A Hunter's Odyssey: Transmigration to Arcantherion

The others are stunned. Those who still believe in their brains, start questioning their sanity. But Alex is different.

"Hey!" Alex yells, his panic making him fumble over his own feet. "What the hell is wrong with…"

Bang!

Without hesitation, Max shoots Alex in the leg as well. Alex screams and falls, clutching his wound, tears of pain streaming down his face. Only now he realizes that he should use his brain first before his mouth.

Pablo's calm mask finally shatters. His eyes widen as he takes an instinctive step back, but he doesn't get far.

Bang!

Another gunshot echoes through the cave. Pablo drops to the ground, losing all his composure as the pain already taken over his mind.

Now all three men are writhing in pain, clutching their legs, except for Kevin, who remains frozen in stunned silence. His wide, frightened eyes meet Max's, and for a brief moment, he looks like he's about to faint.

Max brings the barrel of the gun just inches from Kevin's face. "Do I have your attention now?" His voice is low, but the weight of it feels suffocating.

Kevin gulps, unable to speak.

"If not," Max continues coldly, "I can send you to hell one more time. And this time, I might not bring you back."

"Max! Stop this!" Daniella's voice cuts through the tension like a blade. She stands trembling near the wall, her eyes wide with desperation. "This isn't you anymore! You need to stop!"

Max glances at her briefly, his expression softening for just a second. But then, as if needing to reaffirm his resolve, he turns back to Kevin, and…

Bang!

Kevin crumples to the floor again, a bullet lodged in his eye. His body glows once more, beginning to dissolve in the same eerie blue light.

Pablo watches the entire scene with sharp focus, his mind working overtime to piece together what's happening.

Max notices. He smirks as Kevin disappears and gestures toward the circle, pretending to perform some kind of miraculous act.

"See that?" he says with mock grandeur. "In this world, I can do so many things. For example, bringing back the dead."

Right on cue, Kevin reappears in the glowing circle, still unconscious. Pablo clenches his fists, his composure cracking further.

"You don't seem convinced," Max says, his voice dripping with mockery. "Maybe you'd like me to show you again?"

Before anyone can react, Max shoots Alex and the fat suicide bomber in the head. Kevin wakes up with a startled gasp, and the two dead bodies begin to vanish in blue light, just as before.

The cycle repeats. Alex and the terrorist guy reappear in the middle of the circle. Kevin gets away from them, dragging his butts for a bit, before he recognizes them, unconscious but alive.

For a moment, Pablo is really scared. But then, when Max points the gun at him…

"Go ahead! Let's see how long you can keep this!"

He dares to challenge Max, recklessness flashing in his eyes.

And Max doesn't hesitate.

Bang!

Max hits Pablo in the chest, deliberately gives him a slow death with pain. And Pablo collapses, writhing in agony.

"Trying to test me?" Max says confidently. "I can do this act forever, with unlimited source of magical energy."

Later, Pablo's body flickering before it dissolves. Unlike the others, however, he reappears fully conscious, lying in the circle with pale skin and shallow breaths. He looks so scared, still able recalling all the pain after Max shot his chest.

He clutches his chest, as if trying to steady himself. But there is something he realizes, something that Kevin, Alex, and the terrorist guy didn't see.

"Titan's Crown?" he mutters faintly.

Max stiffens. He wasn't expecting those words would come out of Pablo's mouth.

Pablo's gaze locks on something invisible to the rest of them, his hand reaching out as if to touch something in the air.

"No way…" Max breathes, his mind racing. He recognizes the gesture. It's the same instinctive reaction he had when he first saw the system notification.

Pablo's eyes widen as the hunting system greets him.

[!]

[Welcome back to the Titan's Crown, Pablo Espinoza.]

Max begins to draw conclusions, but seems to have a hard time accepting that Pablo might have also received notification from the system.

On the other hand, Alex's attention is now on the necklace around his neck, oblivious to the tense atmosphere, and to the fact he just shot death earlier.

"Whose necklace it is?

He squints at the amulet like it's a bizarre alien artifact, believing he never bought anything like this one before.

"Uh, guys! What's this weird trinket? I mean, it looks shiny, but it's kinda ugly too. Is it, like, some magical Wi-Fi router or something? Maybe if I tap it three times, it'll unlock a free snack pack or…"

Right at that moment, the system responds to his stupid rambling.

[!]

[It's Chronis Medallion – a relic of forgotten times]

"Wooa! Hey! Look at this! Look at this! There's a funny chatting box here, something you often see in video games."

[Forged by the Archmages of Arcantherion during the Age of Severance, the Chronis Medallion was one of the few artifacts designed to manipulate the flow of life and time. Crafted from shards of the Chronis Obelisk, it was originally created as a safeguard for the chosen few who dared to bridge worlds.]

[Special effect: It delays death before the system transports your body back to the portal chamber. This effect is only effective within a designated zone. Inside this zone, death is denied, but only at great cost. Outside its reach, the wearer must fend for themselves. Handle with care, your journey depends on it.]

Alex, still looking like the clueless clown he is, absentmindedly mutters as he reads the description. His idle rambling is enough to spark Pablo's curiosity.

Max's jaw tightens as he watches Alex fiddle with the medallion. His eyes darken. He doesn't like any bit of it.

Without a word, he storms toward Alex, his presence alone enough to send a jolt of panic through the fool.

"Whoa, whoa! What do you want? This is mine!" Alex yelps, clutching the necklace like a child protecting stolen candy.

Pablo watches the exchange, his fingers brushing against his own identical medallion. A slow, knowing smirk creeps across his lips.

Max's sharp gaze then shifts to Daniella, who hesitates as her fingers touch the pendant around her neck. Before she can react, Max strides toward her, closing the space between them in an instant.

"Max… what are you…?"

Before she can finish, he yanks the medallion from her grasp. Max inspects the necklace for only a second before tossing it back to her with little ceremony.

"Keep it like your life depends on it," he says coldly. "You're not my enemy… so don't make yourself one."

Daniella catches the medallion, her hands trembling. "Not your enemy? Why do you have to see everyone as an enemy, Max?"

Max doesn't answer. Instead, his gaze sweeps over the others, all wearing the same damn thing.

For a moment, no one speaks. The weight of the realization settles over them, thick and suffocating. The only sound is the distant rustling of leaves outside the cave, as if the jungle itself is eavesdropping.

Then…

Pablo chuckles, a low arrogant sounds, "Looks like your lies just ran out, Max! Now that I know where all this strangeness comes from, I don't need to be scared of you anymore."

With a casual shrug, Pablo saunters toward the cave mouth while spinning his necklace around like a chopper.

"Kevin. Alex. Let's go. Sitting around won't give us answers. We need to figure this place out for ourselves."

The fat terrorist watches them leave before taking a different path, muttering something about needing to think.

Daniella, however, remains frozen in the portal chamber, gripping her medallion as if it's the only thing tethering her to sanity. Her lips tremble as she voices the one thought clawing at her mind.

"How do we get back home?"

Max, uninterested in comforting her, swipes through the inventory in his hunting system. He needs to know what's available to him.

Sixteen boxes. Ten already occupied. Two in particular catch his attention; box No. 10, a dimly lit icon resembling a roll of parchment, and box No. 3 with icon still dull unlike the rest.

"Let's test this," he mutters. "Inventory! Retrieve everything."

The handgun in his grip shimmers, turning into a hologram before dissolving into thin air. Seconds later, the handgun icon in Box No. 3 lights up again.

Daniella, still watching him, steps forward. "You… you know how this works, don't you? That medallion… it's more than just a keepsake from your father, isn't it?"

Max stiffens. "Don't talk to me about that man." His voice is sharp, cutting. "You know how much I despise him."

Daniella clenches her fists. "You hate him, but you wouldn't hold onto that medallion if it didn't mean something. He left clues in it, didn't he? It brought us here… so it can bring us home, right?"