In a yellow danger zone, where a river with clear water reflected the sunlight on its surface, a small clearing lay nearby. In that
clearing, a young man, about 5'7" tall, trained diligently. He wore clothes
made from dark grey fur, and in his hands was a spear crafted from bamboo,
reinforced with a dagger bound tightly to its tip.
The young man's defined muscles glistened with sweat under the bright sun. His messy, shiny white hair fell to his shoulders, and with steady swings of his spear, a dark elemental aura wrapped around his weapon
like smoke.
This young man was Alex. He had just turned 14 years old and had been training tirelessly for over three years.
As Alex continued swinging his spear, he suddenly noticed hordes of monsters moving in the same direction. Narrowing his eyes, he blended into the crowd of monsters, observing carefully. His gaze landed on a familiar figure—an Earth Bear, his training partner for over a year.
But something was wrong. The bear's behavior was abnormal. Alex
sprinted toward it and stood in front of it.
The bear, Instead of recognizing him, growled fiercely and attacked. Alex barely dodged the swipe, his heart pounding in shock.
"This pussy who always ran away after seeing me… just how
did he grow the balls?" Alex thought.
"No, that's not it. He doesn't even recognize me. They all look like they're in a frenzy!"
"What the hell, how did this happen?" Alex shouted in his mind.
It was well known that monsters with elemental powers possessed intelligence. Madness like this only occurred in monsters below E-rank. Yet now, even C-rank monsters were losing their minds?
"Something is wrong here," Alex thought grimly. "Let's think about it later. I think those monsters are heading toward Romania City. I have to get there before them!"
Without wasting another second, Alex dashed off at a speed faster than Thunder Wolves.
Years of surviving life-and-death battles in the yellow zone forests had honed his body to outrun most beasts.
When he finally emerged from the dense green forest into the clearing, a horrifying sight met his eyes—thick smoke rising from Romania City.
It's walls were broken, and monsters swarmed through the ruins.
Alex pushed his body to the limit, sprinting towards the broken city walls. When he reached them, the scene before him made him horrified.
Dead bodies littered the streets.
Children no older than five lay lifeless, some with only their heads remaining, some with torn torsos, others with only their lower
halves left.
It was a massacre. It looked as if the monsters had treated
the humans like a feast. There was no resistance; they were utterly powerless.
Alex gritted his teeth and moved toward the outer areas, searching for survivors.
Most monsters here were weak, but their overwhelming numbers still posed a threat.
He didn't stop.
With ruthless efficiency, he slaughtered monsters with his spear—one powerful thrust was enough to shatter three monsters into pieces.
Meanwhile, in the ruins of a broken house, three children—one girl and two boys, around five years old—were hiding under the rubble.
Near them, three golden-furred monkeys, half the height of an adult, with bloody mouths and glowing red eyes, were feasting on two corpses, one male and one female.
The children, tears streaming down their faces, desperately covered their mouths to stifle their sobs. Fear was etched deep into their rembling bodies as they clung to each other.
Their lives had been turned upside down in the blink of a eye.
The monsters had poured through the city walls, and the strong had fled, abandoning the weak.
Suddenly, a terrifying creature emerged—a monster with dark skin, standing over two meters tall.
Its feet had large, curved nails longer than three inches, and its vicious canines were over four inches long.
A bony skull mask covered its face, and behind it, lava-like red eyes glowed menacingly.
The monster leaped at the three golden monkeys. With just one bite, it devoured an entire monkey whole.
With a viscous growl and a look of greed, it turned toward the remaining two monkeys.
The monkeys, their bodies trembling with dread, slowly backed away.
From their hiding spot, the three children watched in horror. One of them couldn't hold it in anymore—he screamed and immediately fainted.
The two remaining golden monkeys froze as the faint scream echoed from the rubble.
The Hell Hound's head snapped toward the sound. It sniffed he air and then grinned—a wide, horrifyingly human-like smile, baring its sharp canines.
With a single swipe of its paw, the Hell Hound smashed away the rubble, exposing the terrified children.
The two conscious children screamed and cried at the top of their lungs, fear and despair apparent on their face.
The Hell Hound slowly approached, savoring their fear and despair.
Each step it took made the children's screams grow louder.
Suddenly, a spear shrouded in black aura came whistling through the air, scratching the Hell Hound's skull mask and throwing off sparks from the impact.
A young man in dark grey fur clothes, with messy white hair reaching his shoulders, appeared from the shadows in front of the beast.
Alex picked up his spear and glanced toward the kids, whose tearful eyes now gleamed faintly with hope.
With a hoarse, thick voice, Alex said,
"I don't like humans but I hate monsters more."
Without hesitation, he jumped high into the air. With a long thrust, he drove his spear down toward the Hell hound's back, piercing it's flash.
The Hell Hound roared in pain, spinning around with terrifying speed. It opened its mouth and fired a massive fireball.
Alex twisted his body midair and narrowly dodged the incoming fireball.
But while airborne, the Hell Hound's tail, sharp like a spear, came at him.
Alex parried the blow with his spear but was knocked backward from the force, crashing into a pile of rubble.
He climbed out of the debris unscathed.
With a hoarse voice, Alex muttered, "You're quite good."
Then, moving through the shadows at lightning speed, Alex
shot forward like a phantom.
In the blink of an eye, he reappeared in front of the monster.
Blood sprayed from the Hell Hound's severed limbs, painting the ground red.
Bending backward, he hurled his spear with all his strength.
The weapon flew like a bolt of black lightning, skewering the hell hound cleanly.
The Hell Hound's burning red eyes slowly dimmed..