The Rotten Sewers smelled like a corpse that had been baking in the sun for three days, mixed with the stench of sulfur and stagnant water.
"Move it, you snail!"
A curse rang out, accompanied by the heavy thud of military boots hitting the damp ground.
Kai stumbled, nearly falling face-first into the knee-deep sludge. On his back was a massive tactical rucksack filled with spare ammo, high-energy rations, and mining tools for the four Hunters ahead of him. The load weighed over 40 kilograms.
As an F-Rank Porter, his job was simple: carry the heavy shit, and shut up when danger approached.
"Sorry, Captain Jack," Kai muttered, lowering his head to adjust the straps that were digging into his raw shoulders. His voice was hoarse and calm, betraying no emotion.
In this world, anger was a privilege for the strong. The weak only had the instinct to survive.
Jack stopped and spat into the water. He was a D-Rank Fighter and the leader of this ragtag squad. He wore polished light alloy chest armor and toyed with an enchanted dagger.
"If your rate wasn't half that of other Porters, I would have kicked you out already," Jack sneered, scanning Kai's thin frame. "Don't drag us down. The Boss Room is just ahead."
Kai nodded silently, falling to the back of the formation.
Suddenly, a vibration buzzed in his pocket.
While the others checked their gear, Kai quickly pulled out a cracked, obsolete smartphone. A glaring red notification flashed on the screen:
[St. Mary's Hospital] Payment Overdue
Patient: Mia
Status: Life Support will be terminated in 24 HOURS due to insufficient funds.
Amount Due: $5,000
Kai's knuckles turned white.
Five thousand dollars.
If this raid went smoothly, he would get $600. It wasn't enough. Not even close. But if he didn't come, Mia would die today.
Only money is real. Kai repeated the damn truth in his mind, shoved the phone back into his pocket, and let his eyes go dead and focused again.
The squad reached the deepest part of the sewers—a massive circular reservoir slick with moss.
"Stay sharp," Jack whispered, raising a fist to halt the team. "Scanner picking up high-energy readings."
Just as the squad's Mage raised his staff, the calm water in the center of the reservoir exploded.
BOOM!
A massive shadow blotted out the light from their headlamps.
It was a snake the size of a school bus, but it had two heads. Dark green scales dripped with corrosive slime, and four yellow, vertical pupils locked onto the humans.
"Shit!" the Ranger screamed, his voice trembling. "It's a Variant! That's not a Black Water Snake... That's a D+ Rank Twin-Headed Naga!"
D+ Rank.
For a team of D and E ranks, this wasn't a raid. It was a slaughter.
"Retreat! Run!" Jack didn't hesitate. He turned and bolted.
Chaos erupted. The Mage threw a panic-induced fireball that bounced harmlessly off the Naga's scales, only serving to piss it off.
"HISSSSSS!"
The Naga let out a screech that shattered eardrums. Its massive tail swept across the room, smashing the concrete wall on the side. Rubble flew everywhere, blocking half the exit.
Kai carried the heaviest load, but his instinct for danger was sharp. The second the monster appeared, he had already ditched the bag and was sprinting right behind Jack.
Even as an F-Rank, you didn't need to be faster than the monster. You just had to be faster than your teammates.
But the narrow exit tunnel could only fit two people side-by-side.
Jack was in the lead, but he could feel the rotten wind of the monster behind him. The Naga was too fast. Someone had to stay behind to buy time.
Jack's eyes darted to Kai, who had just caught up.
It was the look one gave to a piece of disposable trash.
"Captain?" Kai's heart skipped a beat.
"Don't blame me, kid," Jack grinned, a cruel twist of his lips. "It's for the greater good."
CRACK!
Jack spun around and drove his alloy-plated boot straight into Kai's right knee.
The sound of snapping bone echoed in the tunnel.
"Argh!!" Kai grunted, losing his balance and crashing into the filth. Pain exploded up his leg. It was twisted at a sickening angle.
"Consider that your severance pay!"
Using the recoil from the kick, Jack launched himself out of the tunnel and slammed his hand on the Emergency Flood Gate panel.
Rumble—
The heavy steel gate slammed down, sealing off the light, the exit, and the so-called "teammates."
Darkness fell.
It was just Kai, the agony of a broken leg, and the sound of heavy scales sliding against stone behind him.
Slither. Slither.
Kai dragged himself through the sewage, looking up in despair.
Through the crack under the flood gate, a sliver of red emergency light illuminated the Naga's raised heads. Its four cold eyes looked down at him with mockery, like a cat toying with a trapped mouse.
No rescue. No miracle.
This was the fate of an F-Rank.
"Fuck the greater good..."
Kai spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva. Fear had peaked and turned into something else—madness.
He didn't beg. Instead, he grabbed a rusted, broken steel pipe lying in the muck.
If I'm going to die, I'm taking some teeth with me.
The Naga opened its jaws, and a cloud of toxic green mist spewed out, enveloping Kai.
His lungs felt like they were on fire. His vision blurred.
Is this it?
Mia will be unplugged and thrown into the morgue like garbage.
And Jack... Jack will be drinking at a bar, bragging about his survival.
"No."
A surge of unwillingness and pure rage erupted from his soul. It was so intense it drowned out the coldness of death.
I want to kill him.
I want to kill them all.
Just as the venomous fangs were about to pierce his throat...
The world froze.
A cold, mechanical voice exploded in his mind. Blue text, glowing in the darkness, burned itself onto his retinas.
[SYSTEM ALERT]
Condition Met: Close proximity to death.
Desire Confirmed: Absolute Vengeance.
[INITIATING HIDDEN CLASS TRANSFER...]
Congratulations! You have awakened as:
[NECRO-MONARCH]
[QUEST ACCEPTED]
Mission: Survive.
Reward: The power to rule death.
Kai's eyes widened, staring at the impossible screen.
The fangs that should have killed him were hovering inches from his face, as if waiting for a command from a king.
A smile—bloody, broken, and terrifying—slowly crept up his face.
"Alright..." He gripped the rusted pipe, his voice rasping like a demon from hell. "Let's play."
（"Enjoying the massacre? Drop a Power Stone to feed the Clone Army!"）