One piece: Without a system, I have to survive!

The rumbling beneath my feet grew stronger.

Leaves trembled. Tree branches shook, sending a rain of dust and broken twigs down on us. The jungle, which had been so suffocatingly silent, now felt like a living thing—holding its breath.

And then, I felt it.

A presence.

Not just strong. Not just dangerous.

But ancient.

Selene's eyes gleamed in the dim light. She didn't look afraid. If anything… she looked amused.

"Well, well," she murmured. "It seems you're attracting quite the audience, Ardan."

A deep, inhuman snarl echoed through the trees.

Shira tightened her grip on her sword. Smoker's jitte twitched in his hand, his usual lazy expression now one of sharp focus.

I took a deep breath, trying to stay calm. But the energy in the air—that unseen, suffocating force—I could feel it pressing down on me.

It was like being stared down by a predator.

Then—

A pair of glowing eyes appeared in the darkness.

Not human. Not beast.

Something in between.

It stepped forward.

A massive creature, its body covered in blackened scales, standing at least three times my height. Its arms were unnaturally long, its claws scraping against the bark of nearby trees as it moved. But what struck me the most was—

Its chest.

A golden mark, almost identical to mine, pulsed at its center.

My breath hitched.

"What… is that?" I whispered.

Selene's voice was calm. Too calm.

"A reminder," she said. "Of what happens to those who fail."

The creature lunged.

I barely had time to react before a massive claw came crashing down. My instincts screamed at me to move, and somehow—somehow—my body obeyed faster than my mind could process.

I dodged, rolling to the side just as the ground where I stood exploded into splinters.

Shira leapt in, her blade flashing, but the creature was fast—too fast. It twisted, catching her strike with a single claw, before hurling her back into a tree.

"Shira!" I shouted.

Smoker moved next, his jitte striking at the beast's side. But again—too fast. The monster swiped, sending Smoker skidding backward.

Selene didn't move. She just… watched.

Like this was a test.

My chest tightened. The golden mark on my palm burned.

The creature turned its glowing eyes back to me.

And then—it spoke.

"You are not ready."

A shiver ran through my body.

It knew me.

It recognized me.

And as it raised its claw to strike again, I realized—

This wasn't just a fight.

This was a warning.

A warning that I was running out of time.