---
The air inside the dungeon had changed.
The stench of rotting monsters still lingered, but now it was layered beneath something heavier—an energy so dense, so foreign, that even the walls of the Denguen seemed to hum with unease.
Jin-Soo stood alone, surrounded by ashes and splintered bones. The once dark prison corridors were now smeared with the aftermath of his awakening—torn limbs, burned skulls, and a floor soaked in silence.
He didn't stumble anymore. He didn't tremble with every step.
Every inch of his skin, every cell in his body, felt alive—reborn. Not just stronger. Not just healed. Different.
His breathing had changed.
Slow. Controlled.
As if his lungs had learned how to use pain as fuel.
> [Level: 14]
[Soul Assimilation Progress: 12.4%]
[Physical Stats: Normalizing to Host's Limit… Enhanced Host Potential Detected.]
[Warning: Host may exceed human limitations if more than 25% of monster essence is absorbed.]
Jin-Soo exhaled.
> "Let me exceed," he whispered.
---
He walked through the tunnels of the lower level—the path where no light reached. The darkness didn't bother him. With every step, his senses sharpened. He could feel the heat of nearby monsters, the tremors of steps from far away, even the breath of windless space.
> [Skill Activated: Monster Sense]
A blink—five signatures.
All ahead.
Three waiting, two moving.
He didn't slow down.
---
In another section of the cavern, five monsters crouched around a large obsidian gate—the exit of the lower prison layer, sealed to prevent prisoners from ever reaching the surface again.
They were armored demons, taller than any human, each wielding rusted blades made from the bones of their past victims.
Suddenly, the first one tensed.
It felt something. A distortion in the air.
Then—it saw him.
A boy in blood-soaked clothes walking toward them, no armor, no weapon in hand. Just a thin dagger and a pair of eyes that glowed faintly red.
They laughed.
They didn't laugh for long.
The moment the first lunged forward, Jin-Soo stepped beneath its swing, pivoted low, and drove his dagger through the creature's jaw and straight through the skull. The blade snapped.
He didn't care.
He grabbed the demon's falling body and used it as a shield as two others rushed.
One slashed. Jin-Soo ducked. His elbow crashed into the demon's throat. A sick crunch. Then—he snatched the demon's weapon midair and cleaved the other's leg clean off.
Screams echoed, but not from him.
Not anymore.
> [Absorption: Success]
[+170 Strength | +60 Stamina | +45 Endurance]
[Skill Acquired: Bone Blades – Summon twin arm-length bone swords from condensed monster essence.]
A white light shimmered around his forearms. With a thought, two bone-colored swords erupted from his wrists—curved, serrated, pulsing faintly like they were alive.
Jin-Soo looked down at the final demon, crawling away, begging in some guttural language.
He didn't speak. Didn't listen.
He brought the blade down.
> [Absorption Complete.]
> [Gate Unlocked.]
---
A few moments later...
Jin-Soo emerged from the lower prison level and stood at the edge of the throne's chamber once more.
The Monarch was still there—lounging atop its throne, one leg lazily draped across the stone edge. It hadn't moved since the others left. Perhaps it had been watching the whole time.
Its eyes locked on Jin-Soo—and narrowed slightly.
"You've changed," the Monarch said.
Jin-Soo said nothing.
"A tool becomes a beast. Fascinating."
He stepped forward, slow and steady.
The Monarch did not stop him.
"Tell me," it continued, voice echoing across the cavern like a forgotten song, "what drives you now? Vengeance? Desperation? Madness?"
Jin-Soo paused a few meters away, face unreadable.
Then he spoke.
"None of those."
He clenched his fists. The bone blades retracted into his arms with a low crackle.
"I was betrayed. I was tortured. I was discarded."
His voice didn't rise. It didn't need to.
"But I don't want revenge for pain. I want to survive it. To carry it. And to make those who walk over people like me understand… that the weak don't die quietly."
The Monarch tilted its head slightly. "Beautiful. Terrifying."
"I'll be back," Jin-Soo said.
"I know," the Monarch replied. "You'll walk through blood to do it. And I'll be waiting."
With a single motion, Jin-Soo turned toward the exit portal—the main gate that led out of the dungeon. The light shimmered softly, beckoning.
> [System Alert: Exit Detected – Return to Reality?]
[Time Passed Outside: 3 Hours, 42 Minutes]
He stepped into it without hesitation.
And the dungeon—once his hell—disappeared behind him.
---
Outside – Association Monitoring Point
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
"Portal fluctuations detected," a technician said, blinking at the monitor.
"What the hell?" a supervisor frowned. "There shouldn't be anyone left in there."
The portal shimmered. Glowed. Roared.
And then—Jin-Soo emerged.
Covered in blood. No armor. No backup.
Just him.
His eyes scanned the shocked crowd of agents and medics. Every gun pointed toward him. People screamed. Hunters leapt back.
"Stop! Identify yourself!"
Jin-Soo raised his hand and tossed a shattered Hunter ID badge onto the floor. It landed with a crack.
The ID was old. Worn. Blood-stained.
But the name was clear:
"Jin-Soo – E-Rank – Active."
The agents blinked.
"That's impossible. He died inside. He was sacrificed—"
Jin-Soo walked past them.
Each step left a print of blood on the cold stone.
He didn't speak.
Not until someone shouted:
"Hey! What are you?! You're not human anymore, are you?!"
Jin-Soo paused at the gate of the station.
Turned his head slowly.
And said with quiet finality:
"I'm what the world made me."
---