Axel stood in the empty street, watching the spot where Kael had disappeared.
His muscles still burned from the fight. His pulse was just now settling.
Kael was fast, precise, and ruthless. If they had fought to the death, Axel wasn’t sure if he’d still be standing.
But the thing that unsettled him the most?
Kael had let him live.
That meant one of two things.
Either Kael thought Axel wasn’t a threat.
Or he wanted to see what Axel would become.
Axel gritted his teeth.
“Fine,” he muttered. “Then I’ll make sure I’m worth watching.”
He pulled up his status screen, scanning his stats.
<hr>
[Status]
Name: Axel Ravensworth
Level: 7 (+1)
Class: Voidwalker (Rank C)
Stats:
<ul>
<li>Strength: 11 (+1)</li>
<li>Agility: 14 (+2) (Phantom Cloak bonus applied)</li>
<li>Intelligence: 13 (+1)</li>
<li>Endurance: 12 (+1)</li>
<li>Luck: 1</li>
</ul>
Skills:
<ul>
<li>[Hunter’s Domain] (Rank D) – Detects threats within 200 meters. 5% chance to predict enemy movements.</li>
<li>[Void Resonance] (Rank C) – Absorb a trait from a defeated enemy. Usable once per kill.</li>
<li>[Shadow Veil] (Rank D) – Partial invisibility for 5 seconds. Cooldown: 1 minute.</li>
</ul>
<h2>System Integration: 35%</h2>
He was getting stronger. But not fast enough.
Kael had pushed him to his limit.
And there were worse things than Kael out there.
Axel turned, scanning the ruined city. The world had changed—and it wasn’t done yet.
If he wanted to survive, he needed to push further.
And that meant finding his next challenge.
<hr>
Axel moved quickly through the city, keeping low and using Shadow Veil to slip past unknown threats.
The further he traveled, the worse things got.
<ul>
<li>The blue mist had turned darker, swirling unnaturally like it was alive.</li>
<li>Floating debris hung in midair, frozen in time.</li>
<li>The sky itself was warping, strange black fissures splitting across the clouds.</li>
</ul>
Something big was coming.
And Axel wasn’t the only one who felt it.
His Hunter’s Domain pulsed—warning him of movement ahead.
Not just one.
Dozens.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Axel crouched behind an abandoned truck, scanning the street.
His breath caught.
A group of twenty figures stood in formation, their bodies covered in black armor, their eyes glowing red.
Not monsters.
Humans.
Or at least, they had been human once.
<hr>
[Analyzing Target...]
<h2>Species: Corrupted Soldiers (Rank C)
Threat Level: Extreme
Status: Hunting for Survivors
Weakness: Limited Intelligence</h2>
Axel’s stomach tightened.
They weren’t just monsters. They were organized.
And they were searching for something.
Or someone.
He knew one thing for sure.
If they found him, it wouldn’t be a fight—it would be execution.
<hr>
Axel was about to sneak away when his Hunter’s Domain pulsed violently.
A new presence.
One that dwarfed the soldiers.
Something… unnatural.
Axel slowly turned his head toward a nearby rooftop.
And there it was.
A towering figure loomed above, wrapped in shifting shadows.
Seven feet tall. Broad shoulders. A flowing black coat made of shifting energy.
Its face was hidden beneath a smooth, featureless mask.
But Axel could feel its gaze pierce straight through him.
Then, the system flickered violently.
<hr>
[WARNING: High-Level Entity Detected]
<h2>Species: Abyssal Revenant (Rank B)
Threat Level: Mortal
Status: ???
Weakness: Unknown</h2>
Axel’s blood ran cold.
Rank B.
That was a full tier above him.
And the worst part?
It was looking right at him.
<hr>
The Abyssal Revenant moved.
Not with speed. With certainty.
It stepped off the rooftop—
And descended like gravity didn’t apply to it.
Axel’s instincts screamed at him to move.
But before he could, the Corrupted Soldiers turned as well.
The entire squad snapped to attention, their weapons shifting into blackened rifles.
Then, the Revenant spoke.
Its voice was not human. It was a whisper laced with raw power.
“Target confirmed.”
The soldiers opened fire.
<hr>
Axel threw himself behind the truck as bullets tore through the air.
The pavement exploded around him, shrapnel slicing into his arm.
He clenched his teeth. Think.
He couldn’t fight twenty soldiers AND a Rank B monster.
He needed an opening.
He glanced at the nearby alleyway. Narrow. Cramped. Good for limiting enemy numbers.
Axel activated Shadow Veil and bolted.
Bullets whizzed past, but the soldiers had lost their target.
He slipped into the alley, using Hunter’s Domain to detect any enemies ahead.
No hostiles. Good.
But the Revenant…
He could feel it.
It wasn’t losing him.
It was following. Slowly. Deliberately.
Like it had all the time in the world.
Axel’s heartbeat pounded.
This wasn’t just a monster.
This was a hunter.
And it was treating him like prey.
<hr>
Axel skidded to a stop inside an abandoned warehouse, taking deep breaths.
His mind raced.
Running wouldn’t work forever.
And fighting head-on? Suicide.
But maybe…
Maybe he could turn the tables.
He scanned the warehouse.
<ul>
<li>Old metal beams.</li>
<li>Cracked gas pipes.</li>
<li>Rusting support columns.</li>
</ul>
Weak points.
Axel’s lips curled into a dangerous grin.
If he couldn’t overpower it…
He’d bury it instead.
<hr>
Axel moved fast, setting up the warehouse as a trap.
<ul>
<li>He loosened the old support beams.</li>
<li>He positioned himself near a gas leak.</li>
<li>He found an old flare gun among discarded supplies.</li>
</ul>
Then, he waited.
And sure enough…
The Abyssal Revenant stepped through the entrance.
It didn’t rush.
It walked.
Like it already knew how this would end.
Axel raised his knife, smirking.
“Alright, big guy.” He cracked his neck. “Let’s dance.”
<hr>
To Be Continued…