Arjun sat alone on the cold concrete floor, back against a scorched vending machine.
The mutant's body still steamed outside, half-covered in concrete dust and blood too dark to be human.
The silence pressed in like smoke.
His hand trembled slightly as he pulled up the glowing blue interface again, familiar now, but still… unnatural.
He exhaled slowly.
– "Let's do this."
Stat Panel – Arjun Rathore, Lv. 4Available Stat Points – 5Passive Skill Points – 1
– Core Attributes –Strength – 7Agility – 4Endurance – 7Awareness – 7Willpower – 4Instinct – 5
– Trait – Grit-Blooded (Lv. 1)– Trait – Ruthless Cadence (Lv. 2)
Stat effects increase exponentially every 10 points. Passive and Trait bonuses stack.
He thought it over.
The fight with the Juggernaut had been brutal.
He needed mobility, mental clarity, and more sustainability.
Arjun allocated—
– +1 Agility (Now 5)– +1 Willpower (Now 5)– +2 Instinct (Now 7)– +1 Endurance (Now 8)
Stat Panel Updated.
Muscles didn't swell, bones didn't glow.
But something inside... tightened. Hardened.
He felt it.
Like muscle memory accelerating before the body caught up.
Item Identified – Juggernaut Mutant Core (Unstable Tier 2.5)
Description: A living fragment of the mutation matrix. Radiates lingering vitality and corruption.Warning: Not consumable by humans (without modification).
– Action Available –☐ Store☐ Break Down☐ Trade☐ Infuse (Locked)☐ Offer for System Exchange
Arjun hesitated.
Then tapped System Exchange.
The screen shimmered—then shifted tone
WARNING – Non-Linear Transaction Path EngagedSystem AI – "You have chosen to trade potential for certainty."Only one of the following may be claimed.
Juggernaut Core – Eligible System Exchange Offers
1.Mutant Slayer Protocol (Skill Tree Unlock) – Grants active ability line "Hunter's Path" – Tiered Combat Instincts / Vital Spot Tracing – Requires full core. Cannot be regained once traded.
2.Blessing Fragment – Bhairava's Gaze (Locked Path, Minor) – +15% effectiveness against abominations – Temporary fear aura against lesser creatures – Counts as early investment toward Shiva-Aligned Blessing Tree
3.Coin Amplification – Gain +50 Apocalypse Coins immediately – 10% higher coin yield from mutants for next 24 hours
Choose wisely. The System does not refund power exchanged for evolution.
Arjun's jaw clenched.
Coins? Tempting. But temporary.
Bhairava's Gaze?
It felt dangerous. That whisper of divinity again.
And then the Skill Tree—Hunter's Path—tailored for people who'd seen monsters in the dark and chased them anyway.
He stared at the screen.
Then selected:
Hunter's Path – Protocol Unlocked
Skill Tree Acquired – Hunter's Path (Tier 1 Active Skill)New Active Skill Gained – Pulse Mark– Temporarily marks an enemy's internal weak point– 5-second cooldown– No energy cost; instinct-driven– Cannot be used on non-hostile beings– Tier 1 Effect: +20% Critical Damage if exploited within 3 seconds
Passive Node Added – Predatory Surge– Slight agility + awareness boost during combat with larger targets– Increases duration of enemy stagger effects by 0.5 sec
Arjun gasped lightly.
The world around him shimmered—subtly. Sounds became sharper. Distance snapped into clearer focus.
It felt like…
Hunting.
Not in rage. Not in panic.
In precision.
He stood, finally pocketing the faintly pulsing shard of the now-dead core. It cracked and faded—converted into something he couldn't touch, but could feel.
Somewhere, across the tangled realms of digital and divine, a switch had flipped.
His steps were quieter. His posture lower.
And in the distance—The warehouse ruin loomed in shadows.
Time to move.
To farm. To grow.
To earn the next battle.