Chapter 2 – The Demon’s Forest

He couldn't remember how long he’d been lying there.

His shoulder throbbed. His ribs screamed. His whole body felt like it had been thrown into a meat grinder and spat out onto the forest floor. Again.

But somehow… he was still breathing.

That was a start.

He slowly opened his eyes.

Above him, the sky was nothing but jagged black branches. There were no stars. No moon. Just swirling clouds and red mist that clung to the treetops like smoke. The canopy pulsed faintly—as if the forest itself was breathing.

Everything was wrong.

The bark on the trees shimmered like obsidian. The ground was too soft, and it moved slightly under his hands, as though something alive pulsed beneath the soil. Strange mushrooms blinked at him as he passed. The air smelled like ash and wet copper.

His body groaned in protest as he sat up. Pain flared instantly, sharp and deep.

“Still alive,” he muttered. “Not sure that’s a win.”

That’s when the interface appeared again.

[SYSTEM SYNC: 8%]
[USER: RIKU KUROGANE]
[LEVEL: 1] – XP: 0 / 100
Class: UNASSIGNED
Title: NONE

HP: 47 / 100
Status: Fractured Shoulder / Minor Bleeding / Pain Suppression Active
Available Actions: SURVIVE / FLEE / FIGHT

“What... is this?” Riku whispered.

It floated in front of him like a hologram, transparent but solid, anchored to his gaze. Every time he blinked, it adjusted—responding to thought, voice, maybe both.

This was no game interface. It felt alive. Like something watching. Measuring.

A message blinked red at the bottom of the screen.

[System Activation Delayed – Divine Interference Detected]
[Emergency Protocol: Godhunter Core Stabilized]
[Welcome.]

“Godhunter…?”

The word echoed in his skull. Cold. Foreign. Heavy.

Another growl snapped his attention to the left.

There—just beyond the trees—something moved. Tall. Quadrupedal. Its eyes glowed faint red, barely visible through the fog. It sniffed the air, then let out a low, throaty growl.

The system pulsed.

[TARGET IDENTIFIED: CORRUPTED STALKER – LV 12]
Hostility: High
Detection: 3.4s – Hide or engage immediately
WARNING: Combat not recommended

Riku’s heart slammed against his ribs.

He looked around—nothing but mud, rotting trees, and thorned bushes.

Move, damn it!

He rolled into a low ditch just as the beast burst through the brush, limbs pounding into the earth like iron hammers. It snarled and sniffed the air, long tongue flicking between jagged teeth.

It was taller than a horse, with mottled black fur and too many legs. A twisted spine protruded from its back like a row of broken swords.

Riku didn’t breathe.

The monster stalked closer… then paused. Sniffed. Snorted.

It turned away.

And vanished.

He didn’t move for almost ten minutes.

When he finally let himself breathe again, it came out in short, shaking gasps.

He was going to die here. Not because he was weak—though he was—but because this place wanted him dead. The air, the trees, the soil… everything here screamed you do not belong.

The Flame Queen had dropped him into a pit of hell, expecting him to vanish like a bad dream.

And honestly?

That almost worked.

But then the interface pulsed again.

[NEW QUEST UNLOCKED: “Survive One Night”]
Time Remaining: 3 hours 42 minutes
Rewards: +1 Trait Unlock / Stat Boost / First Combat Skill
Optional Objective: Kill a Corrupted Beast – Title Reward Available

He stared at it.

"Three hours..." he whispered.

Three hours of this hell. Of bleeding, hiding, and running from monsters designed to break people like him.

He sat up again, using the side of a tree to brace himself. His shoulder howled in protest, but he forced his body to move.

If this was what the system wanted…

Then he’d survive.

Just to spite them.

He limped through the brush, dragging his injured arm and gripping a stick with the other. His stamina was dropping fast—he could see it in the bottom-left corner of the HUD, blinking red.

He needed shelter. Food. Anything.

What he found instead was a corpse.

It lay half-buried in a tangle of vines, a humanoid shape wrapped in torn cloth. The body was already partially decomposed, but one thing caught his eye—a rusty dagger still clutched in its hand.

Riku knelt and pulled it free.

The interface blinked.

[LOOT ACQUIRED – Jagged Rusted Dagger]
+1 Weapon Equipped – Crit Chance: +2% / Durability: 22%

“Better than a stick.”

Then the growl returned.

Same beast. Same red eyes.

Riku turned—and ran.

This time, the monster didn’t hesitate.

It charged.

Riku dodged between trees, ducked low, stumbled—then turned and threw the dagger.

It bounced harmlessly off the creature’s shoulder.

“Figures!”

The monster pounced.

Riku dove under a root arch, rolled, and grabbed the dagger again. The creature clawed toward him. He ducked. Slashed. Missed. Then, in a panic, drove the dagger upward—

Into its neck.

The creature howled.

Black blood sprayed.

Riku was thrown against a tree.

[CRITICAL STRIKE – CORRUPTED STALKER – HP 12%]
[WARNING – User HP: 26 / 100]
[Activate Skill: “Blood Awakening”? Y/N]

Riku blinked.

“YES!”

A pulse of crimson light surged through him.

[Skill Activated: BLOOD AWAKENING]
STR +3 / Speed +20% / Duration: 10s]

Everything slowed.

The monster leapt again, but this time Riku moved.

Fast.

He sidestepped, rolled behind it, and plunged the dagger deep into its eye.

It shrieked and collapsed, twitching.

Dead.

Riku fell to his knees.

Panting. Bleeding. Alive.

And the system chimed.

[ENEMY DEFEATED – Corrupted Stalker – LV 12]
XP GAINED: +80 (Underdog Bonus: +30)
[LEVEL UP → LV 2]
Stat Points +3 / New Skill Unlocked: “Instinctive Evasion Lv.1”
Optional Objective Complete – Title Unlocked: “The Rejected”

He stared at the screen as blood dripped from his hands.

The system had accepted him.

Even if no one else did.

He looked up at the red sky, trembling, teeth gritted.

“Fine. You want to throw me away?”

He stood.

“I’ll climb back out.”