The cave was completely silent.
Cold water dripped sowhere in the darkness. Tiny echoes bounced off the walls as the sll of blood hung in the air.
The massive Gore-Boar lay collapsed in the center of the cavern like a fallen fortress. Its armored body was covered in deep claw marks, but the most horrifying part was the absence of blood. The huge beast looked dry. Empty. Like sothing had sucked the life straight out of it.
And sitting beside the corpse... was a rabbit.
A white rabbit with dusty fur and twitching ears. Qhuin calmly lifted one paw and licked it.
"Squeak."
Marcus’s cousin stared at him with wide, trembling eyes.
One second ago, that thing had been a red-eyed monster tearing apart a Rank C beast faster than he could even follow. Now it looked like sothing a child would carry around in a basket.
His brain refused to accept it.
The two hired noble students looked just as broken. One of them slowly glanced toward the dead Gore-Boar. Then back at the rabbit.
Then back to the Gore-Boar again, and suddenly the cave felt even colder.
"A-An illusion," Marcus’s cousin stamred. Sweat ran down the side of his face. "It has to be an illusion."
Nobody answered him.
His breathing grew jagged.
"Trash commoners only know cheap tricks," he snapped, trying to regain confidence. "That stupid rabbit is still a Rank E piece of garbage!"
Qhuin’s ruby eyes narrowed.
’Piece of garbage?’
In his old world, n had been skinned alive for speaking that way.
His back leg suddenly thumped against Lina’s arm.
Qhuin froze internally.
...’ Why did my leg do that?’
Marcus’s cousin pointed at Lina with a trembling hand.
"Kill her! Hurry up and take the boar’s core before the teachers arrive!"
The two noble students imdiately reacted.
Steel daggers flashed in the darkness as they rushed forward.
Lina gasped, still processing what had happened. Her mind was still on the system screen, the dead monster, the terrifying transformation, and the impossible strength flowing through her body.
Now, ard students were charging at her.
Her old instincts took over instantly.
She hugged Qhuin tightly against her chest with one arm and threw her free hand forward to defend herself.
"I-I don’t want to die!"
The first thug reached her.
Then—
CRACK.
The sound exploded through the cave. Lina’s palm slamd into the student’s chest.
For a split second, no one moved, then the noble student flew backward.
Actually flew.
His feet left the ground completely as his armored body shot through the air like a kicked training dummy. He smashed face-first into the listone wall ten feet away with enough force to crack the stone.
Dust rained down from the ceiling.
The student slid down the wall and collapsed motionless onto the cave floor.
His dagger clattered away into the darkness.
The place fell silent.
The second thug froze mid-step.
His raised dagger trembled violently in his hand.
Marcus’s cousin quickly backed up so fast he tripped over his own boots, landing hard on the ground.
"T-That..."
His voice trailed off.
Lina herself looked even more horrified than they did.
Her breathing beca shaky as she slowly stared at her own hand.
"I..."
The cave floor beneath her boots had cracked slightly from the force of her stance.
"Did I do that...?"
Qhuin remained safely tucked in her left arm as his crimson eyes quietly studied the scene.
The Infinite Symbiosis transfer had exceeded his expectations.
That slap alone carried the strength of a trained Vanguard.
And this was only the beginning.
Lina looked down at him in panic.
"Snowy... w-what is happening to ?"
Qhuin answered with a soft squeak.
Externally, he seed harmless.
Internally, his thoughts were much colder.
’You are evolving, brat. Your soul is adapting to my bloodline; you should be thankful!’
The second thug finally snapped out of his fear and staggered backward.
"T-That monster—!"
Qhuin’s ears twitched.
’Monster? Haven’t heard that in a while.’
The little rabbit slowly turned his head toward the remaining students.
Then his eyes glowed faintly red.
A tiny pulse of Crimson Pressure slipped into the air; the effect was direct.
Marcus’s cousin suddenly felt sothing cold press against his neck.
Like an unseen blade resting directly against his soul.
The remaining thug dropped his dagger, and his knees nearly buckled.
Qhuin’s aura wrapped around their minds like dark smoke.
The ssage was simple.
Speak and die.
Marcus’s cousin let out a strangled scream.
"I-I won’t say anything!"
He scrambled backward across the cave floor, using both hands and feet like a terrified animal. His face had gone completely pale.
The second thug grabbed the unconscious student by the shoulders, shaking uncontrollably.
"We’re leaving! We’re leaving!"
Nobody cared about dignity anymore or the Gore-Boar core.
The other students practically collided with each other trying to escape through the cave entrance. Marcus’s cousin nearly slamd his shoulder into the iron grate while fumbling to open it.
A few seconds later, their footsteps vanished into the thick fog outside.
Silence returned to the cavern.
Only dripping water remained.
Lina stood frozen in the middle of the cave, still holding Qhuin tightly against her chest.
The massive blue-and-gold system screen floating in front of her slowly began fading away.
One final notification remained visible:
[Passive Routine: False Veil deployed.]
[Mana Signature Successfully Masked.]
[External Detection Result Updated: Rare Beast Core Mutation Fluke.]
Lina read the words slowly.
Then she lowered her trembling hands and looked down at the tiny rabbit in her arms.
Qhuin’s ears twitched, his pink little nose moved.
Lina swallowed hard.
"Snowy..." she whispered weakly.
Her voice shook.
"What... are we?"
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