Kael closed his eyes, and threw the hesitation and guilt away. There was no going back. His life here would be a do-or-die situation. Those things would only get him killed. And he wanted none of it.
The cuts along his forearm stitched together on their own, flesh fusing together before his eyes. The sharp throb behind his temples vanished. Kael turned his arm over, still processing the impossible, as his health bar filled to the top. He just noticed as well that the exhaustion clinging to his muscles were slowly receding.
Kael ran his hands over his ribs. It's gone. Then down to his legs. Gone. Then across his shoulders. Gone. Piece by piece, he discovered what lies before him--opportunity!
"Amazing!" Kael gasped as he still couldn't believe everything that had happened.
Even the previous scars on his body were gone, especially the scars on his hands.
Level up healed him. Completely.
He looked down at his hands. They'd stopped shaking. His Vitality had increased by two points instead of one—the multiplier from his unique ability. At level 1, it had doubled his Vitality gain. At level 2, it would triple the next gain. The growth was exponential, but it started slow. So agonizingly slow.
Two Vitality. At level 2, that gave him 80 HP instead of 60. Twenty more points to survive with. It felt simultaneously like nothing and everything.
Then something happened. The Scuttler's corpse was dissolving. The battered corpse broke down into motes of light. It swirled upward before dissipating. And where it had lain, something remained—a small crystalline object. No bigger than his thumbnail. It continuously pulsed with faint blue light.
Kael reached for it, and his hand was still trembling slightly due to excitement. This was an opportunity of a lifetime.
[MANA CORE (MINOR) OBTAINED]
[VALUE: 10 NEXUS COINS]
"It really is monster core," Kael muttered.
Just like the ones he'd extracted from monster corpses back home. Well, with the exception that this one was intact and clean. He turned it over in his palm, watching light play through its facets. Then turned his attention to the ten coins. He had no idea if that was a lot or a pittance in this place, but he was going to keep it. It clearly was going to be useful.
His eyes drifted to the ruins around him. This place—the Nexus Realm—was another world ravaged by gates, just like his own. The parallel was almost poetic. Humanity had failed here too. Or whatever had lived here before the monsters came.
But unlike his world, this place had a system. Levels. Stats. Clear progression. A way to grow stronger that didn't require being born with the right genetics or surviving a random Awakening Trial that killed nine out of ten people who attempted it.
Here, he could become strong.
Here, he could survive.
For Alice. For Elise.
Kael forced himself to his feet, his legs unsteady. The twin suns had moved slightly—time was passing. How much time? Did time flow the same here as in his world? Were his sisters already wondering where he was?
Panic fluttered in his chest, but he forced it down. One step at a time. Survive first. Figure out the rest after.
He picked up the bent steel bar. It was a terrible weapon—the Scuttler's bite had warped it into a slight curve, and rust flaked off with every movement. But it was better than his bare hands.
A structure loomed ahead, larger than the others. Some kind of warehouse or storage facility, its walls still partially intact. If this place had once been inhabited, maybe there was something useful inside. Tools. Supplies. A real weapon.
Kael started walking, keeping the steel bar ready. His senses felt sharper now—whether from leveling up or from the adrenaline still singing through his veins, he wasn't sure. Every shadow could hide another Scuttler. Every sound might be the prelude to an attack.
The warehouse entrance gaped open, the metal door torn from its hinges and lying in the street. Kael approached cautiously, peering into the gloom beyond. The twin suns provided decent light, but inside the building, shadows pooled thick and deep.
He hesitated at the threshold. Going into an enclosed space was tactical suicide. If something trapped him in there, he'd have nowhere to run. But staying out in the open wasn't much better—he'd already learned that the hard way.
A skittering sound made his decision for him.
Kael spun. Three more Scuttlers emerged from the rubble behind him, their eyeless heads tracking his movement with unnerving precision. All level 2. All moving with that same jerky, predatory gait.
[SCUTTLER - LEVEL 2] x3
His grip tightened on the steel bar. One Scuttler had nearly killed him. Three?
He backed toward the warehouse entrance, not taking his eyes off the approaching creatures. They spread out, flanking him. Intelligent enough to hunt in packs. Smart enough to coordinate.
Kael's back hit the doorframe.
The Scuttlers charged as one.
He dove through the entrance, rolling across debris-strewn floor. The creatures followed, their claws clicking against concrete. In the dimmer light, they were harder to see—just suggestions of movement, flashes of carapace, the gleam of teeth.
The first one lunged for his legs. Kael swung the steel bar down, felt it connect with chitin. The creature recoiled but the impact sent jolts of pain through his already-abused arms. Before he could recover, the second Scuttler was on him, its front legs raking across his thigh.
[HP: 80/80 → 71/80]
[SLASHING RESISTANCE: 2% → 3%]
Only one percent this time. The notification flashed and vanished, but Kael's mind caught it even in the chaos. The resistance gain was already slowing. He'd need to take more damage—much more damage—to build meaningful resistance now. The system wasn't going to let him get tanky easily.
The third Scuttler circled around, trying to get behind him. Kael kept moving, always keeping at least two of them in his line of sight. His breathing was already labored. The warehouse was filled with obstacles—overturned shelving units, scattered crates, piles of rubble. He used them, keeping barriers between himself and the creatures.
But he was tiring fast.
A Scuttler lunged over a crate, dropping toward him from above. Kael raised the steel bar instinctively. The creature's weight drove him to his knees, its teeth snapping inches from his face. He shoved it away, scrambled backward, felt his boot catch on something.
He fell, landing hard on his back. The impact drove the air from his lungs.
[HP: 71/80 → 67/80]
All three Scuttlers converged.
Time seemed to slow. Kael saw them coming, knew he couldn't get up fast enough. His hand scrabbled across the floor, fingers closing around--An axe.
It was old, the wooden handle rotted in places, the head crusted with rust and what might have been old blood. But the edge, despite everything, still looked sharp. Someone had abandoned it here, maybe years ago. Maybe centuries.
The first Scuttler leaped for his throat.
Kael swung.
The axe head caught the creature mid-air, cleaving through its carapace with a wet crunch. The Scuttler's momentum carried it forward, but its body split, blood spraying. It collapsed in a twitching heap.
[SCUTTLER DEFEATED]
[DAMAGE DEALT: 28]
[CRITICAL HIT!]
Twenty-eight damage. The axe had dealt nearly six times more than his best hit with the steel bar. The weight felt right in his hands, the balance imperfect but manageable. This was a weapon. It might have been old and rusty, but it a real weapon compared to the steelbar.
The remaining two Scuttlers hesitated, their predatory confidence wavering. Kael used the moment to climb to his feet, the axe held in a white-knuckled grip.
He didn't wait for them to decide. He charged with steady pace.
The nearest Scuttler tried to dodge, but Kael was already swinging. The axe came down in an overhead arc, all his weight behind it. It caught the creature across its back, cracking through chitin, biting deep.
[DAMAGE DEALT: 15]
The Scuttler shrieked and thrashed. Kael wrenched the axe free, blood coating the blade. His arms burned. His lungs burned. Everything burned. But he was still standing.
The last Scuttler backed away, its movements uncertain.
Kael advanced.
The creature turned and fled, scuttling toward the entrance. Part of Kael wanted to let it go—he'd won, he was alive, that was enough. But another part, the part that had spent his whole life being weak, being prey, being helpless, wouldn't accept that.
He ran after it.
The Scuttler was faster on open ground, its six legs carrying it in bursts of speed Kael couldn't match. But it was injured—one of its legs dragged, damaged from their earlier exchange. The distance between them closed.
Kael threw the axe.
It wasn't a trained throw. It wasn't elegant. The axe tumbled end over end, more luck than skill. But the head caught the Scuttler's rear legs, tangling them. The creature crashed to the ground, skidding across rubble.
Kael was on it before it could recover. He ripped the axe free and brought it down. Once. Twice. The Scuttler stopped moving.
[SCUTTLER DEFEATED]
[EXPERIENCE GAINED: 20]
He stood there, chest heaving, the axe hanging from one hand. The other two Scuttlers had already dissolved into motes of light, leaving two more minor cores behind. Kael collected them mechanically, his mind elsewhere.
He'd killed four monsters. Four. Him. Kael Morrigan, the porter who'd never thrown a punch in his life, who'd spent years hauling crates and keeping his head down and surviving by being too weak to threaten anyone.
He looked down at the axe in his hand. The handle was rough against his palm, splinters digging into skin. The head was chipped and rust-pitted, and the whole thing desperately needed maintenance he had no idea how to perform.
It was perfect.
[LEVEL UP!]
The notification appeared with a cascade of information:
```
[LEVEL UP!]
Level 2 → Level 3
Vitality: 8 → 12 (+4)
Strength: 6 → 7 (+1)
Agility: 5 → 6 (+1)
Intelligence: 4 → 5 (+1)
[Note: Vitality gains 2 per level multiplied by current level gained, excluding level 1. Current multiplier is 2 (2 x 2 = +4)]
HP: 67/80 → 120/120 (HP Regen: 3 HP/min) [FULLY RESTORED]
SLASHING RESISTANCE: 3%
Available Points: 0
```
Four points of Vitality. His multiplier had kicked in harder this time. At level 3, his next Vitality gain would be tripled. The exponential growth was beginning to show, even if the numbers were still relatively small.
More importantly, his HP had jumped to 120. Fifty percent more health than when he'd arrived. The wounds from his fights vanished, energy flooding back into exhausted muscles. He felt... not strong, exactly. But less fragile. Like maybe he could take a hit and survive it.
Kael looked up at the twin suns, now noticeably lower in the alien sky. Time was passing. His sisters were waiting. But he had no idea how to leave this place—no exit had presented itself, no return portal, nothing.
He was trapped here. At least for now.
Which meant he had to survive. Had to grow stronger. Strong enough to face whatever stood between him and home. Strong enough to protect Alice and Elise when he finally made it back.
Strong enough that he'd never be helpless again.
Kael hefted the axe, testing its weight. The balance was off—the head was too heavy for the deteriorated handle. But he'd make it work. He'd have to.
In the distance, more chittering echoed through the ruins. More monsters. More experience. More chances to level.
More ways to die.
Kael started walking toward the sound, his grip tight on the axe handle. Fear still churned in his gut. His hands still shook slightly from adrenaline crash. He was still terrified.
But he was moving forward.
For the first time in his life, Kael Morrigan was hunting monsters.
He was no longer a weak prey--he was an evolving predator, who was just waiting for the next hunt to survive and flourish!