??? AM – The Body Before Him
The Devourer Stalker's corpse lay still.
Blood pooled beneath it, soaking into the cavern floor.
Kyung-min didn't move.
Didn't celebrate.
Didn't relax.
Because despite the monster being dead—his battle wasn't over.
His body shook.
His vision blurred.
🔹 [HP: 138/426]
🔹 [MP: 120/490]
🔹 [Fatigue: 94/100] (Critical)
Every part of him screamed for rest.
But he couldn't stop.
Not yet.
🔹 [Corpse Reclamation Available.]
His eyes darkened.
"Let's see what you can really do."
??? AM – Corpse Reclamation, First True Summon
Kyung-min staggered forward.
Each step felt like dragging lead.
But he pushed on.
Because this was necessary.
🔹 [Corpse Reclamation Activated.]
Mana rushed from his body.
🔹 [MP: 120 → 60]
The Devourer Stalker's corpse twitched.
🔹 [MP: 60 → 0]
Muscles contracted.
Its head jerked upright.
Its empty eye sockets flared with an eerie blue light.
And then—
It moved.
🔹 [You Have Raised Devourer Stalker – Level 22.]
🔹 [Summon Strength: 80% of Original Power]
🔹 [Summon Lifespan: 12 Hours]
It wasn't perfect.
The wounds remained.
Its movements were slightly sluggish.
But compared to the rabbits?
This was an entirely different beast.
??? AM – A Body That Shouldn't Be Moving
Kyung-min couldn't move.
His body felt like lead.
His limbs wouldn't respond.
It was worse than exhaustion. Worse than pain. Like something inside him had burned out.
He tried to open his eyes.
Nothing.
He tried to lift a finger.
Nothing.
Only the distant sound of tearing flesh.
Of bones snapping.
Of… something moving.
Not just one thing.
Many.
Too many.
🔹 [Fatigue: 94 → 100.]
Then—
Everything went black.
??? AM – When the Dead Answer the Call
The Devourer Stalker stood over him.
It didn't leave.
It didn't run.
Even as the scent of blood thickened in the air.
Even as the dungeon's other predators closed in.
Abyss Hounds.
Lurking Ghouls.
Corpse Golems.
They came for Kyung-min's body.
And the Devourer Stalker turned to face them.
??? AM – The Price of Power
Pain.
Kyung-min's consciousness flickered in and out, his body numb, yet somehow aware. He could feel something gnawing at the edges of his existence—something vast, something hungry.
He wasn't dreaming.
He wasn't dead.
Not yet.
But something had changed.
The last thing he remembered was forcing undeath into the Devourer Stalker, breaking it from the inside, bending it to his will. And then—
Nothing.
Now he was awake.
And the air reeked of blood.
His eyelids were heavy, but he forced them open. His breath hitched.
Corpses.
Hundreds of them.
Bloodfang Burrowers, Abyss Hounds, Lurking Ghouls. Their twisted, mangled forms were scattered across the cavern like discarded carcasses.
And standing in the center of the slaughter—
It.
His Devourer Stalker was still there. But it had changed.
The body was taller, the muscles denser, its dark carapace pulsing with abyssal energy. And its eyes—once filled with primal hunger—were now hollow. Calculating.
It had evolved.
And Kyung-min?
A system notification flickered into existence.
🔹 [You Have Survived the Abyss.]
🔹 [Your Summon Has Evolved.]
🔹 [Forced Awakening Initiated – The Abyss Walker Emerges.]
??? AM – Status Reset
🔹 [Status Window Opened.]
[STATUS WINDOW – HAN KYUNG-MIN]
[General Info]
🔹 Level: 1 (0/100 XP)
🔹 Class: Abyss Walker (C-Rank, Growth)
🔹 Title: Harbinger of the Unresting (Undead grow stronger with each resurrection.)
🔹 Profession: None
[Attributes]
🔹 HP: 510/510
🔹 MP: 780/780
🔹 Fatigue: 10/100
🔹 Gold: 0G
🔹 Strength: 24
🔹 Agility: 24
🔹 Stamina: 24
🔹 Intelligence: 35
🔹 Perception: 32
🔹 Free Stat Points: 10
[Skills](new)
🔹 Death's Echo (B-Rank, Unique) – Records & Steals Last Moments of the Dead. Can now store two abilities per record.
🔹 Corpse Reclamation (B-Rank) – Raise an undead minion with tactical intelligence. Can now be controlled like a puppet. (Dread Marionette applied.)
🔹 Shadow Step → Phantom Abyss (C-Rank) – Can now teleport between shadows and move without sound.
🔹 Stalking Phantom (C-Rank) – Creates two ghostly clones that mislead enemies.
🔹 Necrotic Surge (C-Rank) – Temporarily increases an undead's strength by 50%, at the cost of rapid decay.
[Passive Skills](new)
🔹 Abyssal Resilience (C-Rank) – Regenerates HP by 1% per 30 seconds while in darkness.
🔹 Shadowborn Instincts (C-Rank) – Enhanced perception in low-light environments. Enemies struggle to detect user in the dark.
🔹 Death's Tether (C-Rank) – When an undead summon is destroyed, Kyung-min regains 5% of its remaining MP.
🔹 Unseen Executor (C-Rank) – Undead minions automatically aim for weak points, increasing critical hit chance by 15%.
🔹 Phantom Walk (C-Rank) – Footsteps make no sound, movement speed increased by +10% in darkness.
[Stored Death Records: 2]
🔹 Record 1: Han Kyung-min
🔹 Record 2: The Lich (Undying Resilience - Weakened)
🔹 [Awakening Progress: 74%]
??? AM – The Realization
Kyung-min sat up. His body felt… different.
Stronger.
Faster.
His mana reserves had increased. His perception had sharpened. The world felt different.
But his level was back to one.
That shouldn't have been possible. The system didn't just erase progress.
He clenched his fists.
Something forced him into this new evolution.
Something pushed him forward, even when he wasn't ready.
And judging by the battlefield of corpses around him…
His Devourer Stalker was the one that made it happen.
Kyung-min turned his gaze toward it.
The creature remained motionless, its massive form standing amidst the slaughter. Its body was different—heavier, sharper, stronger.
And yet, it didn't move to attack.
It just watched.
"Did you… do this?"
The Stalker didn't respond.
Of course it didn't.
But something in its stance… the way its claws rested at its sides, the way its head remained slightly lowered…
It wasn't just a mindless beast anymore.
Kyung-min exhaled, shaking his head.
"I need to think."
He forced himself to stand, brushing dried blood off his torn clothes. His fatigue was low, his HP and MP restored.
He wasn't wounded anymore.
But his mind was still burning with questions.
What was he now?
Had he really jumped two evolutions at once?
And if so—what did that mean?
He gained another evolution. And his Awakening Progress had jumped from 40% to 74% overnight. That wasn't normal.
??? AM – A Hunter Reborn
Kyung-min turned back to the corpses.
There were too many to ignore.
Too much wasted power if he left them to rot.
He cracked his neck, rolling his shoulders. His muscles were tight, but his energy surged beneath his skin like an untamed current.
"Time to clean up."
His hands lifted.
🔹 [Corpse Reclamation Activated.]
One.
Two.
Three.
One by one, the corpses began to twitch.
And as the dead rose, Kyung-min felt it for the first time—
A true connection to the abyss.
Not a desperate survival tactic.
Not a means to an end.
This was something greater.
Something inevitable.
And for the first time in his second life…
He welcomed it.
??? AM – The Final Message
As his new summons stood in silence, awaiting his command—
A system notification flickered.
🔹 [You Have Taken Your First Step Into the Abyss.]
🔹 [Abyss Walker's True Evolution Will Now Begin.]
Kyung-min's breath slowed.
He wasn't done evolving.
Not yet.
And when he was finished—
The world would never be the same.