Chapter 20 – Blood and Ashes
The ruins were still again.
Kael knelt in the middle of the broken street, Dawnfang buried in the Direfang's fading corpse. His body trembled violently, every breath ragged, every nerve screaming. The stench of blood and smoke clung to him like a second skin.
For a moment, he couldn't move. Couldn't think. His mind was blank save for the ringing of the system's voice in his ears.
[ Quest Completed: The Hunter's Path ]
[ Rewards Granted. ]
Panels flickered one after another, casting pale blue light across the rubble.
[ +800 EXP. ]
[ Level Up! ]
[ Level 11 → Level 12 ]
[ Stat Points +5 ]
[ New Skill Acquired: Bloodbound Resilience (Rare). ]
You draw strength from wounds and hardship. Each time you are injured, your vitality briefly hardens, reducing further damage. Wounds suffered sharpen your will, increasing resistance against fear and despair.
[ Equipment Box (D-Rank) Obtained. ]
Kael stared at the glowing words, his chest heaving.
A laugh escaped his throat—raw, bitter, and broken. "A skill that makes me harder to kill when I bleed… fitting."
He pulled Dawnfang free from the Direfang's throat with a wet sound, stumbling back. The massive beast dissolved into fragments of blue light, scattering like ash on the wind. All that remained was the crystal core, pulsing faintly with shadows.
Kael bent down and picked it up. The energy inside buzzed against his palm, heavy with power.
[ Direfang Core (Epic). ]
He slipped it into his pouch with trembling hands. His vision swam, exhaustion pressing down on him like a mountain.
The system chimed again.
[ Notice: Hunter's Path Cleared. ]
[ Branching Questline Unlocked. ]
[ Questline: The Rise of the Predator. ]
The system has recognized your survival instinct. New paths will unfold as you climb toward power. Each step will demand sacrifice.
Kael's breath caught in his throat. "Predator…"
The word echoed in his mind, heavy and cruel. Was that what he was becoming?
---
He slumped against a wall, sliding down until he sat in the dust. His arms dangled limply at his sides, Dawnfang lying across his lap. The blade's crimson light pulsed faintly, almost satisfied.
Kael's gaze drifted to his hands. Blood caked his knuckles, his nails cracked and blackened. These weren't the hands of the boy who had begged mercenaries for food. They were the hands of a killer.
His chest tightened. For a moment, he saw the faces of the monsters he'd slain—the goblins, the Alpha, now the Direfang. Their eyes in those last moments. The blood that always sprayed across him.
His hands trembled.
"Am I… still human?" he whispered.
No answer came. Only silence. Only the wind sighing through broken towers.
Then, like a lifeline, he thought of Lira.
Her laugh. Her hope. Her fragile body clinging to life despite hunger and pain.
Kael clenched his fists until his nails dug into his palms.
He wasn't killing for pleasure. He wasn't killing for glory.
He was killing for her.
That thought steadied him. His hands stopped shaking.
"Whatever this system turns me into," he whispered, voice hoarse, "it doesn't matter. As long as she lives, I'll bear it."
---
The Equipment Box materialized before him with a soft hum, a cube of faintly glowing light. Kael blinked at it, then reached out and touched it.
The cube shattered, revealing a weapon wrapped in pale cloth.
[ Ironfang Dagger (D-Rank). ]
Crafted from Direfang bone, this blade retains its host's sharpness. Grants +2 Agility and a minor bleed effect on critical strikes.
Kael unwrapped it slowly. The dagger gleamed pale white, light sliding across its serrated edge. Despite his exhaustion, he felt a flicker of satisfaction.
A second weapon. Something for close quarters, when Dawnfang was too heavy or unwieldy.
He slid it into his belt and leaned back again, breathing heavily.
---
The sun had begun to set, painting the ruins in crimson light. Kael forced himself to his feet, every movement sending waves of pain through his body.
His stats flickered before him.
> Strength: 22
Agility: 17
Vitality: 23
Perception: 15
Willpower: 13
Not the same boy who had entered these ruins.
But the ruins weren't empty. Predator's Instinct whispered constantly—goblins lurking in the alleys, lesser beasts prowling just out of sight. They kept their distance, cowed by the Direfang's lingering aura still clinging to Kael's body.
He dragged himself through the streets, every step heavy, until he reached the shattered fountain again. He sat on its edge, washing blood from his arms in stagnant water. His reflection stared back at him.
A boy's face—sharp, scarred, eyes burning like embers.
Not prey.
Not anymore.
A predator.
---
Night fell. The ruins grew colder, shadows stretching long. Kael sat in silence, Dawnfang laid across his knees, eyes fixed on the horizon.
The system whispered softly.
[ New Quest Incoming… ]
Kael exhaled slowly, his jaw tightening. He wasn't ready. His body screamed for rest, his bones felt broken.
But he knew the truth.
There was no rest. Not for him. Not for anyone caught in the system's grip.
His path was blood and ash, and it had only just begun.
Kael closed his eyes, whispering into the night.
"For Lira… I'll keep walking. No matter how much it takes from me."
The wind stirred, carrying his words into the darkness.
And somewhere deep within the ruins, a howl rose in answer.
---
⚡ End of Chapter 20 ⚡