Time flows swiftly, carrying within it blessings and curses—scattered at random, sparing no one.

Some are lifted by those blessings, rising beyond their limits... while others are dragged down, consumed by the curses that befall them. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Perhaps the hunters are the clearest example of this truth.

Many perished without purpose, achieving nothing... while others seized the chaos, emerging stronger than ever before.

Among the countless hunters trapped within Old Ashvarn, Ethan Heart stood as a prime example.

A man who exploited every second, every fleeting opportunity, pushing himself to the brink.

He remained alone in the outskirts, slaughtering monsters one after another... until their blood painted the dark streets deeper and deeper in crimson.

A color that clung to the land—coagulated, eternal, destined to stain its corners for years to come.

In the blink of an eye, a full month passed.

A month in which Ethan did nothing but hunt ... weak feral inhabitants, towering giants, and on occasion, other creatures such as vampires lurking within buildings, or twisted beasts that crossed his path.

Survival in such an environment was anything but easy.

Yet Ethan adapted... forcing himself to consume the flesh of what he killed, drinking thick, intoxicating blood until his body grew accustomed to it in the absence of water.

It had only been a month... yet Ethan was no longer the same.

Seated with his arms resting over his knees, his once-elegant hunting attire was now torn, ragged, and drenched in blood.

His red hair had grown longer, his features sharper ... colder, harsher... stripped of anything resembling softness.

Before him, the Executioner Sword stood embedded in the ground ... untouched by decay, despite the countless lives it had claimed.

Ethan studied the blade for a moment, then exhaled slowly, lifting his gaze toward the false sky of Old Ashvarn.

"I suppose there’s no point in staying in the outskirts any longer..."

With a swift motion of his hand, his interface appeared ... revealing the results of a month of solitary hunting.

...

Name: Ethan Heart

Class: Classless

Level: 35

Current Souls: 3200

Souls Required for Next Level: 10000

Vigor: 15 (Increases HP)

MP: 10 (Increases Mana)

Endurance: 10 (Increases Stamina)

Strength: 26 (Increases heavy weapon damage)

Dexterity: 10 (Increases speed-based weapon damage)

Intelligence: 10 (Increases magic power)

Faith: 10 (Increases Incantation power)

Arcane: 24 (Increases luck, bleed)

...

The Advanced Stage... achieved through relentless struggle.

Ethan raised his arm, and a dark aura wrapped around his body .. engulfing him like armor forged from shadows themselves.

He examined it closely, then let out a faint chuckle.

"Did it really have to be black...?"

Shaking the dust from his clothes, Ethan stood and walked toward the Executioner Sword, pulling it free with ease despite its immense weight.

With Aura Armor now reinforcing his strength, he finally decided ...

it was time to move forward.

Firing the grappling hook upward, he latched onto a rooftop and ascended swiftly, casting a glance toward the path ahead.

"It’s not like the path I choose matters... every street in this cursed city looks the same."

Scanning his surroundings, he advanced cautiously.

"And not once... not a single damn hunter crossed my path this entire time. All I found were corpses... or what was left of them."

After hunting the outskirts for so long, Ethan had established himself as the apex predator of that region.

He moved freely now, without even bothering to conceal himself.

Because quite simply... he was the strongest there.

Aside from rare anomalies that appeared from time to time, no creature in the outskirts could challenge him—especially after he unlocked Aura Armor.

But now things were different.

He was heading deeper... into the unknown.

The closer he moved toward the city’s depths, the thicker the scent of blood became.

The aura hanging over the streets grew heavier... more sinister... suffocating.

"If there are any survivors... they’ll be here."

At the very least, Ethan was certain of that—especially when it came to his own team.

They weren’t weak.

And soon enough, his suspicion was confirmed.

Unlike the outskirts, the buildings here were shattered ... reduced to rubble and ruin.

Blood soaked everything, and the marks of battle were unmistakable.

"It’s like a war took place here..."

The signs were brutal—clear evidence of a violent clash.

Yet Ethan didn’t hesitate.

He pressed deeper, searching for any trace of other hunters... until he finally found undeniable proof of their presence.

Uncertain of what lay ahead, Ethan refrained from using his grappling hook—

fearing something might ambush him from the shadows of those darkened structures.

Instead, he advanced on foot.

Even so, his speed far exceeded that of any ordinary human.

He moved like a phantom ... racing the wind itself.

His stats were restrained, yet his endurance remained monstrous... allowing him to run for hours without fatigue.

At first, the streets ahead were lifeless—empty, silent.

But in less than a second... everything changed.

The first creature of the depths revealed itself.

Ethan halted instantly, bracing for the worst.

Even from a distance, he knew ...

this was no human.

A towering figure, well over two meters tall, cloaked in black robes.

A hood concealed its face entirely, while a massive sack hung from its back—large enough to carry a grown man.

The very air around it trembled slightly... warped by an eerie presence.

Ethan narrowed his eyes and activated Crow Sage Sight.

The moment he saw its stats—his expression darkened.

"What the hell... is that thing?"

It was a creature unlike anything Ethan had ever seen before—

something he could neither read nor understand, let alone predict how to fight.

With no knowledge to rely on, he had no choice but to keep his distance, adopting a defensive stance.

But that decision proved meaningless almost instantly.

The creature took a single step forward ... just one . and yet it vanished like a phantom, tearing through space itself as it closed the vast distance between them in an instant.

In less than a second... it was already standing before him.

Reacting purely on instinct, Ethan thrust the Executioner Sword forward with all his strength, aiming to pierce the creature ...

and for a fleeting moment... he thought he had succeeded.

But his eyes widened in shock as the blade passed straight through it.

As if he were striking nothing more than a ghost.

"What the—?!"

The sword made no contact whatsoever.

The creature phased through it effortlessly, then lifted the massive sack on its back, opening it wide as it attempted to stuff Ethan inside.

Ethan immediately retreated, firing his grappling hook into a nearby wall and pulling himself away—escaping the sack at the very last second.

In the same motion, he launched the Executioner Sword again using telekinesis.

But the result didn’t change.

The blade passed through the creature once more... completely ineffective.

"You’ve got to be kidding me... how the hell am I supposed to fight this thing?!"

The creature lacked a physical body, yet its attacks could still affect him.

And Ethan knew ... instinctively that if he were trapped inside that sack, it would be the end of him.

"Does he only become tangible when he attacks?"

He considered the possibility... then decided to gamble everything on it.

Taking a deep breath, a dark radiance ignited across his body as Aura Armor surged to life ... multiplying his strength and speed several times over.

He moved immediately.

Rushing toward the creature, Ethan manipulated the Executioner Sword from afar, sending it through the creature’s back.

As expected ... it passed through again.

The creature responded instantly, attempting once more to trap him inside the sack.

But this time, Ethan was ready.

Channeling Aura Armor into his Legion Arm, amplifying its power until it became a weapon in its own right,

he drove a punch straight into the creature’s face at the exact moment it attacked.

’If I’m right... this should hit!’

Ethan bet everything on that strike.

And he lost.

His fist sank through the creature’s face... passing through it as if it weren’t there.

But the sack ...

Dropped over his head.

Swallowing him whole.

The creature could selectively solidify parts of its body while keeping others intangible .

Ethan’s plan collapsed completely ...

and in the next instant, he was trapped.

Inside the suffocating darkness of the sack, he thrashed violently, trying to break free.