I die for the third time today.Each time, someone different kills me.But every time, the person who betrays me is the same.
Blood pours into my mouth—metallic, warm, foreign. I've seen this ceiling so many times I know every cracked tile. This is the last raid room, the last boss, the last chance at loot.
And again, right on cue, I hear that same voice.
"Eliasz! Hold it for a moment longer!" the captain screams. "Someone has to keep aggro!"
"Someone." It's always "someone."Never him. Never us.Always "the one we can sacrifice."
The monster roars and drives its claws deep into my abdomen. I feel my armor breaking like a cheap eggshell. My HP plummets—12%, 7%, 3%.
Behind me, the mages finish their spells, the archers finish the elites. I'm the only one standing in front of the boss, even though I'm the lowest rank in the party. An F-rank Hunter among B's and A's.
In my previous life, I thought it was an honor.Now I know it's a death sentence.
"One more second!" The Captain yells louder, but he's already backing away. "Hold it, Eliasz!"
I see his movement. I know every step.
He's not running to help me.He's running to the emergency exit.
Same as the first time.Same as the second.
"You'll betray me," I whisper—not to him, but to myself.
No one hears me. The boss's roar drowns everything out. Its claws tear through my body, and the system flashes a red warning:
[WARNING: HP < 1%]
The first time, I panicked.The second time, I screamed and begged.
Now I just watch.
The Captain reaches the portal door. Three steps. Two. One. At the last moment he turns his head and looks at me.
That look.A mix of fake regret, real relief, and greed.
"Sorry, Eliasz," he says. "Someone had to stay."
The doors close.I stay.The boss roars victoriously and crushes me.
[HP: 0%][DEATH]
The world shatters.
⸻
Darkness is not silence. Darkness is a scream without sound, the memory of burning nerves, the echo of choices I never got to make.
I've died in so many versions of the same scene that I stopped counting.
Every time: betrayal, death, void.Every time I returned to the same day.
The day I first saw the status window.
Until now… every reset was clean.I forgot the pain. I forgot everything.
Not today.
Something breaks differently.
A new message appears in the void—one I've never seen.
[ANOMALY DETECTED][DEATH CYCLE: 3][EMERGENCY ACTIVATION: "PREDATOR SYSTEM"]
Something cold and foreign sinks into my memories. It rewinds my lives like a film—frame by frame: every betrayal, every laugh behind my back, every "Eliasz, do it, no one else has time."
Then a voice.Not divine.Not friendly.A voice like someone forming words out of knives.
"You finally stopped being funny as prey."
I try to scream, though I have no body.
"Who are you?!"
"I am what you desire most," the voice replies. "I am what they hate most. I am hunger."
A screen appears before me.
[PREDATOR SYSTEM]Status: INSTALLEDActivation Condition: THIRD REPEATED DEATH BY BETRAYALBonus: MEMORY RETENTIONPenalty: …
The line flickers.
"We'll leave that for later," the voice says, amused. "The penalty is simple: everything you love will interfere with your hunt. So… you will stop loving."
Something warm and soft is torn out of me. Fear shrinks into a single sharp point. Grief evaporates like steam.
All that remains is cold. And hunger.
[ADDITIONAL BONUS:– PERMANENT ENEMY ANALYSIS– SKILL "DEVOUR": ABSORB AND ACCUMULATE TRAITS OF DEFEATED TARGETS]
"Do you wish to hunt, Eliasz Kierski?" the voice asks.
For the first time, I answer without hesitation.
"Yes."
⸻
I open my eyes.
The same dirty ceiling.The same peeling bulb in my dorm room.The same phone on my nightstand.
[06:00][HUNTER EXAM DAY]
My breath is heavy, like I surfaced from freezing water. I grab the bedsheet, check my abdomen. No wounds. No claws. No blood.
But the memory is there. Every tear, every bone snap, every betrayal.
"This isn't a dream," I say.
My phone vibrates—group chat.
[Captain: Wake up, sleepyhead. Big day for you. Maybe you'll finally get a rank higher than F XD]
I know this line. Word for word. Last time, I laughed nervously and replied with something like "hopefully not F-".
Today, I just stare at the screen.
The group name at the top:
["Silver Blades"]
My first party.My first "family."My first murderers.
Another buzz.
[Mira: Hey, don't be so harsh on him, Captain. Eliasz is trying.][Captain: Sure, our little good-luck charm.]
Mira. Always smiling the warmest.The one who invited me.The one who looked away when they sacrificed me.
"Predator System," I whisper. "It's real?"
A translucent window appears.
[PREDATOR SYSTEM – MAIN PANEL]Host: Eliasz KierskiLevel: 1Class: NONERank: UNDETERMINEDCycle Memories: 3
At the bottom, in red:
[PRIORITY OBJECTIVES]
Survive Hunter Exam Day.
Identify first targets.
Feed the system with hatred.
"Feed…"
The voice returns, quiet and close.
"The more they hate you, the stronger you grow. The more they try to sacrifice you, the richer they become… as prey."
My reflection stares back at me from the cracked mirror—same dark hair, same calm eyes.
Only now the calm is false. Something moves beneath it.
"In my previous life, I let them choose for me," I whisper. "This time I choose."
Another message appears.
[Captain: Eliasz, don't be late. It's a test, not Sunday dinner.]
I smile—barely.
"Don't worry, Captain," I whisper. "I won't be late for my own hunt."
⸻
The Hunter Exam Center is exactly the same: concrete, glass, posters of smiling Hunters in polished armor. Lines of excited, terrified people.
I see Mira waving at me.
"Eliasz!" She runs toward me. "I thought you'd oversleep again!"
Last cycle, her smile comforted me.This time it disgusts me.
System reacts.
[NEW TARGET IDENTIFIED: MIRA][EMOTION: INITIAL DISTRUST][SUGGESTION: MAINTAIN APPEARANCES. COLLECT DATA.]
"Thanks for messaging me," I say calmly.
She nudges my arm, cheerful. "You know we can't start without our lucky charm."
Her hand is warm. Almost pleasant.Almost.
The voice returns:
"The first bite is always sweetest when it looks like a friend."
My heart should race.It doesn't.
⸻
Exam procedures repeat exactly as before— speeches, instructions, waiting, scanning. Everything predetermined.
The scanning machine hums.
[RESULT: F RANK][RECOMMENDATION: LOW-TIER DUNGEONS]
Same verdict.
But this time…
[PREDATOR SYSTEM: COMPATIBILITY DETECTED]Suggested Correction:[VISIBLE RANK: F][TRUE RANK: CONCEALED]
"Hide," I whisper.
The examiner's voice echoes:
"Result: F. Next!"
People stare—mocking, pitying, indifferent.
Captain meets me outside.
"No worries," he says. "Every team needs someone for the dirty work no one else wants."
Before, I nodded.Now I stare.
System pulses:
[NEW TARGET IDENTIFIED: CAPTAIN "ARMIN KORCZYK"][STATUS: MAIN BETRAYER][PREFERRED METHOD: SLOW HUNT]
"You're right," I say quietly. "Without someone like me… you'd have no one to sacrifice."
He laughs, thinking it's a joke.
"That's why I like you, Eliasz."
I do not laugh back.
A new mission appears:
[SYSTEM QUEST ACTIVATED]Name: "THE THIRD TIME I WILL NOT DIE FOR THEM"Goal: Enter the first dungeon with the Silver Blades tomorrow… and survive.Reward: DISCOVERY OF FIRST "DEVOUR" FUNCTIONFailure: CYCLE RESET
The corner of my mouth twitches.
"Let's see who walks out this time," I say.
Captain turns to the group.
"All right, team! First dungeon tomorrow morning with our lucky charm! What could go wrong?!"
In my mind, the answer is simple.
Everything.For them.
For me…the hunt has just begun.
[PREDATOR SYSTEM: FIRST ACTIVE CYCLE INITIATED.]