Night still blanketed the city, heavy and cold.
Moonlight struggled through the smoky clouds, casting fractured light over the cracked glass of Ryn's tiny apartment.
But Ryn was no longer the same man who had stood there the night before.
Something inside him had awakened — something primal, something alive.
The beast he had slain hadn't died completely; it had become a part of him.
And deep inside his mind, the voice of the system still whispered with a mechanical chill:
> [Partial Transformation Available.]
[Warning: Repeated use may result in loss of control.]
The words echoed like a heartbeat inside his skull.
He stepped closer to the fractured mirror and stared at the reflection that no longer felt like his own.
His eyes glimmered faintly red, veins pulsing under his skin like living threads.
He reached out, gripping the broken katana lying on the table.
Its edge was still stained with dried blood.
A thin, sharp smile curved his lips — not human, not sane.
> "If power comes from blood…"
"Then I'll drown the world in it."
His voice was soft, but heavy enough to make the air feel colder.
---
When dawn came, the city awoke to the noise of engines and shouting vendors.
But Ryn walked with silent steps toward the Hunter Center —
the place where worth was measured not by words, but by the number of corpses you left behind.
The metallic scent of steel, oil, and sweat filled the hall.
Machines hummed as they analyzed energy levels.
Conversations stopped when he entered — not out of respect, but out of pity.
"Ryn?"
A huge man in a dented chestplate stepped forward with a mocking grin.
"Back again? Didn't learn last time? The next gate's B-rank. You'll die before you even breathe."
Ryn didn't reply.
His cold stare was enough to make the man's smirk falter.
Without a word, Ryn walked to the registration terminal and placed his thumb on the scanner.
> [Hunter Registered: Ryn – Rank E]
[Warning: Mission exceeds your current level.]
[Proceed anyway?]
"Yes."
The single word was quiet… but carried the weight of something darker than anger — resolve born from hate.
---
Hours later, the gate opened.
A suffocating wind rolled out, carrying the stench of rust and death.
The ground trembled, pulsing like the heartbeat of a monster.
The hunters hesitated.
But Ryn took a single step forward — and disappeared into the darkness.
The gate swallowed him whole.
---
Screams followed minutes later.
Bones cracked, blood sprayed, and the sound of tearing flesh echoed through the void.
Massive beasts — skin like stone, breath like fire — surged from the shadows.
Ryn stood still, watching as a fellow hunter was ripped apart before his eyes.
Blood splattered across his face, hot and metallic.
He didn't blink. He didn't look away.
> "So… this is chaos."
He crouched behind a shattered rock, whispering in his mind:
> [Activate Partial Transformation – Shadow Beast]
The air froze.
His scent vanished. His body blurred, melting into the darkness.
Then — he reappeared behind a hulking creature.
A single flash of his katana cut through the silence — and through its neck.
> [Beast Killed – Rank B]
[New Skill Acquired: "Shadow Acceleration"]
The system's voice echoed, but Ryn barely heard it.
Blood dripped from his blade, the corpses piled around him.
The remaining monsters stared, trembling.
For the first time… the hunters weren't the predators.
A grin tugged at his lips.
> "My body burns… but this fire feels right."
Then came another voice — not mechanical.
Not the system.
It was human… yet wrong.
> [Keep going… kill more… show me how far you can fall.]
Ryn's crimson eyes burned brighter.
He tilted his head slightly, smiling like a man possessed.
> "If there's a monster inside me…"
"Then I'll become the king of monsters."
He moved — faster, sharper, unstoppable.
The dungeon shook with every slash, every scream.
Flesh and stone shattered beneath him.
And when the silence finally returned,
only one sound remained —
the final scream of a newborn predator.