Prologue.

The heartclawer ripped open his shirt and chest with enough force to send him flying against the far away tree.

Ian spat out blood in the air and flipped, landing in a crouch. The wooden katana was already cracked, and he had to either blind it or make a firm run from it.

Remembering the ones who had abandoned him, he once again spat out another portion of blood. He was already heaving, as his chest was torn and his lungs filling up with blood.

The heartclawer was moving again, and he rolled to the side, slapping his sword into the monster's hind leg, making it stumble.

The monster flipped and slapped him away again. Ian was already becoming dizzy and semiconscious.

He was punched again, and even though he knew he was being played by a monster that can kill a level 5 with ease, he was still trying to survive the onslaught with his measly level 2.

He was beaten here and there, punched and kicked till almost his bones were broken; his skull was cracked, his left eye unusable; his limbs already broken and useless; and his sternum had caved in.

As his consciousness was fading, he seems to have seen the cube-like pendant he always wore begin to shine and 'reconstruct' itself into a forcefield shield around him.

And with that, he went down into darkness.

[ SYSTEM LOADING...]

[SCANNING HOST]

[CALIBRATING DATA FROM HOST...]

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[WELCOME...]