Damons slid his hand into his shoe and pulled out a bank card carefully hidden in a secret pocket sewn inside the sole. It had been his personal safe for years.
"I saved every veldros for them… but if I get stronger, I can do a hundred times more with a single magic stone."
In this player world, monsters killed in portals left behind mana stones, powerful crystals used in technology, weapons, and as energy sources. These stones were sold at a high price by players.
He slowly stood up, his body still numb with pain.
[ SOME TIME LATER — AT DAMONS' PLACE ]
Damons gently closed the apartment door, arms full of bags packed with food. He set them on the table in the darkness, thinking he wouldn't wake anyone.
But a familiar voice stopped him mid-move.
"What are you doing here at this hour…?"
Lily was leaning against the hallway wall, in pajamas, her eyes still half-closed.
"I should be asking you the same thing," Damons replied. "What are you doing awake?"
"I heard the door… and it woke me up. Usually, you come home later. Did you quit your job?"
"Yeah… well, I wasn't fired. I resigned."
She frowned, looking worried.
"You resigned? You snapped, didn't you? The night shifts, lack of sleep, the crappy hours…"
Damons smiled softly.
"No, none of that. I'm fine. I just got a rare opportunity. Something that could really change our lives."
"Hm… if you say so. You sound scary when you talk like that."
"Come on, go back to sleep. It's still late."
She nodded without arguing.
"Oh, and before I forget…" he added. "Tomorrow, above all, don't wake me up. I have to do something important."
"Got it."
"I'll prepare food for the whole day: breakfast, lunch, snack, dinner. I'll put it in the fridge. Just make sure Lola and Léa don't cause a mess."
"All right. I'll make sure they don't do anything crazy. And that they leave you alone."
They exchanged a knowing look, then bumped fists. A simple gesture, but heavy with meaning. The seal of promise of their little family.
[ THE NEXT MORNING ]
Daylight barely filtered through the curtains. Everything was silent in the apartment. Damons was already awake, sitting cross-legged in the middle of his room, eyes closed, breathing slowly.
Around him, a dark, light mist waved, almost invisible to the naked eye.
AI :
DEMONIC MEDITATION TECHNIQUE USAGE DETECTED. ACTIVATION IN PROGRESS…
A faint purple aura slowly escaped from Damons' body, like a dark breath emerging from the depths of his being.
Over the hours, the energy thickened, became sharper, more oppressive. The air in the room charged with mana, until it became suffocating.
The temperature dropped, then rose without warning.
The floor creaked. The walls vibrated, as if an invisible force tried to break free.
Damons was sweating heavily.
His muscles tensed to the extreme. His breathing was ragged and uneven.
Then, suddenly…
A piercing scream burst from his throat.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah"
It was an indescribable pain. A pain so pure, so raw, that it went beyond imagination.
It was as if every muscle in his body exploded at once, as if his very flesh rejected the transformation.
He trembled with all his being.
His violet eyes suddenly lit up, shining with a supernatural glow. A strange, dense, vibrating light slowly escaped from his mouth, as if his body was leaking an energy too powerful to be contained.
His throat let out a second cry, stronger, more primal, even more inhuman.
[SYSTEM]
[CRITICAL PAIN LEVEL DETECTED. SOUND PROOF BARRIER ACTIVATED.]
An invisible barrier engaged around the room, instantly muffling any noise beyond the walls.
But inside, Damons continued to scream.
A long, uninterrupted cry.
He screamed until he lost all sense of time. Until the entire universe was nothing but a whirlwind of mana and suffering.
The sun had long since left the sky when, finally…
[SYSTEM]
[CONGRATULATIONS. YOU HAVE UNLOCKED ONE OF THE SEVEN SEALS. YOUR MANA HAS INCREASED EXPONENTIALLY.]
A deep silence settled.
Damons slowly opened his eyes.
His skin dripped with sweat, his clothes soaked.
All around him, a faint purple magical aura pulsed like a dark flame.
He stayed there for a moment, gasping. Then whispered, short of breath:
"Finally… done. That was really exhausting…"
AI :
"But at least you lost your extra kilos. And you're way stronger than yesterday."
He raised an arm, surprised to see it so defined. He touched his abs, incredulous.
"AMAZING!!! FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE, I HAVE ABS?! A REAL DREAM BODY?! THIS IS ABSOLUTELY AWESOME!!! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!!!"
He stood up, stretching at length, a smile on his lips.
"Okay. Next step… register at the Player Association."
The Player Association of Veledris (PAV) is a central government organization responsible for regulating, listing, and supervising all awakened individuals or those who have become players in the country. It strictly controls the use of portals and access to dungeons, especially on government-owned public lands, to guarantee public order and safety. Any opening or use of portals, as well as any exploration or exploitation of dungeons in these areas, must be authorized and monitored by the PAV to prevent abuses, unauthorized intrusions, and risks linked to travel between worlds or exploitation of magical resources.
As he was about to open the door, a familiar voice echoed in his mind.
AI :
"You're not going anywhere.
Your level is still far too low compared to the others. You'd get crushed."
Damons frowned.
"Can't I just go register? I need an ID to enter a portal or a dungeon…"
AI :
"Not for what's coming next."
————————
[NOTES:
1 VELDROS = MAIN UNIT (LIKE 1 EURO OR 1 DOLLAR)
1 VELDROS = 100 LESLIS (LIKE 1 EURO = 100 CENTS)]