The Taste of PowerThe Dreadfang Serpent's fangs hovered inches from Seun's face, venom dripping onto his torn jacket.
But the pain was gone.
No—worse than gone. It had been transformed.
His veins burned like molten steel. His shattered ribs snapped back into place with audible cracks. His muscles swelled, not with the artificial enhancements of a Hunter's elixirs, but with something raw, something hungry.
[Bloodprice Reversal Complete.]
[+247 Temporary Strength.]
The serpent recoiled, its golden eyes flickering with something almost like fear.
Seun grinned.
Then he moved.
His fist, once too weak to even lift a crate without trembling, slammed into the beast's snout.
CRACK.
The serpent's head whipped sideways, scales splintering under the force. A guttural hiss tore from its throat as it staggered back.
Seun didn't let it recover.
He lunged, fingers clamping around one of its dagger-like fangs. The serpent thrashed, its massive body coiling around him, crushing, squeezing—
[Pain Detected.]
[Bloodprice Reversal: Active.]
[+89 Strength.]
Seun ripped the fang free.
Black blood sprayed across his face. The serpent shrieked, writhing in agony.
He didn't stop.
Again. Again. Again.
By the time the beast collapsed, twitching, Seun stood panting over its corpse, his hands slick with gore.
[Quest Complete: Survive.]
[Reward: +1 Permanent Stat Point (UnRuly Allocation).]
[Bonus Reward: Skill Extraction Available.]
A prompt flashed before him:
[Extract Skill from 'Dreadfang Serpent'?]
[Available Skills:]
Venomous Strike (D-rank)
Shadow Coil (C-rank)
Seun's lips curled.
"Take both."
[Error.]
[UnRuly System Override.]
[Extracting…]
[Skill Upgraded: 'Shadow Coil' → 'Abyssal Bind' (B-rank).]
Dark tendrils erupted from Seun's shadow, writhing like living things.
He laughed.
The Hunters' ReckoningThe dungeon trembled, its walls cracking as the boss's death destabilized the gate.
Somewhere beyond the chamber, Seun heard panicked shouts.
"We need to go! NOW!" —Kang-Dae's voice.
"What about the porter?" —Ji-Eun, hesitant.
"Who cares? He's serpent food by—"
The door exploded.
Dust billowed as Seun stepped through the wreckage, his shadow stretching unnaturally behind him.
The Hunters froze.
Min-Ho's shield slipped from his grip. "H-How…?"
Seun tilted his head. "You left me to die."
Kang-Dae reacted first, fire spiraling around his fists. "Freak! Die for real this time!"
A blast of flame roared toward Seun.
[Abyssal Bind: Activated.]
Black tendrils surged, snuffing out the fire mid-air before lashing around Kang-Dae's throat.
The mage gagged, eyes bulging as his feet left the ground.
"You called me 'trash,'" Seun murmured. "But look at you now."
A crunch.
Kang-Dae's body hit the floor, limp.
[Title 'Abandoned One' Effect: +50% Damage.]
[Hunter Kang-Dae eliminated.]
Ji-Eun screamed. Min-Ho stumbled back, face pale.
Seun advanced.
"P-Please!" Ji-Eun sobbed, scrambling away. "I didn't want to leave you! They made me—"
Seun's shadow moved before he did.
A tendril speared through her chest.
[Hunter Ji-Eun eliminated.]
Min-Ho, the last survivor, fell to his knees. "M-Monster…"
Seun crouched in front of him. "No. Just a porter."
His hand closed around Min-Ho's throat.
[Strength Check: Overwhelming.]
The tank's neck snapped like dry wood.
The System's WhisperSilence.
The dungeon groaned, collapsing in on itself. Seun should have been terrified.
Instead, he felt alive.
[New Quest: Escape the Dungeon.]
[Reward: System Unlock – 'UnRuly Shop.']
Seun sprinted through crumbling halls, his body faster, stronger than ever before.
At the exit, he glanced back one last time—at the blood, the bodies, the power thrumming in his veins.
The system's voice echoed in his mind:
[Remember, User Seun:]
[The strong devour. The weak perish.]
[Will you rule… or be ruled?]
Seun stepped into the light.