The smell of iron and fear filled the shattered subway tunnel.
"Rei, get back!" someone screamed.
He didn't move. Not because of courage, but because his legs had locked up—frozen in place as the fanged hound lunged from the darkness.
A blur of light flashed past him. A sword. A real Hunter sliced through the monster's neck like it was paper. Blood sprayed across Rei's face.
"Stay out of the way, deadweight!" the Hunter growled, brushing past.
The fight was over. The team laughed. Some even pointed.
Rei Kurozane, Level 1. No class. No skills. No future.
He clenched his fists.
Everyone else had awakened with something. A flame spell. A sword technique. Even simple buffs. But him?
Just a blinking screen and the words:
> [ERROR: Class Not Found]
"Why did I even awaken… if this is all I got?"
Left alone to clean up the dungeon corpse pile, he sat near the fallen beast. A horned wolf. Blood pooled around its torn body.
His stomach growled.
It had been two days since his last real meal.
Something inside twisted—no, called to him.
He looked at the corpse.
"No," he whispered. "That's disgusting."
But the smell… it didn't repulse him. It pulled him closer. Metallic, warm, alive.
Before he could think, his hand reached out.
He tore off a piece of raw meat. It was still warm.
And he ate it.
Instantly, something changed.
His vision blurred. The air cracked around him. His blood pulsed like thunder.
> [You have devoured: Horned Wolf]
[Strength +1 | New Skill: Blood Snarl (Lv.1)]
[Class Path: Predator Detected…]
[Class Acquired: UNKNOWN – Devourer]
He fell to the floor, gasping, shaking.
A second screen blinked into existence:
> "The more you eat, the more you evolve."
---
Rei looked down at his hands. One was already turning dark, claws forming at the tips.
He was no longer human.
Not completely.
But he was finally… something.
And it was hungry.