The city had become Kael's hunting ground.
He moved across the rooftops alone.
No group.
No backup.
No one to slow him down.
Only his senses, his skills, and whatever waited ahead.
[Enhanced Hearing — 43%]
Kael stopped.
Three heartbeats.
Below him.
He crouched at the edge of the building.
A narrow street stretched beneath him.
Three creatures were feeding on something in the darkness.
Kael focused.
[MONSTER INFORMATION]
Species: Bloodfang Hound
Level: 3
Classification: Mutated Beast
Evolution Stage: Stage 0 — Ordinary
Strength: 16
Agility: 21
Vitality: 15
Endurance: 14
Perception: 23
Skills:
Pack Coordination — Level 2
Blood Scent — Level 1
Ability: Bloodfang
Three Level 3 monsters.
Kael smiled.
"Perfect."
He jumped.
The first hound looked up.
Too late.
BOOM!
Kael landed on its back and drove his metal rod downward.
The creature crashed onto the pavement.
[Bloodfang Hound defeated.]
[Experience gained: 70.]
The other two immediately attacked.
Kael rolled away.
One snapped at his leg.
The other came from behind.
[Threat Detection activated.]
Kael twisted.
The jaws closed on empty air.
He grabbed the creature's neck and activated Blackhide.
The hound slammed into him.
Kael was thrown several meters.
He rolled across the pavement and quickly stood.
His shoulder hurt.
But he smiled.
"That actually hurt."
The hound charged again.
Kael didn't move.
He waited.
Three meters.
Two.
One.
Web Control.
A strand shot from his hand.
It wrapped around the creature's front leg.
Kael pulled.
The hound lost its balance.
Kael rushed forward.
THUD!
His metal rod struck its head.
The creature collapsed.
[Bloodfang Hound defeated.]
[Experience gained: 70.]
The final hound growled.
It didn't attack.
Instead, it began circling him.
Kael's eyes narrowed.
"You're smarter."
The hound suddenly disappeared into an alley.
Kael didn't chase immediately.
He listened.
Nothing.
His Perception sharpened.
There.
A faint movement above him.
Kael looked up.
The hound was jumping from a rooftop.
He stepped aside.
The creature passed him.
Kael grabbed its hind leg.
He pulled with all his strength.
The hound slammed against the ground.
Before it could recover—
THUD!
Kael struck again.
The creature stopped moving.
[Bloodfang Hound defeated.]
[Experience gained: 70.]
[Level-up requirements fulfilled.]
Kael's status opened automatically.
[LEVEL UP]
Level 3 → Level 4
5 Attribute Points awarded.
Title Bonus: +5% experience from solo kills.
Kael smiled.
"Four."
He opened his status.
[KAEL]
Level: 4
Experience: 0 / 400
Strength: 14
Agility: 14
Vitality: 10
Endurance: 9
Perception: 11
Unassigned Attribute Points: 5
[Skills]
Enhanced Hearing — Level 1 — 43%
Threat Detection — Level 1 — 34%
Blackhide — Level 1 — 31%
Web Control — Level 1 — 18%
[Title]
Solo Hunter
[Unique Trait]
Adaptive Evolution
Adaptation: 0.24%
Kael placed two points into Agility.
Two into Endurance.
One into Perception.
His attributes changed.
Agility: 16
Endurance: 11
Perception: 12
He immediately felt the difference.
His body felt lighter.
His movements felt smoother.
His stamina had improved.
Kael picked up one of the hounds' bodies.
The system scanned it.
[Skill Extraction Available]
Skill: Blood Scent
Probability: 34%
Attempt extraction?
Kael selected yes.
A warm sensation passed through his body.
[Skill acquisition successful.]
[NEW SKILL]
Blood Scent — Level 1
Allows the user to detect the scent of blood and track wounded lifeforms.
Proficiency: 0%
Kael smiled.
Another skill.
He was beginning to understand why hunting was so addictive.
Every battle gave him something.
Experience.
Attributes.
Skills.
Adaptation.
Sometimes achievements.
And occasionally—
something much more valuable.
A strange notification suddenly appeared.
[Rare evolutionary material detected.]
[Bloodfang Core.]
[A concentrated source of evolutionary energy.]
Kael crouched beside the monster.
A small dark crystal was embedded within its body.
He removed it.
The moment his fingers touched it, his system reacted.
[Evolutionary energy detected.]
[Absorption possible.]
Kael hesitated.
Then selected Absorb.
The crystal dissolved.
A wave of warmth passed through his body.
His muscles tightened.
His heartbeat accelerated.
Then calmed.
[Evolutionary energy absorbed.]
[Adaptive Evolution: 0.24% → 0.31%]
[Minor physical enhancement detected.]
[Strength adaptation developing.]
Kael looked at his hands.
That was different.
Leveling gave him points.
Skills gave him abilities.
But evolutionary materials directly stimulated his body.
He wanted more.
He looked at the map.
The red area was no longer the only marked location.
Three new red points had appeared.
Kael opened the nearest one.
[Evolutionary Resource Zone]
Distance: 1.8 km
Estimated Danger: High
Recommended Level: 6+
Detected Lifeforms: Multiple
Primary Resource: Unknown
Kael's eyes narrowed.
Level 6+.
He was Level 4.
A normal survivor would avoid it.
Kael smiled.
"Then I'll become Level 6."
He started walking.
But after several steps, he stopped.
Something had appeared on the road ahead.
A massive footprint.
Kael crouched beside it.
The footprint was almost twice the size of his head.
He activated Blood Scent.
Nothing.
Enhanced Hearing.
Nothing.
Threat Detection—
activated.
His expression immediately changed.
[EXTREME THREAT DETECTED.]
Kael slowly stood.
A notification appeared.
[UNKNOWN LIFEFORM]
Estimated Level: 8–10
Classification: Elite Beast
Evolution Stage: Stage 1 — Awakened
Status: Unknown
Kael stared at the message.
Level 8–10.
Elite Beast.
Far beyond anything he had fought.
Then he heard it.
A single footstep from somewhere behind him.
THUD.
Kael slowly turned.
A gigantic silhouette stood at the end of the street.
Four legs.
A long tail.
Two glowing eyes.
Its body was covered in black scales.
The creature stared directly at Kael.
The system struggled to identify it.
[Scanning...]
[Scanning failed.]
[Target's evolutionary energy exceeds current perception.]
[Warning.]
[Do not engage.]
Kael's grip tightened around his metal rod.
For several seconds, he didn't move.
Then the creature took one step forward.
THUD.
Kael smiled.
Not because he thought he could win.
But because he had just found something far more valuable than another easy kill.
A challenge.
And his body had never evolved faster than when his life was on the line.