"Hey, boy! What are you staring at? Do your job before another beast shows up!"
A sharp voice jolted Felix back to reality. The speaker was a rugged-looking man, likely in his late twenties, though the scars on his face made him look older.
Snapping out of his daze, Felix quickly crouched beside the freshly slain beast. He pulled out a worn, rusty knife and began to dissect the creature with practiced hands.
Fifteen minutes later, the dissection was complete. The crowd around him, initially skeptical, stood in stunned silence. They hadn't expected a boy so young to be this skilled. Every cut was clean, precise. Not even seasoned dissecters could've done better.
"I'm done, sir. Here's the beast core."
Felix handed over a glowing energy stone, its surface smooth and unmarred. Then, he carefully packed the beast's flesh, bones, heart, and other parts into a ragged sack strapped to his back.
"Wow. Good job," the man said, inspecting the core with an approving nod.
"What's your name?"
"It's Felix, sir."
"Well then, Felix, for a job this clean, I'm doubling your pay."
The man grinned and clapped Felix on the back.
Felix's heart surged with joy. For someone like him—an orphan without a penny to his name—this was more than just payment. It was hope. He had been saving every coin he could in order to buy an ability scroll. While most others awakened elemental powers by age thirteen, Felix had failed… and it left him powerless.
Just as he was about to express his thanks, a deep, guttural roar tore through the forest air.
Everything stopped.
The cheerful chatter turned into paralyzed silence. Then—panic.
The group scattered instantly like startled birds. Even the kind man who praised him was the first to bolt, not sparing Felix a second glance.
Felix froze. That sound… it wasn't from a beast.
It was something worse.
An Abyssal Demon.
Their presence alone could paralyze ordinary people. No one in their right mind would try to fight one.
Felix couldn't move. The pressure from the roar felt like a mountain pressing on his chest. His legs trembled, his vision blurred, and his ears rang violently.
They left me… just like that.
The pale, terrified look on the man's face before fleeing confirmed it—death had arrived.
Tears welled up in Felix's eyes.
So this is how I die? Alone, abandoned… weak?
Memory surged in his mind like a flood.
From the moment he gained consciousness as a child, Felix had always known one thing: he was alone. An orphan in a world where strength dictated your worth.
He survived by attaching himself to groups that hunted beasts, learning to dissect them just to eat and earn a few coins.
At thirteen, when others awakened elemental powers or mutated abilities… nothing happened for him.
No matter how hard he tried, the heavens gave him nothing.
So he accepted his fate and kept dissecting—day after day—waiting to see where destiny would lead him.
Apparently, it had led him here… to die in the forest, powerless.
"Why is the world so cruel?"
"Why can't I be strong?"
Time passed.
Two hours.
Nothing attacked him.
Felix, still kneeling in terror, gradually realized the suffocating pressure had vanished. He took in a shaky breath and slowly got to his feet.
I need to leave. Now.
Just as he turned, something caught his eye—
A soft glow, white and faint, yet visible even in the darkened Abyssal Forest where light never truly reached, even during the day.
What's that?
He paused, torn between caution and curiosity.
A trap… or a treasure?
Against his better judgment, Felix crept toward the light. It flickered from behind a tangle of roots, and as he pushed aside the vines, his eyes widened.
A cube.
Roughly the size of his fist, the cube pulsed gently with light. Its body was matte black, but fine white lines ran across its surface like veins. It was… alien.
"This must be a rare treasure!"
Felix's heart raced. He looked around, scanning for any lurking beasts. The coast was clear.
He reached out and grasped the cube.
"Argh!"
He yanked his hand back.
Blood.
Dozens of tiny holes punctured his palm, and crimson spilled out in rivulets.
Where did that spike come from?!
He glared at the cube and now noticed it wasn't smooth at all—its surface was laced with nearly invisible barbs, like thousands of needle points that had embedded into his skin.
Felix tore a strip of cloth from his shirt and wrapped it tightly around his hand to stop the bleeding.
Breathing heavily, he knelt and carefully reached for the cube again. This time, cautious.
But the moment his hand touched it—
The cube disintegrated into dust.
"What?!"
Felix staggered back.
It disappeared? Just like that?!
His heart sank.
He had found a treasure… and lost it just as quickly?
Before he could react further, a searing pain tore through his head.
"Ahhhh!"
He collapsed.
It felt like his skull was splitting open. His vision turned red. His brain felt like it was on fire. He clawed at the ground, trying to stay conscious—but it was no use.
Right before his mind faded into darkness… he heard it.
A voice.
Mechanical. Cold. Timeless.
[Initiating Core Integration Protocol…]
[Binding Host… Successful.]
[Welcome, Felix. Dragon System Sync… 7%... 32%...]
[Core Element: Unknown… Accepted.]
And then—silence.
Darkness claimed him.