This book won't be contracted and will be published in Amazon after the completion of volume 1. Regular release 5/week will be done in webnovel. Advanced chapters (10 chaps) will be in my Patreon. Those who are interested and want to support me can join using the link below.
??"www.patreon.com/Writer_Kyn"??
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Ryan paused mid-step.
The sound behind him was faint, barely more than a dry crack, like concrete shifting under pressure. Under normal circumstances, he might have dismissed it as part of the aging structure. In this place, with a monster possibly hiding just out of sight, the sound felt impossibly loud.
His shoulders tightened.
'Calm down,' Ryan told himself. 'I can do this. I just have to act casually.'
The thought did little to steady his nerves, but he forced his feet to move anyway. He took a slow breath and continued walking, keeping his pace even despite the tension crawling up his spine.
The entrance to the underground facility came into view. The reinforced door stood tall and unyielding, surveillance cameras embedded into the surrounding structure. Ryan reached into his pocket and pulled out the identification card Anya had given him.
Another cracking sound echoed behind him.
This one was clearer. Closer.
Ryan's teeth clenched as he raised the card toward the camera. His pulse pounded in his ears, each heartbeat threatening to break his concentration. He tried to keep his hand steady, reminding himself that panic would only make things worse.
Just as the card reached the scanner, a sharp voice cut through the air.
"Ryan, duck!"
The words hit him like a jolt of electricity. Goosebumps erupted along his arms, and instinct took over before fear could slow him down.
Ryan dropped low and lunged sideways in one fluid motion. His shoulder scraped against the floor as he rolled, momentum carrying him away from where he had been standing moments earlier. He twisted mid-roll and forced himself to look back.
Anya was there.
She had reappeared out of nowhere, her presence sudden and overwhelming. She surged forward and threw a punch into what looked like empty air.
The impact was anything but empty.
Something massive slammed into the wall with a deafening crash. Reinforced concrete bent and cracked under the force, fragments exploding outward as if the structure itself had been struck by a vehicle.
Ryan froze.
Pinned against the shattered wall was the monster.
It was enormous, roughly the size of a small truck, its distorted body struggling against the force that held it in place. Its form was uneven and grotesque, limbs pressed awkwardly against the broken surface.
Before Ryan could fully process what he was seeing, Anya was already moving again.
She rushed forward and drove her fist into the monster's abdomen.
The wall behind it caved further, the concrete collapsing inward in a shape that mirrored the impact. The monster shrieked as blood burst from its mouth, splattering across the fractured surface.
The sound was unbearable.
A high-pitched screech tore through the corridor, sharp enough to make Ryan wince and clamp his hands over his ears. Pain spiked in his head, the noise drilling straight into his skull.
Anya's expression tightened in annoyance.
She stepped in and punched the monster directly in the face. Bone and flesh shattered under her fist, its mouth collapsing inward. The screech did not stop. If anything, it grew more frantic, more desperate.
A soft white glow spread along Anya's arm.
Ryan's breath caught as she thrust her hand straight into the monster's chest.
Her arm passed through its body as if resistance barely existed. When she pulled her hand back out, something came with it.
It was an organ.
Too large and misshapen to be human, yet unmistakably heart-like. Thick veins pulsed across its surface, and it continued to beat steadily in Anya's grasp.
The monster's body went limp.
Ryan swallowed hard.
He had expected Anya to kill it easily. He had not expected this.
Like she said, she had not broken a sweat. The fight had been less a battle and more an execution. Still, the sight of her holding a still-beating organ pulled from a living creature unsettled him in a way he could not easily describe.
'Is that really necessary?' Ryan thought, staring at the organ. 'Can't she just kill it normally?'
The thought came unbidden, followed by another that made him uncomfortable.
'Does she enjoy this?'
Anya turned toward him, the faintest smile on her face.
"Ryan, come here," she said, lifting her hand slightly. "The job is done."
Ryan did not move immediately.
Right now, Anya felt more frightening than the monster had. Her calm expression paired with the beating organ in her hand made his skin crawl.
'She isn't some heart-eating monster in disguise, right?' he thought, unease settling deep in his chest.
After a moment of hesitation, he forced himself to walk closer.
"You completely killed it, right?" Ryan asked carefully. "Why is its heart still beating?"
Anya glanced at the organ, then back at him. "Oh, this?" she said casually. "This is not its heart. It's an extraordinary organ. It will keep beating as long as there is energy nearby."
Ryan blinked.
He stared at the object again, curiosity fighting against disgust. His fingers twitched with the urge to touch it, only for him to immediately pull his hand back. The thing looked wrong, alien in a way his instincts rejected.
Still, excitement stirred beneath the revulsion.
An extraordinary organ.
His own organ was still dormant. If it could evolve into something like this, then perhaps the limitations holding him back would weaken. That was what Anya had implied before, even if she had not explained the details yet.
He shook his head, pushing the thoughts aside.
"What are we going to do with the monster?" Ryan asked, gesturing toward the massive corpse still embedded in the wall. "It looks heavy."
Anya waved her free hand dismissively. "The logistics team will handle it. For now, let's go. We need to discuss your reward."
Ryan's eyes flickered toward her. "My reward?"
She nodded, her smile widening slightly. "You'll be the first newbie to receive a share of an extraordinary organ without directly fighting the monster."
Ryan did not fully understand what she meant, but he nodded anyway.
They made their way back toward the Holding Wing. Anya disappeared briefly into the observation room, while Ryan stopped near the reinforced wall separating them from the other contained monsters.
He placed his palm against the cold surface.
The thickness of the barrier amazed him. Somewhere beyond it, creatures far larger and more dangerous than the one just killed were being held back. The thought that the association managed them like animals in a cage made his head spin.
Anya returned moments later.
The extraordinary organ was gone.
"Impressed?" she asked lightly. "That was nothing. You'll see what the association is really capable of soon."
Ryan nodded, though his thoughts were elsewhere. He hesitated, then asked, "Why is the energy residue still present in the wall? Doesn't it fade after a monster is killed?"
Anya stopped.
She turned slowly toward him, disbelief flashing across her face. "Are you sure?" she asked.
"Yes," Ryan said. His brow furrowed as he focused on the sensation again. "It's still there. There's more than before."
The excitement from earlier vanished instantly.
Ryan's stomach sank as the realization hit him.
Something was wrong.