The pressure vanished the instant Kaizer’s core stabilised the Dao. One moment, the weight of the endless path pressed him from every direction, a constant reminder that stopping meant failure. The next, it was simply gone, released so abruptly that his body had no time to adjust. The stone beneath his feet dissolved, the sense of direction vanished, and Kaizer pitched forward with a sharp intake of breath as gravity reclaimed him.

  Kaizer felt a sense of vertigo as he fell. He hit hard, flat on his face. Pain in his nose flared immediately, it felt like his nose had broken in the crash, his exhaustion had also returned. His muscles spasmed as if they had been locked into place for an extremely long period of time. Pins and needles ran up both of his legs. For a long moment, he lay there, simply breathing. His chest rose and fell as his body struggled to catch up with what had just happened.

  The air in this new place still felt wrong. It felt thin, he could still breathe just fine, but it felt stretched. Kaizer pushed himself onto his back and stared upward, squinting against the dimness. There was a ceiling somewhere above him, but it was far enough away that the shadows swallowed it whole. When he turned his head, he saw stone stretching outward in a wide circle, the walls curving gently until beyond sight. The chamber was old. The floor was worn smooth in places and cracked in others, shallow grooves etched into the stone as if countless feet had passed through long before him.

  Slowly, Kaizer reached towards his nose with the intention of assessing the damage. To his surprise, there was none, no blood or anything. Did the system just fuck with him in the fall? Kaizer forced himself upright. The rest of the muscles in his body protested. His shoulder ground unpleasantly as he moved, bone held together by instinct and regeneration rather than comfort. His hands trembled when he clenched them, fingers stiff and raw from overuse. Hunger gnawed at his gut, sharp and distracting, while thirst left his mouth dry and unpleasant no matter how often he swallowed.

  He was beyond exhausted. His body cried out for rest, relaxation. Kaizer’s mind drifted for a moment back to the comfort of his apartment couch. He couldn’t think like that though, he slapped his cheeks and snapped out of it to assess.

  At the centre of the chamber stood a stone plinth. It was unadorned, no runes or carvings to hint at purpose, just a block of rock that looked as though it had been shaped and then forgotten. Kaizer took a cautious step toward it, senses alert for any traps, he was within 10 paces when the system… no, the dungeon deemed to acknowledge his presence.

  Kill and Harvest: 0/50.

  Kaizer frowned, rolling the phrase over in his mind. “That’s all?” he asked aloud, his voice echoing faintly in the chamber. There was no response. No clarification followed. The words simply existed, immutable and complete in their simplicity. He exhaled slowly through his nose. “Of course it is.”

  The sound that answered him was wet and low, a croaking noise that echoed from one of the shadows at the edge of the chamber. Kaizer turned just in time to see a shape launch itself forward, thick hind legs propelling a slick, mottled body through the air. The creature’s mouth opened mid-leap, revealed rows of small, sharp teeth.

  Kaizer stepped aside on instinct and drove his spear forward in a short, efficient thrust. The blade punched cleanly through the creature’s skull, pinning it to the stone with a dull crack. The body twitched once, then fell still. He pulled the spear free and waited. Nothing happened.

  The corpse remained where it lay, warm and heavy, blood spreading slowly across the stone floor. Kaizer stared at it for a second longer, then crouched and reached for the hide. He tore at it roughly, peeling the skin away in an uneven motion born from haste. The moment the hide separated, the body shuddered, black smoke began pouring off it as it dissolved. The smoke seeped into the stone and vanished without a trace. The hide in Kaizers hand also fizzled and dissolved into smoke.

  Kaizer straightened sharply, scanning the chamber. The plinth stood unchanged. There was no form of acknowledgement and Kaizer looked inward.

  Kill and Harvest: 0/50.

  “…That didn’t count,” he muttered. Another croak echoed through the room. This time two shapes emerged and Kaizer had the time to identify his prey.

  [Fieran Toad: Level 6]

  Well, at least he knew these monsters were pretty weak. His next kills were cleaner. Kaizer adjusted his grip and let the spear’s weight and balance do the work. Ending the creatures with precise strikes. When he crouched again, he forced himself to slow, replaying the previous mistake in his mind. Faint wisps of light began to appear on the toad. Kaizer recognised the sensation immediately. His Beast Extraction skill and instincts he had gained when becoming a Harvester were beginning to show themselves.

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  He had torn the hide previously because he rushed. The flesh had come with it because he pulled instead of cut. Kaizer used the spear’s edge this time, shallow and careful, he peeled the hide away, following the light wisps. Using deliberate pressure where needed, it took a bit longer and his fingers cramped during the process but he worked through the discomfort. When the hide came free, the corpse dissolved as before, but this time, something passed through him. The warmth of essence mixed with recognition. The hide did not disappear. Kaizer exhaled. “Right, now I understand.” He moved and did the same thing to the second frog he’d killed and harvested, receiving another hide.

  Kill and Harvest: 1/50

  “Wait… Only 1? What happened?” Kaizer exasperated. He had 2 hides but only 1 recognised kill. Well, that was annoying.

  Kaizer moved on instinct after this, barely pausing to steady his breathing. The chamber no longer felt static. The ground beneath his feet subtly shifted with each step, stone giving way to packed soil and shallow water as if the dungeon were quietly rearranging itself around his progress. The air carried faint, layered scents now. Damp earth. Something bitter. Something sharp enough to sting the back of his throat.

  Another croak sounded, followed by a blur of movement to his left. Kaizer pivoted, spear flashing forward. The toad barely had time to leap before the tip punched through its skull and into the ground beneath. He didn’t wait for confirmation this time. His hands moved with deliberate restraint, cutting where the hide naturally loosened, following the faint wisps where they appeared, ignoring them where instinct told him it was unnecessary.

  The corpse dissolved and the hide remained.

  Kill and Harvest: 2/50.

  Kaizer nodded once and rose to his feet. “Right, so it’s either variety, or quality….. or perhaps.. both?” A fox appeared next, slipping from behind a low ridge of stone with fluid, cautious movements. It circled him slowly, eyes bright and calculating, testing distance, rather than charging outright. Kaizer tracked it carefully, shifting his weight, spear held loose but ready. When it lunged, he stepped into the motion and drove the blade through its chest, twisting just enough to end it cleanly without shattering bone.

  He crouched beside the body and paused. The wisps appeared again, brighter this time, clinging to the edges of the pelt in fine, uneven lines. Kaizer ignored the urge to rush. He brought his skinning knife back out and worked it shallowly beneath the fur, separating hide from flesh with careful pressure. He found the knife resisted him in certain areas, the blade catching where hide thickened, but he persisted, cutting where he could, easing the pelt away from fox. Slowly but surely, the pelt came free. The fox dissolved. In his hand, he was holding a decent quality pelt.

  Kill and Harvest: 3/50.

  He barely had time to stand before another fox emerged from the shadows. Kaizer killed it quickly and harvested it correctly. In fact, this time, he had even made better quality cuts. Cuts of meat that could be used for food as well. The remains of the fox dissolved, but once again, no change to the kill count. “…Of course,” he muttered.

  The realisation settled in with quiet certainty. The dungeon wasn’t asking for fifty kills. It wasn’t even asking for fifty harvests in the usual sense. It was asking for fifty correct decisions across a variety of different expressions of life.

  Repetition wouldn’t solve his problems here. Kaizer had to adjust his approach. When the birds appeared, swooping from above with shrill cries and brittle bodies, Kaizer changed his strikes. He avoided crushing blows, angling thrusts to pierce cleanly through the chest, rather than shatter ribs. He failed on the first bird when he tore too roughly but the second attempt was successful when he took his time and plucked the feathers carefully. He was rewarded, in more ways than one.

  Kill and Harvest: 4/50.

  [Harvester Profession: Level Up]

  With each increase in harvest count, the chamber responded, changing scenarios slightly. Introducing new life, while keeping the old ones around. Kaizer had started piling monster pelts, hides, meat and anything useful he had harvested. He had realised it may be possible to exploit the dungeon to gather resources, so he made sure to kill more than needed.

  Over time, clusters of low-growing herbs sprouted along the edges of the stone, leaves narrow and serrated, releasing a sharp, medicinal scent when disturbed. Kaizer knelt beside one and studied it closely. He didn’t get any wisps of light since his skill was related to beast extraction, but his instinct did tell him that this was harvestable. He even managed to identify it.

  [Yarrow: Medicinal]

  He cut the stem cleanly where he could smell the medicinal effects. The plant dissolved and stem remained.

  Kill and Harvest: 9/50.

  “So… plants counted too.. interesting.” He muttered. Given his planned exploit to gain some resources, he began cutting more and more herbs, along with his fights. The chamber seemed to respond by introducing plants in greater numbers, beast packs began to prowl. Nearby, a thicker plant with broad leaves resisted the same treatment, cutting the stem didn’t work. His instincts were drawn under the dirt. When Kaizer loosened the soil and lifted the root intact, he succeeded.

  Slowly but surely, Kaizer began to master the art of harvesting, counter ticking up bit by bit. He stopped tracking individual kills and started practicing repetition, spear flashing, knife edge cutting and hands steady despite the tremors running through his arms. He took a break to ensure he was well fed, creating a fire and cooking some of the cuts of meat he had prepared. He learned which cuts spoiled quickly when mishandled and carried distinct flavours. He couldn’t tell how long he’d been doing the quest but it felt like weeks.

  Kaizer noticed the wisps growing less frequent, though he had hoped his skill would have grown by now. He had felt he was progressing, which he was, just slower than he would have liked. In the early stages he had gained profession levels quickly, four in total but it seemed he was now at an impasse. He now had hundreds of kills to his name, but didn’t feel like he was making any further progression and so, he decided it was time to complete the quest.

  Turning his attention on diversity, he focused on plants or monsters he hadn’t fought yet. Finally, he completed his quest.

  Kill and Harvest: 50/50.

  The chamber shuddered and Kaizer watched as the plants and animals faded. The plinth that had been in the centre of the chamber, slowly cracked. It split apart with a grinding sound, revealing a small chest.

  “Finally, something worthwhile.” Kaizer muttered, heading to claim his loot.