The scent of rotten wood.
The sound of chanting.
And a suffocating feeling of dread.
Kevin was sitting on a cold stone floor—nothing like the comfortable office chair he was used to.
The last thing he remembered was working another late shift at the brewery. Then suddenly a sharp sting in his left arm. The world blurred, fading into a dark mist as his consciousness slipped away.
His final emotion had been regret.
His entire life had passed, and he had nothing to show for it.
Year after year he had worked the same job, watching promotion after promotion pass him by. His wife left him after the fifth year.
The man who had once been full of ambition and dreams had slowly turned into nothing more than an office drone.
Now he was here.
Somewhere.
As Kevin tried to open his eyes, he saw only darkness.
Cloth covered his face.
His hands were bound together with something rough. Rope… or maybe leather.
Then he felt something strange.
Scales.
They brushed against his fingers.
Before he could react, a translucent screen suddenly appeared in his mind.
KEVIN ???
STRENGTH — 10
CONSTITUTION — 8
DEXTERITY — 10
WISDOM — 14
INTELLIGENCE — 16
CHARISMA — 10
HEALTH — 80/80
MANA — 160/160
STAMINA — 100/100
BONUSES AND PENALTIES
-20 Health (Constitution Penalty)
+60 Mana (Intelligence Bonus)
+20% Skill Comprehension (Wisdom Bonus)
Skills
General Skills
Language Comprehension
Allows the user to understand basic spoken language of the following races:
Human, Dragon
Mastery: Uncommon – 10%
Experience Gain
Allows the user to gain experience from killing living beings and improving social standing.
Mastery: ???
Darkness Elemental Affinity
Increases understanding of darkness-based skills and spells.
Mastery: Common – 50%
Identification and Appraisal
Allows the user to identify objects and people, revealing basic information such as race, material, or intended use.
Mastery: Common – 10%
Combat Skills
Boxer
Provides basic understanding of unarmed combat.
Accuracy increases with Dexterity.
Damage increases with Strength.
Sub-skills: Punch, Kick
Mastery: Common – 1%
Dark Energy Beam
Allows the user to expend mana to fire a pulse of dark energy from their hand, dealing fixed damage.
Mastery: Common – 50%
Where am I? What happened?
As the questions formed in Kevin's mind, the chanting in the room grew louder.
Even without understanding the language, he knew one thing.
This was bad.
Kevin had always enjoyed reading occult books in his previous life. Because of that, he could recognize a ritual when he saw one.
He had just died…
…and now he might die again.
Once more with nothing to show for it.
As despair crept in, another notification appeared.
Quest Unlocked
Reward:
• 100 EXP
• One Uncommon Reward
Kevin stared at the message.
Survive?
How exactly was he supposed to survive a ritual?
He tried moving his hands again.
Still tied.
Still touching something… or someone.
Then he remembered something.
The system mentioned dragons.
Taking a gamble, Kevin focused on Language Comprehension.
When he spoke, the words sounded strange—even to his own ears—but the meaning was clear.
"We have to work together to survive."
For a moment there was silence.
Then a deep voice answered beside him.
"We will survive."
Everything happened very quickly after that.
Kevin suddenly felt a sharp claw graze his hand.
Health -10
His bindings loosened.
The dragonman had cut them.
Kevin ripped the blindfold from his eyes.
Five cultists stood around them, completely absorbed in their ritual.
There was no escape without bloodshed.
Kevin raised his hand and focused on Dark Energy Beam.
He aimed for the nearest cultist's head.
The moment he released the spell, a beam of black energy shot from his palm.
The cultist's head vanished.
Gone.
From the corner of his eye Kevin saw a blur of glittering gold scales.
The dragonman moved like a storm.
Claws tore through flesh.
Limbs were ripped apart.
Within seconds, three more cultists lay dead.
Only one remained.
Kevin stepped forward.
They forced the final cultist to his knees.
Blood covered the ritual circle—but the chanting symbols continued glowing.
The ritual…
had succeeded.
The captured cultist began laughing hysterically.
"He will come… and devour you all!"
Kevin braced himself.
But instead of some monstrous entity appearing…
Something else materialized.
A stone pedestal rose from the center of the ritual circle.
On top of it rested a dark leather-bound book.
As Kevin looked at it, another notification appeared.
(Do you wish to Identify and Appraise?)
Kevin selected YES.
BOOK OF DARK FLAMES
This book contains forbidden knowledge capable of granting immense power.
To read it, the user must form a soul contract with the original writers.
Only those willing to pay the price may inherit its power.
Value: ???
Grade: ???
Origin: ???