[Name: Yaz] [Race: Human] [Level: 2] [Class: Unassigned]
[Attributes:] Strength: 11 + 0.015?Mind: 8?Dexterity: 8 + 0.008?Endurance: 7 + 0.009?Intelligence: 9?Arcane: 0?Perception: 8?Vitality: 10 + 0.015
[Skills:]
Echo of the Abyss
[Status Effects:]
None
Allocatable Stat Points: 2
He still had two stat points from earlier, and he figured he should allocate them to see what would happen. As he understood it, Strength would directly affect his physical power; Mind would impact his mana stores and his resistance to certain status effects; Endurance would influence his stamina and resilience; Intelligence his capacity for learning spells and comprehending complex systems; Arcane would determine his affinity with mystical forces; Perception his awareness and ability to detect hidden threats or objects; and Vitality his overall health and life force.
To be honest, this was far more standard than he had expected.
These systems were not novel in the slightest, and he felt they offered a clear trajectory forward. After some thought, he decided to invest his stat points in Strength and Vitality. While the nerd in him was intrigued by magic, he had no idea how to use or even learn a spell. And mana stores? How did he even check those? His status window only displayed XP and HP.
Oh well, I’ll worry about that later.
After assigning his stats, a rush similar to leveling up surged through him. He flexed his hands, noting a slight increase in his strength. “That’s not too bad,” Yaz grinned. He knew he needed more XP, and the only way he knew to get it was by slaying beasts. He wasn’t sure how XP was distributed or if he could earn it from killing docile creatures. The best way to find out was through trial and error. As the night wore on, sleep eventually overtook him.
Although his sleep was restless, he felt better upon waking. He lay for a moment, gathering his determination. Today, he decided, he was going on a hunt. Was there really any other choice? He had no way to contact anyone, no leads, and he didn’t even know if civilization still existed. Maybe he’d been catapulted back to the Stone Age—who knew? One thing, however, was certain: killing monsters made him stronger.
He packed up his makeshift camp, kicking at the ash before gathering his backpack and gun. Stepping into the forest, Yaz moved with clumsy purpose. He’d used firearms his entire life—something he knew well—but, oddly enough, he’d never actually been on a hunt before. He wasn’t entirely sure what to do, but what was there to do except try? As he walked through the forest, he remained on high alert—checking the trees above, the dirt below, and straining his ears for any sound of rustling in the underbrush.
To his surprise, it wasn’t long before he caught sight of movement between the trees. He slowly made his way in that direction, then froze. He was not a fan of the new wildlife the system had introduced. There, near a shallow pool, he saw something moving.
The creature was grotesque—a twisted mass of sinew and bone. Its skin was a patchwork of mottled grays and sickly greens, stretched overly tight over protrusions and scarred by decay. Jagged spines jutted along its back, and its limbs contorted at unnatural angles, ending in claws that scraped softly against the forest floor with each step.
Yaz’s heart pounded in his ears as he watched the beast move. It was something straight out of a nightmare, yet its small size oddly comforted him. It seemed somewhat meek despite its horrid form. Deciding to act rather than simply stare, he swallowed the saliva that had pooled in his mouth during his cautious approach and gripped his gun. He slowly raised it, each second stretching as he prayed the creature wouldn’t notice him before he fired.
Taking a deep breath, he squeezed the trigger—but suddenly, the beast whipped its head around and locked its eyes onto Yaz. The creature, once eerily meek, now roared with primal fury and charged straight at him. Adrenaline surged through his veins; his hand trembled, and the sudden noise prevented him from firing—a mistake that would cost him. The beast barreled forward, and instinct took over. He ran.
He spun on his heel and bolted, but the creature was far too fast. With a violent lurch, it slammed into him, sending him sprawling across the forest floor. Pain exploded as its jaws snapped down—teeth grazing his arm and tearing into flesh. Gritting his teeth against the pain, desperation overtook him. He kicked the beast off, clutching his injured arm and scrambling to his feet.
In the melee, his weapon was sent flying. He ran over, picked it up, and wheeled around. The beast was upon him again, knocking him to the ground once more. It had seemed small earlier, but now that it was on top of him, it appeared massive. Yet this time, he was not merely a victim. In one fluid motion, he swung the barrel of his gun around and aimed it straight at the monster’s face. He pulled the trigger repeatedly, not thinking about what would come later—he just knew that, in that moment, he needed to survive. Bullets pounded the beast until it staggered. Finally, it faltered and collapsed to the side on the forest floor. Yaz’s HUD flickered with notifications:
[Rotfang slain!]
[Level up! You have gained 1 stat point in Mind, 1 stat point in Intelligence, and 2 allocatable stat points!]
[Level up! You have gained 1 stat point in Vitality, 1 stat point in Perception, and 2 allocatable stat points!]
[Level up! You have gained 2 stat points in Arcane, and 2 allocatable stat points!]
Yaz stared at the screen, trying to process the surge of progress he had just experienced. He couldn’t believe it. Blood trickled from his injured arm, but he barely noticed; the adrenaline still pumped furiously, and the accomplishment of his feat overshadowed the pain. Then he noticed a new notification following his leveling up—an absorption prompt. He mashed the Y key without thinking, and it was followed by something he had never seen before:
[Toggle automatic Fragment absorption? Y/N (This can be changed later)]
“Wow, this is perfect.” He had considered it annoying to interact with that prompt every time he wanted to absorb a Fragment from a beast, but in this case, it provided a nice quality-of-life upgrade. The System really was growing on him. Despite having killed 6 billion in barely an hour, the System still seemed to care about its players, he thought grimly. Turning back to his immediate situation, he reflected:
“I leveled up, sure. But I’ve managed to use every single bullet in my gun, and now I’m bleeding out in the middle of nowhere,” Yaz mused. He sat down to inspect his wound and immediately noticed that it didn’t look as bad as it had felt when he received it. Was he overreacting in the moment? Being attacked by a large, rotting beast could do that to someone, yet the injury looked much less severe than he expected—almost as if it had been hastily sewn back together. Haphazard as it was, it still looked far better than it should have.
The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
“Looks like I’m just going to count my blessings and chalk it up to some other feature of the System that I don’t understand yet,” he thought.
In all honesty, he would probably still be concerned if it weren’t for another new notification that now appeared on his screen:
[Congratulations on reaching Level 5! Choose a class.]
Make your selection:
- Archer: A bow-wielding fighter skilled in hitting distant targets.
? Swordsman: A stalwart warrior trained in the art of the blade.
? Mage: A wielder of raw magical power, capable of casting potent spells.
? Rogue: A stealthy fighter who strikes quickly and disappears into the shadows.
? Cleric: A divine servant who uses sacred energy to heal and protect.
? Druid: A guardian of nature, channeling the wild’s power in battle.
Yaz puzzled over his selection. He had to admit that Swordsman and Rogue were off the table for him. Having wrestled for several years in middle school, he was well out of practice and had little confidence in close-quarters combat. That left him with Archer, Mage, Cleric, or Druid. Cleric was ruled out quickly; while healers were important—and might even help him heal his arm—it wasn’t reasonable given his need for firepower. He wasn’t a fan of the Druid class either, for reasons he couldn’t quite explain. His choice was between Mage and Archer.
He had to admit he wasn’t fond of either option. He had never shot a bow in his life, and he still had no clue how to use magic. Moreover, his Arcane affinity was 0. Yet, he still preferred magic to archery. There was an allure to wielding mystical forces—something entirely new. He wasn’t sure where it would take him, but the more he thought about it, the more excited he grew.
Following the path he had decided on, he picked Mage, hoping he wouldn’t come to regret the decision later.
[You have selected Mage. You cannot change your class later; however, it can evolve. Are you sure? Y/N]
He pressed Y. A faint yellow aura shone over his skin, and his system window appeared by default. It looked similar to before, but now beneath his HP bar, there was an MP bar. In his skill menu, a new skill had appeared.
[Name: Yaz] [Race: Human] [Level: 5] [Class: Mage]
[Attributes:] Strength: 11 + 0.048?Mind: 9 + 0.028?Dexterity: 8 + 0.023?Endurance: 7 + 0.059?Intelligence: 10 + 0.021?Arcane: 2?+ 0.032 Perception: 9 + 0.017?Vitality: 11 + 0.045
[Skills:]
Echo of the Abyss
[Status Effects:]
None
Allocatable Stat Points: 6
Yaz stared at the new addition, unable to contain the excitement churning within him. The appearance of the MP bar and the new skill was tangible proof that something was changing, and he was determined to take full advantage of it. Having never used mana before, he was slightly concerned about how to cast the skill. Then he remembered checking the description for his Echo, and he focused intently on the new Arcane Shot that had appeared in his skill window.
[Arcane Shot (Common) – Fires a shot of mana at a target.]
“Hm, fires a shot. Can’t be that complicated. But from where? Does it blast from my palm? Or does it materialize?”
Instead of debating how to test the skill further, he decided to try it in practice. His initial instinct—similar to the first time he navigated his stat window—was to shout the skill’s name. However, he was almost certain that wouldn’t work, as it hadn’t when he tried to learn about his Echo. Instead, he did the only thing that had worked with the System so far: he thought about it. This time, nothing happened immediately.
“Hmm,” Yaz pondered. “What is it now?”
He spent several minutes experimenting before discovering the trigger. He wasn’t far off with his original hypothesis—the caveat being that his skill required intent. In this case, a target. The prevailing theory was that it had worked with his Echo earlier because that ability was an abstract principle; there was nothing to direct it at—it was just part of his being.
The Arcane Shot, however, needed a destination. It wasn’t cast arbitrarily; it was crafted with purpose and needed direction. As such, when he focused on a tree and thought intently about hitting it with Arcane Shot, a thin blue bolt materialized beside him before launching directly at the tree and leaving a mark.
“What impeccable timing. I don’t have any more bullets, so this can serve as a substitute for my gun in the meantime. Although, it does seem to lack the same destructive power…”
He tried to remain optimistic, even though he knew he wouldn’t be able to pull off the same feats with Arcane Shot as he did with his gun. Its impact on the tree confirmed that it lacked the potency of his firearm—but it would do for now. He needed to keep gaining levels to ensure that another encounter with a Rotfang wouldn’t spell his end.
Finally, he addressed the final new addition to his status screen. Besides his class distinction, there was something else:
Mortalborn. Only way is up.
According to the imprinting, he had heard of Ascensions but did not know how to unlock or apply them. They were essentially a process by which the System measured your growth. He didn’t know the specifics or what came next, but he did know that massive power spikes awaited him after every threshold. With all the new features accounted for, Yaz decided he should allocate his stat points before continuing his hunt.
Possessing six total stat points to distribute, he decided to invest them all in Arcane. He wanted to maximize his new skill and figured that was the best approach. He did consider his diminishing vitality—his HP bar was a quarter short due to his wound—but as it was slowly regenerating, he assumed it would eventually fill up. With all system-related concerns momentarily addressed, he elected to continue farming.
The feeling of growth was intoxicating—so unlike real life, where progression was uncertain and depended on fortune and connections. Here, growth was tangible, consistent, and guaranteed based on the path he chose. And Yaz loved it. He grinned as the path before him opened up with opportunity.
“Let’s do this,” he thought.
Two weeks later, the forest had become like a second skin to Yaz. His wound had long since closed, and his body resonated with potential as he advanced in magic. To be candid, he had not grown as quickly as he had expected. Levels 1–5 had come extremely fast—it had only taken two kills, after all—but despite killing tens of monsters over the following days, he had barely eclipsed level 9. In retrospect, this made sense; the growth curve was exponential, and it wasn’t realistic to progress at the same pace as his earlier levels.
Fortunately for him, the Rotfang he encountered on his first night in the forest was an anomaly. Most beasts he encountered were significantly weaker and posed far less threat. Using his Arcane Shot was becoming second nature, and even more comforting was the fact that it provided limitless ammunition.
There was initial concern that his MP bar wouldn’t naturally regenerate—that he might need a potion or consumable to renew it. But that worry was soon dispelled. On his first hunt after the Rotfang, he pelted a small beast comparable to a badger before the assimilation. Although it didn’t die immediately—confirming that his Arcane Shot lacked the destructive power of his gun—it did get the job done. After leveling up and absorbing the fragment, he noticed it granted significantly less experience than the Rotfang had.
Undeterred, he continued the daily cycle of waking, hunting, and sleeping. It wasn’t so different from the life he had known before. His skill remained of common rarity, and he wasn’t sure if there was a specific requirement to upgrade it or even if it could be upgraded. For now, it was doing the job, and that was all that mattered. Though he did wonder when he would unlock another skill—there had to be more, after all. It was the natural progression of the game he played.
He woke the next morning, ready for another hunt. His bag and gun lay at the foot of his makeshift bed—if you could call a slightly softer patch of dirt a bed—and he used his coat as a pillow. He had yet to discard anything from before, not even his empty handgun. Who was to say it wouldn’t be useful later?
After lying with his eyes closed for a moment, he prepared and set off on his usual trek through the forest. He always headed straight out from his campsite so that he could backtrack once he had gathered enough for the day, choosing a different direction each time in case he encountered something—or someone—that might help him determine his next move.
He was still interested in finding a group of people; he knew his abilities had limits, and that humans seriously lacked the genetic predisposition for combat. They were set apart only by their intelligence and their ability to collaborate and communicate. He killed monsters and absorbed their Fragments. Yet, he had yet to eclipse a full stat point from absorbed fragments, with all his potential stat bonuses still in decimal form. He had thought that his Echo might make him overly powerful by granting huge stat boons with each hunt, but as it stood, the rate of absorption was so slow that he was gaining stats only in thousandths. It wasn’t impressive at the moment, but he remained optimistic.
He went about his business as usual when he spotted a small clearing bathed in gentle sunlight. Although he had seen such breaks in the forest before, this one was different. Did he smell… smoke? His nostrils scrunched as he inhaled deeply.
“Yeah, that’s definitely smoke.” He immediately dropped to one knee, lowering his head as he made his way toward the clearing. He was nearly at the tree line when a harsh, male voice spoke behind him.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing here?”