Chapter 1 – The Bite in the Dark
The rain didn't stop all night.
It hammered against the tin roofs of the slums, turning the narrow alleys into shallow rivers.
Most people stayed inside, but for Kian Voss, "inside" was a broken, leaking shack that barely kept out the cold.
He pulled his hoodie tighter and kept walking.
The city at night wasn't safe — not with the recent surge of "animal attacks" — but Kian didn't have a choice. His shift at the delivery warehouse had ended late, and walking home through the alleys was the only way to avoid the bus fare.
The rain masked the sound of footsteps behind him.
At first, he thought it was just his imagination, but then a shadow slipped across the dim light from a streetlamp.
Kian froze.
He turned.
The alley was empty.
"You're imagining things," he muttered to himself.
He took two more steps.
The sound came again — heavier this time, almost like… paws.
Before he could react, something lunged out of the darkness.
It wasn't human.
It wasn't even close.
A massive shape, dripping wet, with eyes that glowed faintly gold.
Its jaw opened wide, revealing teeth that looked more like blades than bone.
Kian didn't scream — he didn't have the time.
The creature slammed him to the ground, claws pinning his shoulders.
Its hot breath was all he could smell before it bit deep into his side.
—Warning: Fatal injury detected. Emergency protocol initiating.
The voice didn't come from outside.
It came from inside his head.
[ Beast System successfully installed. ]
[ Host compatibility: 97% ]
[ Initiating assimilation… ]
Kian's vision blurred. Pain like molten fire spread from the bite, rushing through his veins, turning every nerve into a live wire. His heart pounded as if it would burst.
The beast growled again, but its weight suddenly felt lighter… smaller.
No.
It wasn't smaller.
He was changing.
---
When Kian opened his eyes again, the alley was empty except for the rain — and the taste of blood in his mouth. His hands were trembling… no, claws. His nails were sharp and curved, black at the tips.
"What the hell…?"
[ Beast System Activated ]
[ Transformation State: 5% ]
[ Passive Skill Unlocked: Beast's Instinct (Lv. 1) ]
Words hovered in the air in front of him — not written, not projected, but somehow… real. They pulsed faintly, vanishing when he blinked.
His chest heaved. He touched the wound on his side, but the skin had already sealed, leaving only faint claw marks.
This wasn't possible.
Nothing about this was possible.
---
Kian stumbled home, barely remembering the walk. The shack smelled of damp wood and rust. He locked the door, slid to the floor, and pressed his back to the wall.
Beast System? Transformation?
He wanted to think it was a fever dream, but his nails still looked unnatural. And somewhere deep inside, he could feel something moving — a second heartbeat, slow and powerful.
[ Tutorial Quest Initiated: Survive the First Hunt. ]
[ Objective: Hunt and kill one Class F creature. Time limit: 12 hours. ]
The text hung in his vision until he couldn't ignore it.
His stomach twisted.
"I'm not a killer," he whispered.
[ Failure Penalty: Forced Assimilation. ]
Kian didn't know what "forced assimilation" meant, but every instinct told him it wasn't good. His body was still trembling from the earlier change, but the new instincts whispered one truth into his mind: hunt, or die.
---
One hour later
The city outskirts were quiet, but the rain had driven some creatures closer to human territory. Kian kept to the shadows, every sense sharper than it had ever been. He could hear the splash of a rat in a puddle twenty meters away. Smell the stench of rotting food three streets over.
Something else was out here.
The sound came first — a wet scraping, like claws dragging over concrete. Kian followed it, the new instincts guiding his steps. He turned a corner and froze.
A dog-like beast crouched over a carcass, its hide mottled with sickly gray fur, eyes glowing faintly red.
[ Target identified: Scavenger Beast (Class F) ]
[ Recommended action: Eliminate. ]
The thing's head snapped toward him, lips peeling back in a snarl.
Kian's legs moved before his brain caught up. The beast lunged, jaws snapping, but this time his reflexes were faster. He sidestepped, claws slashing out. The sensation was alien — the strength, the speed — but also right, like his body had been waiting for this all along.
His claws ripped through the creature's neck. Warm blood sprayed, mixing with the rain.
[ Target eliminated. ]
[ Quest complete. ]
[ Reward: Skill — Blood Surge (Lv. 1). ]
Kian staggered back, chest heaving. He'd never killed anything bigger than a cockroach in his life… but right now, he didn't feel disgust. He felt… alive.
And that scared him more than anything else.
---
Elsewhere, far above the city…
A man in a black suit stood before a wall of screens, each showing camera feeds from across the city. His eyes locked on the grainy image of Kian tearing into the scavenger beast.
"So," the man murmured, "a new host has appeared."
Behind him, another figure — a woman with silver hair and a faintly glowing badge — smiled.
"The Administrator will be interested."
---
Back in his shack, Kian collapsed on the bed.
[ Beast System: Status ]
Name: Kian Voss
Level: 1
Race: Human-Beast Hybrid (Unstable)
HP: 120/120
Strength: 12
Agility: 14
Endurance: 10
Skills: Beast's Instinct (Lv. 1), Blood Surge (Lv. 1)
He stared at the floating panel until sleep took him.
The rain had stopped, but the city was already changing — and so was he.