Chapter 2: The System That Shouldn't Exist
Kairo's consciousness swam somewhere between agony and oblivion.
A sharp pain pulsed through his chest, yet he was breathing. That alone didn't make sense. The last thing he remembered was the dungeon collapsing—the floor disintegrating beneath his feet and the crushing weight of death closing in.
He groaned and rolled onto his side. A rough stone floor met his fingertips. Cold. Damp. Still underground?
His vision adjusted slowly.
The dim glow of blue runes illuminated the walls. Unlike the cracked and aged stone of the previous dungeon, this chamber looked... pristine. The architecture was smooth, symmetrical, even elegant. Massive pillars spiraled toward a ceiling too high to see.
In the center of the room hovered a translucent blue screen.
[Welcome, Player.]Initializing: Echo Protocol...Binding Unique System... Complete.Status: Unlinked.Objective: Survive. Evolve. Ascend.
Kairo blinked. Player?He tried to sit up, and the pain returned in a wave. His body was bruised and battered, but somehow still whole. No broken bones. No missing limbs.
"System..." he croaked, tasting blood on his tongue. "What the hell is this?"
Another window popped up.
[You are now bound to the Echo Protocol.]This system adapts to the host by replicating enemy abilities.Current Level: 1Abilities: [None]Link Slots: 0/5Warning: Echoes consumed will influence personality and biology. Use with caution.
He stared at the screen, trying to wrap his mind around it. Systems like this existed in the world—but only in fiction. Real Hunters had mana signatures, skill shards, and gear that amplified their natural power. No one had… this.
"Is this a dream?" he whispered.
A deep growl echoed through the chamber.
Kairo froze.
From the shadows emerged a beast unlike anything he'd ever seen. Its body was sleek and serpentine, black as obsidian, with six legs ending in claws that scraped the floor. Its eyes glowed violet, and its teeth gleamed like daggers under the blue runes.
[Lesser Void Revenant – Lv. 7]
Level seven?! Kairo's heart slammed against his ribs. He was barely a Rank F! He had no weapons, no armor, no team. Just… this system.
The beast lunged.
Kairo dove to the side, barely dodging the strike. Stone cracked where he'd stood a second earlier. He rolled and scrambled to his feet, scanning the room for anything—anything—that could help him.
There. In the corner, half-buried in rubble, was a broken spear.
He dashed for it, the Void Revenant hot on his heels. He grabbed the shaft, yanked it free, and turned just in time to block a swipe from the creature's claw. The force rattled his bones, but he held on.
"Come on, Kairo," he muttered, backing away. "Think. Don't just survive—adapt."
That's when he saw it. The Revenant's pattern. It swiped with the left, then lunged. Swipe. Lunge. Swipe—
Kairo ducked under the next attack, pivoted on his heel, and jammed the spear upward into the beast's underbelly.
It screamed—a sound that rattled the walls—and collapsed in a twitching heap.
He stumbled back, panting, blood dripping from the splintered shaft in his hands.
Then, the system chimed.
[Echo Absorbed: Lesser Void Revenant]Processing...New Ability Acquired: Shadowstep (Lv. 1)Link Slot Used: 1/5Warning: Slight neurological corruption detected. Monitoring…Would you like to activate your first Echo?
Kairo stared at the prompt. "Shadowstep?"
He hesitated for only a second.
"Yes."
A pulse of darkness wrapped around his body. For a moment, his vision dimmed, as if the light itself had bent around him. Then it returned—and with it, a strange sensation. Like his muscles had been rewired. His feet itched to move, to vanish, to appear elsewhere.
"Let's test it," he whispered.
He thought of the far side of the room—and he was there.
Just like that. No wind-up. No flash. Just blink, and go.
He grinned.
This… is insane.
He spent the next few hours exploring the strange dungeon. It was unlike anything in the public Hunter registry. The monsters were mutated versions of known types—darker, sleeker, deadlier. Each one gave him a new Echo when defeated, though only five could be active at once.
By the time he reached what looked like a final chamber, he'd acquired:
Shadowstep (Lv. 1) – Blink short distances instantly.
Void Claws (Lv. 1) – Summon temporary spectral weapons.
Predator Sight (Lv. 1) – Enhanced vision, including heat and mana trails.
Resonance Skin (Lv. 1) – Temporary resistance to magic-based attacks.
Echo Siphon (Lv. 1) – Absorb ambient mana from defeated enemies.
Each use came with a toll—muscle fatigue, dizziness, or odd flashes of thought that weren't his. Once, after using Predator Sight for too long, he caught himself growling softly, stalking the corridor like prey was nearby.
He shook it off. Side effects. Whatever.
When he entered the final chamber, the air shifted.
Something ancient stirred in the shadows.
A massive throne sat at the center of the room. Black stone. Floating inches above a glowing rune circle. Upon it rested a humanoid figure wrapped in chains of obsidian.
Its eyes opened—pits of seething silver.
Kairo stepped forward, heart pounding. "Who are you?"
The chained figure spoke with a voice like breaking metal.
"You bear the Echo. The throne rejects all but the Worthy.""You are not ready.""But you will be."
The throne flared. A storm of mana roared through the chamber.
Kairo screamed as the energy engulfed him.
[System Update Initiated]Subclass Unlocked: EchobornYou are now a unique entity. No longer measurable by conventional rankings.New Title: The Silent HeirQuest Received: Ascend or Perish.
Kairo collapsed, gasping, the last thing he saw before blacking out was the chained figure smiling.