'What if' Sung Jin-Woo was reincarnated as a monster after drinking the Cup of Reincarnation?
Sung-Jin Woo awoke in a place that felt alien. Gone were the familiar streets of his world, replaced by a dark, eerie landscape filled with towering trees and twisted, jagged rocks. The air was thick, and the ground beneath him pulsed with an unnatural energy. His body felt strange, unfamiliar, and when he glanced down, he was shocked to see that his once human hands had transformed into monstrous claws, their black, rough skin shimmering with a dark aura.
What... happened? He tried to speak, but a low, guttural growl escaped his throat instead. His mind raced, but something was off—his thoughts seemed clouded, as if a haze had descended upon his consciousness.
The memory was faint. He remembered standing in front of the Cup of Reincarnation, the same one that had granted him his strength as a hunter in his previous life. He had drunk from it, expecting to be reincarnated as a powerful being, but this... this wasn't what he had imagined. He hadn't expected to return as a monster.
Confusion swirled in his mind as his senses heightened. His hearing, sight, and smell—everything was sharper, more acute. The world around him was alive with sounds he hadn't noticed before, the rustling of leaves, the faint scurrying of creatures in the distance, and an overpowering scent that made his stomach rumble with hunger.
Jin-Woo stumbled forward, unsure of where to go or what to do, but his new body moved with an uncanny instinct. His claws scraped against the stone beneath him, sending sparks into the air, and he realized that he was strong—far stronger than he had ever been as a human. His new body was far more durable, and his senses screamed that this world was not one of mere survival—it was a world of predation.
A sudden movement caught his attention. Out of the shadows emerged a creature, its eyes glowing red, its body hunched and dripping with venomous saliva. It looked like a beast, yet it was intelligent, a creature born from the depths of nightmares. It growled, eyes narrowing as it sized him up, clearly sensing Jin-Woo's monstrous nature.
I need to survive.
The thought was instinctive, driving him to move. His claws lunged out, and with one swift swipe, the creature was torn in two, its body dissolving into black mist that vanished into the air. He stood over its remains, breathing heavily, his chest heaving as his mind struggled to process what had just happened.
Was this how the world worked now? Was he nothing more than a monster who had to fight for dominance? Was this his fate?
A deep, rumbling voice echoed in his mind. "You are no longer the human you once were, Sung-Jin Woo. You are a creature born from the abyss. This world, this new life, is your arena. The Cup of Reincarnation has chosen you—what you become next is up to you."
Jin-Woo's mind raced, and a feeling of dread washed over him. He had always been a hunter, always striving for power, but this was different. His new form wasn't just about strength—it was about survival at any cost.
And for the first time in his life, Jin-Woo realized that power wasn't just something to be attained—it was a force that consumed.
His journey as a monster had just begun.
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