The Sector 4 Gate Hub looked less like a military outpost and more like an international airport terminal.
Polished marble floors reflected the holographic advertisements for Guild sponsorships. "Need a Tank? Hire Iron-Wall Inc. today!" buzzed a drone flying overhead. Men and women in gleaming, enchanted armor walked with the swagger of celebrities, their weapons glowing with mana signatures that cost more than Ren's entire apartment building.
Ren stood in the queue for the "Freelancer" gate, feeling distinctly underdressed.
He wore a second-hand tactical vest he'd bought from Silas, dark cargo pants, and a lower-face mask that covered his nose and mouth. It was the standard uniform for "Faceless" hunters—those who didn't want the fame, or, more likely, were hiding from debt collectors.
"So much metal," Gluttony sneered in Ren's mind, observing a Paladin in full plate mail. "It's like they're packaging themselves for delivery. Peel back the foil, eat the center."
"Behave," Ren thought, stepping up to the scanner.
This was the moment of truth. If Silas's hack failed, the turrets mounted on the ceiling would turn Ren into a red mist before he could blink.
"ID," the automated kiosk droned.
Ren held up the modified card. His heart hammered against his ribs—not out of fear, he realized, but out of anticipation. He wasn't scared of the guards. He was scared of being denied entry to the hunting grounds.
Beep.
[ID Verified.]
[Welcome, Freelancer 8904.]
[Clearance Level: C-Rank.]
[Gate 7: "The Sunken Mall" is Open.]
Ren let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. He walked through the energy barrier, the air shimmering around him.
The world twisted.
The smell of ozone and floor wax vanished, replaced by the scent of stagnant water, mold, and rust.
Ren opened his eyes.
He was standing on the second floor of a massive, ruined shopping mall. The glass roof had shattered long ago, allowing thick, grey vines to hang down like hanged men. The ground floor—the food court—was flooded with murky, green water. Escalators, rusted and frozen in time, led down into the swamp.
[Dungeon: The Sunken Mall]
[Rank: D]
[Environment: Urban / Swamp]
"A mall," Ren whispered. "I used to hang out in a place like this."
"And now you will eat here," Gluttony corrected. "Speaking of which... the appetizer is approaching."
Ren sensed it before he heard it. His [Constitution: 11] gave him heightened hearing.
Click-clack. Click-clack.
It was the sound of claws on ceramic tile.
Ren ducked behind a moss-covered kiosk labeled "Pretzel Paradise."
Emerging from the shadow of an old clothing store was a pack of creatures. They looked like wolves, but wrong. Their fur was patchy, revealing skin that looked like galvanized steel. Jagged spikes of rusted metal protruded from their shoulders and spines. Their eyes glowed a toxic yellow.
[Analysis Complete.]
[Species: Ferrous Wolf (D-Rank)]
[Diet: Carnivore / Scavenger]
[Note: Their bones are infused with iron. Excellent for reinforcing your skeletal structure.]
"Iron bones," Ren muttered. He looked at his own hand. "Perfect."
There were three of them. A D-Rank Hunter would usually engage one at a time, using a shield to deflect their heavy, metallic tackles.
Ren didn't have a shield. He didn't have a party.
He stepped out from behind the kiosk.
The Alpha wolf saw him instantly. It snarled, a sound like grinding gears, and lowered its head.
"Come on, Fido," Ren whispered, extending his fingers.
[Skill: Bone Weaving]
Shnk.
Three-inch bone claws erupted from his fingertips. But this time, Ren focused. He didn't just want sharp points. He visualized the serrated edge of the knife he used to carry.
The bone shifted, forming jagged, saw-like teeth along the blade.
The Alpha lunged.
It was fast—much faster than the Goblins or Scrabs. It crossed the twenty feet between them in a blur of grey steel.
But Ren saw it in slow motion.
His [Agility: 14] was pushing the upper limits of F-Rank, bordering on E-Rank. But his perception—boosted by Gluttony's interface—was S-Rank.
He saw the muscle bunch in the wolf's hind leg. He saw the trajectory of the jump.
Ren didn't dodge backward. He slid forward, dropping to his knees on the slick tiles.
He slid directly under the leaping wolf.
As he passed underneath, he thrust his right hand upward.
SCREEEEECH.
The sound was deafening—bone grating against living metal. Ren's serrated claws found the soft gap in the wolf's metal stomach plating. He ripped upward, disemboweling the creature in mid-air.
The Alpha crashed behind him, thrashing in a pool of dark blood and oil.
The other two wolves froze. They looked at their leader, then at the skinny human standing up, blood dripping from his pale white claws.
Ren turned to face them. His eyes were glowing violet.
"One down," Ren said. The Hunger in his gut flared, hot and demanding.
[Hunger: 48%]
The remaining wolves didn't attack. They whined, taking a step back.
"They smell it," Gluttony laughed, a dark, delighted sound. "They realize they are not the hunters."
Ren didn't let them run. He burst forward, closing the gap before they could turn. He leaped onto the back of the second wolf, driving his claws into its neck. The third tried to bite his leg, but Ren kicked it—hard.
His boot connected with the wolf's jaw. [Strength: 12] plus the momentum of the kick shattered the wolf's metal teeth.
It was over in thirty seconds.
Ren stood amidst the carnage, breathing heavily. Not from exhaustion, but from the effort of holding back the frenzy.
"Eat," Gluttony commanded.
Ren knelt beside the Alpha. He placed his hand on the exposed ribcage. He didn't eat the meat this time—he didn't have time for a sit-down meal. He used [Devour] in its rawest form.
Black tendrils of energy seeped from his palm, wrapping around the wolf's corpse. The body began to wither, the essence being sucked directly into Ren's system.
[Consumed: Ferrous Wolf (Alpha)]
[Bio-Mass: +45]
[Current Bio-Mass: 130 / 1000]
[Mineral Absorption: Iron Density Increased.]
Ren felt a strange itch deep in his forearms. His bones were hardening. He could feel them becoming denser, heavier.
"It works," Ren whispered. "I'm getting stronger."
"Of course it works. I designed it," Gluttony preened. "Now, the kidneys. They are the dessert."
Ren quickly harvested the Mana Cores from the skulls of the wolves. Three D-Rank cores. That was easily 1,500 credits. In thirty seconds, he had made half a month's rent.
He pocketed the cores and wiped his claws on his pants.
He was about to move deeper into the mall—towards the department store—when he heard it.
A scream.
It wasn't a monster. It was human.
Ren froze. He looked toward the upper atrium, near the old cinema.
"Help! Someone!"
"Ignore it," Gluttony said immediately. "Human drama. High risk, low nutritional reward. There is a vending machine filled with Slime-Mold nearby. Much more interesting."
Ren hesitated. The old Ren—the Scavenger—would have hidden. Scavengers didn't play hero. Scavengers waited for the heroes to die so they could loot the bodies.
But he remembered the Vipers. He remembered Kael leaving him to die.
"I'm not Kael," Ren muttered.
He activated [Stealth]—or rather, he crouched low and used his grey clothing to blend into the shadows. He moved toward the scream, silent as a ghost.
He reached the balcony overlooking the central atrium.
Below, in the center of a dried-out fountain, a party of three Hunters was surrounded.
They were young—probably rookies who had bought C-Rank IDs like Ren, or rich kids on their first "real" hunt. A Warrior, a Mage, and a Healer.
And they were in trouble.
Surrounding them were six Mannequin Stalkers.
Ren narrowed his eyes. Mannequins were nasty. They were ambush predators made of animated plastic and porcelain. They didn't bleed, they didn't feel pain, and their limbs were sharpened into blades.
The Warrior was holding them back with a cracked shield, but he was bleeding from a gash on his forehead. The Mage was out of mana, frantically trying to reload a wand. The Healer was crying.
"They're going to die," Ren analyzed coldly. "The Warrior's shield arm is broken. The Mannequins are toying with them."
"Fine," Gluttony sighed. "If you must intervene, at least try to secure a reward. Altruism doesn't pay the rent."
Ren looked at the Mannequins. They were construct-types. No meat. No blood.
"Wait," Gluttony said, his voice sharpening. "Look at the leader. The one with the red dress."
Ren focused. The lead Mannequin was different. It wasn't just plastic. Inside its translucent chest cavity, pulsing with a dark, red light, was a heart. A human heart.
"A Necro-Mannequin," Gluttony purred. "It stole a heart to gain sentience. Ren... that heart has been marinating in mana for decades. It is a vintage delicacy."
Ren smirked beneath his mask.
"So, we're eating plastic today?"
"We are eating the creamy center," Gluttony corrected.
Ren stepped onto the railing of the balcony. He was three stories up.
"Hey!" Ren shouted, his voice echoing through the silent mall.
The Hunters looked up. The Mannequins twisted their heads 180 degrees, their painted smiles looking up at him.
Ren waved.
"Catch."