Aiden forced his eyes open as the tunnel filled with red, hungry lights—
like a swarm of predators awakening all at once.
His limbs felt like wet sandbags, refusing to obey even basic commands.
[STAMINA: 2%]
[CONSCIOUSNESS: CRITICAL]
[RECOMMENDATION: FAINT IMMEDIATELY]
"Yeah… no."
Aiden wheezed. "Not happening."
The cavern floor vibrated as the first wave of creatures skittered into view.
Low-tier dungeon beasts—
but there were too many.
Chitin armor.
Hooked limbs.
Mandibles dripping with black saliva.
Aiden would've fought them easily at full strength.
Right now?
He could barely lift his head.
The System's warnings continued:
[THREAT LEVEL: LETHAL]
[COMBAT CAPACITY: 0%]
"Great… perfect…"
Aiden muttered.
He dug his fingers into the ground and tried to push up again.
His arm gave out and he face-planted into the dirt.
The beasts screeched and surged toward him.
"Shit—"
Then the mark on his chest burned.
Deep.
Violent.
Alive.
A wave of primal energy pulsed out of it—
not from Aiden,
but through him.
The beasts froze mid-charge.
Every single one.
They trembled violently, their bodies buckling as if held down by invisible weight.
Aiden blinked.
"Uh… what?"
The System stuttered:
[UNKNOWN ENERGY SOURCE ACTIVATED]
[AUTHORITY: PRIMAL]
[ALL HOSTILE CREATURES BELOW RANK-C: FORCED SUBJUGATION]
The creatures didn't attack.
They knelt.
Every monster in the cavern lowered its head to the ground—
twitching, snarling softly, but unable to move.
Aiden stared at the army of beasts bowing to him like he was their king.
"…Okay," he panted, "that's new."
He pushed himself to a sitting position with a groan.
The moment he moved—
the monsters flinched in sync.
"Seriously…? You guys are scared of me now?"
His voice was barely a whisper, but the cavern carried it.
The System chimed again:
[PRIMAL MARK — EFFECT 1 UNLOCKED]
[Dominion Pulse: Weak foes will not attack unless commanded]
Aiden coughed blood.
"Commanded? I can't even stand."
Behind the kneeling beasts, the ground rumbled again.
A deeper roar echoed through the tunnels—different from the horde's.
Something bigger was coming.
Something the Mark wouldn't control.
Aiden dragged himself up the wall, leaning heavily.
"Oh come on… can't I get five minutes without something trying to kill me?"
The monsters surrounding him twitched nervously.
Whatever was incoming…
even they feared it.
The System flashed:
[WARNING]
[HIGH-RANK BEAST APPROACHING]
[ESTIMATED RANK: B+]
Aiden's stomach dropped.
"I'm dead."
Then—
A familiar voice shouted from the tunnel behind him:
"Aiden!!"
Aiden's blurry vision snapped toward the sound.
A silhouette sprinted into the cavern, staff glowing with blue light—
robes torn, breath wild, eyes burning with determination.
Elara.
She was awake.
Alive.
And terrified.
She skidded to Aiden and grabbed him under the arm.
"Oh my god—you look like hell! What happened!? What is that mark!?"
Aiden coughed.
"Long story… need… exit…"
She didn't waste time.
She hauled him up, supporting nearly all his weight.
But the tunnel behind them exploded open—
A massive silhouette emerging.
Muscles like boulders.
Gray stone skin.
Eyes glowing molten orange.
A Titan Hound stepped into the light, drool hissing as it hit the floor.
Elara froze.
"Rank… B+…"
Aiden rasped, "Hey… try diplomacy… maybe it's friendly…"
The Titan Hound roared, shaking the entire cavern.
Elara deadpanned, "It's not friendly."
Aiden groaned. "Yeah… figured…"
The Titan Hound charged.
Aiden's mark flared, burning through his chest again—
but the System immediately cut in:
[PRIMAL MARK EFFECT: INSUFFICIENT AUTHORITY]
[HIGH-RANK ENTITY IMMUNE]
The beast didn't kneel.
It didn't hesitate.
It leapt straight at them.
Aiden couldn't fight.
Elara couldn't outrun it while dragging him.
The horde of kneeling monsters watched silently, unable to act.
Aiden gritted his teeth, forcing one last breath:
"…Elara—drop me."
"What?! No!"
"Just do it!"
She refused, holding him tighter—
The Titan Hound's jaws opened, tons of force ready to tear them in half—
Just a meter away—
Aiden's mark erupted again.
A shockwave blasted outward—
CRACK
The cavern floor split.
The ceiling shook.
Even Elara's hair whipped back from the force.
The Titan Hound was blasted out of the air mid-leap—
slammed into a wall—
and buried under collapsing stone.
Silence.
Dust.
Aiden collapsed, steaming.
Elara stared at him like he had turned into another species.
"Aiden… what are you?"
Aiden coughed blood, half-delirious.
"Honestly…?"
"…I'm starting to wonder that myself…"