Rain tapped lightly against the windowpane of the orphanage room. A soft breeze rustled through the cracked sill, carrying with it the muted scent of wet asphalt and the distant hum of drones flying over Sector 12. The night was deep, darker than usual, but inside Dray Ballack's room, the glow of a transparent interface bathed everything in pale blue light.
Next Level: 31 EXP
Status: Stable System Integration
He lay on the bed, wide-eyed, watching the numbers like a hawk. Every movement of the interface felt surreal, like he had stepped into the shoes of someone else's life. But the aching soreness in his muscles from the scrapyard labor earlier was all too real. His thoughts swirled with questions—about his parents, the vampire bloodline, the system, and why he had been chosen.
He whispered to the screen, "System, do I have any quests?"
A brief pause.
[New Quest Available!]
Title: The Initiate's Path
Type: Main Quest
Objective: Survive your first night outside the city walls and defeat a live threat.
Reward: +20 EXP, Unlock: Survival Skill Tree (Tier 1)
Time Limit: 48 hours
Dray sat up, adrenaline cutting through his weariness. "Outside the city?"
The city was divided by sectors, walls, and enforced no-man's-lands. Beyond those limits were zones classified as dangerous. Ruins. Wastelands. Places haunted by mutated creatures and rogue bots left behind from old wars.
He had never stepped outside the walls.
"Quest accepted."
The system chimed, and a notification appeared at the bottom right of his vision. A soft pulsing glow marked a small map with a red pin blinking just outside Sector 12's gate.
He stood, throwing on a dark windbreaker. A part of him said this was crazy. Insane, even. But another part—the one that had waited eighteen years for something, anything, to make life meaningful—was wide awake.
He moved through the halls of the orphanage like a ghost. The matron was asleep. The motion-sensor lights flickered gently above. He slipped through the back door and vanished into the night.
The Edge of Sector 12
The walls of the city loomed behind him, jagged and metallic. Before him stretched abandoned subway tracks and crumbling industrial buildings shrouded in darkness. Tall grass swayed in the wind. Patches of mist curled along the ground.
His system pinged again.
Warning: Energy fluctuation detected. Nearby threat estimated at Level 3-4.
Dray's heartbeat quickened.
He crouched, eyes scanning the shadows. A low growl echoed to his left. He turned quickly, peering into the gloom. From the rusted remnants of a broken hover-bike, something crawled out—its eyes glowing faint red, its body misshapen and sinewy.
It wasn't human.
Target Identified: Mutant Scavenger
Level: 3
Threat Level: Moderate
He swallowed hard. He had no weapons. No skills. Just a system, and his bare hands.
The creature lunged.
Dray rolled to the side, instinct overriding fear. He grabbed a broken metal pipe from the ground and swung it wildly. The pipe struck the creature's shoulder, knocking it off balance. It hissed, staggered, and then pounced again.
He ducked low, adrenaline surging. He swung again—this time hitting its jaw. Blood splattered against the debris.
+3 EXP Gained.
It wasn't dead. But hurt.
"Come on… just die already!" he gasped.
One more strike. The creature snarled and leaped again—but this time Dray didn't flinch. He sidestepped, shoved the pipe into its side, and drove it to the ground.
With a final cry, the mutant went still.
+6 EXP Gained.
Quest Progress: 1/1 Target Eliminated
Dray collapsed to his knees, panting, his hands shaking violently.
[Quest Completed!]
+20 EXP
Unlock: Survival Skill Tree Tier 1
Next Level: 2 EXP
Level Up!
The system flashed:
Level: 3
Stat Points Available: 3
New Skill Unlocked: Night Adaptation (Passive)
You can see more clearly in darkness. Slight resistance to night-based threats.
Dray laughed, breathless. He hadn't even realized he was grinning.
"I actually did it…"
He stood slowly. Blood dried on his sleeves. His whole body ached. But something inside him pulsed again—a faint heat in his chest. The same heat from the box.
"System… is that my bloodline reacting?"
"Minimal reaction detected. Awakening remains incomplete."
"What triggers it?"
"Information classified. Unlock requires 250 EXP."
Of course.
Back in the Sector
Dray snuck back into the orphanage an hour before dawn. He barely made it to his bed before collapsing.
He slept like the dead.
And while he slept… the mark on his chest—barely visible—glowed faint crimson. A curved sigil, shaped like wings folded around a drop of blood, shimmered once before fading into his skin.
A piece of the truth stirred.
A memory not his own.
In a chamber of red stone, two thrones stood. One empty. One occupied by a towering figure in blood-black armor.
"Protect the heir… at all costs…" the figure whispered.
And then, silence.
Morning Routine
Dray woke up late. The system pinged with a status update.
Level: 3
EXP: 4/80
Strength: 4
Agility: 6
Endurance: 1
Vitality: 5
Skills: Night Adaptation (Passive)
Inventory: Broken Pipe (1)
Next Level: 76 EXP
Status: Stable
He stretched. Every muscle protested. But there was a subtle confidence beneath the pain. A quiet power building.
He wasn't the same boy from yesterday.
He was something more now.
And he was just getting started.