The hunt had begun.
And he... was the hunter now.
Hari's footsteps echoed in the dark, stone corridor, softer than before. He no longer walked like prey — now, he moved with sharpened instinct.
His muscles were tense but alive. His breath slow and calm. His eyes… glowing faintly with violet light.
> "Something inside me changed when I made that first kill."
Not just physically. His entire being felt recalibrated — like the system had rewritten parts of his soul.
> [System Update]
Evolution Path Chosen: Adaptive Hybrid (Mutator)
Core Ability: Mutation upon Kill
Progress: 3%
A low hum passed through his bones.
> [Predatory Sight: Active]
You can now detect blood trails, fear echoes, and residual mana within a 20-meter radius.
His eyes adjusted, and the darkness transformed.
What was once shadow now glowed with hidden truths: fading trails of blood smeared across the floor, glowing yellow echoes of beasts that had once run, screamed, and died.
And something else… a resonance.
Old. Powerful. Waiting.
---
A new trail branched left, buried behind hanging roots and shattered rock. He had never noticed it before. It pulsed like a wound in the world.
He followed it.
> "This place feels… older than the others. Like it remembers being feared."
---
The corridor opened into a forgotten tomb.
The ceiling stretched upward into jagged black stone. Massive bones lined the edges like broken armor. Stalagmites pierced the earth. At the center of the room, surrounded by rusted chains and glowing runes, lay a massive stone crypt.
It radiated dread.
Hari stepped inside.
---
> [System Alert]
Zone Discovered: Grave of the Forgotten Beast
Threat Level: Classified
Recommended Evolution Level: 15+
(Current Level: 4)
Proceed? Y/N
He smiled.
His hand hovered over the bone dagger fused to his mutated arm.
> "I'm not ready. But I will be."
"That's what evolving means, right?"
He stepped forward.
> Confirmed. Trial Initiated.
---
Suddenly, the chains trembled.
The runes flickered red.
The air turned bitter cold.
> [System Trial Triggered]
Trial Name: The Forgotten Grave
Objective: Survive the Awakening
Optional: Eliminate and Absorb the Forgotten One
A deep growl rumbled through the chamber.
Hair stood on Hari's arms.
The lid of the crypt split.
First — a claw. Rotting, black, and unnaturally long. It slammed into the stone floor, sending cracks in all directions.
Then — the beast began to rise.
It was not alive.
But it was not dead either.
---
The creature was massive — at least three meters tall.
Bone merged with armor. Flesh stitched with metal. Its skull split open vertically, revealing rows of jagged teeth. Its eyes glowed dim red, soulless and blind.
> [System Error]
Unable to fully scan entity.
Classification: UNKNOWN
Codename: The Forgotten One
Type: Aberrant Hybrid (B-Rank Threat)
Vital Core: Active — Hunger Detected
The monster turned its eyeless face toward Hari.
It roared — a sound like iron chains being shredded through fire.
Hari stood still.
He wasn't trembling.
> "Fear is what I used to feel."
"But now... I feel something else."
He gripped his weapon.
> "I feel the desire to kill."
His feet shifted.
His body lowered.
And in one clean motion, he charged.
---
To be continued in Chapter 5: The Forgotten One's Curse
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