"Hu… ARGHHHHH!" The hunter suddenly roared into the air as his eyes glowed yellow, and in a second, his knees smashed into the ground, all his veins bulging immensely.

"Huh?" Max mumbled as he glanced down, then another loud shout tore out from Jim's throat in an instant.

Eyes glowing, veins pulsing violently as he bowed his head down, fingers clawing at the wooden floor, blood dripping from his mouth as he ground his teeth back and forth in pain.

'Oh crap! It has started!' Max panicked inwardly as he saw the hunter writhing in pure agony, his body trembling uncontrollably.

'Shit, shit! What's this agonizing pain I feel? It's like all my insides are on fire! My… m… my blood is boiling literally! ARGHHHH!' Jim cried inwardly as tears cascaded down his cheeks, hands clenched so tight that his fingers dug into his own palms, drawing blood.

He quickly bit down on his lip so hard that more blood began dripping, all in an attempt to stop himself from screaming. But the pain was too much to endure, and another ear-splitting scream burst from his mouth, followed by a violent cough that spewed blood across the floor.

"I know it's hard," Max suddenly said, crouching in front of the human who was barely conscious of his words as waves of unbearable pain ravaged through his body. "I know it's painful, and you feel like you might die from it.

Heck! You might even be regretting doing this. But I just want to tell you one thing, Jim. I've gone through this before, yes! I went through an evolution equally painful, maybe even worse than this one.

And when it ended, I came out stronger. You can do this, Jim. Don't give up," the dragon urged, his tone steady yet desperate. He wasn't even sure the hunter heard him when another guttural cry ripped through the air, blood dribbling from Jim's nose and mouth.

'Crap! Pix, will he survive this? What's his survival rate?' Max asked inwardly, his heartbeat racing so fast it felt like thunder in his chest.

"I don't know," Pix replied, her voice tense. "Like I told you earlier, dragons do not have the power to turn humans into one of them. They reproduce only with their own kind. But you… you are different. Most of your abilities come from the system, which makes this unpredictable.

But if I were to guess his survival rate, then I shouldn't lie to you. Jim might not survive this. His body is too weak, and his mind even weaker. He could break from the pain and lose his life."

Max clenched his fists tightly, grinding his teeth in frustration as he watched his squad member roaring and writhing in agony, each scream cutting deeper into his chest.

"ARGHHHH!" Jim shouted again, jerking his head up like someone possessed. His hands clawed at his neck, veins bulging hard as though they might burst from beneath his skin.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Max snapped his head toward the door at the sudden sound.

"Sirs, is everything okay in there?" a voice called from outside, full of concern.

"UGHHHHH!" Jim howled again before erupting into a harsh coughing fit, more blood spilling from his lips.

"Yes, everything is okay. We're… we're just watching a really loud movie!" Max shouted back, forcing his voice to sound calm while sweat trickled down his temple.

"Okay, but could you kindly turn down the volume? Some of the customers are complaining," the voice asked again from behind the door.

Max let out a sharp breath and looked back at the floor. Jim was trembling, his body covered in sweat and blood, and yet his eyes still flickered faintly with that dragonic glow.

"I will try," Max shouted.

"Thank you," the man replied, and after a few seconds, the sound of footsteps heading away was heard.

Huff, huff, huff!

Jim began panting hard as sweat cascaded down his face, his teeth grinding back and forth. He had already bitten his lip so hard that it was now busted and bleeding.

If he thought the pain earlier was bad, the second wave became even worse as the sound of bones cracking echoed loudly in the room.

"ARGHHHH! Mother fucki… AHHHH!" Jim thundered as he couldn't take it anymore. He instantly collapsed on the ground, face-first.

He wasn't unconscious, just too weak to move as blood began trickling from his eyes like tears while more seeped out of his pores. His hands were so tightly clenched that his knuckles instantly whitened.

That was because his bones were breaking and reforming at such a rapid rate that his mind was unable to keep up. Slowly, his chest began to fall, rising and falling erratically before it started slowing down—it was like he was losing his breath.

"Oh shit! Jim!" Max shouted as he darted forward and quickly slid to his knees, turning the hunter onto his back.

The dragon's eyes widened as the hunter's face turned pale, almost as if every drop of blood had been drained from his body. His tensed muscles loosened as his breathing grew shallow.

'Wh… what's happening, Pix?' Max asked inwardly as Jim's eyes flickered in and out of focus.

"I… I… I think we're losing him," Pix replied, and Max shook his head fiercely.

"No, no, no! Jim, you can't do this! Come on, dude. You wanted to be strong, right?" Max shouted as he stared into the hunter's half-lidded eyes. "You wanted to be strong enough to help me, right? Didn't you say you'd serve me no matter what?

Then I gave you the opportunity to grow strong, and how dare you try to throw it away?! How dare you lose the battle to pain when I didn't?! I fucking need you to get yourself together, Jim!"

The hunter's breath was so faint that it almost seemed like he wasn't breathing at all, but Max's draconic senses could still pick up the faint rhythm.

"Fucking fight back and come back victorious, Jim! I want you back here! I need you—Jim, I need you! And I trust that you'll win, so fight, Jim, fight!" Max thundered as his eyes glowed bright red, his fangs extending sharply, and right on cue…

"Hhuuuuuh!"

Jim drew in a sharp, hoarse breath as his breathing started to steady, though the pain was far from over.

"ARGHHHH! CRAP!" the hunter shouted in pure agony as his bones continued cracking and reforming with sickening sounds.

Almost losing his life just moments ago, would Jim be able to survive this terrifying transformation, or would his body finally give in to the torment?

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.