The plane touched down with a smooth hiss. Business class had treated Marcus too kindly—silk blankets, champagne flutes, and Fang asking the stewardess if the pilot could "do a barrel roll for fun." No one needed to see that smug fox reclining like royalty with two hot towels over his face and a free cheese platter on his lap.
Marcus stared out the plane window, eyes sunken with fatigue.
"I don't even know how I'm here right now."
"Because I'm brilliant," came Anomaly's voice from the earpiece—half bored, half smug. "Now shut up. I'm optimizing your neural framework."
"That doesn't sound healthy."
"It's not."
The moment Marcus set foot on Korean soil, a black car with tinted windows was already waiting for him. The driver handed him a tablet.
"Mr. Marcus. Welcome to Seoul. Here is your visa, ID, and itinerary."
"...Itinerary?"
The driver opened the door without a word. Fang slid in first and stretched like he owned the place. Marcus followed, confused, still clutching the tablet like it might explode.
Inside the car, Anomaly's face flickered across the tablet screen—his iconic floating mask hovering in a digital void.
"Alright, listen up, you meat puppet," Anomaly began, smirking. "We're entering Phase Two. That means I'm cleaning up your mess of a skill set."
The screen glitched as a new interface loaded.
MENU INTERFACE V2.1 - 'REBUILT BY THE ARCHITECT'
Name: Marcus
Level: 12
Core Status: Dormant (35% Activated)
Title: Vessel of the Architect, Devourer Fragment Bearer
Affiliation: Unregistered
Stats:
STR: 46
AGI: 52
INT: 71
END: 43
LCK: ???
WILL: 65
Primary Skills:
Tactical Management (Anomaly Cloaked): Reassigned as Shell Interface
Devour: [Core-Level] Absorbs energy/skills from targets
Skill Evolve [Locked]: (Pending second fragment sync)
Appraisal++: Identifies systems, weaknesses, and divine alterations
Sub-Body Control (Fang): Allows entity control during unconsciousness
Passive Skills:
Glitch Resistance
Hidden Core Suppression
Memory Layer Guard
System Override Level: Type-Anomaly Rooted (99% Ownership)
"You see this mess?" Anomaly swiped a virtual hand through Marcus' old skills like they were garbage. "Half of these were designed by toddlers. Who gave you 'Appraisal Basic' with no data filter? I upgraded it, you're welcome."
"Wait—where did 'Inventory' go?"
"I ate it," Fang said casually from the backseat. "Useless. I carry your stuff now."
"Anomaly!" Marcus growled. "I had important stuff in there!"
"Like what? Half a sandwich and a rusty dagger?"
"…It was sentimental."
The car stopped in front of a glass building with gold edges and a concierge who bowed as they approached.
"Welcome to the Infinity Edge Tower penthouse. Please enjoy your stay, Mr. Marcus."
Marcus stared at the tall, glittering skyscraper.
"This is where I'm staying?!"
"Correct," Anomaly said, smug. "I used my... banking influence. Five black cards, multiple shell accounts, a backdoor into Korea's real estate records. They think you're an 'IT entrepreneur with chronic antisocial tendencies.' Fits perfectly."
"Wait, wait, wait—you forged my documents?!"
"Relax. It's all legal... in a country I created in my spare time."
The penthouse elevator dinged. The doors opened to reveal a living room with automatic climate sensors, three espresso machines, and a panoramic view of the Han River.
Marcus dropped his backpack. Fang was already opening the fridge.
"Stocked with wagyu, imported ice cream, and whatever the hell this glowing fish is," Fang said, holding up something that twitched. "Nice."
Anomaly's mask flickered into view on a large holo-display above the TV.
"Alright, now that you're comfy in your bachelor tower of solitude—time for your next job."
"What job?" Marcus sat on the couch, wary.
"I signed you up for a Hunter Guild evaluation."
"…You what?"
"I sent a digital application to the Korea National Hunter Association. You're scheduled for an aptitude test in two days."
Marcus groaned. "You forged my resume again, didn't you?"
"Correction: I optimized it. Gave you an elite combat background, proficiency in ancient weapons, tactical leadership, and trauma resilience."
"I cried during a Pixar movie last week."
"Exactly. Emotional depth. Now shut up and look at your interface."
[Skill Tree Detected - ROOT ACCESS GRANTED]
Initiating Skill Fusion Prototype 0.1
Marcus' eyes widened as new icons lit up in his interface.
Skill Fusion - Alpha Access
Combine two compatible abilities into an evolved hybrid.
Limitation: Fusion can't be reversed once processed.
Anomaly spoke coolly, "You'll need this soon. The second fragment is adapting rapidly—and you'll need evolved skills to match what's coming."
Marcus blinked. "You said it's here in Korea?"
"Yes. You'll know when you see them. They'll feel like... déjà vu. And hunger. You'll crave something you can't explain."
"That's creepy."
"I'm creepy," Anomaly replied proudly. "And I'm your only chance at surviving what's coming."
That night, Marcus sat on the balcony overlooking the city, tired and overwhelmed. Fang curled up on a couch made entirely of bean bags.
"…Why am I doing this again?" Marcus mumbled.
Fang cracked one eye open.
"Because you suck too much to do anything else."
"Wow. Thanks."
"Also because you already ate a girl and unlocked your god-killer core. Can't turn back now."
Marcus fell silent, remembering Bethany's last scream.
"You think she deserved it?" he asked quietly.
Fang shrugged. "Deserve has nothing to do with it. You eat or get eaten in this world."
"You're such a damn fox."
"Better than being a lost little human."
Marcus snorted, then lay back against the glass, the interface still glowing in front of him. He swiped to the last window:
Anomaly:
"Sleep well, my favorite parasite. Phase Two has begun.
Marcus sat cross-legged on the sofa of the absurdly luxurious apartment Anomaly had somehow "procured" through dark financial wizardry. He still wasn't over the part where the key had been inside a branded envelope from a real estate agency that definitely didn't exist.
"Still wrapping my head around this," Marcus muttered, glancing around at the panoramic city view of Seoul, a fridge full of imported snacks, and Fang—sitting upside-down on the couch like a gremlin with no concept of personal space.
"You think too much," Fang said, picking at his nails with a dagger. "You should thank me for dragging your useless body across continents. You drooled on my jacket. I should devour you for that alone."
Anomaly's disembodied voice echoed from the TV screen, where a digital loading bar labeled 'Hunter Application: CHAOTIC.exe' glitched in and out of focus.
"Please, children. Focus. We are moments away from making Marcus officially useful."
The screen blinked, now showing a fully animated Hunter Guild Application Form—except this one was stylized like a game interface, pixel fonts and all.
✦ HUNTER REGISTRATION ✦
Name: Marcus
Class: [REDACTED]
System: Tactical Management™ (Definitely Not Controlled by a Rogue Sentient Code)
Specializations:
Involuntary Devouring
Accidentally Strong
Emotional Damage (Passive Aura)
Past Experience:
Survived Dungeon Tutorial
Participated in live obituary
"Defeated" Bethany (Please consult attached trauma logs)
Marcus blinked. "Wait—what's that last one?!"