The city looked different when you'd killed something in it.
Rei walked the cracked sidewalks of Sector 11, hoodie pulled low, reeking of dried blood and dungeon air. Neon signs flickered above decaying storefronts. The rain had started again—slanted and cold, like the sky was punishing the streets for breathing.
No one noticed him.
That was the trick.
> [Status: Hidden | Public Detection Risk: Low]
[Devourer Lv. 2 – Hunger 4%]
His stomach twisted—not with pain, but with that slow-burning itch. The hunger didn't just want food. It wanted essence. Power. Flesh.
Rei clenched his jaw and kept walking.
Then he saw the graffiti-marked door. A blinking blue sensor glitched just above the handle.
He knocked once. Pause. Knocked three times.
The door buzzed open with a lazy clunk.
Inside, it was a cave of monitors—screens glowed with Rift maps, bounty feeds, hacked Hunter logs. Junk tech and wires hung like vines, and in the middle of it all sat a kid.
No older than fifteen, wearing broken goggles and munching canned noodles.
"You're late," the kid said without looking up. "I thought you got eaten."
"You said you had info. I came."
"You smell like a crime scene." He finally looked up, eyes sharp behind the cracked lenses. "Name's Luka. You're the freak who solo-cleared a D-rank Rift, aren't you?"
Rei didn't answer.
Didn't need to.
Luka grinned. "Relax. I don't snitch. But you tripped six sensors and left no core behind. That's weird even for Hunters. So either you're suicidal…"
He leaned forward.
"…or you're something new."
Rei's silence was enough.
Luka turned back to his monitors. "I've seen this kind of pattern once before. A long time ago. Guy wiped out a whole nest, no core, no tracks, then vanished. You're the same. Except you're hungrier."
> [New Passive Triggered: Predator's Presence – Detected by observer]
"What's your angle?" Rei asked.
"Me?" Luka popped another bite of noodles. "I like rare things. I sell info, fake licenses, Rift maps. You… you're gold. Plus, you scare the crap out of me, so it's better we're on the same team."
Rei narrowed his eyes. "What do you want?"
"Simple. You protect me. I feed you data. You'll need gear, clean IDs, maybe even black-market Rift lures."
He tossed a datachip across the room.
Rei caught it.
"Your next target," Luka said. "Illegal mini-Rift. Class C. They're baiting it to collapse on the slums—cover up some political garbage. But the monsters inside? I hacked the wave pattern."
Rei plugged the chip into Luka's holo-terminal.
Three creatures appeared. Snakelike beasts. One with wings.
> [Class: Hybrid Core Serpents – Lv. 11–14]
Ability Traits: Poison / Bone Flex / Aerial Rip
Recommended Party Size: 4+
Rei's mouth twitched.
They looked delicious.
> [Quest Available: Devour the Hybrid Serpent Host]
Reward: Core mutation | Skill evolution path unlocked
Bonus: If consumed within 24 hours, unlock "Venom Strain"**
"Your kind of buffet," Luka said, chuckling nervously. "Don't die. If you get stronger, I get richer."
Rei turned to leave. "Send me coordinates."
"Done."
As he reached the door, Luka added, "Hey—one more thing."
Rei stopped.
"I've seen a hundred Hunters come through here. You're not one of them. Not anymore."
Rei glanced back.
Luka's face was serious now. "I don't think your system is just a system."
"I know."
---
🔻 Elsewhere — Hunter HQ: Classified Briefing Room
"Ma'am, we tracked another unregistered Rift closure. No team, no core. Just blood and ashes."
Airi Voss narrowed her ice-blue eyes. "Third one this week?"
"Yes."
"Same signature?"
"Yes. Same anomaly. Something's eating the mana trails."
She turned away from the map. "Then we're no longer dealing with a Hunter."
> "We're hunting a predator."