When the System descended, the world changed forever—monsters emerged, dungeons formed, and humanity was forced to fight for survival. Ethan Voss was one of the forgotten, an unranked adventurer struggling to find his place in this new reality. With no special talents and barely scraping by as a porter, he was nothing more than an observer in a world of heroes—until a single kill changed everything. Awakening an SSS-rank passive ability, Predator’s Absorption, Ethan gains the power to steal a fraction of his enemies’ strength—a skill that, given time, could make him stronger than any adventurer alive. But power comes with a price. On a routine mission, Ethan and his party uncover a terrifying truth: monsters aren’t the real threat. Something far worse lurks in the darkness—creatures the System refuses to recognize. Marked by a being known only as The Master of the Shadow-Touched, Ethan is drawn into a battle he doesn’t understand, against enemies he cannot comprehend. With his newfound power, his growing team, and a world that is far more broken than anyone realizes, Ethan must uncover the truth—before the darkness swallows everything. But the deeper he digs, the clearer it becomes… The System didn’t come to save humanity. It came to reshape it. And Ethan may be the only one who can stop what’s coming.