The air tasted different now.
Sharper. Metallic.As if the dungeon itself sensed what Kail had become.
He flexed his hand slowly. The tremor from his broken ribs was gone—replaced by a deeper ache that felt almost… familiar. His fingers moved with a fluidity that wasn't entirely human.
When he inhaled, the scents of the Maw sharpened into layers—stone dust, old blood, damp air, and something else:
Fear.
Not his own.
Something further down the tunnel was breathing fast, shallow.Alive.
Someone's there.
Kail's eyes narrowed. His new instincts didn't whisper—they surged.
Prey nearby. Injured. Cornered. Easy kill.
He exhaled, forcing the instinct back.Not you.Not yet.
He moved through the narrow passage, his footsteps now almost soundless. The walls pulsed faintly in rhythm with a distant heartbeat.
As he walked, a notification flickered into view:
[Trait Effect: Predator's Design activated.][Movement noise: -40%][Strike speed: +15%]
Kail's lips twitched. "Useful."
The passage opened into a small chamber. Bones littered the floor, picked clean. Something had fed here recently.
Then he saw it.
A young man—older than Kail by a few years—pressed against the far wall, clutching a broken spear. His left leg was mangled, bone visible through shredded flesh.
He froze when he saw Kail.
"You—! Don't come closer!" he rasped, voice cracking.
Kail raised his hands slowly. "I'm not here to hurt you."
The man's eyes flicked across Kail—at the blood, the shadows that clung unnaturally to his form.
"You… You're not normal," the man whispered. "What happened to you?"
Before Kail could answer, the wall to their right bulged.
Then split open.
A creature emerged—skeletal limbs unfolding like a nightmarish insect. Its torso was humanoid, but its face was wrapped in layered bone plates, with a single eye glowing sickly yellow.
A Maw Wretch.Tier 2.5.Fast. Unpredictable. Sadistic.
And it had them cornered.
The Wretch hissed, limbs twitching in anticipation.
The injured man whimpered. "No—no, not this one—"
The Wretch lunged.
Kail moved.
He intercepted it mid-air, slamming into its torso. The impact cracked bone plating but didn't stop the creature. It twisted, claws flashing toward Kail's throat.
Predator's Design activated again—
Time seemed to slow.
Kail tilted his head just enough for the claw to slice only air.
He slammed his elbow into the Wretch's jaw, knocking its head sideways with a sharp crack.
The creature screeched and scuttled backward across the wall like a spider.
Kail felt his pulse racing.But it wasn't fear.
It was excitement.
A new notification blinked at the edge of his vision:
[Weakness Detection: Partial Activation][Hostility Detected][Analysis… 7%]
Faint red lines flickered across the Wretch's joints—barely visible, glitching in and out of existence.
Enough.
Kail lunged, aiming for the nearest mark.
His fist drove into the Wretch's shoulder joint. Bone shattered. The limb dropped uselessly, dangling by muscle fibers.
The Wretch screeched with rage and pain, spewing a cloud of acidic mist.
Kail dove backward—too slow.
Mist grazed his arm.
Searing pain erupted.
He bit back a scream as the skin blistered.
Regeneration wasn't one of his abilities—not yet.
The Wretch charged again, fangs bared—
"Behind you!" the wounded man shouted.
Kail pivoted, caught the Wretch's remaining arm, and used its own momentum to swing it into the wall. Bone plating cracked again.
He struck.
Once.Twice.Three times.
On the fourth blow, the Wretch's skull split open.
It went limp.
Kail breathed hard, chest rising and falling.
Then—
[Essence Available][Devour?]
He hesitated.
The injured man stared at him with wide, terrified eyes.
If Kail devoured the beast here…He would look like a monster.
But if he didn't…He would waste essential power.
Kail looked down at the corpse.
His hunger surged.Black tendrils curled faintly around his fingers.
He chose.
"…Yes."
As the essence funneled into him, the man screamed:
"W-what are you?!"
Kail stood slowly, eyes darker than before.
"I'm surviving," he said simply.
The system chimed.
[Devour Successful][New Skill: Venom Sense][Weakness Detection: Stabilized][Hunger +1]
The injured man trembled."What… what do you want from me?"
Kail stepped closer.Not threatening—assessing.
"I'm not going to hurt you," he said.
But after what he had just done, even he wasn't sure if that was a promise—
—or a lie to himself.
Before either could speak further—
The dungeon pulsed.
A deep, throbbing beat shook the walls.
THUM.THUM.
A whisper slid through the stone, cold and ancient:
"Heir of hunger… closer…"
The man's face went pale."What was that? What's happening?!"
Kail turned toward the tunnel where the pulse was strongest.Toward the direction the Sentinel waited.
His voice was low.Focused.Cold.
"The hunt has started."