Allen's eyes shot open.
He bolted upright, pain flaring across his side as the wires connected to him tugged, alarms beeping wildly from the monitor nearby. He barely registered them. The system screen floated in front of him again, pulsing red.
---
[Emergency Quest Triggered.]
Quest: Defend Yourself
Objective: Eliminate the hostile presence.
Time Limit: 2 minutes
Reward: +50 EXP, Unknown Item
Failure: Death
---
Defend? In a hospital? Allen looked around — the room was still, eerily so. The lights flickered above, and the humming of machines dulled into silence.
Then, the door creaked.
Allen's breath caught.
Standing there, partially cloaked in the shadow of the hallway, was a figure in a torn uniform — another patient? No. Something was wrong.
Its neck was twisted at an unnatural angle, its arms limp but twitching violently as it stepped inside. One eye was blackened completely, the other glowing faintly red.
A system notification confirmed his worst fear:
---
[Identified: Corrupted Human (Lv.3)]
Status: Hostile
Threat Level: Moderate
---
"No way..." Allen muttered, forcing himself off the bed. His body screamed in protest, but the surge of adrenaline dulled the pain.
A dagger appeared in his hand — the Shadow Fang, cold and light, as if it belonged there.
The creature snarled and rushed forward.
Allen gritted his teeth and moved. His instincts responded faster than his thoughts.
Step left — slice upward.
His dagger cut across the creature's chest. Blackened ichor oozed from the wound. It shrieked but didn't stop.
Allen staggered back, barely dodging a swipe.
[Ding!]
[Passive Skill: Death Drive – Activated.]
Allen's vision sharpened again — time slowed.
He moved in a blur, ducking low and driving the dagger straight into the creature's side.
[Critical Hit!]
The monster convulsed and fell to the ground with a thud, twitching once, then going still.
Silence returned.
Allen panted heavily, his heart pounding, vision still red-tinged.
[Ding!]
---
[Emergency Quest Completed.]
+50 EXP
[Item Acquired: Tainted Core Fragment]
[HP Restored by 20%]
[Level Up! You are now Level 2.]
Stat Points Available: +3
---
Allen slowly rose to his feet, his breaths shallow and uneven. His side throbbed with pain, but the system had restored enough of his health for him to stay standing. The corrupted body dissolved into ash, leaving behind only a faint black smear and the glowing fragment in his inventory.
He stared at the spot for a long moment.
"Is this what it means to be a 'Player'?" he muttered, dazed.
Then he looked down at his trembling hands. The blood, the fight, the system, the strange power—none of it felt real. And yet… it was. Every part of him could feel it. Something had changed in the world—or maybe in him.
Allen returned to the bed, the pain returning in dull waves. He sank into the mattress and pulled the blanket over his body just as the door clicked again.
This time, it wasn't a corrupted creature.
Two men entered.
The first was tall, broad-shouldered, with a sharp gaze and an air of authority that instantly filled the room. He wore a long coat, black with silver trim, and on his chest was a golden insignia shaped like a stylized crossblade — the mark of the Slayers Organization.
His eyes scanned the room once before settling on Allen.
The man behind him, younger and dressed in a grey suit, carried a small black case.
"You're Allen, right?" the taller man said, voice deep but calm.
Allen tensed. "...Yeah?"
"I'm Vance. Right hand of the Chief Slayer in this country. This is my assistant, Leon." He nodded toward the man with the case. "We've been monitoring strange activity since the portal incident two days ago. And you're at the center of it."
Allen blinked, trying to keep a neutral expression. "I… I don't know what you're talking about."
"We're not here to arrest you," Vance said, walking closer. "We're here to confirm something. There's a growing concern about unregistered awakenings. People manifesting abilities outside the normal awakening process. Since it was recorded that you are the only survivor of the D-class portal raid which ended up, rather unexpected, we are assuming that perhaps you might have had your second awakening. So, we're going to perform a quick test on you."
Leon opened the case, revealing a small, glass orb-like device with metal ends. He held it out toward Allen.
"Just place your hand on it," Leon instructed. "It reads potential and classifies it."
Allen hesitated, then slowly placed his hand on the orb.
'Perhaps, it might be true that I have had my second awakening. And if that's the case, I will officially become a member of the slayer guild. This way, I'll be paid enough money to train sister in school.'
This was Allen's thoughts as the object glowed faintly for a moment.
[Analyzing…]
Then:
[Result: E-Class]
There was an awkward silence. Allen stared at the orb, confused. Vance, however, only frowned slightly.
"E-Class, huh," he said, not sounding fully convinced.
"That's what the device says," Leon added, double-checking. "No anomalies. No signs of overflow or hidden class signature. Completely E-Class."
Vance studied Allen, eyes narrowing slightly.
"You fought something recently, didn't you?" he asked suddenly.
Allen stiffened. "...No. I just woke up."
Vance didn't argue. He just nodded once and turned to leave. "If anything happens — if you see anything strange, or something changes — report it immediately."
"And if I don't?" Allen asked.
Vance glanced over his shoulder. "Then pray whatever's inside you stays asleep."
With that, he and Leon left the room.
Allen let out a shaky breath. The orb still sat nearby, glowing faintly like it had missed something.
He knew it had.
Whatever had awakened inside him wasn't something a machine could measure.
Allen waited a full minute after the door closed before he let out the breath he'd been holding. He wiped the sweat off his forehead, heart still hammering.
"E-Class," he muttered. "Is that what I really am… or what they want me to believe?"
He glanced at the system screen, still hovering faintly before his eyes. He would be lying if he says he doesn't feel disheartened by the results.
---
[Level: 2]
Stat Points Available: +3
[Item: Tainted Core Fragment – A fragment of corrupted essence. Can be used to strengthen dark-based abilities or refined through a special process.]
---
Slowly, he pulled up the stat menu.
---
[Stats]
HP: 150/150
MP: 60/60
Strength: 15
Agility: 14
Endurance: 12
Intelligence: 10
Luck: ???
Skills:
– [Death Drive] (Passive)
– [Soul Piercer – Lv.1] (Active)
Unallocated Points: 8
---
He thought for a second, then slid all eight points into Agility.
---
Upgraded Stats:
Agility: 22
---
A faint shiver passed through his body. The beeping monitor beside him spiked slightly, then steadied. His muscles felt lighter, more reactive, like his limbs were finally listening to his mind's pace. His senses sharpened too — he could hear a pair of nurses talking outside the door, their voices muffled but clear.
Then, as if in response, a new message appeared:
---
[Beginner's Package Unlocked.]
You have gained:
Skill Scroll x1 (Random)
Recovery Ration x1
Inventory Expansion (Unlocked)
Would you like to open your Skill Scroll?
[Yes] [No]
---
Allen didn't hesitate.
Yes.
The scroll in his inventory shimmered, then unfurled before him, lines of glowing text forming across it.
---
[You have learned a new skill!]
Skill: Phantom Step
Type: Movement
Grade: Rare
Description: Briefly enhance your movement speed and leave behind a false image. Duration: 2 seconds. Cooldown: 10 seconds.
---
Allen's eyes widened.
"A rare skill…?"
E-Class? No. Something wasn't adding up. The system was giving him tools far beyond what an E-Class should have.
They didn't see it — but the system did.
And maybe, he wasn't the one who should be afraid.
Allen waited until the hallway outside quieted, then pulled the curtain around his bed. The hospital room was dim, the flickering overhead light barely strong enough to cast shadows.
He stood up, wincing slightly as the pain in his side flared, but he ignored it. He needed to know.
"Phantom Step," he whispered.
For a moment, nothing happened. Then—
A rush of cold swept through his legs, like wind slicing across his skin. His vision blurred, and his body moved on its own—forward, fast, almost gliding.
He blinked, and suddenly he was standing across the room near the window.
Behind him… stood another him.
No. Not him. A faint, transparent echo, lingering for half a second before it flickered and vanished like smoke.
Allen's mouth parted in awe. His heart raced — not from fear, but excitement.
"I barely moved… and yet I crossed the whole room."
It hadn't drained him much either. Just a slight chill in his chest, easily shaken off.
He returned to the bed, pulling the blanket over himself as footsteps approached in the hallway.
"I'm not E-Class," he whispered under his breath, the corner of his lips twitching.
"I'm something else."
Outside, the door creaked open again — but this time, it wasn't the man from before.
A girl in a white coat stepped in, a clipboard in hand, her gaze sharp and calculating as it landed on Allen.
"Allen. You're awake earlier than expected," she said. "I'm here on behalf of the medical division of the Slayer Organization."
Allen narrowed his eyes slightly.
Another test?
Or another trap?