The wolf's body was still warm.
Steam rose from the open wound in its throat, curling into the metallic air of the Primal Realm.
Arin Vale stood over it, chest rising slowly.
He didn't feel victorious.
He felt… shaken.
The fight had lasted less than ten seconds.
But he had almost died twice.
He looked down at his trembling fingers.
They weren't shaking from fear.
They were shaking from adrenaline.
From something else.
The silver glow in his vision pulsed faintly.
[Shadow Reflex – Passive Ability Active]
The world felt clearer.
Sharper.
Every detail sharpened into focus — the way the crimson sky rippled like torn silk, the faint vibration beneath the soil, the distant sound of something breathing far beyond the trees.
Before, it would have overwhelmed him.
Now, it organized itself.
His mind sorted threats automatically.
That wasn't normal.
That wasn't human.
Arin swallowed.
"What did you do to me…" he whispered to the black wristband wrapped around his arm.
It gave no answer.
Only silence.
Then—
A low howl echoed through the forest.
Arin's head snapped up.
Another howl answered.
Then another.
His stomach dropped.
Pack behavior.
The dead wolf wasn't alone.
Branches snapped in the distance.
Fast.
Closing in.
Arin forced himself to breathe slowly.
Panic would kill him faster than claws.
Think.
He scanned the clearing.
Uneven ground. Fallen stones. A broken tree trunk angled like a ramp.
Five seconds later—
They appeared.
One from the left.
Two from the trees ahead.
One circling behind.
And the largest, stepping calmly into view.
Six Shadow Fang Wolves.
The largest one's fur was darker than the rest.
Its silver eyes burned brighter.
Pack leader.
Arin's heartbeat thundered in his ears.
Six.
Even trained low-tier hunters traveled in squads for this reason.
He was alone.
The pack spread out, forming a loose circle.
They weren't rushing him.
They were testing.
Predators respected strength.
But they crushed weakness.
Arin tightened his grip on the academy blade.
It suddenly felt too small.
The first wolf lunged.
Time distorted again.
No—
His perception accelerated.
He saw the twitch in its rear leg before it launched.
He stepped aside at the exact right angle.
The wolf's claws grazed fabric instead of flesh.
He slashed downward.
The blade cut across its ribs.
Not deep enough.
It landed, bleeding but alive.
The second wolf attacked from his blind spot.
But it wasn't blind anymore.
He pivoted instinctively.
The blade thrust upward into its throat.
Warm blood splattered across his face.
The metallic scent filled his lungs.
Something inside him reacted.
Not disgust.
Not horror.
Focus.
Cold.
Efficient.
The third wolf rushed simultaneously with the fourth.
Coordinated.
Arin retreated two steps.
Too slow.
Claws tore across his forearm.
Pain flared.
Hot.
Sharp.
Real.
His breath hitched.
The leader watched.
Calculating.
Arin clenched his teeth.
He couldn't fight them head-on.
He needed control.
The broken tree trunk.
He sprinted toward it.
The wolves chased instantly.
He leaped onto the angled trunk and used the height advantage.
Now they could only attack from the front.
One by one.
The next wolf lunged upward.
He sidestepped mid-air and kicked it back down.
The blade plunged into its skull as it fell.
Three left.
The leader's eyes narrowed.
It changed tactics.
Instead of attacking, it waited.
The other two circled wider.
They were stalling.
Waiting for him to make a mistake.
Arin's breathing grew heavier.
Blood dripped from his arm.
The smell was spreading.
More predators might come.
He needed to end this now.
The leader suddenly bolted.
Not at him.
At the base of the tree trunk.
It slammed its body into it.
The trunk shook violently.
Arin nearly lost balance.
Smart.
It wasn't a mindless beast.
It was thinking.
The second wolf jumped during the shake.
Its claws caught his shoulder.
He fell from the trunk.
The ground hit hard.
Air left his lungs.
The third wolf dove straight for his throat.
This was it—
Predator Instinct.
Something inside him snapped into perfect alignment.
The world slowed.
Not externally.
Internally.
He rolled precisely half a second before the jaws closed.
His blade drove upward blindly—
And struck deep into soft flesh.
The wolf convulsed.
Two left.
He stood slowly.
Blood running down his arm.
The leader stepped forward at last.
Its gaze locked onto his.
This was no longer pack hunting.
This was dominance.
It lunged with explosive speed.
Faster than the others.
Arin barely reacted in time.
Claws tore across his side.
He grunted but didn't retreat.
Instead—
He stepped closer.
Inside its attack range.
The wolf hadn't expected that.
His blade plunged under its jaw and twisted.
They collapsed together.
The final wolf hesitated.
Its instincts screamed retreat.
Arin slowly rose to his feet.
Silver eyes glowing faintly.
Blood covering half his body.
He took one step toward it.
The wolf turned and fled.
Silence returned to the clearing.
Arin stood alone among corpses.
His body trembled violently now.
Not from fear.
From aftermath.
Reality caught up.
He looked at the torn flesh on his arm.
It was bad.
Too deep.
He might bleed out.
Then—
The wristband pulsed.
[Devour Option Available x4]
Four.
He stared at the bodies.
If absorption failed—
He could mutate.
Die.
Or worse.
He thought of the academy hall.
The laughter.
Zero percent.
He knelt.
Tore flesh.
And swallowed.
Pain detonated through him.
Far worse than before.
His veins burned like molten metal.
His heart hammered irregularly.
He collapsed onto the dirt, convulsing.
[Devour Complete]
[Shadow Reflex – Upgraded]
[New Trait Acquired: Night Vision]
The world brightened instantly.
The crimson darkness became clear.
Every leaf outlined.
Every movement visible.
But the pain didn't stop.
[Warning: Gene Instability Rising]
His muscles spasmed violently.
Too many similar genes.
Too much overlap.
His bones felt like they were vibrating.
He gasped.
"I can't… control it…"
The wristband flared.
[Suggestion: Initiate Fusion]
Fusion.
He didn't understand it.
But he trusted the instinct forming inside him.
"Yes," he rasped.
"Fuse them."
The world shattered.
His consciousness fractured into streams of information.
He saw the wolves' instincts.
Their hunting patterns.
Their muscle memory.
Their fear.
Their hunger.
Then those fragments collapsed inward—
Compressed.
Refined.
Reforged.
The agony peaked—
Then vanished.
Complete silence filled his mind.
[New Ability Created: Predator Instinct]
Combat efficiency increases during lethal threat.
Heightened perception.
Accelerated decision-making.
Adaptive micro-movement correction.
Arin lay still for several seconds.
Breathing slowly.
When he stood, something fundamental had shifted.
The fear was gone.
Not suppressed.
Gone.
The forest no longer felt like a nightmare.
It felt like terrain.
He looked at the dead wolves.
He didn't feel pride.
He felt understanding.
"This is how they survive," he murmured.
No hesitation.
No doubt.
Only action.
A deep rumble echoed across the forest.
Different from the howls.
Heavier.
Slower.
Older.
The ground vibrated faintly beneath his boots.
Arin turned toward the sound.
His new night vision pierced through the trees.
Far in the distance—
Something massive moved.
Each step crushed trees effortlessly.
Its silhouette towered above the canopy.
Predator.
Not wolf-tier.
Higher.
Much higher.
His heart should have pounded.
It didn't.
Instead—
A strange excitement flickered in his chest.
The stronger the prey…
The greater the evolution.
The wristband pulsed once more.
[Mid-Tier Lifeform Detected]
Mid-tier.
He had barely survived low-tier pack hunters.
And yet—
He didn't step back.
He stepped forward.
Blood still dripping from his arm.
Eyes glowing faint silver in the dark.
The Primal Realm was no longer hunting him.
He was beginning to hunt back.
The distant creature roared.
The sound shook the sky.
And for the first time in his life—
Arin Vale smiled without hesitation.
"Good," he whispered into the darkness.
"Let's see how far I can evolve."
The forest swallowed him whole.
And deeper within the Primal Realm—
Something ancient turned its head.
It had sensed him.
Not as prey.
But as potential.
The hunt had only just begun.