The Prince Who Was Reborn as a Monster

The First Hunt

The monsters came from three directions.

Kael counted seven sets of glowing eyes between the trees, though he suspected more were hidden behind the thick undergrowth. Their bodies were lean and low to the ground, covered in patchy gray fur. Long claws dug into the soil as they spread out, cutting off his path toward the ruins.

He had no sword, no armor, and no idea what his new body could withstand.

The voice inside his mind had already delivered its judgment.

Survival probability: Low.

Kael bared his teeth.

"Your opinion is unnecessary."

A growl escaped his throat. The creatures answered with hungry snarls.

The largest stepped forward. A pale scar crossed its muzzle, and a pair of curved horns protruded from its forehead. It was almost twice Kael's size.

The others waited for its signal.

That interested him.

They weren't merely hungry animals. They understood formation, or at least followed a dominant leader. The larger creature would attack first while the others waited for an opening.

Kael had seen similar tactics among enemy cavalry.

Seven opponents. One leader. No safe retreat.

Behind him, the ruined entrance to the underground chamber lay several dozen steps away. To his right, the ground descended toward a narrow ravine. A fallen tree stretched across part of the slope, its exposed roots forming a tangled barrier.

He could not outrun them in open ground.

He needed to change the battlefield.

The horned creature lowered its head.

Kael turned and ran toward the ravine.

The monsters surged after him.

Their paws struck the ground with frightening speed. Kael's unfamiliar limbs stumbled over exposed roots, and his claws struggled to find traction on the damp soil. He could feel them closing the distance.

He reached the fallen tree and slipped beneath its thickest branch.

The horned creature followed without slowing.

Its head struck the wood with a violent crack.

The beast staggered, shaking its skull. Kael spun around and slashed at the exposed flesh beneath its jaw.

His claws opened a shallow wound.

Not enough.

The creature roared and swung its head sideways. One horn caught Kael across the shoulder, throwing him against the roots.

Pain exploded through his body.

He rolled down the slope, struck a stone, and came to rest near the ravine's edge.

For several seconds, he could barely move.

The horned creature pulled itself free of the tree. Blood dripped from its muzzle, and its eyes fixed on Kael with renewed hatred.

The other monsters spread along the slope.

Kael forced himself upright.

His shoulder throbbed. His breathing came in short, ragged bursts. The wound beneath his scales felt hot, and the strange silver markings along his limbs flickered faintly.

He had underestimated the creature's strength.

A mistake he could not afford to repeat.

The horned beast charged again.

This time, Kael waited.

At the last possible moment, he moved sideways, letting the creature's momentum carry it past him. Its claws scraped the ground as it tried to turn.

Kael struck the injured side of its neck.

The beast twisted and snapped at him. He narrowly avoided its teeth, but its shoulder slammed into his chest and drove him backward.

His hind claws scraped loose soil.

Beyond them was the ravine.

Kael looked down once.

The drop was not deep enough to kill him outright, but jagged stones filled the bottom.

An idea formed.

He stopped resisting the creature's push and allowed himself to slide backward. The beast pressed forward, convinced it had cornered its prey.

Kael waited until its front paws reached the unstable edge.

Then he twisted sharply and drove both claws into its wounded neck.

The beast recoiled.

Its weight shifted.

The soil collapsed beneath its front paws, and it tumbled into the ravine with a thunderous crash.

A terrible cry echoed between the rocks.

Kael scrambled away from the edge.

The remaining monsters halted.

Their leader lay below, struggling to rise among the stones. Blood spread beneath its body.

Kael's chest heaved.

He had not defeated the beast through superior strength. He had used its aggression against it.

That was a lesson he understood.

The monsters did not retreat, however.

Two descended toward their injured leader while the others turned their attention to Kael.

He was wounded, exhausted, and increasingly aware that his new body was poorly suited to prolonged combat.

He needed another advantage.

His gaze fell upon a patch of thorny vines growing beside the ravine. Their dark stems twisted around a cluster of rocks, and their hooked thorns glistened with moisture.

Kael backed toward them.

The nearest monster lunged.

He ducked beneath its jaws and slashed at its foreleg. The creature stumbled, and Kael shoved it sideways into the vines.

The thorns caught in its fur.

It shrieked and thrashed, tangling itself further.

Kael seized the opportunity to strike its exposed flank before retreating.

Another beast charged from his left.

He dropped low. Its claws passed over his back, and its momentum carried it into the trapped creature.

The two collided in a frenzy of snapping jaws and tangled limbs.

Kael moved away before either could recover.

The final three monsters hesitated.

He watched them carefully.

They were reassessing the danger.

Good.

Fear was useful. So was confusion.

Kael lowered his head and released the deepest growl his unfamiliar throat could produce. He spread his claws and advanced a single step.

The monsters backed away.

He took another step.

One turned and fled into the trees.

The other two followed.

Kael remained still until their sounds disappeared.

Only then did he collapse beside a moss-covered rock.

For a long time, he did nothing but breathe.

His body trembled from exhaustion. Blood trickled down his side, and the wound in his shoulder continued to throb.

He had survived.

Barely.

A faint pulse stirred beneath his chest.

Combat assessment complete.

Kael lifted his head.

Hostile entities encountered: Seven.

Confirmed kills: Zero.

Successful environmental adaptation detected.

The voice paused.

Resonant Adaptation remains dormant.

Kael narrowed his eyes.

"So you were watching."

No answer came.

He tried again, forcing his throat to produce recognizable sounds.

"Explain yourself."

Silence.

The voice had offered information when it wished. It had not asked permission to enter his mind, nor had it explained why it existed.

Kael disliked mysteries that could not be questioned.

But he had more immediate concerns.

His wounds needed attention, and the scent of blood might attract other predators. He forced himself to stand and limped toward the fallen tree.

The horned creature was still moving at the bottom of the ravine.

Kael watched it struggle.

He could leave it to die.

That would be safer.

Yet if the creature recovered, it might lead the others back to him. Worse, another predator could find it and follow the scent.

Kael descended carefully along the slope.

The beast noticed him and snapped its jaws.

He stopped beyond its reach.

Its front leg was twisted beneath its body, and one horn had broken against a stone. Blood soaked its fur.

For a moment, Kael saw himself in the creature's eyes—not as a prince, but as another wounded animal struggling to survive.

He could have walked away.

Instead, he picked up a sharp fragment of rock and approached from behind.

The creature tried to turn.

Kael struck once, ending its suffering.

He stood over the body, his expression unreadable.

"Survival is not cruelty," he muttered. "But there is no reason to make death longer than necessary."

The words sounded strange coming from his animal throat.

He dragged himself away from the ravine and returned to the ruined chamber. Inside, he found the smaller creature he had killed earlier. The hunger returned almost immediately, fierce enough to make his vision blur.

Kael fought it for several moments before accepting what his body demanded.

He fed reluctantly, refusing to think about the taste. When he finished, warmth spread through his limbs, and the pain in his shoulder eased slightly.

A message appeared in his mind.

Biological energy acquired.

Core stability: Improving.

Kael stopped moving.

So the hunger had a purpose.

He examined the dead creature, then looked at his own claws. If feeding helped stabilize his body, refusing it could weaken him. But he would not consume everything blindly. He needed to learn which creatures were safe to eat and whether the process carried risks.

He would not survive a second life by surrendering judgment to instinct.

As he rested, he noticed something beneath the creature's ribs: a small, dark crystal pulsing with a faint blue light.

Kael carefully extracted it.

The moment his claw touched the crystal, a silver line appeared across its surface.

The strange markings beneath his scales responded.

A brief flash of images crossed his mind—a ruined tower, a stone archway, and the crowned wolf carved above an ancient gate.

Then the vision vanished.

Kael stared at the crystal.

The ruins had reacted to him. The voice had identified his species. Now this object was responding to the same strange markings.

These things were connected.

Outside, distant howls echoed through the forest.

Kael closed his claws around the crystal.

He was no longer a prince commanding armies. He was a wounded monster in a forgotten ruin, surrounded by creatures stronger than himself.

But he had learned something important during the hunt.

Strength was not the only way to win.

Information, patience, and the willingness to exploit an enemy's mistakes could keep even the weakest creature alive.

Kael rose and limped toward the passage leading outside.

He needed shelter, food, and answers. Most of all, he needed to discover what had happened to Aurelion.

The world had taken everything from him once.

He would not let it do so again.

As he emerged into the fading light, a distant horn sounded beyond the forest.

Kael froze.

It was not the call of a monster.

It was a human hunting horn.

Through the trees, he spotted movement: several figures in dark leather armor, carrying spears and crossbows. One held a metal cage mounted on a small wagon.

A banner fluttered above them.

A black wolf beneath a red sun.

Kael did not recognize the symbol.

One of the hunters knelt beside a patch of disturbed earth.

"Fresh Gloomfang tracks," the man said. "And blood."

Another raised his crossbow.

"Then the little beast can't be far."

Kael retreated silently into the shadows.

For the first time since awakening, he understood that the monsters of this world were not the only creatures that hunted the weak.

And the humans had already begun hunting him.