The flickering portal shimmered like a torn curtain between dimensions. Kairo took a slow breath before stepping through it—body bruised, blood still crusted on his skin, eyes glowing faintly violet.
And then—light.
He stumbled out into the morning sun.
The sky above the ruined Southridge District was hazy with smoke from recent rift breaches, and the air smelled like scorched concrete and ash. Emergency Hunter Association personnel were already scanning the site.
The anomaly—what had swallowed Kairo whole—was gone.
He had survived the dungeon collapse.
No… he had conquered it.
---
"Contact! We've got a survivor!" one of the scouts shouted. A dozen red-armored H.A. agents turned his way, weapons half-raised in caution.
Kairo raised his hands slowly, still clutching the makeshift Abyss Crawler claw.
His clothes were in tatters, his face marked with grime and dried blood—but his eyes were sharp, his posture firm.
"Name," one agent barked, approaching with a scanner.
"Kairo Vale. F-rank Hunter ID #44773."
The man blinked. "Wait… the useless kid?"
Another scout muttered, "Didn't they say he died in the collapse?"
"Well," Kairo smirked darkly, "rumors were wrong."
The scanner beeped. The agent's eyes widened.
> Vital Signs: Stable
Essence Signature: A-Rank fluctuation detected
WARNING: Subject registered as F-Rank. Possible anomaly.
"Sir," the agent said, stepping back cautiously. "You're not normal."
Kairo didn't respond. He didn't need to.
Instead, he glanced at the small hovering drone above them, recording everything. His mind raced.
He couldn't let anyone know what really happened inside.
The system, the Devour ability, the Core Entity kill—if the Association discovered all that, they might try to dissect him or control him. Or worse.
---
Kairo was taken to a medical ward and placed under "standard post-dungeon observation."
He played along—acting dazed, weak, cooperative. He let the medics patch up his wounds, let the officials ask their questions, and answered vaguely.
"Don't remember much… I thought I was dead… then the creatures disappeared…"
All the while, the system quietly displayed his hidden stats:
> Kairo Vale – Lv. 9
Strength: 24
Agility: 28
Vitality: 18
Perception: 22
Essence Bank: 3/6
Skills: Devour Essence Lv.2, Shadow Cloak Lv.1
Passives: Predator Instinct (Active)
He was no longer weak.
He was just playing the role.
---
Three days later, he stood before the Association review board.
They reviewed his fake "accidental survival" report and marked it "unverified, no breach of protocol."
Just like that, he was free.
Kairo stepped out into the city, the towering skyline of New Argus looming before him—bright neon signs, mag-rails, and massive hunter guild banners fluttering overhead.
Hunters passed him in sleek armor, laughing, confident.
No one noticed him.
> "Good," Kairo thought. "They shouldn't. Not yet."
---
Later that night, Kairo entered a back-alley hunter shop run by a fixer named Rae. She was ex-A rank, retired early after losing her left arm to a chimera. Rumor said she once fought a dragon solo.
She raised a brow as he entered. "You look like hell."
"You should see the other guy," Kairo smirked, pulling out the shattered claw and a crystallized shard from the Core Reaver.
Rae's eyes widened. "This… is Void Core residue. From a Core Entity?"
Kairo shrugged. "Found it. Deep down."
She narrowed her eyes. "Kairo, F-ranks don't find Core Entity shards."
He leaned in, voice low. "Keep it between us?"
She studied him for a long time. Then nodded. "You've changed, kid. You're colder."
"I'm just getting started."
---
That night, Kairo stood on a rooftop, overlooking the city's glowing veins of energy and power.
The Hunter World had cast him aside for being weak.
Now, he had a secret system, a power that could consume the strength of others, and a taste for evolution.
> "They called me worthless," he murmured, "but I'll show them what a Godslayer looks like."
And beneath the city, something stirred.
A new dungeon gate was opening.
And it was hungry.