hirohamada6max

“I sold my future for a single breath.”

In a world where magic is real but locked behind bloodlines and money, Arin has nothing. No awakened mana core. No training. No fortune. Only two broken parents, a mountain of debt, and a stolen opportunity that was never his to begin with.

To survive, he sold his university seat — his one ticket into a better life — to a noble’s son. Now, he hunts mutated beasts in cursed forests using unstable magic-infused artifacts he can't afford to fix.

On one such hunt, injured and alone, Arin crawls into the stomach of a giant snake to avoid being torn apart by a flying predator.

But this isn’t the end.

This is where he begins.

Hidden in blood, rot, and desperation, a spark still burns in him. Arin doesn’t have talent. He doesn’t have power.

What he does have?

A reason to fight — and the fury to burn the world down for it.

This is not the tale of a chosen one. This is the tale of the one who refused to die.

The sky shattering devil

"Funny how your life plays like a reel right before the end.

But no one ever said the reel would be this damn pathetic."

Blood seeped from the gash in his side, pooling beneath him like ink spilled on dying grass. His vision swam in and out, breaths shallow, every second a gamble. He couldn't tell if the thumping in his ears was his own heartbeat… or something hunting him.

The forest groaned around him — ancient trees twisted with cursed mana, their roots writhing like they breathed. The stench of iron and rot coated the air. Somewhere above, the wind split with a screech.

Drake Eagle.

Even the name made his fingers shake. The apex predator of this forest. Once it locked eyes with you, there was no escape. No one below D-class ever survived it.

His leg dragged behind him like dead weight — slashed open from the last ambush. He was dizzy, his artifact blade buzzed weakly in his grip, drained. The crimson horn tied to his waist pulsed faintly under layers of cloth.

"Thirty thousand royals. Enough for meds. Maybe to clear some debt. Maybe food with actual meat…"

A low snarl made his thoughts snap back. Something was close. Closer than the eagle. On the ground. Four-legged. Fast.

"Move. Come on. MOVE!"

He forced himself to run — if dragging a bleeding leg and wheezing through cracked ribs counted as running. His artifact blade sparked violently. One more spell and it'd crack completely.

He turned behind, just in time to see a mana-burned wolf leap from the foliage.

He was flung into a tree, pain blooming white-hot across his back. The world spun. Blood filled his mouth.

"Damn it... Not like this. I'm not dying here. Not today."

A dead Giant Green Python, massive and bloated, likely left half-eaten by the Drake Eagle. Its insides spilled onto the forest floor — grotesque, steaming, but...

Warm.

Hollow.

Big enough to hide.

"I've crawled through worse."

He didn't hesitate. He stabbed the carcass again, widening the opening, gritted his teeth against the stench, and shoved himself inside. Flesh clung to his arms, the slime soaking into his already blood-drenched clothes.

Above, the trees parted as the Drake Eagle glided by.

Then — it screeched and flew off.

Only then did he exhale. Quiet. Controlled.

Inside the corpse of a beast, beneath the roots of a magic-twisted tree, he finally rested.

"This is what it takes to survive. This is what the world made me."

His eyelids fluttered, exhaustion overtaking his fear. As he slipped into unconsciousness, one hand remained clenched around the horn tied to his belt.

And I'll break the sky if I have to."

Chapter 1: Buried Beneath the Beast “Funny how your life plays like a reel right before the end. But no one ever said the reel would be this damn pathetic.” Blood seeped from the gash in his side, poo

Chapter 1: Buried Beneath the Beast “Funny how your life plays like a reel right before the end. But no one ever said the reel would be this damn pathetic.” Blood seeped from the gash in his side, poo