Kiel couldn't stop shaking.
Not from fear — not anymore — but from the residual high of killing something that should've turned him into red mist.
His claws twitched involuntarily. His heart thundered. Every inch of his body felt alive, charged with energy that didn't belong to a human.
[VITAL SIGNS STABILIZING...]
[PREDATOR MODE: COOLDOWN - 7 MINUTES REMAINING]
[NOTE: SYSTEM SYNCHRONIZATION 38% COMPLETE]
Merren paced just a few steps away, gun still drawn but pointed at the ground. She looked at Kiel like he was something between a weapon and a bomb.
"You were... nothing yesterday," she said, eyes narrowing. "Now you're tearing through a chimera like some godspawn. What changed?"
Kiel didn't answer.
Because he didn't know how to explain it.
That voice in his head. The stats. The instincts that weren't his. The System.
Instead, he wiped black ichor off his claws and stood up.
"I need to get stronger," he said. "Fast."
Merren snorted. "Obviously. But you're unstable. Whatever power you have—it's not clean. Systems aren't supposed to mutate people like this. You're lucky you're still you."
Kiel's jaw clenched. Still me? The thought stuck with him.
How long would he remain human?
He looked down at the armored patch forming near his shoulder, hardened like chitin. His reflection in a shattered piece of metal showed slitted pupils, faintly glowing.
"I'm done being weak," he said. "I'm done scavenging, begging for food, hiding in the ruins."
Merren hesitated. "So what now? You planning to evolve your way to the top?"
Kiel looked toward the horizon. Smoke in the distance. Screams. Roars. The usual soundtrack of Sector 12.
"No," he said quietly. "I'm going to hunt my way there."
They left the crater behind, heading toward the outer fringes of the Ruin Belt — a stretch of broken terrain where beast activity was high, but so was the loot. Merren kept a cautious distance, and Kiel didn't blame her.
They encountered their first beast by dusk.
It was a Razorback Hound — fast, aggressive, and covered in rows of retractable quills.
Kiel moved before Merren could even raise her weapon.
His claws dug into the dirt as he sprinted low. The hound charged, snarling, its back flaring with needle-like spines.
Too slow.
Kiel sidestepped, slashed, and twisted.
The beast's head hit the ground before the rest of its body realized it was dead.
[TARGET TERMINATED: RAZORBACK HOUND]
[TRAIT AVAILABLE: "Quillburst" – Launch defensive spines from back]
[ABSORB TRAIT? NOTE: Host Trait Limit (3/3) Reached.]
[Option: Replace existing trait?]
Kiel blinked. The option hovered. He hesitated.
He currently had:
Void Reflexes
Adaptive Muscle Strands
Chitinous Armor
Useful... but "Quillburst" offered ranged defense.
He selected it, replacing Chitinous Armor.
[Trait Swapped. Instability Increased: 14%]
[Note: Frequent swapping increases mutation rate.]
Kiel winced. His back itched violently, then split open with a wet crack as rows of retracted quills formed under his skin, waiting for activation.
Merren looked pale.
"You're not just changing," she muttered. "You're unraveling."
Kiel said nothing. He felt it too — the slow creep of mutation, like something ancient waking up inside his bones. But it was the only path forward.
Survive. Hunt. Adapt. Repeat.
The System chimed again.
[Progress Update: Beast Kills – 2/10]
[Next Milestone Reward: "Predator's Sense" Passive Ability]
"What's that?" Kiel asked aloud.
[PREDATOR'S SENSE: The ability to detect prey and threats within a 50-meter radius. Evolves with host.]
Kiel grinned.
Useful.
He looked up at the darkening sky. Stars didn't shine here anymore — just the occasional tear in space where more monsters would crawl through.
"Eight more to go," he said.
And then?
He'd be ready to challenge a real apex.