very sure I wasn't on before.
I blinked hard.
I stood there, tried to breathe, and my lungs acted like I'd just woken up from a coma.
Nice. Void travel comes with free bugs.
Which made me stop for a second.
"…Wait. How was I even breathing in there? There was no air.
Was I faking it? Was my body lying to me? Great. Now I'm arguing with my lungs."
I shook my head, trying to get the weird feeling out of my chest.
"…Okay," I muttered. "That was weird. But cool."
I lifted my head.
I still had about 750 meters left to cover.
Alright. Again.
Slip.
Pop.
Slip.
Pop.
Every jump was like teleporting through a glitchy nightmare.
No sound, no feeling — just boom, new spot, try not to puke.
Finally, I landed on a ridge overlooking the area Predator Sense kept nagging about.
I exhaled, rubbing my chest.
"Man… if I keep using this, my organs are gonna give up on me."
Down below — just like the sense told me — five people.
Moving nice and slow.
Confident.
Too confident.
From up here, I could see everything.
Their steps, their formation.
Perfect view if I needed to Shift again and drop behind them.
I tapped my temple lightly and smirked to myself.
"Alright… let's see what kind of idiots wandered into my area."
I crouched on the ridge, waiting… then something buzzed in my head.
Not a sound — more like someone wishper my ear from the inside.
Predator Sense.
I could hear them.
Footsteps.
Someone breathing through their mouth like a dying donkey.
I leaned forward a bit — boom.
The voices got clearer, like they were whispering right beside my ear.
"…move faster…"
"…don't fall behind…"
"…we get that herb first…"
I frowned.
"…Since when does this thing come with eavesdropping?"
Some weird little 3D map popped up in my head — their locations, their pace, even the heartbeat of the guy who kept scratching his neck every ten seconds.
I rubbed my face.
I listened a moment longer and smirked.
"Huh. Either this skill is amazing… or I'm turning into some forest creep at this rate."
Either way… fun.
I stayed crouched on the ridge, just… listening.
I didn't even try to focus hard — I just… nudged it a little, like turning the volume knob in my ears.
"…Sector 43 path confirmed."
"…we grab the Azure Vein Root before the others."
Yeah, yeah. Same mission, same shiny plant. Good for them.
Then another voice came in — lower, irritated, like he regretted waking up today.
"Forget the herb. Priority is Shen Yan."
I stopped breathing for a second.
"…What?"
I leaned forward automatically, like getting two centimeters closer would help me hear better.
"Order came from upstairs," someone whispered. "If we see him, we take him out. Quiet."
Quiet.
Sure. Great word choice.
Another guy scoffed.
"Why him? He's just F2 trash."
"Don't ask. They said if he dies in the zone, nobody cares."
Perfect. Saves them the trouble.
My jaw moved once.
My fingers pressed into the ground.
Didn't even mean to.
I could hear all of them clearly.
I stared down the slope toward their signals.
"So that's how it is," I muttered. "Guide trainees… coming to kill me. Wow."
A breath slipped out of me, flat and tired.
First mission, not even an hour in, and I'm already the target.
"…Fantastic," I whispered. "I'm loot now."
I pressed my fingers into my forehead.
"Seriously… why?"
Everywhere I go, someone wants me dead.
I breathe? Kill him.
I walk? Kill him.
I exist for five seconds too long? Kill him harder.
What did I even do?
Did I offend fate in my past life? Step on destiny's pet?
I swear, I must've pissed off the universe somehow.
And the worst part?
I tried staying low. I went full stealth mode.
Fake rank, fake bloodline, no fancy academy, no destiny speeches, no glowing protagonist halo.
I didn't flirt with a princess, didn't pick up a mythical sword, didn't build a harem, didn't steal anyone's chosen one spotlight.
And yet here I am — still hunted like some rare collectible card.
Honestly, it's impressive.
I avoided all the usual hero crap and the trouble still found me.
Maybe this is about that old guy's beard I laughed at. Wouldn't surprise me.
I rubbed my face, feeling that tired heaviness sink in.
Guess I'm one of those people the world just hates for fun.
The "yeah, throw more crap at him, it's character building" type.
Fine.
Whatever. If they want me dead so much, I'll just go see which idiots they sent.