The night air was colder than usual.
Ren Kurozawa slipped out of the second-floor window in silence, landing softly on the grass below. His clothes replaced with a dark hoodie and fingerless gloves. A small, curved blade hung from his belt—cleaned and sharpened. His footsteps were silent as he moved through the shadows of residential blocks long abandoned.
This was his second hunt.
The first had changed everything. The black-gold-furred rat had awakened something in him. Now, he was stronger, faster, sharper. But it wasn't enough. The world wasn't waiting, and neither was he.
Ahead lay the edge of an old residential district—Sector 3-D. What was once a lively middle-class neighborhood had been evacuated weeks ago after reports of plant overgrowth and mutated pests. The government never confirmed it, but people whispered about attacks, bodies half-eaten, dogs and cats twisted into monsters.
That made it perfect.
Ren stepped over the yellow caution tape and entered the darkened ruins. Shattered windows stared down at him like hollow eyes. Vines crept over broken mailboxes. He paused, listening.
Rustle.
A low growl.
He turned the corner and spotted it: a mutated fox, about the size of a large dog. Its fur was patchy, and bony spikes protruded from its back. Its eyes glowed red in the dark.
[Level 3 – Bone-Back Fox]
Perfect.
Ren crouched, knife ready. The fox snarled and lunged. He darted sideways, his boosted agility kicking in, and slashed at its flank. Blood sprayed. It yelped but didn't fall. Snapping jaws missed him by inches as he rolled and drove the knife into its neck.
The beast thrashed once, then stilled.
A flash of warmth passed through him.
[+100 EXP]
[Devourer – Active]
[Devouring... Success]
[+3 Devour Points]
[Level Up – Level 2 Reached]
[All Attributes Increased Slightly. +1 Free Attribute Point Earned]
[New Talent Acquired: Night Sight]
Ren's breath came in steady huffs.
He pulled out his phone and updated the log.
[Personal Growth Log – Ren Kurozawa]
Date: June 18
Level: 2
EXP: 0/200
Devour Points: 4
Free Attribute Points: 1
New Talent: Night Sight – Allows clearer vision in low light. Passive.
Attributes:
Strength: 11 → 12
Agility: 20 (+5 Swift Speed)
Endurance: 10
Intelligence: 12
Perception: 10
He stayed for two more hours that night, taking down a pair of mutated raccoons and a Level 2 beetle the size of a football. By the time the sky began to lighten, he was back in his room.
Just in time.
At breakfast, the air smelled of grilled fish and rice. Ren sat at the table, trying not to look like he'd just slaughtered monsters all night.
Yuna, his mother, gave him a curious glance. "You look tired, Ren. Did you sleep?"
Ren yawned casually. "Maybe it's your imagination. I slept fine."
Takeshi, his father, studied him over his coffee mug. "You sure?"
"Mhm."
Neither of them pushed. But he could feel it—they were suspicious.
After breakfast, Ren excused himself and returned to his room, shutting the door. He collapsed on the bed and let his muscles relax. No school today. No responsibilities. Just one mission:
Grow stronger.
June 19 – Night
Ren returned to Sector 3-D.
This time, he brought a second blade, taken from his father's old survival kit. The streets welcomed him with silence, broken only by the occasional snarl or screech. He moved like a ghost, striking with precision.
Level 4 – Spiny Hound: Killed.
[+120 EXP]
[+4 Devour Points ×2 = 8 DP]
[Level Up – Level 3]
New Talent: Quick Recovery (Stamina regenerates faster)
Level 2 – Beetle: Killed.
[+30 EXP]
[+2 Devour Points]
[EXP: 30/300]
Level 5 – Bramble Cat: Killed.
[+150 EXP]
[+5 DP ×3 = 15 DP]
[EXP: 180/300]
Level 1 – Crow: Killed.
[+5 EXP]
[+1 DP]
[EXP: 185/300]
He leveled again before dawn.
[Level 4 Reached]
[New Talent Acquired: Scent Suppression] – Evolved beasts have a harder time detecting you.
Devour Points Total: 36
Free Attribute Points: 3
And so it continued.
Every night, he returned to the district. Every night, his blade found new prey. Some creatures fought harder. Others ran. But none escaped. His talents multiplied—passive gifts, instinctive boosts, some mysterious and others simple.
By June 24, he reached Level 9.
[Status Panel – Ren Kurozawa]
Level: 9
EXP: 850/900
Devour Points: 124
Free Attribute Points: 9
Main Talent: Devourer
Other Talents Acquired:
Swift Speed
Night Sight
Quick Recovery
Scent Suppression
Minor Regeneration
Enhanced Reflex
Vibration Sense
Adrenaline Burst
Silent Steps
Pain Dampening
Danger Instinct
Attributes:
Strength: 19
Agility: 25
Endurance: 18
Intelligence: 14
Perception: 17
Each night bled into the next. The hunger for growth became ritual. He didn't kill for fun. He killed because he had to. The stronger he got, the less guilt he felt. It was survival. It was adaptation.
But that night—June 25—was different.
He had just finished off a Level 6 porcupine-beast, its blood steaming on the pavement, when he heard it.
A hiss.
Long. Low. Cold.
Not the snarl of a dog, or the shriek of a crow. This was something else. Something ancient.
Ren turned, body alert. The air around him felt charged.
Then he saw it.
Slithering along the broken wall of a crumbling building was a long, pale body. Its scales shimmered under the moonlight with an eerie iridescence. Its eyes were ice-blue, unblinking. Two small horns protruded from its head.
A white serpent.
[Level 10 ]
His breath caught in his throat.
The creature didn't attack. It simply stared.
The street was dead silent.
Then—just as suddenly—it disappeared into the shadows, vanishing between collapsed homes and creeping mist.
Ren stood frozen, heart pounding.
He had never seen anything like that. Not even in official reports. It wasn't just another beast. It was something more. Something wrong.
He opened his panel with shaking fingers.
[EXP: 850/900]
[Level 9]
Just one more kill and he'd be Level 10.
But he didn't move.
That white serpent had unsettled him in a way nothing else had.
And for the first time in a week… Ren wasn't sure if he should follow.