I reached my apartment just as the first light of the sun hit the dusty windows. The city was glowing in a pale, sickly orange light. It felt like the world was holding its breath. Usually, this street was loud with people going to work. Now, there was nothing but the sound of wind blowing trash down the sidewalk.
I locked my door and pushed a heavy dresser in front of it. In this new world, a simple lock was just a suggestion. I pulled the black curtains shut, making the room pitch black.
I was safe. For now.
I placed the black egg on my small wooden table. Under the dim light of a single bulb, the egg looked like a piece of burnt coal. But when I touched it, the shell was burning. It felt like it was holding a small sun inside.
[Warning: The Unknown Lifeform is dying.] [Status: Extreme Mana Hunger.] [Time until death: 00:14:59]
Fifteen minutes. That was all the time I had before my S-rank investment turned into a dead rock. The egg didn't want water. It didn't care about warmth. It wanted the one thing I didn't have: Pure Energy.
I looked at the one High-Grade Mana Stone I had left. It was a beautiful blue crystal, glowing with a soft light. I had killed a boss for this. Now, I had to give it up. I placed the stone on top of the egg.
Crack.
The egg didn't hatch. Instead, a tiny black root grew out of the shell. It looked like a dark needle. It wrapped around the blue stone. In five seconds, the blue light was gone. The stone turned into gray sand and crumbled away.
[Mana Hunger: 5% satisfied.]
"Five percent?" I whispered. My heart sank.
One High-Grade stone could power a house for a year. This thing ate it in seconds and was still starving. It was like trying to fill a swimming pool with a single cup of water.
If I didn't do something, the "Black Dragon" of legend would die right here. I couldn't go back to the market. I was out of stones. I was out of time.
There was only one other way to feed it.
I looked at my own hands. My blood was full of the 'Heaven-Devouring' energy I had stolen from the monsters. My body was a walking battery of high-level power.
I pulled out the Shadow-Slaying Blade. The black steel reflected the red timer in my eyes. The blade hummed, sensing my intent. It felt like the sword was hungry, too.
"You better be worth it," I told the egg.
I sliced a line across my palm.
I didn't flinch. I had been burned alive and frozen solid in my past life. A small cut was nothing. I pressed my bleeding hand against the hot shell of the egg.
The reaction was instant.
The egg began to shake so hard the table rattled. The black veins on the shell turned a deep, angry red. I felt a sharp pull in my chest. It felt like my very soul was being sucked through my arm. It felt like my blood was boiling.
[Warning: Life-Force Transfer in progress!] [Your Health is dropping!]
[Health: 90... 70... 50...]
I felt dizzy. The room started to spin. My "Perfect Origin" body was trying to fight back, trying to heal the cut. I forced it to stay still. I gritted my teeth until I could taste blood. I needed this creature.
In the world that was coming, a lone king was just a target. A king with a dragon was a god.
[Health: 30... 20... 15...]
My knees hit the floor. My breath was short and ragged. My skin was turning white. Just as I thought I was going to die, the pulling stopped.
CRACK. CRACK. SHATTER.
The egg exploded into a cloud of black smoke. The smoke stayed low to the table, thick and cold. It smelled like burnt metal and old dust. Then, the smoke rushed back toward the center.
In the middle of the broken shell sat a small creature.
It was about the size of a kitten. Its scales were matte black, absorbing all the light in the room. It had two small horns on its head that looked like black glass. It had four eyes—two large gold ones and two smaller red ones above them. Its wings were thin and looked like tattered silk.
It didn't look like a dragon from a movie. It looked like a demon born from the dark.
The creature looked at me. It tilted its head. Then, it let out a small chirp and hopped onto my arm. It licked the wound on my palm. Its tongue felt like sandpaper. The cut healed instantly. The pain vanished.
[Ding! Soul Link Successful!] [You have tamed a Unique Grade Beast: The Void Eater (Baby).] [Name: Nero]
I looked at the small beast. It was tiny, but I could feel the dark power inside its body. It was a predator, just like me.
[Nero Level: 1] [Skill unlocked: 'Mana Devour'. Nero can eat enemies to give you extra experience.]
A cold smile spread across my face. This was better than I expected. We were a perfect pair of killers. I stood up and walked to the window.
The red numbers were still ticking in the sky.
[29:15:30:11]
I pulled out the Map of the First Wave. A red dot was blinking three blocks away. It was a Level 3 Rift in an abandoned warehouse. It was opening in two hours.
"Ready for your first meal, Nero?" I asked.
The little black dragon climbed up my shoulder and dug its claws into my jacket. It let out a low hiss. It could smell the power in the air.
I threw the Cloak of the Nameless over my shoulders. My body vanished. Even my reflection was gone. I was a ghost.
I stepped out of my window and onto the fire escape. I moved through the shadows of the alleyways, heading toward the warehouse. Every step felt like I was crushing the old world.
I reached the warehouse. The windows were boarded up. The heavy metal doors were locked. I could feel the air shaking near the center of the building.
"Let's go," I whispered.
I didn't use the door. I used Shadow Blink.
In an instant, I vanished from the street and appeared inside the dark warehouse. I was standing on a high metal beam. Below me, the floor was cracking. A purple light was leaking from the ground.
Crack. Snap. Pop.
The ground opened up. From the purple light, the first monster stepped out. It was a Lesser Ghoul. It had no skin and was covered in gray slime. It had long arms and black claws like knives.
Then another one came. And another. Soon, there were twenty of them standing in a circle, sniffing the air.
Nero hissed on my shoulder. His small body was tensed up.
"Wait," I whispered. "Let them all come out."
More ghouls climbed out. They were making a wet, clicking sound. One of them looked up. It couldn't see me, but it could smell something. It let out a loud scream.
[Ding! Quest Started: Clear the Warehouse.]
"Now," I said.
I jumped off the beam.
In the air, I used Shadow Blink. I vanished and appeared right behind the ghoul that had screamed.
Swish!
The black blade cut through the ghoul's neck. The head flew off. The body hit the ground with a thud.
[Exp +40]
The other ghouls turned. Their white eyes were full of anger. They all ran toward me. They jumped over boxes and ran along the walls.
"Nero, go!"
The little dragon took off. He was a black blur. He flew toward a ghoul and opened his mouth. A ball of black fire hit the ghoul in the face. The monster screamed as the fire ate its skin. Nero landed on the ghoul's chest and bit into its neck.
[Skill Activated: Mana Devour.] [Bonus Exp +20]
I moved like a shadow. Three ghouls jumped at me. I stepped to the side. I cut the first one in half. I kicked the second one so hard its skull broke. I used Shadow Blink to appear behind the third one and stabbed it through the back.
[Exp +40, +40, +40]
I felt the power rising. My strength was so high that killing these was easy. But then, the ground shook again.
A bigger monster climbed out. It was twice as big. It had four arms and a mouth full of spinning teeth. A 'Greater Ghoul.'
[Target Spotted: Greater Ghoul (Level 7).]
The big monster roared. It picked up a wooden crate and threw it at me. I jumped over it, but the monster was already there. It swung two arms at my head.
I blocked with my sword. The hit was heavy. It pushed my feet into the concrete. This thing was strong.
Nero saw me. He flew over and bit the big monster's back. The monster tried to grab him, but Nero was too fast.
"Keep him busy, Nero!"
I checked my map. It showed a purple core in the monster's chest. That was the weak spot.
I waited for the monster to swing again. When it did, I didn't block. I used Shadow Blink.
I appeared right in front of its chest. The monster's eyes went wide.
"Too late," I said.
I stabbed my blade into the purple core.
The monster froze. It made a high-pitched sound. Then, it exploded into black dust.
[Ding! You have killed a Greater Ghoul (Level 7)!] [Exp +200] [Level Up! Current Level: 6]
I stood in the warehouse. All the ghouls were dead. Nero was sitting on the floor, eating the last bit of power from the monster's heart. He was already looking bigger.
[Nero Level Up! Current Level: 2]
I walked to the rift. It was closing. Ten blue mana stones were on the ground. I picked them up.
[Quest Complete! Exp +500] [Level Up! Current Level: 7]
In one night, I had reached Level 7. I had an S-Rank cloak, an SSS-Rank weapon, and a dragon.
I looked at my hands. They were covered in blood. I didn't feel bad. I felt like a king.
"One warehouse down," I whispered. "The whole city is next."
I walked out as the sun came up. People were coming out of their homes. They were looking at the sky, crying. They didn't know the monsters were already here.
But I knew. And I was ready to eat them all.
I pulled my cloak tight and vanished into the fog.