The Shadow Hounds lunged with glowing red eyes and razor-sharp fangs.
Zayn's instincts screamed at him to run, but the system's voice echoed in his mind—calm, broken, and glitching.
> [Trial Objective: Survive for 5 minutes]
[Reward: Unknown]
[Hint: The environment is your weapon.]
"Five minutes? That's an eternity…" Zayn muttered, backpedaling.
He wasn't faster.
He wasn't stronger.
He had no skills.
But he had one advantage: desperation.
He slid behind a fallen statue, grabbing a jagged chunk of stone. As the first Hound leapt, he threw the shard into its eye, stunning it just long enough to slam its head into the ground.
> [+1 Strength]
[Glitch Detected: Unauthorized stat growth without kill]
[Bug tolerated. Evolution Code adapting...]
Zayn blinked. I got a stat point... for stunning it?
A toothy grin crossed his face.
If the system's broken—I'm gonna break the rules too.
He lured more hounds into traps. Slammed them into walls. Used falling debris to crush two in one go.
With every tactic, every survival moment, his stats ticked up—randomly, inconsistently, but definitely.
> [+2 Agility]
[+1 Endurance]
[New Trait Acquired: Improviser's Edge (Passive)]
[Effect: +10% damage when using unconventional weapons]
Zayn snatched a broken chain off the floor and started using it like a whip.
He was no longer prey.
He was adapting.
---
Finally, the hounds backed away—only to part like a wave. From the shadows emerged a massive beast twice the size of the others.
A Corrupted Alpha, its body fused with dark mana, leaking shadow flames from its ribs.
> [Time Remaining: 0:30]
Zayn was exhausted, bleeding, breathing hard.
The Alpha roared.
He whispered to himself, "This world never gave me a chance… so I'll carve one with my own hands."
The timer ticked down as he raised the chain—
[Trial Complete.]
[Reward: Core of Evolution Lv.1]
[Trait Unlocked: Adaptive Mutation (Locked)]
[System Access: Partial Granted.]
[Welcome, Bugged User.]
The dungeon began to fade. The Alpha disintegrated mid-charge. Zayn collapsed onto the stone floor, gasping for air.
But he was alive.
And for the first time ever…
He had a system of his own.
To be continued…