The God-Level Scavenger: Infinite Evolution System

"Please, Captain... my leg. I think it’s snapped."

Lucian Thorne lay splayed on the freezing stone floor, his trembling fingers clawing at Captain Miller’s combat boots. Fresh, hot blood seeped from his crushed calf—the result of a Hobgoblin’s mace he had taken while shielding the team’s retreat.

Miller didn’t move to help. Instead, he looked down, his eyes filled with the kind of disgust one might reserve for a smear of filth on a luxury shoe.

"Don’t touch me with your filthy hands, Trash," Miller hissed. He flicked his foot, sending Lucian’s fingers slamming back onto the jagged stone.

"But Captain... I carried all your potions. I stayed awake every night to guard the camp..." Lucian coughed, a thick, metallic crimson staining his lips. "You can’t leave me here. This is a Rank-D Dungeon. I’m just a Rank-F!"

Behind Miller, the rest of the 'Blue Falcon' squad stood like statues. Sarah, the team’s Healer, clutched her staff, her eyes darting away. She looked guilty, but she didn’t take a single step forward.

"That’s the problem, Lucian," Miller chuckled, the sound echoing coldly through the dark corridor. "You’re Rank-F. Do you know what they call people like you in the Hunter world? Carry-on luggage. A bag. And right now, the bag is torn."

Miller leaned down, grabbing the massive cargo pack from Lucian’s back. He ripped it open with a violent tug, snatched the most valuable mana crystals inside, and then hurled the tattered remains back at Lucian’s face.

Thud!

"This is compensation for the time we wasted protecting you," Miller said flatly. "Oh, and one more thing."

Miller signaled the team’s Tanker, a hulking man named Borris. Borris stepped forward and, without a shred of hesitation, slammed his armored boot down onto Lucian’s broken leg.

"AAAGHHH!" Lucian’s scream tore through the silence of the dungeon, raw and agonized.

"Just so you don’t get any bright ideas about crawling after us," Miller smiled thinly. "You idiot. Did you really think we brought you because we liked you? We needed bait in case the Dungeon Boss woke up early. And look at you—you performed your duty perfectly."

"You... bastards..." Lucian groaned, tears of rage and pain carving tracks through the dirt on his face.

"Let’s move out," Miller commanded his team. "Leave the scavenger to die among the trash he loves so much."

Clang!

The massive iron doors were slammed shut and locked from the outside. The last sliver of light vanished, plunging Lucian into absolute darkness.

Silence followed. Then, the sound of soft, wet scuttling began to rise from the corners of the room.

Scritch. Scritch.

"Hahaha..." Lucian let out a hollow, broken laugh in the dark. "So this is it? Dying as bait after two years of slaving for them?"

He could feel the coldness of death creeping into his chest. His consciousness began to fray at the edges. But just as his eyes started to roll back, a cold, mechanical voice—sharp as a razor—vibrated inside his skull.

[Ding! Hostility levels detected: Critical.] [Will to survive: Absolute.] [Targeting the lowest existence in the dungeon...] [Initializing the God-Level Scavenger System...]

Lucian’s eyes snapped open. A golden holographic screen flickered to life, illuminating his battered face in a ghostly glow.

[Initialization Complete.] [Unique Passive Skill Unlocked: 'Eye of the Scavenger'.] [Rule: Everything discarded is your treasure. Everything dead is your strength.]

[Detected: 1x Broken Mana Bag (Trash Grade).] [Would you like to 'Recycle' this item? (Y/N)]

Lucian stared at the shredded bag Miller had thrown at him. "Recycle... everything," he croaked, his voice trembling with a newfound darkness. "Give me the power to tear them apart!"

[Recycle Successful!] [Gained: 10 Exp!] [Gained: 1x Basic Healing Essence (Consumed Automatically).]

A sudden surge of warmth flooded his shattered leg. His bones began to knit back together with a series of sickening cracks that felt like heaven.

[Detected: 10x Low-Tier Goblins approaching.] [Emergency Mission: Clean the Floor.] [Reward: First Evolution Core.]

Lucian dragged himself up. He reached into the pile of debris beside him and gripped a jagged, foot-long bone from a dead monster. To anyone else, it was garbage. To him, the system highlighted it in a vibrant green.

"Miller," Lucian whispered, his aura shifting from a dying prey to a cornered predator. "I hope you haven't made it to the exit yet."

As the first goblin lunged from the shadows, its yellow teeth bared, Lucian didn't flinch. He lunged forward, his hand glowing with a faint, predatory gold as it touched the goblin’s throat.

[Recycling Living Target (Failed)... Target must be suppressed or weakened!]

"Oh? So I have to break you first?" Lucian’s lips curled into a grin—an expression that had never belonged to the weak scavenger he used to be. "With pleasure."

The bone in his hand hissed through the air, buried deep into the goblin's chest.