Lein's smile faded as reality settled back in.
Revenge.
The thought tasted sweet and bitter at once. Marcus. Verna. How many others had known? How many had agreed to throw him into this cave like garbage?
Just the evolved? he wondered. Or the entire faction?
His jaw tightened.
It didn't matter. Not yet.
He forced himself to breathe slowly, pushing the anger down. Rage wouldn't keep him alive. Not here.
His body still trembled from exhaustion. The Red Path's power had burned through him like wildfire, and now he was paying the price. Every muscle ached. His limbs felt heavy, sluggish.
He pressed his back against the cold stone and closed his eyes.
Ten minutes, he told himself. Just ten minutes to recover.
The cave was silent except for the faint drip of water somewhere deeper in the dark.
Lein's breathing steadied.
His mind drifted to the books he'd read back in the settlement—old, worn things salvaged from before the World System's arrival. He'd spent years reading them, desperate for any knowledge that might make him useful.
He remembered the tier system clearly.
Tier 0 was human. Normal. Weak.
To reach Tier 1, a normal human would need to kill monsters and gain experience—100 levels worth. But that was impossible. A Tier 0 human couldn't survive against even a Tier 1 monster without overwhelming help.
And yet, somehow, his resurrection had pushed him directly into Tier 1.
From Tier 1 to Tier 2 required 50 levels. Tier 2 to Tier 3 required 100 levels. Tier 3 to Tier 4 required 150 levels, and it kept increasing by 50 with each tier.
The strongest humans in the world had reached Tier 10.
Lein exhaled slowly, a grim smile tugging at his lips.
And I have no level cap at all.
A soft chittering sound pulled him from his thoughts.
Lein's eyes snapped open.
He felt it before he saw it—a presence. Multiple presences.
More spiders.
He stood slowly, his legs protesting. His body was still exhausted, but there was something else now. Something different.
He could feel the energy in the air. It moved around him like a living thing, thick and electric. His senses were sharper. His body lighter.
I'm Tier 1 now, he realized. I'm not just human anymore.
He'd learned to fight years ago—basic self-defense taught by an old soldier who'd pitied him. It had never been enough. His body had been too weak, too slow.
But now?
Now his body could finally keep up.
A spider emerged from the shadows ahead.
A translucent screen flickered into existence before Lein's eyes.
[Juvenile Cave Spider]Level: 3Description: A young spider of the brood. Aggressive and territorial. Weak to blunt force.
The spider lunged.
Lein sidestepped.
His body moved instinctively, faster than he'd ever moved before. The spider's fangs snapped at empty air.
Lein grabbed a jagged rock from the ground and slammed it down on the creature's head.
Chitin cracked.
The spider shrieked and recoiled, one of its legs twitching uselessly. Lein didn't hesitate. He brought the rock down again.
And again.
The spider stopped moving.
"You have slain: Juvenile Cave Spider."
"Experience gained: 100 XP."
"Current XP: 150/200."
Lein stood over the corpse, breathing hard. His hands were shaking—not from fear, but from adrenaline.
He stared at the rock in his hand, slick with ichor.
I did that.
A sound echoed from deeper in the cave.
Lein turned.
More shapes moved in the darkness.
Three more spiders, crawling toward him with slow, deliberate intent.
Lein tightened his grip on the rock.
His smile returned.
"Come on, then."