The underground market in Sector 9 wasn't on any map. It pulsed beneath the city like a second heart, built from stolen concrete and cyber-junk. Lights buzzed overhead. The smell of ozone, blood, and mana crystal dust filled the tunnels.
Rei followed Luka down the narrow corridor, hood up, aura suppressed.
"Just stay cool," Luka muttered. "No mutations, no biting, no glowing eyes. These people sell IDs, not organ parts... usually."
Rei didn't respond. His body still ached from the Rift. Bone fragments shifted beneath his skin, healing slowly. He felt like a machine still assembling itself mid-fight.
They entered a long chamber lined with screens and cloaked vendors. One of them—masked, featureless, his body flickering between real and digital—waved them over.
"Ah... the parasite boy," the vendor said in a glitchy tone. "Looking for an identity... or a grave?"
Rei's eyes narrowed.
Luka stepped in fast. "Alias. Background wipe. Class D Hunter profile, freelance license, low exposure. Nothing that pings a guild radar."
The masked vendor slid a neural chip across the counter.
> Name: Kain Vos
Age: 19
Hunter Class: D+ (Potential Suppressed)
Alias: The Masked One
Origin: Eastern Slum – Burned District
"Your face," the vendor continued. "You'll need to cover it from now on."
Rei turned the chip over in his hand.
---
▓ A Few Hours Later
He stood in front of a cracked mirror in Luka's hideout.
A new mask in hand—obsidian black, molded to his face. Two narrow eye slits. Bone-like etchings carved into its surface.
Not flashy. Not heroic.
It looked like something that belonged in a nightmare.
He put it on.
Something about it felt... right.
---
▓ Meanwhile – Sector 3, Hunter Arena
An illegal dungeon fight.
Two Hunters in a sealed space. No spectators. Only remote feeds and rich bidders.
Rei stepped into the arena under his new alias: Kain Vos.
His opponent: Lira Cain—mercenary, Guild-rejected, ex-S rank, now a freelance killer.
She smirked from the other side, bloodied glaive resting on her shoulder.
"They told me you cleared a Rift alone," she said. "Cute story. Wanna see what a real Hunter looks like?"
Rei didn't speak.
He just cracked his knuckles.
---
[BEGIN MATCH]
Lira moved like lightning—blades dancing, kicks flying. Rei blocked the first hit, barely, his carapace humming with impact.
She spun, drove her glaive into his ribs.
Blood spurted.
> [Damage Taken: 23%]
He slid back, coughing—but grinning.
> [Core Overload – Activated]
His veins pulsed black.
Speed surged. Reflexes spiked.
He caught her next strike mid-air and slammed her into the wall, bones crunching.
> [Acid Fang – Injected]
She screamed as the acid burned through her armor.
But she was fast. Dangerous.
She spat blood and launched herself again, this time with a Mana Bloom strike—concentrated energy exploding from her blade.
Rei leapt into it—through it.
The blast seared his mask, cracked his arm. He tackled her mid-spin.
> [Devour – Partial Attempt Initiated]
[Warning: Target Resisting]
Lira gritted her teeth as he bit into her shoulder—his hunger raging.
But she stabbed into his thigh, forcing a break.
Both rolled back, breathing hard.
"Not human…" she whispered. "You're not—"
"No," Rei growled. "I'm worse."
He surged forward.
And this time, he didn't hold back.
---
▓ Minutes Later
Lira lay unconscious, twitching.
Rei stood over her, chest heaving. His arm hung limp—broken. But the rage in his blood had stilled.
> [Winner: Kain Vos]
> [Skill Partially Extracted: Glaive Technique Lv. 1]
[Trait: Battle Sense Enhanced]
---
▓ Hours Later – Luka's Hideout
Rei removed the mask and looked at the blood on it.
Luka whistled from the shadows. "You made 12 million credits from that stream. People are scared shitless. They're calling you the 'Masked Devourer' now."
"I don't care," Rei muttered.
"Maybe you should. Guilds are watching now. And that Lira girl? She's from a sub-guild under Black Halo."
Rei paused.
Then slipped the mask back on.
"Let them come."
---
📘 Character Update:
New Alias: Kain Vos – "The Masked Devourer"
Level: 7 → 8
New Trait: Glaive Technique Lv. 1
Mutation Stability: 61%
Next Evolution Tier Unlocked: Hybrid Path Available
> Warning: Further mutations may lead to irreversible changes.