"Move your feet, Leo! You're slowing us down. My grandmother crawls faster than you, and she's been dead for five years."
The sharp, mocking voice echoed through the dense canopy of the Grey Zone forest. Leo Thorne grit his teeth, the taste of iron heavy in his mouth, but he didn't talk back. He couldn't afford to. Not when he was carrying eighty pounds of equipment on his back while the others walked freely, their hands empty save for their shining beast weapons.
Leo adjusted the straps of the heavy rucksack digging into his shoulders. "I'm coming, Brock. The terrain... it's slippery here."
"Excuses, excuses," Brock sneered, turning around to face him. Brock was a second-year student at the academy, tall, broad-shouldered, and blessed with a Level 3 Fire ability. He had the kind of face that would have been handsome if it wasn't permanently twisted into an expression of arrogance. "This is why you'll always be a Zero, Leo. You possess no ability, no talent, and apparently, no stamina."
"Leave him alone, Brock," a girl's voice chimed in, though it lacked any real sympathy. It was Sarah. She was checking her nails, looking bored. "If he dies of exhaustion, who's going to carry the loot back? I'm certainly not ruining my manicure dragging a Mud-Boar carcass."
Leo kept his head down, focusing on placing one foot in front of the other. This was his reality. In a world where humanity had evolved to wield supernatural abilities to fight back against the beasts invading from the Rifts, those without power were barely considered human. They were the bottom of the barrel. The trash.
Leo was a 'Zero'—a person with no active ability cells. To pay for his sick sister's medical bills, he had signed up as a porter for these rich academy students during their weekend hunting trips. It was dangerous, degrading work, but it paid better than scrubbing floors.
"We're nearing the nesting grounds," whispered Tom, the tracker of the group, holding up a hand. He was a quiet boy with a sensory ability. "I can smell it. A Razor-Claw Bear."
The group stopped instantly. Tension tightened the air. A Razor-Claw Bear was a Tier 2 beast. Dangerous, but for a group of three capable students, it was a goldmine of experience points and valuable materials.
"Perfect," Brock grinned, cracking his knuckles. Small embers danced around his fingers. "Sarah, you take the left flank. Tom, keep eyes on its movement. Leo..." Brock turned his gaze to the porter, a cruel glint in his eyes. "...you know the drill."
Leo's stomach dropped. "Brock, the contract says I'm just a porter. I carry the bags. I don't—"
"You do what I say!" Brock hissed, grabbing Leo by the collar of his worn-out shirt. He shoved him forward, hard. Leo stumbled, barely keeping his balance under the weight of the pack. "We need bait to draw it out of the cave. Unless you want me to tell the guild you violated orders and docked your pay? Maybe I'll make sure your sister gets kicked out of the hospital."
The threat hung in the air, heavy and suffocating. Leo clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white. He had no choice. He never had a choice.
"Fine," Leo whispered.
"Good dog," Brock laughed. "Now, go make some noise."
Leo dropped the heavy bag and walked slowly towards the dark, gaping maw of the cave entrance ahead. His heart hammered against his ribs like a trapped bird. Just survive, he told himself. Draw it out, run back, let them kill it. Get paid. Go home.
He picked up a rock and hurled it into the darkness. It clattered loudly against the stone walls.
"Hey! Come and get it, you ugly rug!" Leo shouted, his voice cracking slightly.
Silence. Then, a low, vibrating growl emanated from the depths, shaking the ground beneath Leo's boots. Two glowing yellow eyes appeared in the shadows, followed by the sound of heavy paws scraping against rock.
"It's coming!" Leo yelled, turning to run back toward the ambush point.
But as he turned, he saw something that made his blood run cold.
Brock, Sarah, and Tom weren't in position. They were backing away, further down the trail, smiling.
"Brock?" Leo called out, confusion turning to panic. "Wait, you're too far back!"
"Change of plans, Leo!" Brock shouted, his voice filled with malicious glee. "We found fresh tracks of a Golden-Mane Lion in the other direction. Much better loot! But we need something to keep the Bear busy so it doesn't follow us. Thanks for your service!"
"You can't be serious!" Leo screamed, taking a step toward them.
"Don't follow us, Zero!" Sarah yelled, raising her hand. A gust of wind—her ability—shot out, slamming into the ground at Leo's feet, creating a cloud of dust and knocking him backward.
Leo hit the ground hard, the wind knocked out of him. Before he could scramble up, a massive shadow eclipsed the sun.
He looked up. Standing over him was the Razor-Claw Bear. It was massive, standing eight feet tall on its hind legs, with fur like steel wire and claws that looked like serrated daggers. Saliva dripped from its jaws, sizzling where it hit the grass.
"No..." Leo scrambled backward, his hands scraping against the dirt. "Please..."
The bear roared, a sound so loud it popped Leo's ears. It swiped.
Leo tried to dodge, but he was just a normal human. He wasn't fast enough.
SLASH.
Agony exploded across his chest. The force of the blow sent him flying through the air like a ragdoll. He crashed through a thicket of bushes and tumbled down a steep, rocky ravine he hadn't seen behind the foliage.
He hit the bottom with a sickening crunch.
For a moment, there was only darkness. Then, pain returned, sharp and overwhelming. Leo gasped, choking on blood. He tried to move, but his body wouldn't respond. He looked down at his chest. Three deep gashes tore through his shirt and skin, bleeding profusely.
I'm dying, Leo realized, a cold numbness spreading through his limbs. I'm actually going to die here, used as distraction bait for a bunch of rich kids.
Above him, on the ridge of the ravine, the Razor-Claw Bear sniffed the air. It had smelled the blood. It began to descend, sliding down the slope, coming to finish its meal.
"Is this it?" Leo coughed, tears mixing with the dirt on his face. "My sister... she's alone."
Rage began to bubble up inside him. It wasn't fair. He had worked so hard. He had endured the insults, the beatings, the hunger. All to survive. And he was killed by Brock. By a bully who treated lives like toys.
I want to kill him, Leo thought, his vision blurring red. I want to tear him apart.
He dragged himself backward, his hand grasping blindly at the dirt. His fingers brushed against something hard and cold. It wasn't a rock. It felt smooth, metallic, yet pulsed with a strange warmth.
Leo looked down. Half-buried in the mud of the ravine floor was a strange object. It looked like a black sphere, but its surface was shifting, rippling like liquid mercury.
As Leo gasped for air, blood dripped from his chin. Drip. Drip.
A single drop of crimson blood landed directly on the black sphere.
VROOOOM.
A low hum vibrated through the ravine, silencing even the approaching bear. The black sphere suddenly cracked open, emitting a blinding violet light.
Leo shielded his eyes, but the light didn't burn. It felt... inviting.
A mechanical voice, cold and devoid of emotion, rang out inside his head.
[Host vital signs critical.] [Blood source confirmed.] [Resonance detected.]
[System Activation Protocols Initiated...]
"What...?" Leo wheezed.
[Error. Body too weak to sustain activation. Emergency protocols engaged.] [Binding System to Soul...] [Complete.]
[Welcome, Host. The Shifter System has been activated.]
Leo blinked. Was he hallucinating? A System? Those were things from legends, from the First War veterans. Zeros didn't get Systems.
The Razor-Claw Bear landed at the bottom of the ravine with a heavy thud. It roared, fixing its eyes on Leo. It raised a paw to deliver the final blow.
[Danger Detected. Threat Level: Low (Class E Beast).] [Host Status: Near Death.] [Rage Level: 85% - Warning: High Rage detected.]
Leo stared at the bear. The fear was gone, replaced by a burning, consuming anger. He didn't want to die. He refused to die.
[Emergency Quest: Survive.] [Reward: System Full Access.] [Failure Penalty: Death.]
"Help me..." Leo whispered to the voice, clutching the black sphere which was now dissolving into his skin, turning his veins black. "I need... power."
[Request Acknowledged.] [Standard Shifting Protocols unavailable due to lack of forms.] [Initiating: Seven-Day Dominant Form Protocol.] [Please select a creature to Shift into. You have 10 seconds.]
A holographic screen appeared in front of Leo's dying eyes. It was blank, with a blinking cursor.
Select? Leo's mind raced. He couldn't think. The bear was charging. He needed something strong. Something that could kill a bear. A Dragon? A Demon?
He tried to scream "Dragon!" in his mind.
[Analysis: Dragon (Class SS). Host Class: F (Civilian).] [Power Normalization Law Applied.] [Form Rejected. Insufficient Beast Points (BP) to manifest concept.]
"Damn it!" Leo screamed aloud. The bear was five feet away. He looked at the beast—its claws, its muscles, its power. He hated it, but he envied it.
I just want to rip its throat out, Leo thought. Like a Wolf. A savage, hungry Wolf.
[Concept Accepted: Wolf.] [Applying Power Normalization...] [Host Class: F.] [Form: Feral Wolf (Suppressed).] [Cost: 40 BP (Emergency Loan).]
[Shifting...]
Pain.
It wasn't the pain of the wounds. It was the pain of his bones snapping and rearranging. His skin felt like it was on fire. Leo screamed, but the scream shifted, deepening into a guttural growl.
His vision snapped. The world was no longer a blur of colors. It was sharp. He could see the individual hairs on the bear's snout. He could smell the bear's rot-filled breath. He could hear the blood pumping in its veins.
The Razor-Claw Bear swung its paw.
Leo moved. But he didn't stumble. He exploded with speed he didn't know he possessed. He darted under the bear's arm, his movements fluid and low to the ground.
He looked down at his hands. They weren't hands anymore. They were paws covered in sleek, black fur, tipped with sharp claws. He wasn't standing on two legs; he was on four.
He had turned into a wolf. But not a majestic, giant dire wolf. He was roughly the size of a large dog, lean and scrappy.
[Shift Complete.] [Current Form: Black Wolf (Class F).] [Rage Meter: 90% (Berserk Risk).] [BP Remaining: 0.]
The bear, confused by the sudden disappearance of its prey, turned around clumsily. It saw the black wolf snarling at its ankles.
Leo felt a strange sensation wash over him. It was a red haze in the corners of his vision. The 'Rage' the voice mentioned. It pounded in his skull, demanding blood. He didn't feel like Leo anymore. He felt like a vessel for violence.
Kill. Tear. Eat.
The bear roared and lunged.
Leo didn't retreat. He snarled and leaped, his powerful hind legs launching him into the air. He didn't aim for the bear's thick hide where his Class F claws would do nothing. He aimed for the soft tissue.
He clamped his jaws onto the bear's nose.
The bear shrieked in surprise and pain, thrashing its head. Leo held on, his jaw muscles locking tight. The taste of copper filled his mouth.
[Critical Hit.] [Experience gained.]
The bear slammed Leo against the ravine wall. The impact knocked the wind out of him, and his wolf form flickered like a dying lightbulb.
[Warning: BP Depleted. Maintaining form is damaging Host vitality.]
Leo fell to the ground, shaking. He was still a wolf, but he felt heavy. The bear, furious now and bleeding from the nose, rose up to crush him.
I need to move, Leo thought, but his legs wouldn't work.
Suddenly, the bear stopped. It sniffed the air again, then looked past Leo, towards the top of the ravine. A high-pitched whistle echoed through the woods. It was a Hunter's whistle. A high-level hunting party was nearby.
The bear, sensing a bigger threat than the annoying wolf-pup, grunted and turned, lumbering away into the deeper brush to escape the incoming hunters.
Leo lay there, panting, his wolf chest heaving.
[Threat disengaged.] [Deactivating Shift...]
The bone-breaking pain returned. The fur retracted into his skin, his snout flattened, and his paws elongated back into hands.
Leo lay naked and shivering in the dirt, his human body covered in sweat and blood. The three claw marks on his chest were still there, but they had stopped bleeding. They looked... weeks old. Scars.
[System Assessment:] [Host survived.] [First Shift complete.] [Dominant Form Locked: Wolf (Duration: 7 Days).] [You cannot shift into any other creature until the timer resets.]
Leo stared up at the sliver of sky visible from the ravine. He clenched his hand into a fist. He was alive. And he was different.
He didn't know what this 'System' was. He didn't know what 'BP' meant or why he was locked as a wolf. But he knew one thing.
He pulled himself up to a sitting position, his eyes burning with a cold, new intensity.
"Brock," Leo whispered, the name tasting like bile.
[Quest Generated: The Payback.] [Objective: Humiliate those who left you for dead.] [Reward: 50 Exp, New Skill Unlocked.]
A grim smile touched Leo's lips. It was the first time he had ever smiled like that. It wasn't a smile of joy. It was the smile of a predator realizing it finally had teeth.
"System," Leo rasped. "What do I do next?"
[Instruction: Feed. Rest. Grow.] [Welcome to the food chain, Leo Thorne.]