Preldo

Everyone laughed when they called Kairo Vale a hunter.

The weakest of the weak—an F-rank failure barely able to take down a slime. His stats were rock bottom, his gear was trash, and even the dungeon gates mocked his existence.

Until one day... he died.

Inside a dungeon that shouldn’t have existed, Kairo is betrayed, abandoned, and left to rot. But death doesn’t claim him—instead, it awakens something buried deep within his soul.

A secret Ascension System.
One that lets him level up beyond the rules.
One that doesn’t forgive weakness.

Now, Kairo’s no longer the weakest hunter.
He’s the shadow that hunts monsters. The storm that breaks guilds.

From prey to predator. From failure to Godslayer.

His rise has begun.

Ascension: From F-Rank to Godslayer

Kairo walked out of the cathedral in silence, the Codex Ignis glowing faintly against his back. The whispers had faded, but the weight of the Oracle's final words refused to leave his mind.

There were only two people who ever trained him.

Jarek was more than a mentor. He'd found Kairo broken and near-dead in the ruins of a bandit raid, when no one else even cared to look. He had taught him how to fight, how to think, how to survive.

Kairo remembered the odd symbols he'd catch glimpses of in Jarek's notes. The way he sometimes stared at the stars like they were watching him back.

And then there was that time Jarek told him, "There are enemies beyond comprehension, and sometimes we must stand with devils to stop them."

Back then, Kairo thought he meant monsters.

Now, he wondered if he meant gods.

By dusk, Kairo reached the border of the Ember Wastes—a cursed land of scorched earth and storm-choked skies. No normal person ventured here.

He raised his hand, and the Codex flared.

Ancient text glowed along the surface, rearranging until a single phrase hovered in burning light:

> "Trial One: Face the Flame Within."

Suddenly, the ash beneath his feet erupted. A giant being of fire and steel emerged, eyes molten gold, voice deep as thunder.

> "Godslayer. You seek power. You will earn it in battle."

They clashed with a roar that cracked the land.

The Flame Guardian moved like a volcano come to life, each strike shaking the ground, each roar setting the sky ablaze. Kairo danced between its fists, his spear a blur of light and motion.

He had grown stronger—but this was different.

Midway through the battle, the Guardian slammed Kairo with a flame-covered fist, sending him crashing into a jagged rock wall. He coughed blood, vision spinning.

> "You hesitate," the Guardian boomed. "You fear what lies ahead."

Kairo growled, forcing himself to his feet.

> "I don't fear them. I fear becoming them."

> "Then fight like a man who has nothing left to lose."

Kairo roared, unleashing the full force of the Codex's awakening. His aura ignited—white flame laced with void energy—and his spear extended, becoming a weapon worthy of legends.

Every strike was a storm. Every dodge was fire meeting wind. The Guardian laughed, not in mockery, but in honor—like a warrior watching another rise to meet the impossible.

And finally, Kairo struck the core.

The Guardian exploded into embers.

And from the ashes… a fragment of divinity floated down.

A glowing shard, shaped like a burning heart.

Kairo reached out, and the shard fused into his chest.

Instantly, power surged through him. A second heartbeat. A divine pulse. The Codex flipped open on its own, revealing glowing script:

Later that night, as he sat beneath the burning sky, a voice came from behind him.

> "You made it through the Wastes alive. Impressive."

Jarek stood there—unchanged, confident, wearing that same worn-out black coat.

Kairo's voice was cold. "Why are you here?"

> "To help you," Jarek said, stepping closer. "And to tell you the truth… about why you were really born."

The Betrayer’s Shadow