The woods of Taixu didn't feel like part of the world she once knew. Towering above her, the Obsidianshade Trees loomed—each one thicker than a temple pillar and twice as tall as anything that ever grew on the human side of the world. Their bark shimmered like cracked onyx, and their roots pulsed faintly, as though alive. Even after weeks here, she couldn't quite accept them as real.
A young woman in a dark cloak stepped lightly across the moss-covered soil, keeping low. Her name was once Eliza Virele, immortal heiress of the Virele Conglomerate—untouchable, praised, and envied. But here, none of that mattered.
Now, she went by Yun ting. A ghost name,maybe it was much more cooler and beautiful
Yun ting crouched beneath the crooked bend of a tree root, her breath soft but eyes sharp. She had spent all day combing through the dense foliage for a creature strong enough to earn her some Genome Credits, yet weak enough for her to defeat alone.
And finally—there it was.
Wrapped in the coiling remains of a dying beast, a massive creature devoured its prey beneath the broken canopy. Her heart thumped.
"Beast Detected."
A screen flickered silently before her eyes as she tapped the edge of her bracer.
> Name: Velkwraith Widow hornet spider
Species: Class-Three Venoarachnid
Traits: Winged predator, venomous silk, explosive lunge
Estimated Length: 7.8 meters
Status:...........
Warning: Highly aggressive when threatened
Reward: 7–11 Genome Credits
Yun ting frowned. The Velkwraith Widow looked more like a walking nightmare than a spider—jet-black carapace layered like obsidian armor, eight dagger-like legs twitching with tension, and three membranous wings that fluttered noiselessly behind its back. Its abdomen was bloated and bulbous, pulsing as it drained the blood of the Scarlet Fanglings it had caught—beasts known for breeding like wildfire across Taixu Valley.
Yun ting slid her hand down to the dagger she wore on her hip. It had no name, but Knight-33 had forged it in the Tower of Eternal Doomsday back in Ruin O7-Z. She had never used it in battle—but its edges gleamed with quiet menace. The weight of it in her hand felt balanced, hungry.
She whispered, "You'll do just fine."
Just as she rose to peek over a ledge of twisted bark, her interface pinged again.
> Magical Beasts Slain: 0
Genome Credits: 2
Rank: unknown
The number stung.
Only two credits—and not even earned through combat. Just leftover scraps from her arrival. It wasn't enough to rent a roof over her head, let alone buy basic alchemy salves or a healing petal. Once, her toothpaste cost more than an entire shack in Taixu.
But things had changed.
In this world, wealth was blood and bones. If she wanted to survive, she had to hunt. Beasts, cores, blood, hide—all converted into Genome Credits, then into Taixu currency. Gold coins meant nothing here unless you earned them from something that bled.
And she still hadn't bled enough.
"I'll make them pay," she muttered under her breath, thinking of the ones who put her here—her aunt, that venomous leech, and her uncle, the coward who stood by. She remembered the humiliation of that Elder Council meeting. How they stripped her of everything. She would repay them in time.
But first, the Velkwraith Widow.
Too late—its head twitched. The beast suddenly stopped feeding.
Yun ting's pulse surged. She threw herself behind the tree, just as one of its legs lashed out with a speed that blurred the air. A chunk of bark exploded beside her. She tumbled hard onto her side, gasping.
Blood spilled down her arm. Her dagger skittered across the moss.
The Velkwraith didn't charge. Not yet. These beasts weren't simple-minded. They were fast, yes, but their enormous abdomen made rapid movement clumsy. They waited for the right moment—then struck with lethal grace.
The Widow rose into the air, its wings buzzing like a dying engine. Ashira forced herself up, ignoring the sting in her ribs. She couldn't let it flee. Every credit mattered. Every beast counted.
She extended her right arm and opened her palm.
A red spark flared.
Devil's palm.
The flame around her hand coiled outward, forming a string-like tether that latched to the Velkwraith's chitin with a snap. The beast shrieked—part challenge, part confusion—as its body jerked mid-flight. Ashira grit her teeth, her boots dragging back on the soil as the beast strained against her pull.
She glanced at the dagger still lodged in the dirt. Without hesitation, she lifted her hand again and whispered the incantation Knight-33 had taught her.
The blade flew to her palm.
Every inch of her body screamed in protest. She wasn't ready for this—had barely practiced Devil's palm from knight 33, but she had no choice.
Yun ting braced herself, took a runner's stance and launched into the air
Like a spear, she shot through the air, tethering the struggling Velkwraith in place as she soared directly under its bloated belly.
Her blade sliced upward.
A wet gash tore open in the spider's abdomen. Blood spilled like black syrup, thick and steaming. The Velkwraith spasmed in the air, limbs flailing, before it crashed to the earth with a soundless thud—its wings twitching one last time.
She landed with a hard roll, dirt in her teeth.
No time to celebrate.
She rushed forward, knees hitting the ground beside the body. She pressed her hand to the wound and focused again.
Scarlet fire burst from her fingers, fusing the edges of the wound shut. Magical beast blood was precious—highly conductive, alchemically potent. Letting it pour out was like spilling ancient wine.
But then the corpse moved.
One of the Widow's legs shot up, slicing through her side before she could dodge. Blood sprayed from her flank as she collapsed backward with a scream.
It had played dead.
The beast's body shuddered as it regained control, wings spreading again.
Yun ting's breath came ragged. She barely had the strength to stand. But her fingers twitched.
She raised her hand—not toward the beast—but toward the dagger again and aimed her index finger
The dagger soared like lightning.
This time it didn't aim for the belly.
It sliced clean through two of the wings, and the Widow screamed as it fell once more. Yun ting didn't wait. Her trembling finger adjusted, pointing at the legs.
The blade danced in the air—two quick strikes.
Two legs fell.
Yun ting lowered her hand, her breathing finally steadying.
She didn't smile. There was no thrill of victory.
The beast's wings had stopped twitching.
Yun Ting stood there in silence, chest heaving, one hand clutching her bleeding side, the other still loosely gripping the hilt of her dagger.
But her expression was flat. No pride. No fear. Just a tired grimness that made her feel older than she was.
She looked up at the sky. Night hadn't fallen yet, but the sky over Taixu always darkened faster than the sun moved. The clouds weren't clouds—they were smoke wisps from the Blight Mountains. They always seemed to swirl when something died.
Yun Ting bent down, hands slick with blood, and grunted as she grabbed the creature by its remaining leg.
"Let's go," she muttered.
The Velkwraith was heavy, and even with half its mass missing, its carapace dragged deep grooves through the moss and roots behind her. Most people had storage rings but with no enough genome points to convert to currency, there was no choice