Derick's consciousness drifted back slowly, the world coming into focus as a blur of shapes and voices. Four figures stood nearby, speaking in low tones about hunting beasts.
One of them noticed him stirring.
"Oh? The trash is finally awake," the boy sneered.
Derick blinked the haze from his vision. As the scene sharpened, he recognized one familiar face—Mister Oscara—standing with three others he barely knew.
Among the unfamiliar trio, one was a girl who looked around seventeen, her expression unreadable. The remaining two were boys, both appearing roughly seventeen or eighteen, sizing him up with mild curiosity and thinly veiled disdain.
"Hey, Drek," Oscara called out to a boy lounging in the far corner with five other guys and two girls. His voice carried a note of authority that made the small group glance over.
"Come take this trash to the others," he ordered, jerking a thumb toward Derick. "Brief him on what the mission is about. Make sure they're all prepared for what they're going to face."
A figure stepped out from the group of eight—the same boy who had beaten Derick to a pulp earlier. Without a hint of guilt, he grabbed Derick by the arm and dragged him away.
He didn't speak at first. Only after they were a distance from the others did he begin briefing him in a bored, almost mechanical tone about the mission.
By the time they arrived at a gathering of around eighty people, Derick had pieced together the basics.
Once everyone had assembled, the full briefing began.
The mission was a large-scale hunt targeting the Cave of Otrans, deep within the Poisoned Valley. Recent intel reported sightings of a rare cluster of Aberrant-grade beasts—Lethal Crabs. Their last known traces came from the rocky mountain belt surrounding the cave, and rumors hinted that they had settled inside.
Lethal Crabs were prized not just for their strength, but because they were among the very few creatures with a fifty-fifty chance of granting a Beast Memory when slain. That alone made them worth risking lives for.
Drek stepped forward, eyeing those that were gathered.
"Listen up," he barked.
"You may all think that the bosses are wicked and unjust, but to tell you the truth, they are not. That's why they have organized this operation: to help you gain points. So, any Feral or Primeval-grade beasts we kill on the way? You can share them among yourselves. But anything stronger belongs to the bosses and their people. And in exchange, you will have to carry the corpses of beasts too large for the bosses to finish, and stay out of the way."
His voice dripped with contempt, but no one dared challenge him.
Derick stood among them, fists tight at his sides, quietly absorbing every word.
After Drek left, Derick mingled with some of the other captives and quickly pieced things together. The operation was led by four figures—Oskara, Nolan, Tasha, and Rusk, the so-called Son of the Swords. Everyone gathered here had offended one of these bosses in some way and had either been dragged here by force or coerced with threats.
Time passed. Then Drek returned and clapped his hands sharply.
"Move out," he ordered.
And the procession began.
Derick, of course, could not take this seriously. To kill a group of aberrant beasts? Oskara and his gang were more than enough. The two subordinates of Oskara and his friends could kill at least two aberrant beasts on their own, let alone their bosses. The extra hands were absolutely unnecessary according to their story, and even the excuses about them coming along to carry the corpses of slain beasts may have been enough to convince the others—but not Derick.
If it were really as they said, then why force them to participate in the first place if this was an act of kindness? Derick had learned in both of his life and in this world that there is no free meal, and that the strong do not always care for the weak without a very valid reason.
Oskara and the others effortlessly killed the beasts they encountered along the way and casually gave the meat to Derick and his group, which made everyone happy. Perhaps this was Oskara's way of asking for forgiveness, by gifting them the corpses of slain beasts.
The group had been traveling for about four to five days, and the gang still had no intention of stopping. On the sixth day, they arrived at the foot of the rocky mountain belt—very far from the castle. There was no human activity. They encountered many different types of beasts, and Oskara and his gang killed many, taking only the meat of aberrant beasts and a small amount of primeval beast meat as food.
After resting at the mountain's base for a day, the group began their ascent. The climb was steep and uneven, but when they reached the upper ridge, the land ahead unfolded in a chilling sight.
A massive gap split the rocky mountain belt miles ahead—wide, deep, and impossibly dark, like the open jaws of a colossal beast waiting to swallow anything that approached. Small rocky spires surrounded it, rising from the ground like scattered fangs.
Oskara and his gang didn't hesitate. They pushed the group of eighty forward, forcing them to act as the vanguard.
The moment the captives stepped onto the rocky plain near the gap, Derick felt a tremor beneath his boots. The ground shivered… then shook violently.
The rocky protrusions scattered across the plain began to crack.
With a harsh scraping sound, countless lethal scorpions burst out from the earth.
They formed a perfect circle, trapping the vanguard in an unbroken ring. Thousands of Crabs surrounded them, each one glistening with a deadly metallic sheen. And more—far more—poured out of the gaping chasm ahead, crawling over each other like a living tidal wave.
Every single one radiated the pressure of an aberrant-grade beast—just one tier below absolute monsters.
Derick's stomach tightened. So this was their plan. They used them as bait to drag the crabs out of hiding.
Yet beneath the panic and rising dread, a thought nagged at him. Something was off. Something didn't add up. As if a crucial piece of the situation was still missing…
Chaos unfolded as the beasts started attacking the group that had been sent as vanguard.
Thankfully, along the journey, he was able to make direct skin contact with the group and was given a nice surprise when he copied a class named Jade Skin. A notification screen appeared before his eyes with a dinging sound.
{Ding}
{New Class Detected}
Class Type: Transformation
Name: Jade Skin
Description:
When activated, Jade Skin envelops the user in a faint emerald glow. Enhancements include strengthened body defense, sharper long-distance vision, mild night-vision, and heightened resistance to harsh weather.
{Ding}
{Class Compatible with Phoenix Carapace Armour}
{Ding}
{New Function Unlocked: MERGE}
Merge: Allows the temporary fusion of two or more compatible classes.
Derick immediately replaced his old Stone Skin class. Jade Skin might be slightly weaker in raw defense, but its versatility and overall boosts made it a far superior upgrade.
Back to the present—
A lethal crab screamed, its massive pincers clashing like steel blades. It swung once—cleanly bisecting the nearest bystander. Panic erupted. The group scattered in terror as everyone hurried to activate their classes, but the beasts were too many… and far too strong.
Blood sprayed. Bodies fell.
Amid the chaos, Derick inhaled sharply and triggered his abilities. Phoenix Carapace surged across his body—and then he activated the new function.
Merge.
{Ding}
{Merge Activated}
Phoenix Carapace + Jade Skin
{Ding}
{Merge Complete}
{New Class Detected}
Class Name: Jade Phoenix Carapace
Class Type: Transformation / Hybrid Armour
{Ding}
Warning: This merged class is available for twenty-four hours only. After this period, it will enter a twenty-four-hour cooldown before it can be used again.