Life Remaining: 98
The number stared back at him like a cruel countdown timer.
Max stood alone in a narrow corridor, breath shallow, torchlight flickering against jagged stone walls. The latest respawn had left him aching. Muscles tight. Skin cold. Like every death shaved something off his soul.
He still felt the way his second life ended.
The crushing force.
The snapping bones.
The screams—his screams—as the Bone Tusk demon stomped him flat like an insect.
He touched his ribs.
They weren't broken anymore. The system had healed his body.
But his fear?
Still fractured. Still real.
[System Sync – Soul Anchor Status: Stable]
Remaining Lives: 98
Mutation Points: 1
Soul Evolution Tree Unlocked
New Path: Deathborn Instinct I (Locked – requires 3 total deaths)
Current Trait Gained from Death #2:
– Endo-Flex Frame (Body adapts slightly after every blunt force death. +2% resistance to crushing damage.)
Skill Unlocked:
– Last Sigh (When HP drops below 5%, chance to trigger slow-motion dodge instinct.)
Max let the system screen fade.
He didn't need constant reminders that he was still just a test subject trapped in a corpse-cycle dungeon.
No way out.
Only a single, brutal truth burned into the stone above every corridor he passed:
"Evolve or expire."
And Max?
He refused to expire.
He moved forward.
The corridor narrowed and turned, and the air grew hotter. The sound of distant dripping water echoed down the stone hall like a heartbeat. He gripped his makeshift weapon—a rusted cleaver from a fallen beast—and listened.
Step. Breathe. Listen.
Repeat.
His boots crunched bone fragments underfoot. Some were small, like animal bones.
Some weren't.
The light dimmed further, and the next chamber opened before him.
A circular room. Stalactites like stone fangs. Blood smeared across the walls in claw marks. Chains hung from the ceiling like some kind of ritual prison.
And in the center?
A creature.
It looked human once.
But now it crawled on four elongated limbs, back twisted, skin gray with open sores. Its jaw unhinged wide like a snake's, and where its eyes should've been—only hollow, leaking pits of black slime.
It sniffed the air.
Turned slowly.
And saw him.
[Enemy Detected: Hollow Devourer – Lv. 6]
Classification: Hunger Mutation
Behavior: Aggressive, Blind
Threat: Deadly in tight spaces
Weakness: Light and frontal noise overload
Warning: Target kills by eating players alive.
Max's pulse spiked. His hand tightened on the cleaver.
He wasn't ready for another death. Not yet. Not when his hands still trembled from the last one.
But he couldn't run.
Not because the door behind him had sealed—though it had.
Not because he didn't have a choice.
But because something in him—some twisted, evolving part—wanted to fight.
Even if it meant dying again.
The creature lunged.
Max rolled to the side, the edge of its claw slicing air where his head had been. The creature slammed into the wall, disoriented by its own momentum.
Max moved.
Fast.
He swung the cleaver with all his might, burying it into the beast's spine.
It screeched. A horrible, garbled sound that rang off the walls like metal screaming.
Black sludge poured from the wound.
[Critical Hit – Backstrike Bonus: +20%]
[Damage Dealt: 74/310 HP]
But the creature wasn't down.
It twisted—spine cracking in unnatural directions—and lunged again, mouth wide.
Max ducked.
Not in time.
Its claw slashed across his chest, and pain exploded.
He stumbled back, clutching his torso as blood soaked his shirt.
[HP: 41/100]
Pain made the world flicker at the edges.
But he didn't fall.
He couldn't.
He dodged left—barely avoiding another swipe—and screamed through clenched teeth as he brought the cleaver down again. This time on its shoulder. Bone cracked. More sludge spilled.
The Devourer spun, ramming him with its full weight. They tumbled together, slamming into the far wall.
Max gasped.
Wrong move.
He was pinned.
The creature opened its mouth wide.
And bit.
[HP: 9/100]
Bleed status inflicted.
Last Sigh: CHANCE TRIGGER – SUCCESS (42%)
Slow-motion reflex activated.
Time slowed.
The creature's jaws came at him in blurred terror.
Max raised the cleaver—not to strike.
To block.
The rusted blade jammed between its upper and lower jaw, halting the bite inches from his throat.
Max screamed and pushed, every muscle straining.
The cleaver snapped—
—but it bought him a second.
He reached down, grabbed a broken chain from the floor—
—and wrapped it around the Devourer's neck.
Twist. Pull. Squeeze.
Over and over until the creature flailed. Gurgled.
And finally…
Collapsed.
[You have defeated: Hollow Devourer]
[XP gained: 320]
[Loot: Chain of Hunger – Damaged, Evolvable]
[Trait Absorbed: Scent Masking (Passive) – Reduces enemy aggro range by 10%]
Mutation Threshold reached: 2/3 deaths required.
Evolve path: Deathborn Instinct I unlocking soon.
Max collapsed to the ground, bloodied and panting.
He stared at the chain in his hands—slick with black ichor. His cleaver was gone. His shirt was torn. He was bleeding from at least four places.
But he was alive.
For the third time.
He looked at his shaking hands.
And he smiled.
Not a happy smile.
A wild one.
Because he could feel it.
Every death wasn't breaking him down.
It was building him.
Changing him.
Sharpening him.
Ten minutes later, he limped through a new corridor. Each step crunching on frost-covered bones. His newly looted chain coiled around his arm, glowing faintly.
He stopped as a new chamber opened.
And saw something waiting.
A pedestal.
Glowing blue. With a screen above it.
[System Evolution Point Available – Mutation Tree Accessed]
Would you like to evolve now?
–– YES
–– NO
Max stared at the screen.
Then at the blood on his hands.
He pressed YES.
[Deathborn Instinct I – Evolution Initiated]
Passive Upgrade: Reaper's Nerve – Slight adrenaline surge in fatal situations (+10% reaction speed)
Active Skill Gained: Blood Recall – (Once per life) Teleport to the last enemy who killed you.
Mutation Effect: Eyes darken temporarily during critical moments. (Cosmetic – noted by system.)
Warning: Instability rating has increased slightly. Further deaths may trigger unknown psychological effects.
Max blinked.
His eyes burned for a moment.
Then the screen faded.
And for the first time…
He felt ready to die again.
Because the next time?
He'd come back stronger.
Faster.
Smarter.
More dangerous.
The corridor shifted. The air thinned. A new enemy howled in the distance.
But Max smiled.
He wasn't afraid anymore.
He had 98 lives left.
And the world?
Was running out of ways to kill him.
(To Be Continued .....)