"If the road to strength is paved with pain… so be it. I can no longer endure weakness."
– From Kain's reflections
Dawn had barely begun painting its first lines across the sky whenKain awoke to a familiar sound…
[ System Alert: Daily Quests Issued ]
Kain yawned as the blue screen slowly appeared before his eyes:
✦ [Daily Quests]
• Run 10 kilometers
• 100 push-ups
• 100 squats
Deadline: 24 hours
Reward: 10 FP
He sighed as he noticed the increase in requirements compared to the previous day. But what drew his attention more was an additional window that appeared beside it:
✦ [Hunting Quest]
Hunt:
• Rabbit: 0/20
• Deer: 0/10
• Wolf: 0/5
• Bear: 0/3
• Mountain Lion: 0/2
Deadline: 24 hours
Reward: 20 FP and 60 XP
— "This damn system… doesn't it know mercy?" he muttered, rubbing his eyes.
He glanced at the window. The sky was still dark, the clock showing 5 a.m. Well… at least he had enough time before school. He still had three low-grade stamina potions he'd bought earlier—he might just manage it.
Kain was about to slip quietly out of the house when his steps caught a familiar silhouette near the kitchen…
It was Bella, barefoot, holding a glass of water and staring into it absentmindedly, as if her thoughts were still trapped far away.
"Where are you going?" she asked softly, surprise in her tone as her eyes swept over his sportswear.
Kain hesitated for a moment, then answered without turning:
— "For a run… I need to clear my head."
Bella frowned slightly, then said with a touch of observation:
— "You've been running a lot lately… I don't remember you doing this back in Phoenix."
Kain gave a faint smile, one void of joy:
— "That's because you weren't there."
Bella froze, flustered for a moment, while he continued in a low voice:
— "Phoenix was warmer, wasn't it? The air here… it can be harsh sometimes."
Her gaze dimmed briefly, as if the mention of Phoenix had stirred something painful inside her.
Kain seized that moment of distraction, slipped quietly out through the back door, and made his way to his old truck.
He climbed in without a word and drove off toward the depths of the forest—where no questions lingered, no memories haunted—only silence.
When he arrived, he parked at the edge, knowing the truck wouldn't survive the rugged paths. He got out and immediately started running, fulfilling his daily quest until he crossed the ten-kilometer mark.
Breathless, drenched in sweat, he sat on a tree stump. He pulled a stamina potion from his bag and drank it in one gulp before whispering:
— "Now… time to hunt."
He opened the shop right away, scanning through the weapon list. His funds weren't much, but thankfully he found something simple:
✦ [D-Rank Katana] – Price: 30 SP
— "This will do… at least for a few strikes," he muttered as he bought it.
The hours that followed unfolded like an endless battle. The rabbits were easiest, followed by the deer and wolves. The bears, however, proved terrifying.Kain used every potion he had and bought multiple katanas, each breaking after a limited number of blows.
Finally, after slaying the last mountain lion, he collapsed to the ground, panting, wiping blood and dust from his face.
— "Ha… that was something," he muttered bitterly.
Suddenly, the system chimed:
[ Quest Completed! ]
[ Congratulations, Host! You gained 20 FP and 60 XP. ]
[ Level Up! ]
Kain opened his status window, his eyes scanning the details eagerly:
✦ Host's Basic Status
Name:Kain Swan
Race: Human
Level: 6
[ Strength ]: 21
[ Agility ]: 20
[ Intelligence ]: 23
[ Vitality ]: 21
[ Defense ]: 19
[ Stamina ]: 5/20
Available FP: 30
Available SP: 880
Current XP: 30/40
— "I'm close to a thousand…" he murmured, remembering the blade he wanted: "The Devourer."
He'd spent nearly 150 points on potions and katanas but made up for it by selling the animal corpses he had hunted.
— "Now… what about stats?"
His eyes landed on "Stamina." He dumped ten points into it at once. Instantly, a surge of energy spread through his body. Breathing became easier, muscles less tense.
— "Much better."
But then his gaze drifted to "Intelligence." He hesitated, knowing upgrading it was painful—especially with Dragon's Eye activated. Still, he decided to risk it.
He pressed +10 on Intelligence.
And in that moment…
A terrible scream tore through the silence of the forest!
Kain collapsed to the ground, writhing and crying as though fire had ignited inside his skull. The pain was indescribable… like knives slicing through his brain, tearing it apart and reshaping it, expanding it, burning it.
— "Aaahhh! It hurts! It hurts!!!"
Not far away, Alice Cullen was hunting in silence when her sharp ears caught the sound.
A gasp of raw agony, almost like the torment of a soul.
Without hesitation, she dashed through the trees with vampire swiftness. It didn't take long. She arrived at the source of the scream… and saw him.
Kain, sprawled on the ground, convulsing from pain, his body trembling, his face streaked with tears.
Her eyes widened, but she didn't intervene. She simply watched.
— "He never appears in my visions… His place is always blank or distorted," she thought.
— "As if the world refuses his existence… or clears the way for him out of fear."
Back to Kain.
He was still groaning, but the pain slowly receded.
— "I need to do something… Vitality!"
He opened the window quickly, allocated three points there, and immediately felt some relief.
Then he added three points to Agility, two to Strength, and two to Defense.
Kain lay on the ground for a while, breathing quietly.
— "I need to rest… then return."
He didn't realize that curious eyes were watching him from the shadows…
When he returned home, Charlie was waiting at the entrance, arms crossed, his face stern with worry.
In a dry tone, he asked:
— "Where were you? You're late for school."
Kain answered smoothly, trying to dodge:
— "Overslept a little, but I made it through the day anyway."
Charlie's stare was unconvinced. Bella had beaten him to suspicion already.
Kain asked:
— "Did Bella take the truck?"
Charlie smirked sarcastically:
— "Of course. Or did you think she'd walk?"
Kain sighed, then asked:
— "And why didn't you go to work?"
Charlie gave a bitter smile:
— "Because I was waiting for some troublemaker who snuck out at 5 a.m. claiming he was going for a run."
Kain laughed nervously, scratching his neck.
— "Well… mind giving me a lift to school then?"
Charlie shook his head.
— "No. Consider this punishment. You're taking the bus today."
ButKain had no intention of that. He had other plans.
After Charlie left,Kain quietly opened his status window again:
✦ Host's Basic Status
Name:Kain Swan
Race: Human
Level: 6
[ Strength ]: 23
[ Agility ]: 23
[ Intelligence ]: 33
[ Vitality ]: 24
[ Defense ]: 21
[ Stamina ]: 30/30
Available FP: 0
Available SP: 880
Current XP: 30/40
— "Alright, let's see what I can do."
He left the house and began running, activating Continuous Breathing—the first stage of the Breath of Lightning technique he had recently discovered.
His body flowed lightly along the road, as if born to run. Not superhuman, but brushing the peak of human speed.
When he unleashed the full Breath of Lightning for brief moments, he even surpassed those limits temporarily.
Nowhere near even the weakest elite vampire, but as a human—astonishing.
He reached school in record time, barely fatigued, his increased stamina carrying him easily.
He stepped into class just in time, sliding into his seat before the door shut.
Then the familiar chime rang in his head:
[ Ding! ]
[ New Learning Quest Generated ]
[ Quest Details ]
Read 200 scientific books.
Reward: +10 Intelligence, 20 FP
Kain couldn't suppress his smile. This quest was perfect.
Even though his Intelligence had already surpassed thirty, he still couldn't keep Dragon's Eye active for more than thirty minutes under normal conditions—or fifteen minutes when using Breath of Lightning.
The human brain simply struggled to process the overwhelming flood of visual data.
He needed more… much more intelligence.
By lunchtime,Kain was about to head to the library when another alert cut him off:
[ New Quest Generated ]
[ Quest Details ]
Use Dragon's Eye on four non-human entities.
Deadline: 15 minutes
Reward: 30 XP and 60 SP
[ Note: Failure will result in no quests for one week. ]
His expression changed instantly. Failure now would be disastrous.
He shifted direction and went straight to the cafeteria.
Sitting beside Bella, he glanced toward the Cullens' table.
Edward was absent—just as expected from the original storyline.
But the others were there: Alice, Emmett, Jasper, Rosalie, and Iliana.
Kain ignored Alice for now, having already analyzed her.
Now it was time for the others.
[ Status Analysis — Entity: Emmett Cullen ]
✦ Type: Vampire — Elite
✦ Class: Apex Elite
✦ Threat Level: Extremely High
✦ Innate Ability: Physical Strength
✦ Current Mood: Excited… Hungry… Cautious
✦ Physical State: High energy — combat ready
✦ Basic Stats:
[ Strength ]: 178
[ Agility ]: 141
[ Intelligence ]: 132
[ Vitality ]: ∞
[ Defense ]: 164
[ Stamina ]: 173
[ Status Analysis — Entity: Jasper Hale ]
✦ Type: Vampire — Elite
✦ Class: Apex Elite
✦ Threat Level: Extremely High
✦ Innate Ability: Emotion Manipulation
✦ Current Mood: Focused… Alert… Still
✦ Physical State: Stable energy — calm readiness
✦ Basic Stats:
[ Strength ]: 153
[ Agility ]: 162
[ Intelligence ]: 148
[ Vitality ]: ∞
[ Defense ]: 150
[ Stamina ]: 167
[ Status Analysis — Entity: Rosalie Hale ]
✦ Type: Vampire — Elite
✦ Class: Apex Elite
✦ Threat Level: Extremely High
✦ Innate Ability: None
✦ Current Mood: Pride… Disdain… Interest
✦ Physical State: High energy — active state
✦ Basic Stats:
[ Strength ]: 156
[ Agility ]: 158
[ Intelligence ]: 139
[ Vitality ]: ∞
[ Defense ]: 147
[ Stamina ]: 164
[ Status Analysis — Entity: Aliana Cullen ]
✦ Type: Vampire — Elite
✦ Class: Apex Elite
✦ Threat Level: Extremely High
✦ Innate Ability: Mind Reading
✦ Current Mood: Cautious… Curious… Thoughtful
✦ Physical State: Silent energy — hidden readiness
✦ Basic Stats:
[ Strength ]: 144
[ Agility ]: 168
[ Intelligence ]: 155
[ Vitality ]: ∞
[ Defense ]: 145
[ Stamina ]: 170
[ Ding! ]
[ Quest Completed! ]
[ Congratulations, Host. You gained 60 SP and 30 XP. ]
[ Level Up! ]
Kain let out a sigh of relief. Losing quests for a week at this moment would have been disastrous.
After school,Kain didn't return home. Instead, he went straight to the library to begin his Learning Quest.
To his surprise, it was far easier than expected…
With each page he read, Dragon's Eye scanned it instantly, memorized it, analyzed it, and stored it effortlessly.
Finally, when he closed the last book…
[ Quest Completed! ]
[ Congratulations, Host. Intelligence +10, 20 FP gained. ]
The familiar pain of Intelligence growth returned, butKain was ready this time.
He immediately opened his status and allocated five points to Vitality. The pain faded quickly, his body stabilizing.
✦ Host's Basic Status
Name: Kain Swan
Race: Human
Level: 7
[ Strength ]: 25
[ Agility ]: 25
[ Intelligence ]: 45
[ Vitality ]: 31
[ Defense ]: 23
[ Stamina ]: 32/32
Available FP: 15
Available SP: 940
Current XP: 20/45
That evening,Kain sat at the dinner table with Bella and Charlie.
A quiet family conversation unfolded, laced with some of Charlie's teasing questions aboutKain's "early morning adventure," which he smoothly dodged.
Later,Kain retreated to his room and opened his status window once more.
He studied the numbers, then decided:
— "Now… Agility."
He invested ten points at once.
Instantly, his body felt lighter, as though the air itself had become part of him.
He noticed the upgrading pain was milder now—likely due to his increased Vitality, which not only boosted physical endurance but also sharpened senses, renewed cells, and reduced the need for sleep or even rest to recover stamina.
Everything was being built slowly… but steadily.
Kain lay on his bed, eyes gleaming with anticipation.
Tomorrow, Edward would appear…
And tomorrow, the accident would happen.
The car… the snow… Bella…
Whether Edward acted or not,Kain was ready…
To prevent the accident, or to twist it from the shadows.
🌀 End of Chapter Seven.
✦ Next Chapter: "A Thunder No One Hears… and a Blade from Hell"