Chapter 2 — The First Entry
Kairo didn't choose immediately.
The glowing options hovered before him, each pulsing softly, each promising survival in a different way.
Enhanced Reflexes (D)
Steel Skin (D)
Minor Vitality Boost (E)
Three fragments. Three paths.
His breathing slowed as he forced himself to think.
This wasn't a miracle. It wasn't charity.
It was a ledger.
And every entry mattered.
"Steel Skin would keep me alive longer," Kairo muttered. "Vitality helps recovery."
Both were tempting. Both were safe.
Too safe.
Kairo's gaze settled on the first option.
Enhanced Reflexes (D).
Speed. Perception. Reaction.
In a world where blessed killed unblessed before they could even raise a weapon, acting first mattered more than enduring hits.
"I can't afford to be slow," he said quietly.
His finger pressed forward.
[BLESSING FRAGMENT CLAIMED]
Enhanced Reflexes (D)
Integrating…
Pain exploded behind his eyes.
Kairo cried out as something rewired itself inside him. His thoughts accelerated, senses sharpening violently. The forest snapped into brutal clarity — every leaf trembling, every insect wing slicing the air.
He collapsed to one knee, gasping.
Then it passed.
Kairo lifted his hands.
They felt… lighter.
No. Not lighter.
Faster.
He snapped his fingers.
The sound cracked instantly, sharper than before.
A laugh bubbled out of his chest, half disbelief, half awe.
"So it's real," he whispered.
The system didn't respond.
It didn't praise him.
It simply updated.
[DEATH'S LEDGER — ENTRY 001]
Blessing: Enhanced Reflexes
Rank: D
Source: Renn Valis
Ledger.
The word lingered.
A record. A count.
A promise.
Kairo stood slowly, testing his balance. The world no longer felt like it was moving too fast for him. If anything, it felt like everyone else was lagging behind.
That's when the memory hit him.
Renn.
Alive.
Nearby.
Kairo's smile faded.
"I need to confirm something," he murmured.
If Renn killed him again… would the system trigger again?
And more importantly—
Would Renn remember?
Footsteps approached from the trees, exactly as before.
Renn Valis emerged, dagger resting casually against his shoulder. "There you are. You really scared me for a second."
His eyes flicked over Kairo, assessing.
"Still breathing. Pity."
Kairo didn't respond.
He watched.
Renn frowned. "What's with that look?"
In the previous cycle, Kairo had flinched here.
This time, he saw the dagger move before it moved.
Renn lunged.
Kairo twisted.
The blade sliced air where his throat had been.
Renn froze, eyes widening.
"What—"
Kairo shoved him back and sprinted.
His feet barely touched the ground.
Branches blurred past as Kairo ran deeper into the forest, heart pounding not with fear, but exhilaration.
"I'm faster," he breathed. "I'm actually faster."
Renn's shout echoed behind him. "You little—!"
Footsteps followed.
Fast ones.
Blessed ones.
Kairo skidded behind a tree, mind racing.
I can't beat him yet.
But I don't need to.
An idea formed — reckless, dangerous, necessary.
He stepped out.
Renn charged, furious now, dagger raised.
Kairo didn't dodge.
He let the blade sink into his side.
Pain ripped through him.
Renn's grin returned. "There you go. Back where you belong."
Kairo grabbed Renn's wrist.
And smiled.
"Thanks," he whispered.
Renn blinked. "For what—"
The world went black.
[DEATH CONFIRMED]
Kairo gasped back to life, slamming into the dirt.
Pain lingered, ghostlike, but faded quickly.
The system surged to life.
[BLESSING FRAGMENTS DETECTED]
Source: Renn Valis
Available Fragments:
— Steel Skin (D)
— Minor Vitality Boost (E)
Select one.
Kairo exhaled slowly.
"So you don't remember," he said aloud.
Renn was still out there — but this Renn hadn't killed him yet.
Meaning the world reset.
Only he carried the ledger forward.
That realization sent a chill through him.
This wasn't just power.
It was isolation.
He selected Steel Skin (D).
[BLESSING FRAGMENT CLAIMED]
Steel Skin (D)
Integrating…
His flesh hardened momentarily, then returned to normal — but deeper, denser.
Kairo struck a tree experimentally.
The bark cracked.
He laughed under his breath.
Two deaths.
Two blessings.
And Renn still thought he was prey.
Kairo stood, brushing dirt from his clothes.
"No more blind deaths," he said. "If I'm dying, I'm taking something worth it."
The system pulsed once.
[NOTICE]
Repeated deaths from the same source yield diminishing returns.
His smile widened.
"Good," Kairo said. "I don't plan to farm trash forever."
He turned toward the direction the squad had gone.
Toward the academy.
Toward nobles.
Toward a world that had decided he was nothing.
"I'll start small," he whispered. "Then I'll climb."
Behind his eyes, unseen, the ledger opened again.
And far above, something ancient took notice of the boy who treated death like currency.
End of Chapter 2