First Blood

A breath.
A heartbeat.
A crack of a branch.

Rioshi crouched low, muscles tense, eyes scanning the darkness.
The trees around him loomed like twisted sentinels, their gnarled trunks seeming to creep closer with each breath.
The wind carried a sharp, metallic scent.

Blood.

He hadn’t moved in five minutes.
His bare feet touched cold, slimy moss.
He felt no fear… no courage.
Only the void — as always.

But this time, that void wasn't a burden.
It became… pure focus.

[Mental connection sustained.]
[Environment analysis: hostile.]

A faint hum echoed in his skull since the system had activated.

[Vital signs: stable. No equipment detected.]
[No skill acquired.]
[Recommendation: tactical observation.]

To his left — movement in a bush.
Small. Erratic.
Something was breathing.

Then he saw it.

A creature.
Short. Stocky. Covered in jagged black fur.
Two yellow eyes gleamed in the dark.
It had the maw of a rat — but too wide. Too… human.

And in its paw, a bone.
Human.

Rioshi stood slowly. The creature growled.

[Target analysis: unknown species. Temporary designation: Rattulf.]
[Threat level: low. Level 2.]
[Behavior: territorial, aggressive.]

“…It’s real,” he murmured.

The creature lunged without warning.
Rioshi dodged by pure reflex, throwing himself to the ground as its jaws snapped through empty air above him.
He rolled, sprang back up, stepped away.

The Rattulf growled again — and charged.

Rioshi had no weapon.
No training.
No advantage.

But he had the Évolis.

[Survival Protocol activated.]
[Real-time scan of enemy movement.]

A pale-blue circle flickered in his vision.
Lines traced across the Rattulf’s body — joints, stress points, attack angles.

And suddenly, everything slowed.

The creature leapt again.
This time, Rioshi saw it coming.

He dipped low, swung his arm, pivoted on one foot — and struck with his elbow.
Not powerful, but precise.

The Rattulf crashed to the ground.

“…This isn’t me. It’s…”

[First interaction successful. Synchronization in progress.]

Rioshi stepped forward.
The beast was still alive, whimpering. Wounded. Trembling.

Its eyes… were terrified.

“You wanted to live.
So do I.”

He struck.

A single, clean sound. Skull crushed.

Silence fell.

A shiver ran down his spine.
No triumph. No regret.
Just the metallic taste of reality.

Then — a faint, bluish light rose from the beast’s corpse.
It slithered toward him like sentient smoke… and entered his chest.

[Assimilation in progress.]
[Partial memory absorbed.]
[Skill acquired: Animal Instinct – Heightened Senses (Lv. 1)]

His breath quickened. Pupils dilated.
He heard… everything.

The rustle of leaves ten meters away.
The flap of an insect’s wings behind him.
The heartbeat of something far off… slow and steady.

“…I can feel.”

It was new.
A sensation.
Faint. Primitive. But real.
Something pulsed in the depths of his inner void.

[New parameter: Enhanced tactile senses.]
[Évolis: Growth initiated.]

“Every monster… every victory… I can understand them,” he whispered.

He crouched by the Rattulf’s body.
Touched it. Closed his eyes.

He didn’t just see a creature.
He felt its life.
Its fears.
Its world.
Its hunger.
Its loneliness.
Its hatred.

“…This isn’t power.
It’s integration.”

He rose.

And for the first time, his heart beat… harder.

Not from emotion.
But from tension.
From will.

In the forest’s silence, a cold wind blew.

And far away, in the shadowed leaves…

Two more pairs of eyes just opened.

The hunt had begun.