In the Outer Ring of Firewell City, life was the dull color of soot. The streets were unpaved, etched with the
cracked footprints of the forgotten. Rain turned the dirt into sludge, and the sun baked it into earth-bruised
scars. This was where the young and the orphaned learned to scavenge, not dream.
And Kai was among the most forgettable of them.
He didn't know his surname. The orphanage matron used to call him "Boy" until she died of spiritual
exhaustion five winters ago. No records, no birthmark of destiny, no mysterious jade pendant tied around
his neck. Just torn clothes and a pair of eyes that had learned not to hope.
On the day it all began, Kai was kneeling beside a ditch, trying to dig out half a steamed bun that had fallen
from a passing merchant's cart. The bun was filthy, soaked in water that smelled faintly of horse piss and
copper. But it was better than starving.
As he reached out, a glint struck his eye. He frowned. Nestled beneath the mud was a jagged piece of
bronze—something broken, something old.
He pulled it out. The hunk of metal vibrated faintly, as if it still remembered what it once was.
In its reflection, he saw a flash—not of his face, but something else.
[System Initialization... Completed.] [Welcome, Host. Current Status: Unranked Mortal.]
[First Mission Available: Restore the Ruined Cauldron.]
[Time Limit: None. Reward: Structural
Intuition (Passive Skill) + 10 Contribution Points]
Kai stared.
He had seen beggars mad from hunger. This felt similar. But the words hung in the air, light as breath,
glowing faintly in front of his eyes. He blinked.
Still there.
"System?"
[Affirmative. Quest Activated.]
And just like that, the world stopped being ordinary