The deeper forest was different.
The trees grew taller.
Thicker.
Their bark was blackened as if burned long ago.
The air carried a heavier scent — iron, ash, and something older.
Arin moved silently between the trunks.
Not recklessly.
Not confidently.
Carefully.
Predator Instinct wasn't telling him to charge.
It was telling him to observe.
His breathing slowed automatically.
Every step adjusted to avoid loose gravel.
Every shift of weight balanced perfectly.
This wasn't something he learned.
It was being calculated for him.
Or perhaps…
He was calculating faster than before.
A distant tremor rolled through the ground again.
Closer this time.
Arin climbed a low rock formation and crouched.
His enhanced vision cut through the darkness.
And then he saw it.
The Crimson Behemoth.
Eight meters tall.
Its body was plated in layered red scales that reflected faint moonlight.
Each step crushed earth into powder.
Its tail dragged behind like a living battering ram.
And its head—
Massive jaws lined with curved ivory fangs.
Molten gold eyes scanning the forest.
Arin's heart beat once.
Hard.
Predator Instinct flared immediately.
Threat Level: Extreme.
The system pulsed.
[Mid-Tier Entity Confirmed]
[Recommendation: Avoid Direct Confrontation]
Avoid.
Smart advice.
Arin stayed still.
He wasn't stupid.
He had barely stabilized from wolf fusion.
Mid-tier was a different class entirely.
But then—
The Behemoth stopped.
Its nostrils flared.
It turned its head.
Directly toward him.
Arin froze.
It had smelled blood.
His blood.
The massive creature shifted its stance.
The earth cracked beneath its claws.
Then—
It charged.
The speed was absurd for its size.
Arin leapt sideways off the rock just as the Behemoth slammed into it.
Stone exploded outward.
Debris shredded nearby trees.
He rolled across the dirt and sprang up instantly.
Too fast.
The Behemoth swung its tail.
Arin ducked—
Too slow.
The impact sent him flying into a tree trunk.
Wood splintered.
Air vanished from his lungs.
Pain erupted across his ribs.
He hit the ground hard.
Predator Instinct screamed.
Move.
Now.
The Behemoth stomped downward.
Arin rolled barely in time.
The ground where he had been standing collapsed into a crater.
He sprang to his feet again, breathing sharp.
This wasn't like the wolves.
There was no rhythm to read.
No pack pattern.
Only overwhelming force.
He circled.
Looking for weakness.
Its scales overlapped like armor plating.
Neck thick.
Chest reinforced.
Underbelly—
Softer.
But reaching it meant getting beneath it.
Suicide range.
The Behemoth roared.
The sound vibrated through his bones.
Arin charged anyway.
If he kept running, he'd exhaust himself first.
He needed data.
The Behemoth swung a claw.
Arin slid beneath it and slashed across its foreleg.
Sparks flew.
The blade barely scratched the scales.
Useless.
The tail whipped again.
This time it caught his thigh.
Bone-rattling force hurled him across the clearing.
He hit the ground and didn't get up immediately.
Blood filled his mouth.
His leg screamed in protest.
Possibly fractured.
The Behemoth advanced slowly now.
Confident.
It wasn't rushing.
It knew he couldn't escape.
Arin forced himself upright.
One leg unstable.
Breathing uneven.
Predator Instinct flickered.
Straining.
He needed more power.
Now.
His eyes flicked to the side.
A dead Venom Crawler corpse lay partially buried under debris from the earlier impact.
Risky.
Unstable.
But necessary.
He dashed toward it.
The Behemoth lunged instantly.
Arin slid beneath a fallen trunk, barely avoiding its jaws.
He grabbed the crawler corpse and tore into it without hesitation.
Rotten flesh.
Bitter.
Poisonous.
He swallowed.
The effect was immediate.
His veins darkened.
Burning sensation spread through his bloodstream.
[Devour Complete]
[Toxic Core Acquired]
[Warning: Host Physiology Under Strain]
He staggered.
The Behemoth smashed through the trunk and swiped again.
Arin ducked, barely.
His shoulder tore open.
Blood sprayed.
He stumbled backward.
The poison inside him felt like acid.
He could feel his organs fighting it.
Adapting.
The Behemoth roared and lunged again—
Arin didn't dodge.
He ran toward it.
Directly beneath its body.
Madness.
Its jaws snapped inches from his head.
He slid across the dirt and drove his blade upward into its underbelly.
This time—
The blade pierced.
Barely.
But enough.
He twisted and withdrew instantly before the body collapsed.
Dark red blood poured from the wound.
The Behemoth shrieked in rage.
It spun violently.
Tail smashing everything nearby.
One hit caught Arin across the ribs.
Something cracked.
He flew again.
This time he didn't stand quickly.
Vision blurred.
Breathing shallow.
The Behemoth's movements slowed slightly.
The toxin was working.
Not lethal.
But weakening.
Still—
It wasn't enough.
The massive creature staggered once.
Then stabilized.
Too strong.
Arin's vision darkened at the edges.
He couldn't survive another direct hit.
The system pulsed faintly.
[Critical Condition Detected]
[Gene Instability Threshold Nearing]
His body was reaching limit.
Then—
A new option flickered.
[Forced Fusion Available]
Warning: Survival Probability 41%
Forty-one percent.
Meaning fifty-nine percent chance of death.
Arin laughed weakly.
"Better than zero."
The Behemoth charged again.
He closed his eyes.
"Fuse everything."
The world detonated.
Pain beyond anything he'd felt before.
His bones vibrated violently.
Muscles tore and reattached.
Poison spread through his veins—
Then changed.
Reconfigured.
His mind fractured into instincts.
Wolf. Venom. Survival. Impact resistance. Speed.
They collided.
Compressed.
Rewritten.
The Behemoth's claws descended—
And time snapped back.
Arin moved.
Not consciously.
Perfectly.
He slipped between the descending claws with millimeter precision.
The world felt slower.
Not because it was.
Because he was faster.
He sprinted up the Behemoth's foreleg.
Using scale ridges as footholds.
Impossible before.
Now effortless.
The creature roared in confusion.
Arin reached its shoulder.
Leapt.
And drove his blade directly into its eye.
Deep.
The Behemoth convulsed violently.
He held on.
Twisting the blade further into its skull.
The toxin surged through the bloodstream.
Amplified.
Enhanced.
Its movements became erratic.
Massive body stumbling.
Crashing through trees.
Arin leapt off just as it collapsed forward.
The earth shook.
Silence followed.
Dust slowly settled.
The Behemoth twitched once.
Then stopped.
Arin stood several meters away.
Breathing heavily.
Barely upright.
His vision cleared slowly.
[Fusion Complete]
[New Ability Created: Crimson Predator State]
Temporary explosive enhancement under lethal threat.
Boosted strength, speed, and toxin amplification.
He stared at his shaking hands.
They were no longer trembling from fear.
They were trembling from transformation.
He looked at the corpse.
Mid-tier.
Dead.
By his hands.
[Devour Option Available – Crimson Behemoth]
This was dangerous.
Mid-tier genetic load could destroy him.
But refusing it meant stagnation.
Arin walked toward the body.
Slowly.
Each step deliberate.
He placed his hand against its scaled hide.
"Devour."
The world vanished again.
This time the pain was colder.
Deeper.
It felt like his skeleton was being melted and reforged.
He screamed.
Bones cracking audibly.
Spine reshaping.
[Ascension Triggered]
[Flesh Tier → Bone Tier]
The transformation lasted longer than the fight.
When it ended—
Arin collapsed onto one knee.
Sweat poured down his face.
But his body felt…
Heavier.
Denser.
Stronger.
He flexed his hand.
The air resistance itself felt different.
[New Trait Acquired: Crimson Armor Skin]
Hardened dermal plating during combat activation.
He stood slowly.
And for the first time—
The Primal Realm didn't feel suffocating.
It felt navigable.
Conquerable.
But then—
A chill ran down his spine.
Predator Instinct activated sharply.
He wasn't alone.
Not beast.
Human.
High above, beyond the shattered canopy, on a floating rock formation—
A figure stood.
Watching.
Silver hair flowing in the dark wind.
Violet eyes glowing faintly.
Power radiated from her presence.
Far beyond his current level.
She had witnessed everything.
Arin's silver eyes met hers.
For one second.
Distance didn't matter.
Recognition passed between them.
Not fear.
Not hostility.
Interest.
Then—
She vanished.
As if she had never been there.
Arin remained still for several seconds.
His instincts told him one thing clearly.
That presence…
Was stronger than the Behemoth.
Much stronger.
And she had chosen not to intervene.
The wristband pulsed faintly.
[High-Tier Lifeform Observed]
High-tier.
So this was only the beginning.
Arin looked at the Behemoth corpse one last time.
Then toward the deeper forest.
Something inside him had changed tonight.
Not just his body.
His perspective.
The academy hall.
The laughter.
Zero percent.
It felt distant now.
Irrelevant.
The Primal Realm didn't care about compatibility scores.
It cared about survival.
About adaptation.
About who could endure transformation.
Arin turned toward the direction of the Gate.
He would leave for now.
Recover.
Return stronger.
Because deeper within this realm—
Something even larger was stirring.
And somewhere in the shadows—
A silver-haired observer had taken interest in him.
The Abyss had noticed.
And it was curious.