Another week passed, and Lev was…..still trying to master the complicated art of being human.

For starters, he now ate… three times a day. A true achievement.

Breakfast? Sundae.

Lunch? Gelato.

Dinner? An entire bucket of ice cream.

And if his stomach didn’t riot against him, he treated himself to a midnight sorbet.

​

Arthur once begged him to try actual food.

He picked up a slice of pizza, inspected it like a strange relic, and then without hesitation dunked it into his glass of water.

“…What are you doing?” Arthur asked, horrified.

Lev swirled the soggy pizza around until it fell apart. Then he sipped the water with the solemnity of a wine taster.

“This tastes terrible.”

Arthur buried his face in his hands. “That’s not how you were supposed to eat it!”

Unfazed, Lev reached for a boiled egg next, peeled it halfway, and then tried to stab it with a spoon like it was a monster core. When it shot across the room and splattered against the wall, he sighed and said, “See? Your food resists me. Ice cream never resists.”

Arthur nearly resigned on the spot.

Lev also made progress with his bathing habits. He used to spend more than twelve hours submerged in a tub. Now? Only four.

“See?” he told Arthur proudly. “I’m practically dry.” Arthur didn’t even try to argue with a sea monster anymore.

As for sleeping, well… humans close their eyes, so Lev closes his eyes. He doesn’t actually sleep, but he lies very still at night with his lids shut. That still counts.

And just yesterday, Lev accomplished his greatest feat yet.

Buying ice cream by himself.

He walked into a store, marched to the counter, and pointed at the yellow gelato.

“The mango flavor?” the old woman asked.

Lev nodded, his expression blank as the abyss.

The old woman squinted at him, leaning closer, suspicious. “You look… familiar. Where have I seen you before?”

Lev frowned faintly. He wasn’t surprised. Arthur had warned him that someone might recognize the face he copied from those human portraits. In hindsight, maybe merging the features of the woman and the man standing next to her wasn’t the best idea.

The old woman kept staring at his face. Finally, she just shoved the mango gelato into his hand and shrugged.

Lev took it and walked away.

Today, Lev made his way to the abandoned grounds that lay on the boundary between City A and City B. It was once a bustling sports complex, filled with human noise and activity. But after dungeon portals began appearing too frequently, the government relocated it elsewhere, leaving this place to fall silent. Now it stood empty. An ideal space for Lev to practice restrain his abilities away from human eyes.

He and Arthur had been discussing this training since the moment Lev set foot on Earth. A few days prior, Arthur had told him about the human who had climbed to the top of the dungeon seven years ago.

Lev had no memory of the encounter. He had been in hibernation then, though his awareness of the clash between his clone and the hunter never completely faded. The only mark it left in his mind was a blurred, fleeting image of the man. When he finally awoke, the dungeon lay in ruin.

“He’s now called the strongest hunter on Earth.” Arthur pulled out a small device and pressed a button.

The screen glowed, revealing the portrait of a man. Like a tiny television, it displayed his face in crisp detail.

Lev simply nodded. No point arguing. If this human had reached the top dungeon floor, then he was undoubtedly strong. It was only now that he reflected on the matter that he realized that he and the hunter had some debts to settle for trashing his dungeon.

Arthur’s voice lowered. “It’s best if we avoid him for now. From what I’ve observed, he carries deep hatred for dungeon monsters… especially for you.”

Lev let out a short, humorless chuckle. “Interesting little fellow… and with a very inflated ego.”

His smile stretched like a predator savoring the moment before the kill. A glint of hunger danced in his eyes. The cruel delight of a predator who already knows the outcome of a fight that hasn’t even begun.

Arthur swallowed hard. Even in human form, Lev radiated danger. It made him feel like a puppy standing next to a sleeping hurricane.

“Boss,” Arthur said carefully, forcing calm into his voice, “I know you’re strong. Stronger than anything alive here, but we have to be cautious. We’re observing. Humans are clever, cunning… not to mention fast learners.”

Arthur ran a hand across his face, rubbing at his mounting tension. Then he forced his tone lighter.“For now… let’s work on toning down your strength.”

Last time, the television remote hadn’t survived Lev’s strength. If this continued, it wouldn’t just be remotes or doors. Probably the entire house.

Even in human disguise, Lev radiated a formidable aura that stretched across City B. If he didn’t manage it carefully, his presence would be noticed sooner rather than later. And that was definitely not ideal.

Suppressing his aura was easy. Restraining his physical strength, however, proved far more difficult.

He first attempted to dampen it by holding an egg. Four trays of chicken eggs were destroyed before he finally managed to hold one without cracking it.

Lev placed the scuffed soccer ball he’d found near the trash bin onto the ground. It looked sturdy enough.

Will it hold me?

He steadied his breathing, exhaled, and then pressed his weight onto the ball, balancing upside down on his hands. The world flipped, his shirt sliding toward his chest and baring his abs.

The ball compressed under him, squeaking faintly, but miracle of miracles, it didn’t burst.

Encouraged, Lev risked removing one hand. His arm shook. His breath hitched.

His eyes shut in concentration.

When he opened them again, he nearly toppled. A stray dog was sitting in front of him, tail thumping against the pavement like it had bought front-row tickets.

“…Get out of here.”

The dog tilted its head, ears perked, tail wagging harder.

Lev grit his teeth. “Scram.”

Instead, the dog circled him like a furry referee and sat down again.

“Stupid creature,” he muttered, trying to focus.

Suddenly, mutt barked straight into his face. Lev’s veins bulged. He bit back a curse, but his control slipped.

The human calm in his eyes shifted into the eerie, abyssal gaze of a leviathan. His concealed aura bled out like dark water.

With a whimper, the dog panicked, then made the brilliant decision to sink its teeth into his arm, shove him sideways, and sprint for its life.

“Are you kidding me?!”

Lev toppled, slamming into the ground. His palm slapped down hard, and the earth responded. The street rumbled, the tremor spreading outward until the whole city quaked.

“Great. Just great.”

He sat there for a second, wincing. He could already picture Arthur’s face when he found out. The lecture was going to be biblical.

Lev clenched his jaw, forced his aura back into hiding, and sprinted away. He blew out a long breath, straightened his shirt, and slipped into the chaos of the panicked crowd as if nothing at all had happened.

He pushed through the panicked crowd until his foot nudged something small on the ground. He glanced down, picked it up, and turned it over once.

A small machine. The same kind Arthur showed him. It’s probably dropped in the chaos.

What was it called again? Right. Cellphone.

Lev shrugged, slipped it into his pocket, and went home.