The dry wind swept across his face.
Min Hu jolted awake with a choked breath, his body swaying before he finally sat up. His vision was dim, the world spun, and his voice stuck in his throat.
"Wh–where am I…?"
A wilderness.
Massive trees rose like black pillars, their leaves glimmering like wet glass. The air was humid yet cold, and thin mist curled along the ground.
He tried to stand, but his knees trembled—
as if he had just crawled out of death itself.
"Am… I dead?"
TING!
A clear, crisp sound—yet it came from inside his mind.
> [SYSTEM AWAKENED.]
Welcome, Player: Min Hu.
Min Hu froze.
"Player…?"
> [Body recovery 23%. Diagnostics complete.]
Initial Class: Shadowborn.
Core Skill: Basic Shadow Manipulation.
The shadow beneath Min Hu trembled.
As if it were breathing.
He jerked backward, heart almost leaping out of his chest.
"My shadow… moved?"
> [Correct.]
Your shadow is the thirteenth organ.
Your second weapon.
The home of a power you do not yet understand.
Min Hu had no chance to ask more.
Because suddenly—
THUD!
The ground shook.
A low screech rose from behind the trees.
The mist split apart.
A creature emerged.
Over two meters tall, its cracked gray skin like dried earth, bones jutting out, eyes blank and pupilless—a half-human, half-alien abomination. A putrid, acidic stench seeped from its body.
"W–what is that…?"
The system responded instantly.
> [ANOMALY: MIND-BEAST]
Tier: 3
Status: Aggressive
The creature let out a long shriek.
And charged.
Straight at Min Hu.
Min Hu pivoted and bolted without thinking.
He ran like death itself was chasing him.
Because that was exactly what was happening.
---
Beginner Training
His breath rasped.
His chest burned.
His legs shook.
Yet the system spoke again.
> [Training Tutorial Activated]
Objective: Survive.
Condition: Real World. Death Risk: 100%.
"This training is insane!!"
> [Welcome to the System.]
Between monstrous screams, thunderous footsteps, and broken breaths, Min Hu kept running—directionless, frantic, driven only by survival instinct.
Sweat poured.
Blood dripped from his wounds.
But after several minutes—
He noticed something.
His body… adapted.
His steps grew steadier.
His breathing less frantic.
His muscles burned—but felt strong.
As if they were being reforged in mere seconds.
The system chimed again.
> [New Skill Formed: Endurance (Lv.1)]
[Beginner Adaptation Active]
Min Hu clenched his teeth.
"If running isn't enough… then—"
He turned around.
His shadow stretched, sliding like black smoke.
Min Hu extended his hand.
His shadow mirrored him.
The monster barreled forward—
And the shadow whipped its face like a black lash.
WHAM!
The creature staggered.
Min Hu was stunned.
But he didn't waste the opening.
He struck again.
And again.
And again—his movements echoed by the shadow, which punched, clawed, and stabbed like a spear of darkness.
Finally—
CRACK!
The creature collapsed.
And did not move.
Silence fell.
The system chimed.
> [Level Up!]
Level 1 → Level 2
Stats increased. Body adapting.
Min Hu stood there, panting.
His knees wobbled, but a spark lit up in his eyes.
For the first time…
He felt alive.
---
The Nameless Planet
The sky shifted.
The forest faded.
The wind twisted violently.
> [Phase 2 Training Initiated]
The system pulled Min Hu's body like a miniature storm.
Everything flipped—
colors, sound, air—
until the world shattered into deep, molten orange light.
When he opened his eyes…
He was no longer in a forest.
He stood on a barren planet.
A desert without end.
Orange sand glowing like burning gold.
Wind slicing skin like tiny blades.
Lightning flickering faintly in the sky.
No trees.
No water.
Only silence and danger.
Min Hu slowly turned his head.
And he saw them.
Alien creatures climbing from behind the dunes—leaner, faster, their mouths splitting to the ears, eyes filled with deceit.
Anomalies.
Mutants.
Aliens—whatever they were, they were hunting him.
Min Hu tightened his fist.
His shadow fluttered across the sand like a war banner.
"All right… if this is training."
He took a deep breath.
"To survive…"
His shadow rose like a small black dragon.
"…I'll fight."
---
Rise of the Shadow
Day after day.
Fight after fight.
Min Hu killed.
Hunted.
Was hunted.
His legs adapted to long-distance running.
His back to bracing impacts.
His hands to gripping shadows as weapons.
His body hardened.
His shadow grew.
From simply mirroring his movements…
to becoming an entity capable of shielding and striking.
Each monster slain—
> [EXP +]
[Level Up]
[Shadow Control +]
Min Hu changed.
His physique sharpened.
His movements quickened.
His instincts heightened.
And most importantly—
He felt more alive than he ever had in his old world.
This barren planet…
taught him to become a predator.
---
Knowledge of the Orange Planet
During his travels, he found strange cracked stones—
engraved with ancient markings.
He found massive bones buried beneath sand.
He saw the ruins of a distant city—
remnants of a civilization devoured by cosmic disaster.
He didn't know this planet's name.
But the system revealed it:
> [Planet Name: ORIN–Δ]
Status: Extinct
Ecosystem Remnants: Dangerous
Function: Basic Training Zone for New Players
Min Hu stared at something glowing orange in the sand.
"If this is only the beginning…"
He tightened his fist.
"…then I must survive."
His shadow rippled like a small black serpent.
And from far away—
something roared.
Deeper.
Louder.
More terrifying.
A high-level threat.
Min Hu smiled faintly, despite his heavy breath.
"All right… let's go."
His footsteps echoed across the sand.
He walked toward the roar.
Toward the next challenge.
Toward a destiny far beyond any ordinary human.
---
To be continued…