The air reeked of smoke and decay, a choking miasma that clung to the back of Liu Xuan's throat. Rain pounded the shattered streets of Sector 13 above, a relentless hammer of water that drowned out the world's screams. But here, deep in the subterranean ruins of the forsaken city, there was only silence… and the stench of death.
Corpses littered the cracked stone floor—his teammates, their bodies torn apart like paper. The comms crackled in his ear, a dying lifeline to the surface. "Team One is down!" a voice quavered, laced with panic. It was Mei, the squad's sharpshooter, her usual bravado shattered. "Requesting backup—wait, no, it's—!"
Static.
Then silence again.
Liu Xuan stood in the shadows, his silhouette barely distinguishable from the jagged walls of the ancient tunnel. His eyes glowed faintly, twin orbs of violet energy flickering like dying stars in the dark. His armor—cheap, guild-issued, E-Rank trash—was shredded, hanging off his lean frame in tattered strips. His dual katanas, sheathed at his hips, hummed faintly, as if the blades themselves were alive, starving for something more than steel could crave.
He was weak. He knew it. Everyone knew it. E-Rank. The lowest rung in the Hunters' Guild. A support scout, good for little more than bait. Cannon fodder. The kind of Hunter you sent in first to die so the real fighters could gauge the enemy.
And yet, somehow, he was the only one still alive.
"Liu Xuan, retreat!" his squad leader's voice barked through the comms, sharp with desperation. "You're no match for that thing! Get out now!"
Xuan ignored it. His breathing slowed, each inhale deliberate, steadying the tremor in his hands. His body ached, blood seeping from a gash on his side, staining the cracked floor. He was exhausted, his muscles screaming in protest, his vision blurring at the edges.
In front of him, the thing responsible for the carnage stalked forward. A mutated Blood Wraith, a grotesque mockery of life, towered over him. It was twice the size of a man, its sinewy limbs rippling with unnatural strength. Black acid dripped from its claws, sizzling as it ate through the stone floor. Its eyes burned red, twin furnaces of malice locked onto him, promising a slow, agonizing death.
His heart pounded, a drumbeat of fear and defiance. He was no hero. No prodigy. Just Liu Xuan, the weakest Hunter in Sector 13. But he wasn't running. Not this time.
Then it happened.
> **[SYSTEM NOTICE]**
> *You have met the requirements.*
> *You are about to die.*
> *Activating: Shadowblood System…*
A surge of cold energy coursed through him, like ice flooding his veins. It was alien, invasive, but… empowering. His vision sharpened, the pain in his body dulled, and for the first time in his life, he felt something other than weakness.
> **[Shadowblood System Activated]**
> *Welcome, Liu Xuan.*
> *You have unlocked the first path:*
> *— Consume. Evolve. Kill. —*
> *Would you like to begin?*
"What the hell…?" he whispered, his voice barely audible over the low growl of the approaching Wraith.
The beast lunged, its claws slashing through the air with a screech that could shatter glass. Xuan moved before his mind could catch up, his body acting on instinct. He sidestepped, the acid-soaked claws missing him by inches, sizzling as they grazed the wall behind him. His body felt different—lighter, sharper, *faster*.
> **[Passive Skill Unlocked: Shadow Reflexes Lv.1]**
> *[Increases reaction speed and agility by 20% in combat.]*
> **[Weapon Affinity Detected: Dual Katanas]**
> **[Active Skill Unlocked: Death Step Lv.1]**
> *[Teleport a short distance in any direction, leaving an afterimage. Cooldown: 10 seconds.]*
The world slowed. The Wraith's movements became sluggish, predictable, as if time itself had bent to his will. Xuan's grip tightened on his katanas, the blades humming louder, resonating with the strange power now pulsing through him.
*SWISH!*
In a single, fluid motion, he activated Death Step. His body flickered, vanishing from where he stood and reappearing behind the Wraith in an instant, one katana half-drawn. The air screamed as the blade sliced through the beast's side, black blood spraying in an arc.
The Wraith roared, a sound that shook the tunnel, and spun to face him, its claws swinging wildly. But Xuan was already moving again, leaping upward with unnatural grace. He drew his second katana mid-air, the blades flashing like twin crescent moons. He brought them down in a clean cross slash, carving through the Wraith's spine with surgical precision.
> **[Critical Hit! Weak Point Targeted]**
> *[Wraith HP: 70% → 0%]*
> **[You have slain: Level 21 Mutant Wraith]**
> **[Level Up! +3 Levels]**
> *[Strength +5, Agility +7, Vitality +3]*
> *[Shadowblood Energy: 10%]*
The monster collapsed, its body dissolving into a swirling mist of black and red. The tunnel fell silent once more, save for the faint drip of acid eating through stone.
Liu Xuan dropped to one knee, panting, his katanas clattering against the floor. His body trembled, not from fear but from the raw power coursing through him. He looked at his hands, now marked with black, vein-like patterns that pulsed with faint violet cracks of energy, like lightning trapped beneath his skin.
"I… did that?" he muttered, his voice a mix of disbelief and exhilaration.
> **[New Title Gained: The Weakest Reborn]**
> *[Grants +10% to all stats when facing enemies of higher level.]*
> **[Hidden Quest Unlocked: Prove You Deserve This Power]**
> *Objective: Slay 100 Beasts Alone*
> *Reward: Shadow Core Upgrade*
> *Progress: 1/100*
Xuan's lips curled into a half-smile, sharp and dangerous. The guild had called him useless. Disposable. A liability they sent into the meat grinder to buy time for the "real" Hunters. He'd heard the whispers, seen the pitying glances, endured the mockery. E-Rank. Weakest of the weak.
But now?
He had a system.
He had a purpose.
And his blades—his beautiful, hungry blades—thrummed with a lifeísmo