"Blink… blink."
Alex slowly looked around, his vision still blurry as if his mind had yet to fully awaken, only to realize that he was standing inside an enormous cavern that stretched endlessly in every direction like a natural labyrinth carved by time itself, with jagged stalactites hanging from every high ridge above him while shadows trembled faintly along the cold stone walls.
A strange silence filled the vast space, heavy and unfamiliar, making his chest tighten as confusion and unease slowly crept into his thoughts while he tried to understand what had just happened.
"…Where am I?"
"And more importantly… why can't I stand on two legs?"
A sudden wave of unease spread through Alex as he struggled to move, his body refusing to respond the way he expected while an unfamiliar weight and balance made even the simplest motion feel wrong, as if the body he controlled no longer belonged to a human at all.
"H-Hello…? Is anyone there?" he tried to call out, hoping to hear another voice in the endless cavern, yet the sound that left his throat was distorted and rough, completely inhuman, echoing across the stone walls like the cry of a wild creature rather than spoken words.
"Raoor… Raoor…"
The growling noise reverberated through the vast dungeon, and in that moment, a chilling realization slowly began to sink into his mind.
At that moment, a strange mechanical sound suddenly echoed inside Alex's mind, sharp and artificial, completely out of place within the cold and primitive atmosphere of the dungeon, as if reality itself had briefly glitched.
Beeep.
A calm yet emotionless voice resounded directly within his consciousness, leaving no doubt that it was not something heard with ears but something engraved into his very thoughts.
[Supreme Predator System is activating…]
Before Alex could even react or question what was happening, a translucent blue panel abruptly appeared floating in front of his eyes, shining faintly in the darkness like a hologram that only he could see.
[Universe: Solo Leveling]
[Name: Veyrath (Alex)]
[Title: None]
[Race: Sharp-Fanged Lizard]
[Age: 0]
[Rank: F-Rank Monster]
[Strength: 12 (F-Rank Monster)]
[Speed: 9 (Low F-Rank Monster)]
[Defense: 11 (F-Rank Monster)]
[Mana: 10 (F-Rank Monster)]
[Soul: Mortal]
[Charm: About what you would expect from a lizard.]
[Skill: Powerful Bite (F-Rank)]
[Element/Concept: None]
[Evaluation: Even within an F-Rank dungeon, you are near the bottom of the food chain.]
[Evolution]
[Shop]
[Inventory]
[Points: 0]
Alex stared at the panel in complete silence, his mind struggling to process the overwhelming amount of information while one particular line cruelly repeated itself inside his head.
Bottom of the food chain…
After a long pause, he mentally sighed.
"…Seriously?"
He had crossed universes, lost his human body, reincarnated as a monster… and apparently even the system itself had decided to insult him on the very first day.
Feeling completely helpless and slightly offended by the system's brutally honest evaluation, Alex hesitated for a moment before gathering his thoughts and asking with a faint trace of desperate hope lingering in his mind.
"…At least… is there some kind of beginner gift package?"
For a brief second, silence filled his consciousness, making him wonder whether the system had ignored him entirely, until the mechanical voice suddenly responded with calm confidence that sounded strangely proud of itself.
[Host, my very existence is already a blessing for you.]
Alex froze.
"…_"
An awkward silence followed as he stared at the floating panel, unsure whether he had just been helped or subtly insulted again by something that technically existed inside his own head.
After a long pause, he mentally sighed with deep resignation.
"…For some reason, I already have the feeling that the rest of my life with you is not going to be easy."
The system responded immediately, without even a fraction of hesitation.
[Thank you.]
"…That wasn't a compliment."
The dungeon remained silent, but somehow Alex felt absolutely certain that the system either didn't understand sarcasm… or understood it far too well.
Still trying to calm the growing frustration inside his mind while staring at the floating system panel, Alex finally decided to ask the most important question, his thoughts filled with cautious determination mixed with a hint of exhaustion.
"…At the very least, tell me how I'm supposed to become stronger."
The system responded instantly, its mechanical voice echoing with unwavering certainty, as though the answer was so obvious that it barely required explanation.
[Host, the only thing you need to do is hunt, hunt, and hunt even more; by fulfilling certain conditions, evolution paths will gradually unlock, and at the same time, you may purchase various items from the Shop using Hunt Points, which will also influence and shape your future evolution routes.]
Alex remained silent for a moment, processing the surprisingly straightforward explanation while one particular word continued to repeat inside his head.
"Hunt…"
After everything he had gone through reincarnation, becoming a monster, and being mocked by his own system the conclusion was unbelievably simple.
"…So basically," he thought with a tired mental sigh, "I just survive by eating things before they eat me."
The system paused briefly before replying in the same calm tone.
[Correct.]
"…Yeah, figures."
If I still had hands, Alex thought with tired resignation, he would probably be rubbing his forehead right now while trying to process the absurd situation he had found himself in, but instead he simply focused his thoughts and opened the Shop menu.
A new panel expanded before his eyes, lines of glowing text scrolling endlessly downward as if mocking his current existence.
[F-Rank Monster Core: 2 Points]
…
[Beginner-Level Fire Manipulation: 500 Points]
…
[A-Rank (Boss) Mana Core: 1,000,000 Points]
…
[Monarch-Level Space Manipulation: 300,000,000 Points]
…
As the list continued to extend further and further, more and more ridiculous items appeared before him abilities that sounded powerful enough to reshape reality itself yet every single one of them remained completely out of reach, their prices shining like cruel jokes aimed directly at a newborn F-Rank monster with exactly zero points.
After staring at the panel for a long moment, Alex let out a silent sigh filled with reluctant acceptance.
"…Well, nothing I can do about that."
Closing the Shop with a faint sense of defeat but growing determination, he steadied himself mentally and prepared to take his first step toward survival.
"…Let's start hunting."
A brief pause followed before one final thought crossed his mind.
"…Hopefully, I don't die."