Chapter 4 – Leveling Beyond Limits

It started with a flicker.

One moment, a fanged crawler slithered from the shadows—eyes burning, venom dripping, claws raised. The next, it hesitated.

Riku stepped into the clearing without fear.

The crawler’s body tensed.

Then, it bolted.

Riku didn’t chase it.

He just watched.

A ghost of a grin touched his blood-crusted lips.

[SYSTEM NOTICE]
[Predator Status Achieved]
Territorial Influence Detected – Fear Aura Expanded: +15 meters
Forest Reaction: Elevated Caution]

The Demon’s Forest had shifted.

Once, it had treated him like prey.

Now, it recognized a new predator.

And predators, it feared.

He stalked the twisted wilds in silence, moving with the ease of a shadow. Trees no longer towered over him like executioners; they were shelter, allies, watchtowers.

He no longer stumbled. He flowed.

No longer whimpered. He roared.

No longer survived.

He conquered.

Every beast he slew brought more clarity—more XP, more perks, more terrifying efficiency.

[LEVEL UP → LV 12]
New Passive Acquired: Underdog’s Resilience
Effect: Survive one fatal blow per day at 1 HP. Gain +30% defense for 10 seconds after.]

It triggered the very next night.

A shadowbeast leapt from above, ripping a gash through his chest, snapping ribs.

The pain dropped him to his knees. Breath shallow. Heart slowing.

And then—

A pulse.

The system flared.

His eyes widened.

[Underdog’s Resilience: ACTIVATED]
HP Stabilized at 1. Defense increased. Skill Empowerment temporary: +15%]

He surged upward, a scream ripping from his throat.

One slash.

Two.

Three.

The beast crumbled—just another corpse on the path he carved.

[LEVEL UP → LV 13]
Solo Kill Bonus Perk Unlocked]
Effect: Fighting alone grants +10% XP, +5% HP restore on kill]

He laughed, short and sharp.

“Alone, huh?” he muttered.

“Good. Let’s keep it that way.”

The system wasn’t slowing down. In fact, the stronger he got, the faster it responded—like it had been waiting for him to awaken. Like it had always known what he was meant to become.

Another kill.

Another ping.

[LEVEL UP → LV 14]
Skill Gained: Rage Memory – Passive]
Effect: Skills used under 30% HP grow in strength. Stacks reset weekly.]

Riku tested it immediately.

He baited a twin-headed pincerbeast into a trap, allowed it to land a near-fatal blow—and then activated Umbral Rend.

The shadows didn’t just slice this time.

They consumed.

The beast died in seconds, with a look of pure terror frozen across its bisected faces.

Riku stood in the silence that followed, breath steady, fingers loose around the hilt of his rust-stained blade.

He no longer trembled after a fight.

He missed it.

He wanted more.

[Achievement: "Dominate the Wild"]
**Perk Gained: Predator’s Instinct]
Effect: Track any creature within 100 meters. Weaknesses revealed after 3 encounters.]

The next night, the forest fell unnaturally quiet.

Birds didn’t chirp. Bugs didn’t sing.

Even the air seemed to hold its breath.

He wandered until he found the glade again—the one where he’d first killed with a true skill.

And waited.

Something was coming.

Something big.

And the system warned him:

[Divine Presence Detected – Weak Signature]
[Caution: Beast has consumed low-grade god-fragment. Classified as Corrupted Demi-Beast.]

He grinned.

“Let’s see how much power that god gave you.”

The creature emerged slowly.

Massive. Crooked horns. Clawed hooves that burned the grass beneath. Eyes like hot coal.

It stood upright—half-stag, half-thing—and it spoke in broken Common.

“You… not god’s child.”

Riku cracked his neck.

“I’m nobody’s child.”

Then he launched himself forward.

The battle raged for ten minutes.

Riku bled from five wounds. Two ribs shattered. His vision flickered.

And the system offered one final choice:

[SYSTEM NOTICE: Emergency Override]
Skill Mutation Eligible – Darkfang Slash → ???
Choose: Accept or Deny?

“Accept.”

His blade shimmered black.

The world slowed.

He whispered:

“Darkfang Execution.”

One cleave.

One heartbeat.

The demi-beast fell.

Headless.

[ENEMY DEFEATED – Corrupted Demi-Beast – LV 18]
XP GAINED: +220 (Boss Bonus + Rage Bonus + Solo Bonus)]
[LEVEL UP → LV 15]
Title Acquired: “The One They Threw Away”
Effect: +15% XP when fighting elite or divine foes. Immune to fear-based mind effects.]

He stood panting, body trembling, not from exhaustion—but from hunger.

Not for food.

For more.

More strength. More battles. More proof that the gods had made a mistake when they cast him aside.

[New System Thread Unlocked: CLASS EVOLUTION PATH – "???"]
[World Anchor Required to Awaken Your True Name.]

He closed his eyes.

And for the first time in days, he prayed.

Not to the gods.

But to her.

The one whose voice echoed faintly in his dreams, behind the blood and the rage.

The one who had chosen him.

“Not done yet,” he whispered. “Not even close.”

Then he turned toward the depths of the forest.

And walked.