The stench hit me first. Blood. Rust. Something rotten, deep in the bones of this dungeon.
I gripped my dagger tighter, not that it helped the shaking in my fingers. My classmates marched ahead, casting spells like it was some damn light show. Flames crackled. Arrows of ice pierced goblin skulls. The others were laughing—like this was a game.
I stayed in the back. I always stayed in the back.
"Still breathing, Yamato?" Kaito sneered, glancing over his shoulder. His polished armor gleamed in the torchlight, his sword slick with blood. "Try not to trip and die. Actually, scratch that. Maybe it'd be better for everyone."
I didn't respond. What was the point? Ever since we'd been summoned to this world, I'd been labeled dead weight.
They got cool-sounding jobs. Holy Knight. Flame Archer. Storm Caller.
Me?
Support Artisan.
I sharpen weapons. I fix armor. I carry supplies.
I'm not a hero. I'm a joke.
This mission was supposed to be training. Something easy. A warm-up.
But this place—it was too quiet. Too still.
The dungeon trembled. A low rumble echoed through the stone like a distant growl.
And then it hit.
KRROOOOOM!
The wall ahead exploded in a flash of black mist. Something stepped out—huge, horned, eyes glowing red.
A Behemoth.
"A-A-RANK!" our instructor screamed.
He died a second later, crushed like a bug.
The screaming started. People ran. Spells flew. Someone pushed past me—I don't even know who. Panic took over.
I turned to run too—and the floor gave out beneath me.
I fell.
But right before the edge crumbled, I saw him.
Kaito.
Standing there. Not trying to help. Not even surprised.
He smiled.
"Sorry, Ren."
Then—nothing.
Just the sound of rushing air and my own heartbeat.
---
I slammed into something hard. My ribs screamed. I tasted blood.
I don't know how long I lay there, gasping in the dark.
It was blacker than night. No torches. No light. Just pain.
Then I heard it.
Something… moving.
Soft. Wet. Heavy.
A hiss. A snarl. A dozen blinking eyes.
No. No no no no—
I scrambled to my feet, one leg barely responding. I lifted my dagger. My hands were shaking so badly it looked like I was trying to swat flies.
A shape lunged from the dark—something twisted, like a wolf stitched together from corpses.
I screamed and stabbed. I don't even know where I hit.
But it died.
Somehow, it died.
I dropped to my knees, panting over the corpse. My dagger was buried in its eye. My arm was numb.
Then something beeped. A faint light flickered before my eyes.
> Status System Sync Error…
Abyssal Environment Detected. Sync Override in Progress.
Unique Trait Gained: Devourer
Evolution System Activated.
My breath caught.
"What…?"
> You have killed an Abyssal Beast. Traits available for assimilation:
[Bone Hardened Skin]
[Predator Instinct]
[Dark Vision]
The screen hovered before me, faintly glowing in the dark.
My hand trembled as I hovered over the options. My whole body ached, broken, bleeding.
But something in me shifted.
They left me here to die.
They threw me away.
Screw that.
If the world wanted a monster…
Then I'd become one.
I selected all three traits.
The pain came instantly—white-hot fire racing through my bones, my muscles twitching, something changing inside me.