Falling into the unknown

As he crossed through Portal Y, Ryan felt an odd sensation of emptiness beneath his feet. Before he could grasp what was happening, he found himself plummeting hundreds of meters. The wind whipped against his face, and a distant roar echoed in his ears. Finally, he struck the water with a powerful impact, plunging into a vast ocean of unfathomable depth.

Ryan resurfaced, gasping for air, and looked up at the portal suspended high above in the sky. It was so far away it resembled a tiny, twinkling light, almost unreal. Around him, the expanse of water seemed endless. Not a single patch of land was in sight, just the liquid horizon stretching as far as the eye could see.

"What is this place?" he murmured, his voice lost in the vastness.

He began swimming, desperately searching for direction, a clue, something that could give him a reference point. But after several minutes, he realized the gravity of the situation. This portal was unlike anything he had ever seen or heard of. Dry land seemed nonexistent here, and the heavy silence of the ocean amplified his solitude.

Then, a chilling sensation ran down his spine. An instinctive alert, an intense shiver coursed through him. The system suddenly opened before his eyes:

[King's Intuition (E) is activated]

The words floated in his field of vision, intensifying the unease that engulfed him. Ryan slowly turned, his senses on high alert. His eyes focused on the water beneath him, but all he could see was endless darkness.

Suddenly, an almost imperceptible movement in the water caught his attention. Something enormous, unimaginable, was stirring in the depths. The darkness itself seemed to shift, contract, tighten around him. A colossal figure slowly emerged from the abyss, and Ryan realized the darkness he had been seeing was actually the inside of a massive mouth.

"This... is impossible..." he stammered, his breath taken away by the sheer size of the creature.

The monster's mouth opened, vast as a valley, stretching for tens of kilometers. Ryan was just a tiny, insignificant speck in the face of this immensity. The water around him began to swirl, sucked in by the titanic creature. He tried to swim against the current, but the pull was too strong.

In an instant, he was swallowed, engulfed without the creature even noticing. Ryan found himself plunged into total darkness, carried along by the internal currents of the beast. The air grew scarce, and he struggled not to give in to panic.

"Calm down, think..." he told himself, searching for a solution. "The system... it must have a solution."

A new window appeared before him:

[New Quest: Survive in the Beast's Belly] [Reward: ???]

Ryan gritted his teeth, determined not to give up. "Survive, huh?" he murmured. "Alright, let's see what you've got inside."

With renewed determination, he activated his "Regeneration (E)" skill to maintain his endurance. He began exploring the inside of the monster, looking for an exit or a way to return to the surface. Every step was a challenge, every move a struggle against the unknown.

The creature's interior was an organic labyrinth, filled with corridors and cavities vast as caverns. Rhythmic pulsations echoed around him, the heartbeat of the giant beast. Ryan pressed on, his mind focused on one thing: survival.

As he progressed, a thought crossed his mind. "If I can survive here, I can survive anywhere." A glimmer of defiance shone in his crimson eyes. This Portal Y, this cursed place, was going to become the ultimate training ground for him.

Engulfed in the darkness of the monster's entrails, Ryan activated his "Crimson Eye" skill, his eyes emitting a reddish glow that pierced through the surrounding gloom. Before him, a new system window appeared, displaying a merciless countdown:

[01:10:59]

[Failure to complete the mission will result in the host's death]

Ryan gritted his teeth, a determined grimace forming on his face. Every passing second was a direct threat to his life. The dull, rhythmic beating of the creature's heart resonated through his body, a powerful, hypnotic drum.

"This is where it all counts," he murmured, focusing on the sound. Thanks to his "King's Intuition" skill, he could navigate the organic labyrinth without getting lost.

The path was winding, with living, pulsating walls adding to the eerie atmosphere.

After ten minutes of walking, the monster's heart appeared before him, a gigantic, pulsating mass stretching for several kilometers. It was a colossal organic structure, its beats sending waves that reverberated throughout the creature's interior.

He began striking the heart with his sword, his blows echoing like distant reverberations. However, he quickly realized his attacks were insignificant, like an ant trying to wound a giant. The heart's skin was thick, resilient, absorbing most of the impact.

"There has to be another way..." he thought, determined to find a weakness.

After several minutes of relentless effort, Ryan managed to create a small opening, a tear in the protective membrane. Without hesitation, he slipped inside the heart, his clothes immediately soaked by a warm, viscous liquid. The heart's interior was a vast cavity filled with fluid, each beat sending waves crashing within.

"I need to strike where it hurts the most," he murmured, observing the internal structures. He could see the massive arteries and muscular fibers keeping the heart alive. Reactivating "King's Intuition," he identified the vital points to target.

Ryan began attacking methodically, slicing fibers and severing arteries one by one. Each strike was precise, calculated, aimed at weakening the heart's structure. With every blow, the titanic creature reacted, its entire body convulsing in violent spasms.

The monster was finally feeling pain, its movements becoming increasingly erratic.

Ryan, however, continued his relentless assault, determined to survive. The fluid inside the heart churned with the erratic beats, making his movements more difficult.

"You won't get me," he murmured, rage burning in his crimson eyes. Every severed fiber, every cut artery brought the monster closer to its end.

As he continued his onslaught, a new notification appeared before him:

[00:30:00]

Ryan quickened his pace, striking with renewed intensity. The cavity around him began to contract, a sign that the monster was succumbing. He had to finish before the countdown reached zero.

Finally, with a powerful final blow, the monster's heart emitted a sinister crack, a fissure spreading across its surface. Ryan felt the ground beneath him tremble violently, and a shockwave rippled through the creature's entire body.

Ryan, exhausted, leaned against the still faintly beating wall of the heart, believing that it was finally over. But his relief was short-lived. The countdown continued to tick down relentlessly:

[00:13:47]

A wave of despair washed over him as he watched the heart begin to regenerate rapidly. Veins and muscle fibers reformed before his eyes, as if his efforts had been a futile attempt against the colossal power of this creature.

"No... What the hell is this?" he murmured, his breath shortening as adrenaline surged back into his fatigued body.

Desperately, he lunged toward the heart's center, his feet sinking into the soft, spongy tissues. There, he spotted a glowing stone, pulsing with a sinister light, hidden amidst the rhythmic beats. This was the source of the regeneration.

Without hesitation, Ryan raised his sword, ready to destroy it. He struck the stone with all the strength he could muster, but it was resilient. To his horror, the sword shattered on impact, leaving him disarmed.

"I'm not giving up!" he roared, his despair morphing into furious rage. Using his bare hands, he pounded on the stone with all his might. Each blow made the stone vibrate, but it held firm.

The countdown continued:

[00:00:59]

Ryan, gasping for air, didn't relent. His bloodied fists hammered the hard surface, each impact creating small cracks. Time was against him, but he couldn't give up now.

"Come on... Break...!" he growled, his muscles burning with pain.

With one final surge of his remaining strength, he slammed his fists onto the stone, which finally began to give way. A major crack spread across its surface.

[00:00:30]

Ryan gritted his teeth, giving it everything he had left. The stone fractured under the immense pressure, shattering into countless pieces.

[00:00:05]

A massive shockwave rippled through the monster's entire body, which instantly collapsed. The heartbeat ceased, and the creature was reduced to an inert mass in the ocean.

[Congratulations! For slaying the scourge of the ocean, you have earned 15,000 EXP]

[Stat point successfully unlocked]

[You have received 15 stat points]

[Points: 15]

[You have obtained the skill "Sky's Bow"]

[Agility has been converted to Dexterity]

[Your Strength has increased by 3 points]

[Strength: 15 >> 18]

[The skills "Crimson Eye" and "King's Intuition" are now at Level D]

These notifications appeared before him, illuminating his face with a radiant glow. Ryan, exhausted but victorious, let himself float in the water, a tired but satisfied smile on his lips.

He swam slowly toward the exit, traversing the vastness of the now inert monster's body. Once outside, he surfaced, his body finally emerging from the water.

The sun shone above him, and Ryan took a deep breath of fresh air, feeling freedom and triumph. He had survived the impossible, becoming the first human to triumph over a Y portal.