DAY 6
Luis woke to the sensation of sunlight warming his face and the sound of birds chirping outside. He stretched—and for the first time in days, his body didn't protest with aches and pains.
"Morning, Sleeping Ugly," Zyx greeted, floating cross-legged at the foot of the bed. "Congrats on not dying in your sleep. I had 50-50 odds on that."
Luis rolled his eyes. "You're a terrible alarm clock." He sat up, rolling his shoulders. "But damn, I feel good."
"Yeah, yeah, save the hero monologue," Zyx said, waving a hand. "You've been snoozing for three days while the world burns. Speaking of which—"
A muffled newscast echoed from the living room.
The Lions-Bane
The family huddled around a small TV, their faces pale. The screen showed a nightmare—a golden-maned monstrosity with six wings and a scorpion's tail tearing through Manila's ruins. Guild forces launched desperate attacks, only to be obliterated in seconds.
[GOLDEN-CLASS MONSTER: LIONS-BANE]
[LEVEL: 47]
[STATUS: RAMPAGING]
"—GFH forces in full retreat—Crimson Blades headquarters destroyed—estimated casualties now over 10,000—"
The screen went black.
Rain stood by the power outlet, her expression unreadable. "That's enough for today," she said softly.
Luis's fists clenched. "That thing's wiping out entire city."
"And watching won't change that," Rain replied. "You need to recover first."
Zyx snorted. "She's got a point. Unless you've got a secret 'I Win' button hidden in your—"
Luis stood abruptly. "I need air."
The Grind Begins (Again)
Once outside, Luis pulled up his status screen.
[LEVEL 2 ENGINEER]
[NEW ABILITY UNLOCKED: RE-CREATION]
Summons a permanent humanoid construct
Cost: 10,000 Soul Essence
Limit: 1 active at a time
Luis's breath caught. "Permanent?!"
Zyx whistled. "Well, well. Looks like the game finally threw you a bone." He leaned in. "Of course, you'd need to kill, oh, two thousand more bunnies to afford it—"
"Shut up." Luis snapped the screen shut. "I'm going hunting."
The mountain trails below the village teemed with low-level mobs—but now, at Level 2, Luis moved with lethal efficiency.
A Rustfang Hare lunged—CRACK. One hammer swing, one corpse.
A Bramble Crawler spat thorns—Luis dodged, closed the distance, and smashed its carapace.
"Damn, look at you," Zyx mused as Luis wiped monster guts off his hammer. "All grown up and murdering things without nearly dying. Proud of you, kid."
"Your approval fills me with shame," Luis deadpanned.
By dawn, he'd gathered 3,000 Souls—still far from his goal, but progress.
Rain's Offer
As Luis returned, Rain waited at the village gate, her silver hair glowing in the morning light.
"You were hunting," she observed.
"Yeah," Luis admitted.
Rain studied him, then nodded. "Come to my garden tomorrow. I have something that might… accelerate your progress."
Zyx's eyebrows shot up. "Oho! Is the flower girl offering performance enhancers?"
Luis ignored him. "Thanks. I'll be there."
Rain smiled faintly. "Try not to die before then."