The dungeon was no longer silent.
It watched.
Wystan Vega stood still, his breath slow and controlled, as Hunter's domain spread outward like a invisible net. Every shift in the air, every scrape of stone, every pulse of mana- he felt it.
But what stood before him...
Was wrong.
"That's not a ghoul." His voice was low, steady but,there was a sharp edge beneath it. Because what his senses were telling him-
Didn't makes sense.
The presence ahead wasn't singular.
It was layered, stacked, like multiple entries occupying the same space.
"What are you...?" The Shadow moved.
And then, it stepped forward, Wystan's breath in. "Oh."
It's was tall, too tall.
Its body was a grotesque fusion of horn-elongated limbs, twisted torso, and overlapping layers of pale, corpse-like flesh that didn't align properly.
And its face-
there wasn't just one.
There were many.
Dozens of eyes embedded across the upper body. Blinking independently, all focused on him.
"That's disgusting." The creature tiltrf-no, shifted-as if reacting to his voice.
Then, it moved.
Fast.
"-!"
Hunter's domain Flared. Wystan's body reacted instantly, he step back-just as a limb lashed forward.
Crash-!
The ground where he stood shattered.
"Fast."
Too fast for its size.
The creature didn't pause.
Another limb-
Then another-
Then Multiple-
Attacking from different angles. Wystan's eyes widened.
"It's not attacking randomly-" he dodge .Twisted, barely avoided the strike. "Each part was independently?!" That's what it felt like.
Like fighting multiple enemies-
In one body.
"Great."
Wystan exhaled sharply.
"Just what I needed."
He activated Predatory shift. His body lightened. Movements sharpened, but even then-
"Still too many..."
Hunter's Domain screamed warning.
Left.
Right.
Behind.
Above
"Tch." he moved, barely dodging each strike.
The creature adapted. Its eyes tracked him-
All of them.
"You're learning too. Huh?" A grin tugged at hus lips.
"Good."
Because so was he.
Wystan stepped in, not away, forward.
"Let's see how you handle this-!" he slashed.
The blade connected-
SHLK-!
black fluid spilled-
But-
"It's not deep enough."
The flesh shifted, literally moved.
Closing around the wound.
"Regeneration?"
No-
"Reconfiguration."
The creature wasn't healing. It was rearrangement itself.
"Okay..." Wystan stepped back. "That worse."
Another barrage of strikes, wystan dodged again. "You're annoying, you know that?" He under a sweeping limb. "Like-Seriously."
He spun, barely avoiding a strike from behind. "How many arms do you even need?!"
The creatures screeched, Wystan grimaced. "Yeah, yeah, didn't expect you to answer." He dashed forward-
Slashed-
Again, this time, he aimed higher. Towards the eyes.
CRACK-!
The blade struck one of the eyes.
The reaction was immediate.
The creature convulsed.
Its movements faltered.
"Got you."
Wystan's grin sharpened. "Sensitive, huh?"
He pressed forward-
Attacking again-
But-
The creature adapted.
The remaining eyes shifted, covering the damaged one.
"You've got to be kidding me."
The creature roared-
And the ground trembled, More limbs burst outwards, more eyes open. "Your evolving too?!" Wystan expression darkened.
"Yeah... no." He couldn't let this drag on.
Not against something that adapted this fast.
As he prepared to push harder- The system flickered.
[Warning]
User fatigue increasing rapidly.
Skill overuse detected.
Wystan frozw-
Just for a second.
"Right."
His breathing, heavy.
His movement, slowing.
"I've been spamming too much."
Predatory Shift.
Hunter's Domain.
Constant Regeneration.
"This isn't free." Another warning.
[Warning]
- Stamina below optimal thresholds.
- Extended combat may result in system strain.
Wystan clicked his togue.
"Yeah, I get it." He exhaled slowly. "Finish it fast... or die."
Wystan backed off slightly. "Alright, think" He watched the creature carefully. "Multiple limbs. independent movement"
Another dodge. "Eyes are weak points-but protected."
He sidestepped.
"Regenerates by shifting mass." He inhaled
"So..." his eyes sharpened. "I don't cut" a pause. "I destroy"
Wystan rushed forward. Not aiming for precision, aiming for impact. "Let's see you fix this-!" He drove his blade deep-
Not slicing-
Piercing.
Through multiple layers.
The creature shrieked. Wystan didn't stop. He grabbed onto it-
Ignoring the limbs tearing into him-
His body burned-
Phoenix Body activated-
Healing-
But slower now.
"Yeah." He gritted his teeth.
"I feel that."
Fatigue.
Real fatigue.
"Come on...!" He twisted the blade, deeper-
"Break-!" The creatures convulsed violently-
Its eyes flickering-
Its form destabilizing-
The-
BOOM-!
It collapsed.
-
Silence.
Wystan fell to one knee. "That... sucked."
His breathing-
Heavy.
Uneven.
"Way too close."
He looked at his arms. Still healing, but slower. "Yeah."
He exhaled. "I overused it."
The body dissolved, but unlike before, something remained, not just a core, something bigger, darker.
"What is that...?" Wystan reached for it-
And the system flickered.
[Warning: Unknown Energy Detected]
He paused.
"Of course."
A slow grin formed. "Why wouldn't it be dangerous?"
Wystan picked it u anyway. "Let's see what you are."
Above-
The Gate pulse violently.
Rose stepped forward. "Its starting"
Below-
Wystan smiled.
"Now we're getting somewhere."
And somewhere betweeh them-
The dungeon began to change.