The night was still.
The ruined city lay quiet beneath the pale wash of the moon, yet tension coiled thick in the air.
Kade stood atop the office building, eyes locked on the hulking ten-meter Abomination in the distance. Its massive frame loomed like a grotesque god over the rubble, glowing red veins pulsing beneath its grey, cracked skin. It hadn't moved in minutes—but that only made it more terrifying.
He exhaled slowly.
"If I wait any longer… it'll evolve into something worse."
Kade knew he was running out of time. The two smaller abominations had devoured crystals and grown visibly stronger. If this leader did the same, even he wouldn't stand a chance.
No more delays.
He opened his status screen.
---
[Status Screen]
Name: Kade Voss
Level: 8 [400/3000 EXP]
Rank: Unranked (101/100)
Stats:
Stats:
Strength: 39
Agility: 40
Endurance: 36
Aether Energy: 32
Luck: 35
Free Stat Points: 10
Skills:
• Unique Skill – Eclipse Twin Blades
• Unique Skill – Reward Enhancement
---
He didn't hesitate. He spent his stat points:
+4 to Strength
+3 to Agility
+3 to Abyss Energy
---
[Stats Updated]
Strength: 43
Agility: 43
Abyss Energy: 35
---
Kade knelt down, pulling out a worn strip of cloth from his inventory. He wrapped his wrists tightly. The bruises were almost gone, a testament to his increasing regeneration—but this wasn't a battle of endurance.
It would come down to precision. Rage. Timing.
His gaze fell on the photo tucked into his notebook—bent, stained, nearly destroyed, but still intact.
His aunt's smile stared back at him.
The woman who had trained him. Who had believed in him when no one else had. Who taught him to keep pushing, no matter what the world became.
"I'll finish this, Aunt Mira," he whispered.
Then, he rose.
The silence before the battle felt like the eye of a storm.
And then—
He moved.
---
Kade descended the building in a blur, his footsteps barely audible against cracked concrete. He zigzagged through broken alleyways, keeping to the shadows. With every step, the monstrous behemoth ahead became even more terrifying. Its head nearly scraped the fifth floor of a collapsed building. Thick arms hung low, dragging claws that gouged trenches into the pavement with each breath.
Still, it hadn't noticed him.
Kade's eyes scanned the surroundings. The two smaller Abominations were still nearby, occasionally splitting off and wandering the ruins.
He had a plan.
If he could eliminate the small ones first, he could level up—just enough to give him an edge.
He stalked one as it moved further away from the leader.
Instead of charging in, Kade took a different approach. He scaled a nearby building, quietly reaching the third floor. Then he waited, watching.
When the monster passed below, he leapt.
As he expected, the creature sensed him midair and launched a lightning-fast punch toward his descending form.
Kade adjusted in midair, shifting his balance to the side. The blow clipped his ribs, sending him into a spin. But that motion worked to his advantage.
Holding both blades low to his side, he spun through the air like a cutting wheel—and with a savage horizontal slash, he cleaved the creature's head clean from the nose up.
The body hit the ground.
So did he.
Kade rolled across the concrete, the force of the landing jarring but manageable. He'd redirected most of the momentum—just as planned.
Without wasting a second, he fled the scene. Drawing attention now would be suicide.
One more to go.
---
Two hours later...
After waiting, stalking, and finding the perfect opening, Kade struck again.
The last smaller Abomination never saw it coming.
Now, only one remained.
The ten-meter monstrosity.
The true test.
___
1hour later
___
Kade stood amidst the crumbling ruins, breath shallow and mind locked in razor-sharp focus. His body was worn, bruised from hours of stalking, ambushing, and slaying the lesser creatures—but his eyes burned with resolve.
He had just leveled up again.
From Level 8 to 9, he hadn't wasted the opportunity.
Every stat point had been poured into Strength and Agility, pushing both to 46.
And now, there was only one left.
The towering monster—the Alpha Abomination—still stood in the heart of the rubble, casting a shadow that seemed to swallow the broken city around it. Its glowing veins pulsed brighter now. It was on the brink of another mutation. Kade could feel it in his bones.
"If I wait any longer, I won't survive."
He drew his blades.
They shimmered to life in his hands, resonating with stored kinetic energy. The air around him shifted—dense, charged, like a storm about to erupt.
Kade dashed forward from the ruins without a single sound—no war cry, no warning.
Only silence.
And death.
---
Slash!
His twin blades tore upward, targeting the beast's massive Achilles tendon.
A deep, fleshy rip echoed into the night. The beast snarled, twisting in agony, its leg buckling—but it didn't fall.
Instead, it spun faster than anything its size should've allowed. A gigantic arm swept horizontally like a wrecking ball.
Kade ducked, rolled beneath, and slashed at its knee.
The beast roared, then stomped down with brutal force.
KABOOM!
The ground exploded. Kade was hurled back, crashing against a rusted vehicle. Pain bloomed across his ribs. He gasped, barely regaining footing before bolting toward a cracked wall.
He ran up the surface, leaping high into the air—flipping mid-flight—then cross-slashing down hard across the beast's shoulder.
A deep cut. Blood splattered in arcs. The Alpha screamed.
It retaliated viciously, lashing both arms outward.
Kade twisted mid-fall, avoiding the direct hit, but the shockwave still knocked him back like a ragdoll. He tumbled into the asphalt, coughing blood.
"Damn it… It's smarter than I thought."
He rose shakily.
The monster didn't pursue.
It stood still—watching him.
Waiting.
Mocking.
Kade grit his teeth. "You're learning, huh? Too bad—I'm done playing nice."
He sprinted across the battlefield, slashing repeatedly, storing every ounce of kinetic energy. The blades pulsed, brighter with every strike.
But then—
The monster roared, and its entire body flared crimson.
Veins pulsed wildly. Its muscles expanded, grotesquely bulging. Bone-like spikes burst from its shoulders and spine like jagged thorns. The very ground began to shake.
It was evolving mid-battle.
"This is it," Kade muttered.
Then something surged inside him.
A warmth—no, a radiant force—began coursing through his veins, moving down his arms and into his weapons.
He opened his status screen.
---
[Status Screen – Update]
Aether Energy: 33 (100/330)
---
His eyes widened.
"Aether Surge…"
The energy fused with his blades.
They glowed white-blue, humming with raw power. The air crackled around him.
Kade stepped forward, both hands tight on the hilt of his blades.
"Kinetic Nova Slash."
The world slowed.
Time bent around him as he vanished in a blur of motion—every fiber of his body focused on one point.
He jumped.
Spun.
And unleashed the full might of his stored power in a single, devastating cross-shaped slash.
FWOOM!
The blades carved straight through the monster's chest, cutting deep into its core.
Then—
BOOOOOOM!
A radiant explosion of aetheric light lit up the ruined city like a second sun. The blast flattened debris and painted the sky in shimmering blue flame.
The beast stumbled. Its eyes flickered—then dimmed.
CRASH!
It collapsed, the impact shaking the ground, a crater forming beneath its weight.
Dead.
Finally, dead.
---
[Monster Defeated – Demon Order {I} – Level 10 Alpha Abomination]
+2x Rewards (Unique Skill: Reward Enhancement)
+3000 EXP
+3000 EXP
+10 Uncommon Aether Crystals
+1 Rare Aether Crystal
+Skill Book Acquired: [Danger Sense]
---
[Level Up – Level 9 → 10]
All Stats +2
+5 Free Stat Points ×2
---
[Rank Advancement Available]
You have reached the threshold. Advancement is now possible.
---
Kade dropped to one knee.
His breath came ragged. His hands were trembling, blades cracked and scorched at the edges. Blood clung to his chestplate. He could feel his heartbeat echoing through his wounds.
But he'd won.
He had slain an evolving Alpha.
He looked up toward the moon.
"Still here," he whispered.
A shaky smile tugged at his lips.
"I really hope no one stronger shows up tonight."
---
[Status Screen]
Name: Kade Voss
Level: 10 [1500/6000 EXP]
Rank: Unranked (101/100)
Stats:
Strength: 49
Agility: 49
Abyss Energy: 41
Endurance: 42
Luck: 41
Free Stat Points: 10
Skills:
• Unique Skill – [Eclipse Twin Blades]
• Unique Skill – [Reward Enhancement]
---