Chapter 1 The Nadir Point of the Pet Tamer

“Boom!”

An explosion of energy slammed into the ground just a few meters in front of Killian’s feet, sending sharp gravel slicing across his cheek and drawing fresh blood. The stench of sulfur and burned flesh filled the air, choking his already exhausted lungs. Through the thick smoke, the roar of a monster echoed like grinding metal, deafening and brutal.

“Oi, trash! Stop daydreaming or you’ll die before you even become bait!” Captain Vax shouted from behind his shimmering energy shield. The massive man laughed, his cold eyes fixed on Killian with disgust. “Move forward! Draw that Iron-Claw Bear’s attention right now!”

Killian Moretti clenched his fists. He glanced at his shoulder, where a small creature resembling a dull brown caterpillar curled up in fear. It was a Soil Caterpillar, the lowest-ranked Pet ever recorded in the history of the System. The creature had no fangs, no wings, and its only ability was digging tiny holes in soft soil.

“I’m sorry, Giz,” Killian whispered hoarsely.

He could feel the tiny caterpillar trembling with fear.

What else can I do? I’m just a talentless Tamer in a world that only values strength.

“What are you waiting for, Moretti? Move!” another mercenary named Jax barked.

He kicked Killian in the back, sending the young man sprawling into the open area directly within the giant monster’s line of sight.

“Look at him,” mocked a woman in silver armor standing beside Vax. “Even his caterpillar looks like it wants to kill itself instead of fighting alongside him. How can someone awaken garbage like that in the middle of the apocalypse?”

“Probably because he’s garbage too,” Vax replied, drawing loud laughter from the rest of the team.

They were elites, owners of Silver and Gold-ranked Pets capable of tearing through dimensions themselves. To them, Killian was nothing more than administrative baggage forced into their squad by the government quota for “Failed Pet Tamers.”

Killian struggled to stand, his knees shaking.

In front of him, the three-meter-tall Iron-Claw Bear rose onto its hind legs. Its metallic claws scraped against the shattered asphalt, sending sparks flying. The monster’s red eyes locked onto Killian.

To the creature, Killian was nothing more than a small appetizer before attacking the main line.

“Vax, he won’t last ten seconds,” Jax commented while preparing his energy bow.

“That’s the whole point,” Vax replied coldly. “Let the monster tear him apart. While it’s busy chewing on this trash’s bones, we’ll strike the weak point on its back. Efficient strategy, right?”

Killian heard every word.

His blood boiled, yet fear still chained his legs in place.

“Y-you… you’re really going to let me die?” His voice trembled with rage.

“Don’t be dramatic, Moretti,” Vax snorted. “Think of this as your first useful contribution to humanity. At least your death will give us an opening to kill this level ten monster.”

Contribution?

To them, my death is just a number.

Killian looked down at Giz. The tiny caterpillar was trying to cover Killian’s hand with its soft body, as if attempting to protect him.

“Even this weak creature has more empathy than all of you,” Killian muttered.

“GRAAAAAAAAH!”

The monster charged.

The violent wind generated by its movement slammed into Killian’s face. Without thinking, he rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding the claws that crushed the sidewalk where he had been standing only a second earlier.

“Good! Keep running, little rat! Lure it farther to the right!” Vax ordered without a trace of guilt.

Killian ran with everything he had. His breathing came in ragged gasps.

“Giz, use Hard Skin!” he shouted.

The caterpillar on his shoulder tried to harden itself, forming a thin gray layer across its body. But the shockwave from the monster’s stomping charge alone was enough to crack the fragile defense apart. Giz was thrown from Killian’s shoulder and sent tumbling across ground littered with broken glass.

“Giz!” Killian screamed.

He stopped running and turned back, abandoning all concern for his own safety for the sake of the tiny creature that had stayed beside him during the worst moments of his life.

“You idiot! Don’t stop!” Jax shouted from afar. “Lead it back into the firing line!”

Killian ignored him.

He dropped to his knees and scooped the tiny caterpillar into his arms. Giz was badly injured. Green fluid seeped from the side of its tiny body. The creature let out weak chirping sounds as its little black eyes stared at Killian.

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry, Giz…”

Killian choked on a sob as he realized just how powerless he truly was.

The System humanity worshipped had given him nothing but humiliation.

If there’s a God, why would He let this system rule over us? Why should talent decide everything?

Suddenly, a massive shadow covered Killian’s body.

Slowly, he looked up.

The Iron-Claw Bear stood directly behind him, its giant claw raised high enough to block out the sunlight itself, creating a darkness that felt like death descending upon him.

“Fire now!” Vax commanded.

Several energy arrows shot past Killian’s head and slammed into the monster’s shoulder. The beast roared in pain, but instead of retreating, it only became more enraged. Its crimson eyes locked onto Killian with pure hatred, blaming the tiny human beneath it for the pain it had suffered.

“Damn it, we missed the vital point!” Jax cursed. “Vax, the monster’s berserk! It’s going to destroy everything in that zone!”

“Let it,” Vax answered flatly. “We retreat to the safe zone. Let the trash slow it down while we reorganize formation.”

“B-but he’s still alive!” one of the younger team members protested weakly.

“He died the moment he saved that caterpillar, kid,” Vax cut in mercilessly. “Move out. That’s an order.”

Killian heard their footsteps retreating.

They were really abandoning him.

In the middle of this vast battlefield, among the ruins of a shattered civilization, he had been discarded like garbage too worthless to recycle.

So this is the end?

Killian hugged Giz tighter.

A cold fury slowly froze over his heart, replacing his fear.

If I die here, I want them to know I curse this system. I curse all of you.

The monster swung its claw.

Killian shut his eyes, waiting for the pain that would end everything.

But suddenly, an underground gas pipe ruptured nearby, erupting into a violent explosion that filled the area with thick smoke and a massive shockwave. The monster’s attack missed by mere inches, slamming into the ground instead and collapsing the street beneath them.

Killian fell into the newly formed crater.

He tumbled into darkness, rolling down a slope of rubble until he finally crashed at the bottom of a deep pit.

The world spun around him.

His head throbbed violently.

With what little consciousness remained, Killian tried to look around. He was inside some kind of underground tunnel, perhaps the remnants of the city’s drainage system or the basement of an old building.

Far above him, the hole he had fallen through looked impossibly distant. He could still hear the frustrated roars of the Iron-Claw Bear somewhere overhead.

“Cough… cough…”

Killian spat fresh blood onto the ground.

He checked his hands.

Giz was still there, but the caterpillar wasn’t moving anymore.

“Giz? Giz, please wake up…”

No response.

Killian leaned against the damp cavern wall. Water dripped from the ceiling, creating a monotonous tick… tick… tick… in the suffocating silence.

He looked upward toward the crimson sky barely visible through the opening above. In the distance, he could see other people’s transparent status panels glowing with beautiful blue light while they fought.

System…

Killian laughed bitterly, his voice echoing through the narrow tunnel.

“You claim to be a blessing. You claim to be evolution. But all you’ve done is create monsters wearing human skin.”

He stared at his empty palm.

No light.

No victory notification.

Only dust and blood.

He felt like an insect trapped beneath a giant’s foot.

“I hate it,” he whispered. “I hate this world. I hate people who think they have the right to decide whether someone lives or dies based only on numbers on a status screen.”

Tears of rage ran down his cheeks.

His desire to survive began to boil within him, not because he loved his life, but because he refused to let Vax and the others win. He refused to become nothing more than a footnote in a daily casualty report.

Suddenly, the sound of heavy footsteps echoed from the darkness ahead.

They weren’t human footsteps.

The rhythm sounded stranger, like countless tiny legs scraping against the ground mixed with heavy breathing.

Killian froze.

He crawled backward away from the darkness, only to realize he was trapped in a dead end. The only exit was the hole above, impossible to climb in his current condition.

Small green eyes began appearing in the darkness.

One.

Two.

Ten.

Dozens.

Shadow Rats.

Low-level monsters that normally moved in massive swarms. Individually weak, but in numbers like these, they could strip a cow down to bone within seconds.

“Not now…”

Killian tried to stand, but his legs gave out beneath him.

He grabbed a rusted piece of metal lying nearby, the only weapon he had.

The rats crept closer, revealing rows of yellowed fangs. They could smell Killian’s blood.

Behind them, a much larger shadow slowly emerged.

Something leading the swarm.

Something far more dangerous than ordinary rats.

Killian pressed the injured Giz against his chest.

“If we’re going to die, Giz… at least we won’t give them the satisfaction of seeing us surrender.”

Another roar thundered through the tunnel, this one far larger and deeper than before.

A giant creature with glowing dark purple eyes emerged, forcing the rats aside.

A Calamity Spider.

The apex predator of the underground zone.

Killian was cornered.

The cold wall behind him felt like a gravestone prepared in advance. He could see acidic liquid dripping from the spider’s fangs, sizzling against the ground below. Only a few meters separated them now.

“Come on,” Killian challenged, his eyes gleaming with cold, desperate fury. “Eat me if you can. But I swear, even if I become a ghost, I’ll rip all your throats out.”

With death standing directly before him, Killian suddenly felt something strange behind his eyelids.

A burning sensation, as if fire itself were trying to claw its way out from inside his skull.

His vision trembled.

Faint golden lines began appearing in the air, splitting apart the reality he knew.

But the spider did not wait.

The creature lunged forward at an absurd speed, its jaws spread wide, ready to end the failed Pet Tamer’s life forever.

“Urgh!”

Killian groaned and shut his eyes as death descended upon him.

Just before the fangs touched his skin, a strange vibration spread through the air.

The world suddenly slowed.

His heartbeat thundered like war drums shaking the entire tunnel.

And within the darkness of his soul, a mechanical voice rang out clearly, completely different from the System he had always known.

[Anomaly detected. Hidden evolution protocol initiated…]

Killian had no idea what was happening, but he felt an overwhelming urge not to give up.

He tightened his grip around the rusted metal, no longer as a means of defense, but as the embodiment of his terrifying rage.