Chapter 1 — The Day They Left Him Behind
Kai's legs were shaking long before the monster appeared.
The air inside the Gate felt wrong. Heavy. Like the smell before lightning hits the ground. The green-haired instructor who led them here said it was safe… a training dungeon for final-year students. Just some weak slimes. Nothing to worry about.
But Kai had always been good at sensing danger.
And this place reeked of death.
Ahead of him, his classmates walked confidently with cheap school-issued weapons. They chatted about their certain future — the awakening ceremony only hours away. University exams in three months. Successful hunters. Bright lives.
They forgot Kai was walking behind them.
Or maybe they never saw him in the first place.
Their group reached a clearing where stagnant blue puddles dotted the ground like spilled paint. The instructor checked his device.
"Just slimes ahead. Easy kills. You can handle these."
He didn't even glance at Kai.
Students rushed forward, excited to practice. Kai stayed back. He had no weapon. They'd run out before he arrived late. His fault, he guessed.
The first slime hopped out. A bright blue blob. The class screamed. The instructor laughed.
"Relax! They're harmless."
He stepped away to take a call — like nothing bad could ever happen here.
That's when the ground shook.
A deeper ripple rolled through the puddles. The blue water erupted upward as something enormous surged out. Students froze — the instructor dropped his phone.
A sludge monster twice the size of a car rose from the earth, dripping acid from its jagged maw.
"That's not a training dungeon monster!" someone shouted.
The giant slime slammed the ground. Spikes of hardened gel shot out. Screams followed. Blood hit the air.
Students ran. Some grabbed friends. Some shoved others down to move faster.
Kai felt the world slow as one detail became clear:
They were leaving him behind.
"Wait—! Don't leave me!" he yelled.
Nobody turned back.
Someone actually pushed him toward the monster.
"It needs a distraction! Just die already, Kai!"
His face smashed into dirt. Pain exploded across his cheek. The massive slime's shadow loomed over him. He could see his reflection in the glossy surface — terrified, pathetic.
He crawled backward uselessly.
Then the world changed.
A flicker of light appeared in front of his eyes — a floating window.
[Awakening Complete]Talent Grade: FAbility: Drop Maker Lv.1
Kai almost laughed. The timing was cruel. His ability sounded like a joke. A drop maker? The system couldn't even give him something useful?
The ground shook again. The monster moved closer. Kai squeezed his eyes shut—
A smaller slime, dislodged from the giant's body, rolled next to him. It lunged. Instinct took over. He grabbed a broken rock and smashed the little blob repeatedly until it flattened and stilled.
Another window flashed.
[Monster Defeated: Small Slime]Gained: 10 EXPLevel Up! 1 → 2Drop Acquired: Random (Common)
Something popped out from the slime corpse — a tiny clear marble.
Kai stared.
"What… is that…?"
The giant slime screeched. Acid splashed nearby. Kai flinched back, heart pounding.
His body felt… different. Stronger. Only a bit, but enough to notice.
He scrambled to his feet — too late.
The giant slime surged forward to crush him.
Then—
The shadows moved.
A blur of darkness tore past Kai. Claws ripped through the gel flesh, tearing the creature in half in a single strike. Acid pooled on the ground — but the darkness danced away, untouched.
A wolf stepped out of the shadows.
Tall as Kai's chest, fur black like a moonless sky, eyes glowing with deep violet hunger. Ancient. Powerful. Wrong. Like it didn't belong in this world.
Kai froze as it stared directly into him.
Another system message appeared:
[Contract Choice Detected]Unique Monster: Shadow Wolf (Extinct Rank)Would you like to form a bond?Yes / No
His breath caught.
This… this was real power.
The wolf growled — low, threatening — and stepped toward him. Its presence pressed down like a weight. Like the threat of death itself.
Kai forced his shaking hand toward the window.
"Yes," he whispered.
His finger tapped.
[Bond Formed]Shade — Shadow WolfLoyalty: Instinct Bound (Only to Contract Holder)Warning: This creature will not accept other mastersWarning: This creature cannot be tracked by authorized Guild systemsWarning: This creature should not exist
The instructor, who had finally noticed, stared in horror.
"T-That's… impossible…! That wolf is an extinction-class beast—!"
Kai didn't hear the rest.
Because the wolf — Shade — stepped beside him, silent and ready to kill anything that came near.
The instructor looked like he wanted to run.
The same classmates who left Kai for dead were now frozen, staring in fear.
Kai realized something then.
Nobody ever stuck around for him.
But now… something ancient had chosen him.
He wiped the blood from his lip, eyes turning cold.
If the world wanted him dead…
Then he would become strong enough to tear the world apart.
[Status Window Updated]
Name: Kai CrestfallLevel: 2Class: NoneTalent: FAbility: Drop Maker Lv.1HP: 130Strength: 6Agility: 7Stamina: 6Intelligence: 6Luck: 10Shadow Companion: ShadePower Rating: 2.1 (Still bottom of the world)
Still weak. Still not enough to survive.
But not alone anymore.
The giant slime's corpse convulsed — splitting open to reveal a darker, stronger core.
A second phase.
Kai swallowed hard.
Shade lowered into a ready stance.
They would survive this.
And then they would take revenge.