Kairos instantly recognized Ass Freak. No mount. Bow in hand. It had to be him—the protagonist of this damned story.
Blending into the crowd, Kairos watched as the sea of people parted. A group on fierce-looking beasts advanced, their presence commanding. These weren't ordinary survivors—these were the high-ranking elites of Steel Armor Shelter.
At the forefront rode a striking young woman with flowing white hair and a poised, lethal grace. Her voice cut through the tension like a blade.
"Han Sen, put down your bow."
The name hit Kairos like a jolt. Memories surged—flashes of the past, fragments of stories—every legend and whispered tale about Han Sen flooded back. It all made sense now. This was *him*. The real protagonist.
What happened next stunned everyone. Qin Xuan, feared leader of the Bullseye Gang, stepped forward... and claimed Han Sen as her guy.
Gasps rippled through the crowd. Whispers turned into rumors, theories blooming like wildfire. Was this some twisted love story? Had that ass-stab sparked this drama?
Kairos didn't have time to care, because he had his own problems, and romantic conspiracies weren't one of them.
He tried hard to remember what came next in the storyline, but his memory failed him. The future was a blur, slipping through his fingers like smoke.
Still, one thing was now painfully clear: Han Sen had grown powerful. Dangerously powerful.
The confrontation ended with Han Sen victorious. His opponent, Luo Tinayan, stood frozen, a look of sheer disbelief etched across his face—as if he'd been struck down by his own weapon.
---
Later, Kairos stood alone on the teleportation train, ignoring the suspicious glances around him. His clothes were in tatters, but he didn't flinch. When the train hissed to a stop, he stepped out.
The world that greeted him looked ripped from the pages of science fiction. Towering glass spires reached for the sky, bathed in neon light. Holographic billboards shimmered overhead, advertising things he didn't recognize. Drones buzzed between buildings like oversized insects, while sleek, self-driving vehicles zipped by below.
Even nature had claimed a piece of this high-tech paradise—massive trees grew right through buildings, their branches lit by bio-luminescent leaves.
Kairos stared in awe.
"This really is another world," he whispered.
With no money, no contacts, and no plan, all he could do was wander.
Eventually, the marvel faded, replaced by the nagging reality of his situation. He returned to the teleportation station and made his way back to the sanctuary.
Under the shade of a sprawling tree, Kairos sighed.
"I don't even know what I'm doing anymore."
He had dreams—buying a house, building a life—but dreams meant little with empty pockets.
No use sulking.
"For now, I'll just focus on maxing out my ordinary and primitive geno points," he muttered, scanning the area for others.
In God's Sanctuary, power came from consuming the flesh of beasts. Reaching 100 points in each category meant evolution—but those who pushed further gained far more strength.
Problem was, no one wanted to help him. Dressed in rags, he was ignored, avoided like a plague.
"This sucks," Kairos grumbled. All he wanted were simple directions to where ordinary beasts roamed. Instead, people looked at him like he didn't belonged here.
"Fine. I'll trust my gut," he said, setting off in a random direction, alone but determined.
For nearly an hour, Kairos wandered through the wild terrain, eyes scanning every shadow, every rustle in the grass—but found nothing. Not a single beast in sight.
"I can't even call this a day," he muttered bitterly, frustration building with each passing minute.
Just as he was about to turn back, a faint noise stirred from the underbrush. His instincts kicked in. Without hesitation, Kairos sprinted toward the sound, weaving through the trees.
He crouched behind a thick trunk and peeked out.
In a sunlit clearing, a group of rhino-like creatures grazed lazily. Their hides were bronzed, and they looked nearly identical—likely ordinary or primitive class.
"So, either way, they're fair game," Kairos whispered to himself.
Not wanting to waste time or energy, he decided to go all-in. It was time to use his only Beast Soul. As he summoned it, a golden light exploded from his chest, engulfing him in radiant energy.
Thick, gleaming armor clamped down over his body like an insect's exoskeleton—the Beast Soul of the Black Beetle had fully activated.
"Woah, this is flashy as f*#k," he said, flexing his arms, admiring the golden armor that now coated him from head to toe.
Wasting no time, Kairos charged straight at the nearest beast. The copper-skinned creature barely had time to react before a violent force tore through its belly.
Primitive creature copper-toothed beast killed. Primitive beast soul of copper-toothed beast gained. Eat the flesh of copper-toothed beast to gain 0–10 primitive geno points randomly.
The robotic voice echoed in his head—and Kairos froze in disbelief.
"Wait… I actually got a beast soul on my first kill?" he blinked, stunned. A grin spread across his face. "I'm sorry for cursing you earlier, Lady Luck."
Fueled by fresh adrenaline—and a sudden streak of optimism—Kairos tore into the rest of the herd. One by one, the beasts fell under his relentless assault.
By the end of it, the clearing was littered with 23 fallen beasts. He counted carefully, panting from the effort. Not only had he survived, but he'd earned two more beast souls—far beyond his expectations.
"Alright, not bad at all," Kairos said, wiping sweat from his brow. But as he looked around at the carcasses, the excitement started to fade.
"How the hell am I going to carry all of this back?"
He eyed the pile of copper-toothed beasts. It was more meat than he could haul even with help—and here, help could mean betrayal.
There were no laws in God's Sanctuary. Asking the wrong person could mean losing everything... or worse, losing his life.
Kairos stood still, armor glinting in the sunlight, mind racing for a plan.
He had the loot. Now he just needed to survive long enough to enjoy it.