The chilling air of the a mine hung heavy with dust and blood. Dim light from scattered crystals cast long shadows across the jagged walls.
Deep within the labyrinth, a brutal scene unfolded — Kaito lay broken and bloodied, the cracked ground beneath him soaked crimson.
Standing above him loomed the Spider King, its grotesque exoskeleton glinting under the sparse light.
The creature's many eyes shimmered with cruel satisfaction.
Its assault had been relentless, leaving Kaito battered, bruised, and helpless.
Pain wracked Kaito's body. His vision swam, flickering between reality and unconsciousness.
His hands clawed at the dirt weakly, blood leaking from countless wounds.
Is this where it ends...?
The thought flickered through his fading mind.
Yet, amid the agony, something stirred — deep, primal, and furious.
[System Notification: "Berserk" Skill Activation Detected.]
A cold mechanical voice echoed in his mind.
His heart pounded violently against his broken ribs. His body trembled — but not from fear.
Something else was awakening.
Then, a second voice crashed inside his consciousness.
[System Notification: "Infinite Growth" Skill Activation Detected.]
A storm of energy erupted within him.
Two forces — one wild rage, the other relentless evolution — collided violently, fighting for control of his broken soul.
Inside the maelstrom, Kaito struggled.
No...! Not like this! I refuse... to lose!!
Clenching his soul with iron will, Kaito seized both rampaging forces — and forced them into submission.
Instead of being consumed, he commanded them — bending them to his will.
At that moment, the impossible happened.
[System Notification: Skill Fusion Achieved — "Berserk" + "Infinite Growth".]
[New Skill Acquired: Berserker's Growth.]
> Skill Description:
Every time you take damage, engage in combat, or face opponents stronger than yourself, your strength, agility, and healing abilities increase rapidly. Mana is consumed continuously. If mana depletes, the skill will deactivate.
The transformation hit him like a tidal wave.
Kaito's mangled body shuddered violently — and then began to heal at terrifying speed.
Skin stitched itself together. Bones snapped back into place. Blood vessels wove anew.
The cavern air buzzed with unnatural energy.
A thick, dark crimson aura erupted from his body, swirling like a living storm.
His once-dark eyes blazed into a fierce, blood-red glow, burning with untamed fury.
At the same time, his fingernails elongated into razor-sharp black claws, glinting menacingly under the dim light — a mark of something no longer entirely human.
The Spider King recoiled instinctively, its many eyes flashing with primal fear.
Kaito's eyelids fluttered open.
There was no hesitation in his gaze — only pure, unleashed destruction.
In the next heartbeat, Kaito vanished.
The air exploded with a sonic boom as he reappeared behind the Spider King, moving faster than sight.
CRACK!
The sound of breaking armor echoed through the cavern like thunder.
The Spider King's thick chitinous shell splintered under the sheer force of Kaito's punch.
Shards of black armor sprayed through the air like deadly glass.
[System Update: Spider King's Health reduced — 30,000 → 10,000.]
The Spider King shrieked — a piercing, agonized sound that shook the walls.
Kaito showed no mercy.
His body moved on its own, driven by pure instinct.
With one final, devastating punch, he shattered the monster's core.
[System Critical Hit: 30,000 Damage!!]
The Spider King's towering form collapsed in a heap, its life extinguished.
Kaito exhaled slowly, his breath steaming in the cold air.
But the battle wasn't over.
The wild energy raging inside him demanded more.
Turning away from the Spider King's corpse, Kaito dashed deeper into the mines.
Monsters — goblins, beasts, and insectoids — surged toward him, drawn by the disturbance.
They never stood a chance.
Kaito carved through them like a blade through mist.
Each injury he sustained only made him stronger, faster, more deadly.
His movements blurred into a storm of violence.
Every fallen enemy fed his hunger for growth.
Time became meaningless.
Minutes. Hours. Battles blurred into one endless massacre.
When silence finally returned to the mines, Kaito stood alone amid the carnage.
His body radiated heat and power.
His breathing was calm — almost relaxed.
At his feet, the spoils of war awaited.
Amid the shattered remains of the Spider King, something caught his eye — a crystal, pulsing with a deep, royal purple light.
[System Loot Acquired: 1x Purple Mana Crystal (Boss Drop).]
All around him, smaller crystals glimmered — scattered like treasures awaiting a king.
[System Loot Acquired: 47x Red Mana Crystals, 162x Blue Mana Crystals.]
Without hesitation, Kaito swept the crystals into his inventory, the air crackling softly as each vanished into his dimensional storage.
Yet even with his victory secured, his instincts screamed that it wasn't enough.
Deeper within the mine, a faint glow beckoned — veins of titanium, rare and precious, glittered faintly in the distance.
Kaito's lips curled into a small smirk.
Good... I'm not done yet.
He clenched his clawed fist.
The Berserker's Growth still hummed through his veins, hungrier than ever.
Without a word, he stepped forward into the darkness, the ground trembling faintly beneath his feet.
Far beyond the veins of titanium, deep in the blackest pits of the mine, something ancient stirred — something that sensed his coming and did not fear it.
It hungered for it.
And Kaito would meet it with a fury unlike anything the mines had ever witnessed.
properly.