The tunnel stretched on, a narrow path lit only by the faint glow of premature earth crystals—formed just beneath the surface through weak covalent bonds with mana and soil. Jayden didn't know much about them. He hadn't even studied half of his basic school curriculum, let alone touched the kind of books found in university libraries.
For a while, it had just been the rhythm of his own body — heavy breaths, his heartbeat pounding like war drums, the splash of shallow water beneath his boots... and the sharp edge of instinct screaming that he wasn't alone.
Then came the sound — a high-pitched squeal that sliced through the tunnel air like a razor against his eardrum.
Jayden spun around.
"Damn…"
His eyes widened.
"M... Mana Rat..." he rasped, stumbling back a step.
The creature oozed mana — literally. A thick, dizzying vapor leaked from its body, making the air shimmer. Its rank was low, only D³ at full maturity, but mana Rats had a nasty reputation for being able to overwhelm even C-ranked beasts... especially in numbers.
"If there's one then..."
And as if to answer his thoughts—
Another one emerged from the shadows.
Then another.
And another...
Their forms were barely visible in the darkness, but the glint of their luminous eyes carved through the black like stars in a moonless sky.
Jayden broke into a sprint on pure instinct, boots splashing through shallow water as the tunnel stirred to life around him. Each footfall echoed like a drumbeat of desperation, carrying the raw rhythm of escape.
The rats began to squeal—sharp, grating cries that grew louder by the second. One became three, then seven, then too many to count. Each new voice added to the frenzy, predators drawn to prey, driven by hunger and something more primal.
He didn't stop running—just as the tunnel refused to end. It stretched endlessly ahead, a suffocating throat of stone and shadow. The pungent, oozing stench of mana Rats filled his lungs, thick with mana and rot, turning the air heavy, his head light. The walls seemed to close in, shrinking with every step, as though the tunnel itself wanted him swallowed whole.
"Damn... this is pathetic," Jayden muttered between ragged breaths. "A grown-ass sixteen-year-old boy, chased by rats."
His laugh came bitter and breathless.
"Although... these are mana Rats. Not just rats anymore. Their bodies evolved, their appetite twisted. They don't just want to kill. They want flesh. Mana. Survival at any cost."
"What could be worse...?" Jayden whispered, pushing forward with strained breath. Even the egg in his arm felt lighter—but only because of the torrent of adrenaline coursing through his veins.
But the universe had a cruel sense of humor.
A moist, worm-like strand—slick and cold—landed on his hand with a wet slap. Its soft, squirming touch sent lightning bolts up his spine.
"Argh... earthworms..." he groaned, flinging it into the darkness. But more kept falling. And worse—crawling after him.
These weren't ordinary earthworms. They were mana Worms, twisted mutations birthed from the cursed dissolution of the Blue Rain into the soil. Less like beasts—more like parasites. No one sane wanted to tame or fuse with one. Their potential capped at D-rank Tier One. A pathetic 2% strength boost, and a 20% increase in flexibility. Useless.
"Curses... this is all my fault," Jayden rasped in terror, running while tearing the blood-sucking worms—some as thick and long as a mature cucumber—off his body. Some were instantly devoured by the screeching swarm of mana Rats behind him. But others ignored the worms entirely—focused solely on him.
He was the real prize.
"If I had read... if I had at least studied a bit more..." His foot caught something slick. He hit the ground hard but didn't stop. He crawled forward, blood and filth streaking his body as the rats closed in.
Their claws sank into his back. Squeals filled the air, drowning his voice.
"I don't want to die... not yet," he whispered—barely able to hear himself as the squeaking filled the air, and sharp teeth began to tear through his flesh.
Then he pulled—and fell.
Tumbling off the edge of the tunnel, his eyes locked skyward, staring at the jagged ceiling of soil and stone. His body was coated in layers of common D-ranked mana plagues, squirming with mindless hunger.
"Is this... how it ends?" he muttered, voice hollow.
But fate hadn't finished with him yet.
He crashed not onto earth—but into water. A splash loud enough to silence death.
Heaven's mercy, or a cosmic prank, had thrown him into the Hudson River of New York. Brackish. Tainted. But salty enough to matter.
The worms recoiled.
Jayden could feel it—their trembling, the way their grip loosened. They fled at the taste of salt. Even the mana Rats gasped and choked, their shrieks muffled. They couldn't breathe here. Their bodies weren't made for this element.
Hope returned—raw, painful, but burning bright.
With one arm wrapped around the egg, he kicked for the shoreline. The current tugged at him, but he pushed through. He shoved the egg up first—he couldn't lose it. Not after everything. Whether the taming succeeded or failed, it had to stay with him.
"That... that was pure luck," he gasped, collapsing on the muddy bank, lungs clawing for air. The pain, however, was far worse. Though the salty water had saved him, it now seared his torn flesh like fire, biting into every open wound.
Jayden winced and scanned the world around him.
The tunnel was far above—at least 150 meters up. A bridge hung even higher in the distance. But what truly gave this sunken chasm its haunting beauty were the rare glowing mature crystals.
Blue water crystals flanked both sides of the shore, shimmering like fallen stars. And deeper within the cavernous dark, earth crystals pulsed a deep, almost blackish hue—mature, concentrated, and ominously powerful.
But none of them shone brighter than the egg.
It pulsed with light—half of it glowing gold like a miniature sun, the other half bathed in a cold, blue shimmer.
Twinlights.
"Guess it's reacting to concentrated—damn." Jayden sat up with a jolt of realization.
'The mana down here... it's too dense. Even with fused beasts, exposure like this would lead to mana poisoning within five hours. For me? I'm not even getting half that.'
His body screamed in protest as he forced himself upright. Every inch moved felt like his flesh had been turned inside out—the salt water had chased away the predators, but not without cost.
"I need to leave here but…" he gripped the strap of his crossbag, "...not without a beast."
As if the universe had heard his resolve and decided to mock it, a deep, guttural growl echoed across the riverbank.
Jayden turned toward the sound. He didn't scream. He didn't faint. He just exhaled slowly, like he had already exhausted every drop of fear left in him.
"My luck's gotta be lower than my SAT score..."
Standing by the river's edge was the Murk Gator—a grotesque crocodilian creature, classified A-rank Tier One by the Mana Adaptation & Genetic Evolution Organization but only after propal cultivation. Unlike the common aether rats and earthworms, the Gator wasn't just dangerous... it was exceptional.
This one had likely slipped through the cracks during collection season, a rare oversight by the organization. And now, that oversight was walking straight toward him with deliberate menace, its long maw creaking open, a low growl rumbling like it hadn't eaten in a year.
"I'm just so unlucky," Jayden whispered again.
There was no fear left to stir. What replaced it was something colder, heavier.
Purpose.
His fingers slipped into his bag, pulling out the mana control serum—a vial-like injection filled with swirling violet liquid.
"This thing could give me a 30% strength boost and at least 30% in physical resilience even why still D ranked..." he muttered, though the numbers were guesswork at best. He never did spend more than an hour with actual textbooks before passing out.
The Gator lumbered forward with mechanical rhythm—right limbs first, then left, its thick tail dragging a heavy arc behind it. Jayden studied each step, soaking in its patterns. But knowing wasn't the same as understanding. The beast's evolved traits weren't visible. Physically, it seemed like just another reptile. But inside, it was anything but normal.
'All I need is perfect timing,' he thought. 'One shot into the skull. If I can sync our mana frequencies fast enough, it's mine.'
Jayden crouched low, eyes locked, breath shallow. The Gator's attention shifted—not to him, but to the egg glowing nearby. Half golden like sunrise, the other half deep blue like twilight. Yet the creature didn't react to it. It didn't need to. Its instincts were focused on him. And it understood something.
Jayden wasn't running.
Which meant he wanted a fight.
The Gator halted, sensing the shift. Intelligent. Cautious. Dangerous.
Minutes ticked passed and Jayden grew impatient, the reptile was smart and he had to outsmart it—or wait till mana poisoning got the better of him, then the gator got even the best.
Jayden took just one threatening step forward—and the reptile lunged in, maw wide open, limbs launching its body with patiently gathered strength.
"Just as I thought," Jayden whispered, easily sidestepping and retreating to maintain a decent space between him and the death he was dancing with.
'Now I'll use that flaw as my weapon.'
He feinted another step, and the Gator lunged faster this time—but Jayden evaded with ease. He was the one holding the cards.
"There it is... my chance."
He held the serum, ready to inject, and took a bold step, closing in on the Gator's head with precision—but then he remembered the one little detail he'd forgotten halfway through the dance.
'Its evolved aspects. I damn forgot that.'
The Gator's eyes gleamed like it was he who had lured Jayden into a trap. Its limbs shifted, revealing what had been hidden but not only that was revealed. The true card holder of rage battle too was revealed.
Then its evolved aspect activated—and everything started.
Time seemed to slow, and the glow from Jayden's egg intensified with every second… but not nearly as much as the pounding in his chest.