Jin woke with a gasp.
He was lying on a thin mattress, sweat sticking to his heavy arms. His breath came hard and fast.
He looked down at his thick hands—short fingers, soft flesh.
He was back in his original body.
"No… not now—"
He rolled off the bed and stumbled toward the mirror.
The ugly, overweight boy with tired eyes and messy hair stared back at him.
A nightmare.
But it was real.
If this body dies, I die.
He clenched his fists.
"I need to hide you… somewhere no one will ever find."
---
Three days ago, Jin had used Yeong-ho's bank account to purchase a hidden safe house on the outskirts of the city. It was an underground shelter built for survivalists—hidden under a fake warehouse and protected by a biometric lock.
He had prepared it in case something like this happened.
---
By nightfall, Jin had taken a taxi to the safe house and entered using a code he had memorized. He carefully settled his real body into the reinforced sleeping chamber, surrounded by food, water, and security cameras.
He locked the door behind him and activated the clone system.
> [Clone Activated] Transferring control…
---
Jin opened his eyes again—back in his perfect body, standing in the training room.
He breathed in deeply.
That panic… that weakness…
He could never let his real body be discovered. Never.
And now, it was safe.
Hidden.
Protected.
He smirked.
"Now I can focus on becoming unstoppable."
Jin stepped through the glowing gate at the edge of the city—a shimmering curtain of blue that led into an unstable F-Rank dungeon.
Officially, he told the dungeon staff he was entering alone "to regain his strength after trauma."
Unofficially?
He was hunting.
The world inside the gate was dark and rocky, like an underground cave lit by glowing moss. Sharp stones jutted from the ground, and the air was damp with the scent of blood and magic.
As Jin moved quietly through the shadows, he kept his senses sharp. His green hair and eyes shimmered slightly under the dungeon light, making him look almost otherworldly.
He stopped.
Voices echoed from deeper inside.
A girl's scream. Muffled. Struggling.
And a deep male voice—laughing.
Jin crept forward silently, his body pressing against the cold stone walls. Then, from behind a boulder, he saw them.
A girl, barely conscious, her clothes torn. And a man pinning her down.
That man's face—burned itself into Jin's memory.
Kang Dae-jin.
The one who used to dump Jin's lunch on the floor. The one who recorded his humiliation. The one who led the beatings.
Jin's vision turned red.
Kang wore hunter armor now, his badge clipped to his chest. His ability—a beast tamer, if Jin remembered right.
The girl whimpered.
Jin stepped out from the shadows.
"That's enough."
Kang froze.
He looked up—and his face twisted in confusion, then disbelief.
"What the hell?" he muttered. "Yeong-ho? The rich boy?"
Jin said nothing.
Just walked forward slowly, letting flames spark in his palm.
"You shouldn't have come here," Kang growled. "This isn't your playground, rich boy."
The shadows shifted around Jin's feet.
He vanished—and reappeared behind Kang with Shadow Step.
Before Kang could react, Jin kicked him in the side, sending him crashing against the stone wall.
The girl scrambled away, sobbing.
Kang coughed, blood on his lips. "You bastard—"
Jin raised his hand. A fireball burned to life.
"This is for the years you made my life hell," he whispered.
Kang's eyes widened. "Wait—what are you—who are you?"
The fireball flew.
Kang rolled, dodging it barely, then summoned a beast—a shadowy wolf that leapt at Jin.
Jin vanished again with Shadow Step, dodging the wolf and appearing behind Kang.
He stabbed forward with a dagger he had prepared.
Kang caught the blade with his hand, struggling, his strength monstrous.
"You think you can beat me just because you have money and tricks?" Kang growled.
Jin's eyes narrowed.
"I'm not Yeong-ho."
Then he drove the blade deeper.
Kang Dae-jin coughed blood and rolled away, summoning a black wolf with glowing red eyes. The beast snarled, then charged straight at Jin.
Jin didn't move.
Not until the last second.
"Shadow Step."
He vanished—and the wolf slammed into the wall behind him. Before the beast could recover, a fireball scorched through its chest.
The creature let out a shriek before vanishing in smoke.
Kang stared in shock. "T-Two abilities? You—what the hell are you?!"
Jin walked forward slowly, his steps echoing in the dungeon chamber.
"You don't remember me, do you?" he asked.
Kang narrowed his eyes. "What are you talking about?"
Jin stopped just a few feet away. "You used to kick me. Spit on me. Called me pig. Trash. A mistake."
He raised his hand again. A flickering flame danced on his palm.
"I remember everything."
Kang's eyes widened as Jin stepped into the light.
For a moment—just a flicker—he saw it.
That same face. From the past.
Just thinner. Sharper. Deadlier.
"N-no… wait… you're that fat loser from school—"
Before he could finish, Jin's fist crashed into his jaw.
Then again.
And again.
Kang fell, blood leaking from his nose and mouth.
Jin didn't stop.
He kicked him in the ribs, over and over, until something cracked.
"You laughed when they broke my fingers."
Crack.
"You said no one would ever love me."
Crack.
"You called me a waste of air."
Crunch.
Kang screamed, but the dungeon swallowed his cries.
Jin grabbed him by the hair and slammed his face into the stone wall.
Blood splattered.
"You know what's funny?" Jin whispered, dragging his body up to eye level. "You still smell the same."
Kang groaned, barely conscious.
Jin summoned a small fireball—barely the size of a fist—and pressed it into Kang's shoulder.
The sizzle of burning flesh filled the air. Kang shrieked.
"Stop! Please—I'm sorry!"
Jin looked into his eyes.
"No, you're not."
Then he stabbed him in the chest.
Kang gasped. His eyes lost their light.
> [You have killed a Superhuman.] [Skill gained: Beast Sense – D-Rank.] Allows the user to sense nearby creatures and understand tamed beasts' emotions.
Jin stood up slowly, breathing hard.
The system chimed in his mind.
> [Skill successfully absorbed.]
He looked down at the broken body of the boy who once ruined his life.
No joy. No peace.
Just silence.
Jin turned to the girl—still hiding behind a boulder.
He tossed her a healing potion from his belt. "Drink it. Then get out of here."
She nodded shakily, eyes filled with fear and confusion.
"Who are you?" she whispered.
Jin paused.
Then said coldly, "Just someone who doesn't forgive."
The moonlight poured softly through the massive windows of Yeong-ho's bedroom. Jin sat alone at the edge of the bed, still in his clone body. His green hair caught the moon's glow, casting a ghostly reflection in the mirror.
He clenched his fist.
Beast Sense.
It had awakened in his body like an animal instinct—something primal. He could feel living things nearby. Their movements, their breathing, even faint emotional waves.
That was why he noticed it.
A ripple—subtle, just at the edge of the mansion's garden.
Jin narrowed his eyes.
Someone was watching.
He stepped toward the window and slowly drew the curtain aside.
Nothing visible.
But the presence was still there.
He activated Shadow Step, warping instantly to the garden wall. The moment his feet hit the stone, he dropped into a crouch and focused.
There.
A flicker of breath in the air.
Behind the hedges.
He crept closer, silent as wind. His body melted into the darkness.
A figure crouched beneath the branches, dressed in black. The man wore light armor, his face covered by a black scarf. He had a communicator in one hand and a short blade strapped to his leg.
A spy.
Jin didn't wait.
He summoned a fireball in his palm and drove it into the man's chest.
The explosion sent him flying back into the bushes.
Jin leapt over and landed on top of him, pinning him down.
The spy coughed blood, reaching for his weapon, but Jin grabbed the blade and stabbed him through the throat.
The light faded from his eyes.
> [You have killed a Superhuman.] [Skill gained: Camouflage Veil – D-Rank.] Allows the user to turn invisible for 15 seconds if standing still. Cooldown: 2 minutes.
Jin stood, breathing steady.
The night returned to silence.
He checked the man's communicator—it was locked with a passcode, but Jin would crack it later.
Someone had sent this spy.
Maybe the real Yeong-ho's parents.
Or someone else entirely.
He looked up at the sky.
No more hiding. If they want to hunt me… I'll hunt them first.