The clang of metal echoed through the early dawn, sharp and steady, cutting through the mist that hung over the Adventurer's Hub training yard.
Each swing of Raiden's blade was a promise — deliberate, unyielding. The city lights bled faintly through the glass canopy above, painting the wet floor in streaks of electric blue.
He exhaled slowly, the breath leaving him in a visible fog. Then he moved again.
Steel whistled through air. Sparks scattered against the practice dummy, tiny bursts of light dying almost instantly against the wet tiles. Every strike followed the same rhythm: step, pivot, cut — a language his body was still learning, but one he was determined to master.
> [System Daily Quest Completed]
Basic Sword Routine: +50 EXP
Push-Up Endurance: +20 EXP
Meditation Focus: +10 EXP
Total: +80 EXP
The translucent blue text flickered, casting a faint glow across Raiden's face before fading.
He rolled his shoulders, chest rising and falling with each steady breath.
It had been only three days since the corrupted forest incident, but rest had been a luxury he couldn't afford. The Hub was busy again — adventurers rushing for contracts, guards patrolling, merchants shouting deals in the hallways — but Raiden remained apart, caught between exhaustion and obsession.
Level 10. That was the number engraved in his mind.
The threshold. The promise. The unknown.
---
Hub Training Grounds — Morning
"Again."
The instructor barked across the floor, his voice carrying the weight of discipline.
Raiden didn't argue. He drew his sword and slid into stance once more.
Flow Step wasn't about speed — it was about rhythm. Control. A way to manipulate inertia and body weight so perfectly that each motion became seamless. The instructor had said it was "like water dancing around fire."
Raiden pushed off, letting his body glide across the tiles. He twisted his hips, sliding through invisible resistance. His boots hissed faintly against the slick ground — not clumsy, not stiff, but not quite fluid yet.
He tried again.
Flow, not force.
The world seemed to slow around him for half a breath. His movement curved, natural and balanced.
"Better," the instructor said. "Now again — faster."
Raiden obeyed, repeating the move until his lungs burned and his muscles screamed. His legs trembled. The sweat dripping down his face blurred his sight, but he refused to stop.
Then, at last, it clicked. His step became a glide — a seamless motion that left a faint afterimage behind him.
> [New Skill Acquired: Flow Step Lv. 1]
Allows host to redirect inertia and slide through attacks.
Energy Cost: 20 per activation.
Speed +20% (temporary).
+100 EXP (Skill Proficiency Gained)
Raiden grinned faintly. His heart thudded in his chest like the echo of thunder.
---
The Grind Begins
The next three days bled together.
He took minor extermination quests across the city — clearing small infestations of corrupted beasts that had slipped past the forest boundary.
His first target: Corrupted Hounds (Level 6, Basic Tier) — fast, vicious, their veins glowing faint blue with residual anomaly energy.
They moved like shadows. So did he.
Raiden stepped forward, his foot sliding in perfect rhythm — Flow Step activating beneath him. He slipped past the first beast's claws and drove his sword through its flank, lightning sparking along the blade's edge.
The hound yelped, crumpling to the ground.
> [Defeated: Corrupted Hound (Lv. 6, Basic Tier)]
+80 EXP
[EXP: 3,200 / 6,000]
Another lunged — he twisted aside, sword flashing again.
Each fight sharpened him, made Flow Step more natural.
> [Flow Step Lv. 2 Unlocked]
Energy cost -5 per activation
Speed boost increased to 30%
+150 EXP (Skill Improvement)
He kept moving, kept learning. Every cut, every dodge — experience folded into muscle and memory alike.
---
Hub Mission — Sector 09 Containment
On the fourth day, he accepted something bigger.
The Hub's central board glowed with new listings. His eyes locked on one.
"Containment Breach in Sector 09."
A Corrupted Rhino (Lv. 8, Advanced Tier) had surfaced from the city's underground. A massive beast, covered in scale-like armor that shimmered faintly with dark corruption.
Perfect.
By dusk, Raiden stood in the broken remains of Sector 09 — shattered concrete, flickering lampposts, the air thick with the smell of oil and ozone.
The ground trembled.
Then came the roar.
The Rhino burst from a collapsed ramp, eyes blazing molten gold. It charged, tearing asphalt like paper.
Raiden's sword flashed up just as he Flow Stepped sideways, the motion so fluid it looked like he had vanished mid-run. The beast missed him by inches, the impact shaking nearby buildings.
"Fast," Raiden muttered, crouching low. "But predictable."
He waited for the next charge — every sense razor-sharp. When the Rhino lunged again, he struck first.
Lightning Slash ignited.
The world flashed blue.
> [Lightning Slash Lv. 2]
Damage +30%
Stun Duration: 1.5s
+120 EXP (Skill Proficiency)
The arc of lightning tore through its shoulder, smoke hissing from the wound.
But the beast didn't fall — it swung its horn, a black streak slicing through the air.
Raiden barely twisted aside — the horn grazed his arm, blood spraying like mist.
Pain flared.
He grit his teeth. "Not yet…"
He triggered Flow Step again, slipping through its blind spot, pivoting mid-spin — his blade humming with unstable energy.
Then, in a single breath, he unleashed a second Lightning Slash directly beneath the Rhino's plated neck.
The air exploded.
Blue light erupted through the rain. The Rhino shrieked — a sound that rattled the buildings — before collapsing with a thunderous crash.
Smoke. Silence. Blood.
Raiden staggered back, breathing hard, rain washing the crimson from his face.
> [Defeated: Corrupted Rhino (Lv. 8, Advanced Tier)]
+1,200 EXP
[EXP: 5,480 / 6,000]
His arm trembled. The wound burned, but his grin didn't fade.
---
Hub Dorms — Nightfall
That night, Raiden sat by the window of the dorm, watching neon rain trail down the glass. Alya was asleep across the room, her breathing steady.
He opened the System interface quietly, the blue light reflecting in his eyes.
────────────────────────────
[ System Status ]
Host: Raiden Heosh
Level: 8 → 9
EXP: 7,800 / 9,000
HP: 710 / 740
Energy: 320 / 360
Strength: 48
Agility: 46
Endurance: 37
Perception: 30
Unassigned Points: 10
────────────────────────────
[ Skills ]
• Lightning Slash Lv. 2
• Flow Step Lv. 2
• Battle Instinct (Passive)
──────────────────────────
Raiden stared at the faint glow for a long time before closing the window.
His hand tightened slightly on the sword resting against his knee.
Level 10… Just a little more.
---
The Rooftop — Midnight
Sleep didn't come. It rarely did.
So Raiden found himself on the Hub's rooftop again, the rain soft and cold against his face.
He drew his sword, took a breath, and moved.
The Flow Step carried him across the slick metal tiles — one, two, three strides in perfect sync. His blade arced, lightning flashing faintly along its edge.
Every cut hummed with purpose. Every pivot burned with energy.
The storm above cracked open, blue veins lighting up the sky. The reflection in his blade almost seemed alive — like the lightning itself was acknowledging him.
> [Flow Step Lv. 3 Unlocked]
Energy cost -10 per activation
Chain Step Combo Unlocked (x2)
Speed boost +35%
+200 EXP (Skill Improvement)
Raiden exhaled, lowering his sword.
The glow around his body faded, but the satisfaction didn't.
He stood at the edge of the roof, watching the horizon as dawn began to stain the city in pale gold. The hum of the System b
eneath his skin was growing stronger now, like a low, distant heartbeat.
He didn't say it aloud, but the truth resonated in every beat of his pulse.
The storm wasn't something waiting ahead.
He was already becoming it.
---