The twin moons of Nexus Prime painted the sky in pale violet, casting long shadows over the Zenlife Shelter nestled in the jagged cradle of obsidian cliffs. The crackling hum of shield barriers echoed faintly across the settlement—a hybrid of alien alloys and human scrap, standing not for protection, but for containment.
Here, there were no guards. No teachers. No guides.
Only one truth: the strong survive.
The weak... vanish.
Austin stepped through the main gate Zenlife Shelter in silence, dragging a leather sack slung over his shoulder. The stench of blood and burnt fur clung to him.
Inside the bag was limbs and meat hacked from Demon Wolf origin beast he'd slain just hours ago. His plain clothes were torn. Scratches marked his arms. But his eyes held no fear.
He looked around at the crude buildings made of scrap metal and scavenged tech. Glowing stones were embedded in places, offering dim light. People milled about—some training, others brooding. None spoke. None smiled.
"No order. No system. Just raw survival…" Austin thought, adjusting the bag on his shoulder. "I need to understand how this place works. Can't afford to stay clueless."
He had teleported into this shelter just yesterday. But instead of exploring, he'd rushed into the wilderness, hoping for answers or at least blood.
"Lucky I didn't run into anything above Ordinary-Class," he muttered. "This place… doesn't care if you're new or clueless. You either kill or die."
As he made his way across the base, past training domes, sparring circles, and rows of tents, he scanned the people. Some meditated beside alien corpses.
Others practiced soul techniques or honed crude martial skills. Technology here was ornamental—almost ceremonial. Real power came from strength, instincts, and cold steel.
No plasma rifles. No drones. Just blood and blades.
Austin exhaled and whispered to himself, "First thing find someone to explain the hierarchy, the rules. Can't afford to get caught off guard."
Olivia's voice whispered like a breath on the back of his neck. "This world won't tolerate your existence for long. Not once they sense what you are."
He smiled faintly. "Then I'll get strong enough that they don't get a say."
He turned a corner, just a few steps away from his assigned room in C-Block, a dented gray dome barely tall enough to stand in.
WHOOSH!
Suddenly a gust split the air. Something fast and white came shrieking from above, dropping toward him like a meteor.
Austin's instincts screamed. "SHIT!"
He ducked instinctively as a white blur shot down from the sky, clawed limbs slicing through the air where his head had just been.
"Dammit!" he cursed, tossing his leather bag aside.
The creature didn't give him time to think.
SWOOSH!
It turned sharply mid-air and came at him again, claws glinting with lethal speed.
Austin gritted his teeth. He had no time to hesitate.
He drew his dagger in one smooth motion and lunged forward just as the claws reached within a meter of his chest.
With a roar, he stepped in—and stabbed.
Steel met flesh.
His blade sank deep into the creature's chest.
"Gaaahhh!" it shrieked, reeling back—but Austin didn't stop.
"Let's see if you have the guts to hurt me now!" he growled, narrowed eyes.
SPLASH!
The creature was caught off guard—it hadn't expected a mere newcomer to fight back. The creature crashed to the ground with a cry—not beastly, but...
"Ahhh...!"
"That scream..." Austin froze.
"That's not how a beast sounds…"
Blood sprayed across the dusty ground as the beast dropped, wings crumpling, white feathers fluttering through the air.
The body on the ground glowed faintly it's feathers burning away like paper in flame. Claws shrank. Wings faded.
Austin's breath caught.
In the place of the beast now lay a girl.
A real, bleeding, human girl.
She looked about his age, dressed in a tight obsidian combat suit lined with silver runes. Her black-blonde hair fanned out on the blood-soaked ground. Her chest rose and fell weakly, and her expression twisted in pain and disbelief as she passed out.
His eyes widened. "What the hell...!?"
He blinked twice, rubbed his eyes but still the same scene.
People nearby who'd heard the fight rushed out from their makeshift huts and tents. All activity came to a halt as they stared.
Silence fell like a dropped blade.
There stood a boy holding a bloody dagger.
At his feet—a bleeding girl unconscious on the ground.
Someone gasped. "Did... did that newcomer just stab Lyra Ashveil!?"
Another voice, full of disbelief, echoed, "No way… She's one of the top elites of Zenlife Shelter!"
"She's the goddess of this base…"
Austin's eyes darted between the crowd and the fallen girl. "Shit. Shit. SHIT!"
Two women pushed through the frozen crowd and knelt beside the fallen girl. They activated their healing stones, murmuring incantations, placing glowing palms over Lyra's wounds.
After several agonizing seconds, Lyra groaned and opened her eyes.
Her gaze locked onto Austin like a blade. "Y-You... what did you—"
"I thought you were a beast," Austin said bluntly. "You looked like one. You attacked like one. So I fought back."
Lyra winced and sat up slowly. Her eyes dropped to her chest and her expression froze.
Right over her left breast, blood stained her suit, and a visible dagger mark was etched deep into the material.
Her cheeks turned red. Lyra clenched her jaw, her eyes burning with shame, fury, and something else entirely.
"Of all the places... he stabbed me... there?!"
"You…" she trembled. "You stabbed me… there!?"
Austin scratched his head, confused. "That's where your claw was coming from…"
Silence.
Then someone snorted.
A guy at the back whispered, "Bro went for the kill and directly hit the... Peach…"
Another laughed. "He's not a hunter. He's a Peach Hunter! First day and he slashed the goddess's fruit!"
Someone else added, "That's it. I'm calling it—this guy's a Peach Hunter!
Chuckles spread. More laughter broke out. Even those who stayed silent had wide eyes.
A boy from the side said helpfully, "She used her Silver Falcon Origin Soul. She got it after killing a Stellar Origin level beast. She was testing you."
Austin narrowed his eyes. "Testing me… without telling me? Who the hell does that?"
Lyra, face still flushed, snapped back, "It's tradition here! We test newcomers!"
"Then next time, announce the tradition before flying down on someone like a damn monster."
The crowd couldn't hold it anymore.
"Peach Hunter!" someone yelled, grinning.
"Day one, already stabbing peaches! What a legend!"
Even worse, Olivia's voice echoed with devilish amusement inside his chest. "You truly know how to make your mark... even if it's on someone's fruit. "
He didn't reply.
Lyra Ashveil stood up slowly, eyes like daggers, and hissed, "This isn't over."
She stormed off, two girls supporting her, face red with anger and… something dangerously close to humiliation.
The crowd parted.
People were whispering, glancing at Austin like he was some mythical idiot… or a mad genius.
Hesighed. "For the fuck's sake. Peach Hunter? Seriously?"
Austin dragged his bag back to the shelter, shaking his head at the nickname now echoing around the camp like wildfire.
The scent of iron still lingered on his clothes, but no one dared approach him—not after what he did to Lyra.
After asking around for some basic info, he got a rough idea of the camp layout and surrounding area. It wasn't much, but it was enough to stay alive.
"So this shelter's surrounded by Zenlife forest and Zenlife valley on both sides... no wonder strong aliens don't wander too close."
That explained his earlier luck in the hunt.
By the time he reached C-Block, the sky was already burning gold. The twin moons hadn't risen yet, but dusk whispered on the horizon.
He pushed open the creaky metal door to his room. It wasn't cozy—just a dented dome with a stiff bed, a rusting water unit, and four metallic walls that hummed faintly with generator noise.
Austin kicked off his boots, locked the door, and dropped onto the bed. The mattress wasn't soft, nor hard—just there, like everything else in this brutal place.
"From the slums to this alien world… I haven't slept like a human in days..."
His eyelids sank without resistance. Sleep took him instantly.
—Elsewhere in Zenlife Shelter, Block A, Room 107...
Inside a far more elegant dome in Sector A, soft blue lights cast a tranquil glow over polished stone walls and minimalist decor. A sheer white curtain billowed at the window, and beneath it sat Lyra Ashveil, resting her chin on her hand.
Her black-blonde hair shimmered under the moonlight, though her brows were slightly furrowed. Her gaze was lost in the stars—expression unreadable.
A soft chime broke the silence.
Her blue communication token lit up on the desk nearby. She picked it up and scanned the incoming file.
[Newcomer Data – Name: Austin Veyne. Slum Origin. Winner of Lower-Class Tournament.]
"So... his name is Austin," she murmured.
A smile tugged at her lips—half-amused, half-sinister.
"Born in the gutters, yet made it here on his own merit? Impressive. Seems you're not as ordinary as your ragged clothes suggested."
She leaned back in her chair, letting out a slow breath.
"Still... stabbing me in front of everyone. In the chest, no less..."
Her fingers absentmindedly grazed her left breast, still swollen beneath her suit. A pulse of heat colored her cheeks.
"Tsk… you're the first person who's ever touched me there," she muttered under her breath, biting her lip. "You're going to pay, Austin. I'll give you a... very special reward."
Her smirk returned now cold and calculating, but with a strange glimmer in her eyes. "Let's see who bites last."
—In another place, Sector B – Room 17
The atmosphere in this room was heavier and tense.
Two men sat across from each other at a low table, lit only by a dim crystal lamp between them. One had a scar running down his jaw, and his tone was grim.
"You hear the rumor?" he asked. "That newcomer stabbed Lyra in chest. In front of the whole shelter. Didn't kill her, but... he definitely humiliated her."
The man across from him Garry Voss, who wore a deep blue combat jacket. Tall. Broad-shouldered. And very strong just as strong as Lyra.
He was silent for a moment. Then his eyes darkened, a subtle shift beneath his calm mask.
"So, we step away for one hunt… and chaos breaks loose," he said slowly.
He exhaled. "She could've killed him. Everyone knows that. But she didn't." He leaned forward, voice like cold steel. "Which means she has... other plans."
Kaizen Virelith, the man across from him, studied Garry carefully.
He knew. Everyone in the shelter did.
That Garry liked Lyra.
Liked her enough that it bled through even his silence. But Lyra? She didn't spare him a second glance. Not then. Not now.
"She never looks at anyone like that... not even Garry."
Kaizen scratched his chin, hiding a smirk.
"But that kid from the slums? He gets a dagger in the chest... and now she's looking at him like he's the only storm wild enough to follow.."
Trouble was coming.