**CHAPTER 21: **
The sewer reeked of rust and rotting flesh. Seun crouched in the stagnant water, his stolen combat knife trembling in his grip. Across the tunnel, the *thing* that had been hunting him for the past hour finally revealed itself—a **Dusk Stalker**, its six segmented legs clicking against concrete as its maw of rotating teeth gnashed hungrily.
**[TARGET ANALYZED]**
**[DUSK STALKER - GENERAL RANK (C-CLASS THREAT)]**
**[WARNING: HOST CURRENTLY SOLDIER RANK (E-CLASS)]**
**[SURVIVAL PROBABILITY: 17%]**
Seun exhaled slowly. Back in his world, this creature wouldn't have even registered as a threat. Here? It was a death sentence for most Hunters.
But he wasn't most Hunters.
The Stalker lunged.
---
### **A MONARCH'S PRIDE, A SOLDIER'S STRUGGLE**
Seun barely dodged, rolling through filthy water as chitinous legs speared where his chest had been. His knife scraped uselessly against the beast's armored hide.
*Too slow.*
*Too weak.*
The System's voice cut through his frustration:
**[SHOP FUNCTION UNLOCKED]**
**[AVAILABLE POINTS: 3,500 (LEGACY TRANSFER)]**
**[RECOMMENDED PURCHASE: "NIGHTFANG DAGGER" (2,000P) - PENETRATES GENERAL-RANK ARMOR]**
Seun's lips curled. *Finally.*
He selected the dagger—and reality *twisted* for a fraction of a second. A blade materialized in his hand, its edge humming with dark energy.
The Stalker attacked again.
This time, Seun didn't dodge.
He *countered*.
Black steel met chitin—and *pierced*.
The creature shrieked as shadow-infused venom seared through its insides. It collapsed, twitching, its legs curling inward like a dying spider.
**[TARGET ELIMINATED]**
**[EXP GAINED: +1,200]**
**[SHADOW HARVEST AVAILABLE (DISABLED - PUBLIC AREA)]**
Seun wiped the dagger clean, listening.
Footsteps echoed in the distance.
*Hunters.*
He vanished into the shadows before they arrived.
---
### **THE SYSTEM'S BARGAIN**
Above ground, New Los Angeles burned.
Not literally—not yet—but the tension was palpable. Guild banners hung from skyscrapers, their sigils marking territory like wolves pissing on trees. Seun moved through back alleys, avoiding patrols.
His new dagger rested comfortably against his thigh.
His stomach did not.
**[HOST VITALITY AT 43%]**
**[SHOP OPTION: "VOID-RATION PACK" (300P) - 3-DAY NUTRITION]**
Seun grimaced but purchased it. The taste was like chalk and copper, but his body immediately steadied.
Then the System surprised him:
**[DAILY CHALLENGE UNLOCKED]**
**[SLAY 5 GENERAL-RANK (C-CLASS) BEASTS]**
**[REWARD: "SHADOW VEIL" (TEMPORARY INVISIBILITY)]**
Seun exhaled. *Useful.*
But first, he needed targets.
---
### **THE GUILD'S GAZE**
The Bloodmoon Citadel outpost was poorly guarded.
Seun observed from a rooftop as two Hunters—both **Soldier Rank (E-Class)**, like him on paper—smoked lazily by the entrance. Their armor bore the crimson crescent moon of their guild.
Pathetic.
Back in Seoul, even their lowest grunts would have been **Commander Rank (B-Class)** at minimum.
But this world operated on a different scale.
He waited until one wandered off to take a piss before dropping behind the remaining guard.
The man barely had time to gasp before Seun's dagger pressed against his throat.
"Tell me where your guild is hunting today," Seun murmured.
The Hunter stammered out coordinates—an old industrial zone where General-Rank beasts had been spotted.
Seun knocked him out cold.
No need for unnecessary killing.
Yet.
---
### **THE ASCENSION BEGINS**
The industrial zone was a graveyard of rusted machinery and half-eaten corpses.
Seun counted five Dusk Stalkers patrolling the area.
Perfect.
He didn't use his shadows.
He didn't need to.
The first Stalker died with a dagger through its eye socket.
The second fell to an ambush from above.
The third and fourth came at him together—and learned why engaging a former Monarch in close quarters was a mistake, even in a weaker body.
The fifth nearly killed him.
Its claws ripped through his side before he managed to jam Nightfang into its underbelly.
Blood pooled beneath him as the System announced:
**[DAILY CHALLENGE COMPLETE]**
**[REWARD: "SHADOW VEIL" ACQUIRED]**
**[LEVEL UP: SOLDIER RANK (E) → CAPTAIN RANK (D)]**
Strength flooded his limbs. His wounds knit slightly faster.
But more importantly—
He could *hide* now.
---
### **THE WATCHERS**
Unseen, two figures observed from a nearby rooftop.
"Report to the Guildmaster," the taller one murmured. "The Phantom just cleared five General-Rank beasts *solo*."
The shorter one hesitated. "His technique… it's not normal."
"No. It's not."
They vanished into the night.
---