Chapter 3: The Weight of Luck
The distant sirens were the only sound cutting through the heavy silence of the street.
The mole-rat's body had completely vanished, leaving behind not even a drop of blood on the wet asphalt. It was as if it had never existed—except for the claw marks on the car and the blood drying on my clothes. The blood was mine. Or rather, had been mine.
I looked at my arm, where the creature's claws had torn into my flesh. The fabric of my shirt was in tatters, soaked in dark red, but underneath… the skin was smooth. Not a single scratch. Intact. A faint phantom itch was the only reminder of the searing pain that had nearly split me in half.
Then I remembered.
Healing Ability (Regeneration) – Rank C.
The racial skill of the symbiote. While Life Absorption actively healed me by stealing another being's vitality, this one was passive, constant — an inherent benefit of my new biology. Two sides of the same coin of survival. One was a gift from my new race; the other, a predatory tool — an ability that demanded to be fed with the life of others. The realization left a bitter taste in my mouth, stronger than adrenaline.
I couldn't stay there. The woman who had fled might call the police — if the police even existed the same way anymore. With one last glance at the chaotic street, I returned to the relative safety of my building. I climbed the stairs in a rush, my heart hammering not from fear but from sheer exhaustion — physical and mental.
I locked my apartment door, sliding all three bolts. The metallic sound was comforting.
Leaning against the wood, I slid down to the floor. The smell of sweat and dried blood was nauseating. I stayed there for long minutes, just breathing, trying to process the avalanche of sensations and information.
I had killed. I had almost died. I had healed. I had leveled up.
"Status," I muttered, my voice hoarse. The familiar window flickered into view before me.
Name: Klaus
Race: Human/Symbiote
Level: 2 (XP: 0/225)
HP: 150/150
MP: 250/250
Unspent Attribute Points: 2
Attributes:
Strength: 6
Defense: 6
Vitality: 6
Agility: 6
Intelligence: 16
Mana: 6
The +1 bonus to all stats from leveling up had already been applied. But the two extra points blinked, waiting for my choice. In any MMO, I would've dumped them straight into Intelligence without thinking. More firepower, stronger spells. But this wasn't a game. Intelligence hadn't saved me from the rat's attack. My low Vitality had almost gotten me killed.
My base HP was calculated from Vitality. More Vitality meant more HP, more endurance. Agility meant faster movement, better dodging. Those were survival stats. The decision was obvious.
"Allocate one point to Vitality and one to Agility," I ordered mentally.
[Points allocated. Vitality: 6 → 7. Agility: 6 → 7]
My maximum HP rose instantly.
HP: 170/170
It wasn't a huge increase, but it was something. Every point mattered. I felt lighter, my muscles more responsive — subtle, but real.
Now for the reward. I opened my inventory. The Monster Core (Rank F) sat in the first slot, and the Wooden Chest in the second. I touched the chest. It materialized in my hands — small and surprisingly light. There was no lock, only a faint seam. I ran my fingers along it, and the lid opened with a soft click.
Inside, resting on black velvet that seemed to swallow the light, were two items.
The first was a sword. Not a legendary weapon, not shining or ornate. A short blade, dull steel, about sixty centimeters long. The handle was wrapped in rough leather. It looked functional, brutal — and infinitely more suitable for combat than my kitchen knife.
[Iron Short Sword]
Rank: F
Description: A standard short sword forged for reliability, not beauty. Slightly increases attack power.
Attribute: Strength +1
A +1 bonus to Strength. I gripped the sword. The weight felt good in my hands. I swung it, a bit awkwardly — but even with my weak strength, the blade sliced the air with a faint whistle. I stored the kitchen knife in my inventory — maybe it'd be useful later — and equipped the sword. Its icon appeared in a new slot on my status screen: Main Weapon. My total Strength was now 7.
The second item intrigued me more. A small orb, no larger than my thumb, made of a pearlescent material that shifted colors under the light — from white to blue to violet. Warm to the touch.
[Orb of Luck]
Rank: ?
Description: A fragment of solidified chance. It's said that fate smiles upon those who possess it. A consumable item.
Effect: Permanently increases the user's 'Luck' attribute to the maximum level.
I blinked. Rank question mark? Increases Luck to the max? Luck wasn't even listed on my status screen. It was the kind of ridiculously broken item you'd only get from limited-time events or pay-to-win gacha pulls. And I'd gotten it from killing a level 1 rat.
Without hesitation, I grabbed the orb. It pulsed in my hand — as if it had a heartbeat.
"Use," I thought.
The orb dissolved into motes of light that sank into my skin. There was no blinding flash, no overwhelming surge of power — just a quiet change. A calm settled within me, a silent confidence that somehow, things would work out. As if the odds of the universe had tilted slightly in my favor.
A new line appeared on my status screen.
Luck: MAX
The word MAX, written in golden letters, glowed with quiet promise.
I didn't know how it would manifest. Better item drops? More critical hits? Narrowly avoiding death by coincidence? Probably all of the above. This item, more than the sword or the symbiote, could be my greatest advantage in this hellish world.
Feeling renewed, I decided to wash up.
I headed to the small bathroom, stripped off the bloody clothes, and stepped into the shower. Hot water ran down my body, washing away the grime and dried blood — but not the memory of the fight, or the feeling of the rat's life being drained into me.
That dark pleasure I'd felt… it scared me more than any monster. It was part of me now — a hunger the symbiote had awakened.
When I stepped out, dressed in clean clothes, I felt a bit more human. The silence in the apartment was oppressive. I went to the window and peeked outside. The street was emptier now, but the destruction was clear. And there were more of them. I spotted two more Putrid Mole Rats rummaging through a toppled trash bin, and something small and fast — like a goblin — darting into an alley.
The world wasn't going to wait for me to adjust. The system seemed to agree, as a new window appeared with a soft chime — a sound far too calm for the urgency of its message.
[New Main Quest II]
Objective: Initial extermination is required to establish a safe zone. Hunt low-level invaders.
Progress: Kill monsters (0/50).
Reward: 1x Minor Healing Potion, 1x Random Chest (Rank E).
Failure: The area will become more dangerous.
Fifty monsters. Fifty. I had barely survived one. The scale of the task was crushing. But the reward… a Rank E chest was likely better than the F one I'd opened. And a healing potion was priceless — a safety net I couldn't ignore.
"Failure: The area will become more dangerous."
That wasn't a choice. It was an ultimatum.
I took a deep breath. The Klaus from yesterday would've curled up in a corner and waited for the end. But the Klaus of today had a sword, regeneration, and the universe's luck on his side. The fear was still there — a cold knot in my gut — but now there was something else: grim determination.
I had a clear goal. I needed XP to level up and grow stronger. I needed Vital Energy to feed my abilities and, perhaps, evolve them through Conversion to Evolution Points.
And to get all that, I needed to hunt.
I grabbed the sword. The leather grip felt firm in my hand.
I glanced through the window, planning my next move. The two rats by the trash bin were a good start. They were together — dangerous — but distracted. If I could take one out quickly…
I left my apartment with less hesitation this time.
I descended the stairs silently, my enhanced agility making my steps lighter.
At the building's entrance, I peeked out. The street was the same — a graveyard of cars and tense silence. The two rats were still there.
I was about to move when I stopped. A third rat emerged from behind a car, joining the others. Fighting three at once would be suicide. My plan was already ruined.
Then luck intervened.
Just as the third rat approached the trash bin, a loose piece of metal from a nearby light pole — damaged in the earlier fight — gave way. It crashed down with a sharp clang, not on the rats but just a few meters away. The noise startled them.
Two bolted in the opposite direction, vanishing around a corner. The third — the newcomer — froze for a crucial second, staring toward the sound.
Alone. Exposed.
I didn't need another invitation.
I sprinted forward, sword raised.
The rat turned toward me — too late.
I didn't aim for its flank this time. I remembered that 16 Intelligence. Use your head.
Aim for the neck.
The creature lunged, but my strike was faster.
The steel blade met diseased flesh with less resistance than expected.
A deep gash opened, and thick, dark blood spurted out.
[-65 HP]
A damage pop-up floated above its head.
A critical hit? Maybe.
The rat screeched and snapped at me, but I was already retreating, activating Life Absorption. A tendril of shadow connected us, and that familiar rush of stolen vitality filled me again.
This fight was different.
I was stronger, faster, armed.
The rat, bleeding and drained, slowed down.
I dodged its desperate strike and lunged forward, driving my sword through its chest.
The blade pierced clean through, and the creature fell, convulsing.
I kept the connection until the end, absorbing every drop of its energy.
[You have slain Putrid Mole Rat (Level 1)]
[+150 XP]
[Vital Energy absorbed: +30]
[Vital Core: 30/5000]
[Quest Progress: Kill monsters (1/50)]
The body dissolved into particles of light.
I stood there, breathing hard — but almost unscathed.
Luck had given me the chance, and I had seized it.
I looked down the now-empty street.
Forty-nine. Forty-nine to go.
The road ahead was long and perilous, but for the first time, the future didn't look like a dark abyss.
It looked like an XP bar waiting to be filled.
Sword in hand, I began moving through the silent streets of São Paulo — no longer as prey hiding in fear, but as a hunter staking claim to his new territory.
The game had begun.
And I was ready to play.