[System Rebooting...]
[Loading World Assets...]
[Error: User ID #99801 not found.]
[Re-establishing connection via Void Protocol...]
The mechanical voice rang inside Aryan's head, waking him from the darkness.
He gasped, his eyes snapping open. He expected to see the gates of hell or the white ceiling of a hospital. Instead, he saw the grey, smog-filled sky of the ruined city.
"I'm... alive?"
Aryan tried to sit up. Pain shot through his body, but it wasn't the pain of broken bones. It felt like his veins were burning with ice-cold water.
He looked around. He was at the bottom of the fifty-story building.
The ground beneath him was shattered. He was sitting in the center of a massive crater, the concrete pulverized into dust. By all laws of physics, a fall from that height should have turned him into a meat paste.
But he didn't have a single scratch.
"How?" he whispered, looking at his hands.
Suddenly, a holographic screen flickered into existence in front of him. But unlike the comforting blue screens of the standard Hunter System, this one was dark purple, cracking with black lightning.
[System Integration Complete]
Class: Void Walker (Mythic)
Level: 1
HP: 100%
Mana: N/A (Converted to Void Energy)
"Void Walker?" Aryan read the text, confused. "Mana... converted?"
Before he could process the information, a low growl echoed from the shadows of the alleyway.
Grrr...
Aryan looked up.
Three Shadow Wolves—the pack mates of the one he had killed on the roof—emerged from the dust. Their red eyes glowed with hunger. They had smelled fresh blood and come to scavenge the corpse.
Normally, an F-Rank civilian like Aryan would freeze in terror. A pack of three Level 5 monsters was a death sentence.
But Aryan didn't feel fear.
Instead, as he looked at the monsters, the world around him shifted. His vision changed. He didn't just see wolves; he saw lines.
Fine, purple lines crisscrossed the wolves' bodies, converging on specific points—their hearts, their necks, their joints.
[Passive Skill Activated: Dimension Vision]
You can see the 'flaws' in reality.
"So that's how it is," Aryan muttered, slowly standing up. The burning sensation in his veins settled into a cold, rhythmic pulse. "You guys aren't monsters. You are just... data."
The Alpha wolf lunged, its jaws snapping at Aryan's throat.
Time seemed to slow down. No, Aryan was just processing it faster. He didn't dodge. He simply took a step forward—and vanished.
ZAP!
With a sound like a television turning off, Aryan reappeared instantly behind the wolf.
[Skill: Void Step]
He didn't have a weapon. He didn't need one. He thrust his hand forward, his fingers glowing with purple energy, aiming directly at the "line" he saw on the wolf's neck.
SQUELCH!
His hand passed through the wolf's tough fur and muscle as if they were made of water. He grabbed the creature's spine and crushed it.
CRACK!
[Target Eliminated.]
[EXP Gained: +50]
The other two wolves skidded to a halt, whimpering. They were beasts of instinct, and their instinct was screaming one thing: Run.
But Aryan didn't let them leave.
He felt a strange hunger. Not for food, but for the black smoke leaking from the dead wolf's body. He extended his hand.
"Devour."
The shadows swirled and rushed into Aryan's palm.
[Passive Skill: Gluttony]
Absorbing target's essence...
Vitality +1
Agility +1
Power surged through him. It was intoxicating.
Aryan looked at the remaining two wolves. His eyes, now glowing with a faint violet hue, narrowed.
"I need more," he whispered, his voice cold and devoid of mercy. "I need to reach Level 999. And you two... are just the first step."
The alleyway was filled with the sounds of tearing flesh, followed by silence.
Minutes later, a lone figure walked out of the dust, leaving nothing behind but fading purple sparks. The "weakest" survivor was dead.
The Dimension Breaker had been born.