That split second — as silver fangs rushed toward him — was the moment Kang Seung-woo had no choice but to fight.
The Clawbeast's roar slammed into his senses. A muscular, wolf-like mutant over 1.8 meters tall with coarse brown-black fur and two independently moving heads. Both mouths opened wide, revealing teeth as long as a man's forearm. It burst from the shadows like a missile from hell.
Seung-woo didn't retreat. He gripped his energy blade tightly, feeling its subtle vibration. His eyes scanned the terrain — wet rock, slippery moss, knee-high grass — nowhere easy to flee.
Another roar. It charged, a shadow moving at impossible speed.
Seung-woo dodged left by instinct — not thought. His body knew that a moment too slow would mean death.
The beast's claws sliced through air, missing by mere inches. Wind whipped his hair, slicing the silence like a blade.
His knees buckled, but he forced himself steady. His mind raced.
"Too fast..." he muttered, heart pounding.
He swung his blade, stabilizing with his left hand on the ground. His eyes never left the monster.
"If I miss one more time... there might not be a next time."
The Clawbeast turned sharply and leapt again.
Seung-woo slid across the stone floor, slamming into a rock but staying upright. He saw the glint in the beast's eye — it was enjoying this.
"Damn mutt..." he growled, hurling a stone at its face.
The rock struck its left snout. It yelped and stumbled, snarling.
"That worked..."
He grabbed his low-power pistol and fired at the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust. Then he sprinted around the right flank.
The Clawbeast charged after the sound, but Seung-woo circled behind stacked rocks. He spotted an opportunity: three large stones piled together. If used right...
He tossed another distraction and slashed a branch, flinging it into the opposite shadow. The beast fell for it.
Seung-woo climbed the jagged rocks, aimed his blade — and leapt.
CHUKK!
His sword pierced deep into the blind spot between its twin necks.
The beast howled, thrashing violently. Seung-woo was flung off, crashing hard to the ground.
He gritted his teeth, grabbing his scraped arm.
The beast wasn't dead. Blood poured from its back, but its four eyes burned with fury.
"Then let's end this properly!"
He charged before it could recover. His glowing blue blade slashed its neck, nearly cleaving one head.
The Clawbeast roared one final time... then collapsed.
Silence.
Seung-woo stood, panting over the bloody corpse.
"Target eliminated: Tier 1 mutant."
The voice from his wrist module chimed.
"Congratulations. Examinee No. 104 has obtained Core No. 1."
He dropped to his knees, trembling slightly — but inside, he felt an unfamiliar clarity.
He had done it.
Alone.
He drew out his core capsule and pressed it to the beast's chest. A faint light scanned below the skin. A soft red energy core was extracted and sealed.
[Core Count: 1/20]
He nodded. "Nineteen more."
Breathing steady now, he glanced upward through sparse leaves and scattered sunlight.
It was only the beginning.
Leaves rustled again.
He stood.
No rest yet.
This was only the first fight.
The forest was quiet.
Then, his core capsule flickered.
Text appeared.
Lines that had never been there before. As if this system... didn't belong.
"Initial condition fulfilled: Self-kill of mutant (Tier 1)"
"Activating Proto-Gene Evolution Program..."
His eyes widened.
Breath caught.
"Gene evolution...?" he whispered.
The official system never mentioned anything like this.
He knew immediately: this wasn't normal.
And it wasn't supposed to happen.
"Accessing Deep Gene Layer B-Δ..."
"Verifying biological exclusivity..."
"Hunter Instinct v0.1 Unlocked."
It felt like a veil over his mind had been torn away.
Nothing changed.
But he saw differently.
The buzzing of insects became identifiable rhythms.
The heat from sunlit bark painted itself as thermal patterns in his mind.
His reflexes weren't faster — but his awareness was.
He looked at a tree 10 meters away — and saw the faint blur of a tiny lifeform hiding behind leaves.
Just moments ago, he could barely breathe.
Now... he felt sharp.
Passive Skill: Hunter Instinct (Basic)
Enhances lifeform detectionAutomatically evaluates Tier 1 enemy weak pointsUnlocks instinct-based learning with each kill
Seung-woo stood silent.
But something radiated from him now — something new.
He didn't fully understand this system.
But he knew...
This wasn't ordinary.
And he wasn't ordinary anymore.
Then, the voice returned.
Soft. Electric. Whispering through his spine.
"You are one of the few... whose deep genes still remain."
"Hunt... and evolve."
He inhaled — slow, steady.
Fingers clenched.
Hands no longer shook.
This wasn't installed.
It had always been inside him.
And now...
It was awake.
End of Chapter 8 — The Awakening of the Sleeping Gene