Rayan lay on the cold ground, staring at the stars.
His body felt like it had been beaten with stones. Every muscle ached. Every breath burned. But he was alive.
He turned his head to look at the creature's body. In the darkness, it looked like a pile of shadows slowly dissolving into mist.
[ NIGHT STALKER CORPSE ]
[ OPTION: ABSORB ESSENCE? ]
[ YES / NO ]
Rayan blinked. Absorb essence? What did that mean?
He hesitated. The creature had tried to kill him. Touching it felt wrong. But the system hadn't betrayed him yet.
He reached out a trembling hand and touched the dissolving body.
[ ABSORBING... ]
A strange energy flowed into his arm. Warm. Electric. It spread through his body like liquid fire.
[ ESSENCE ABSORBED ]
[ +5 PERMANENT HEALTH ]
[ +2 PERMANENT STRENGTH ]
Rayan gasped. His aches faded slightly. He felt... stronger.
He looked at his hands. The blue glow was gone, but something new was there—a faint mark on his palm. A symbol he didn't recognize.
[ NEW ABILITY UNLOCKED: ESSENCE ABSORPTION ]
[ You can now absorb energy from defeated enemies ]
[ WARNING: Some essences may have side effects ]
Side effects? What kind of side effects?
He didn't have time to wonder. The sky was getting lighter. Dawn was coming.
---
Rayan forced himself to stand. His legs shook, but they held.
He looked around. The alley was empty now. The creature's body had completely dissolved, leaving only a dark stain on the ground.
He needed to find shelter. Somewhere safe. Somewhere he could rest and think.
[ QUEST: FIND SHELTER ]
[ OBJECTIVE: Locate a safe place to rest ]
[ REWARD: 50 EXP + HEALING POTION ]
[ TIME LIMIT: 3 HOURS ]
Three hours. He could do that.
Rayan limped out of the alley and into the waking city.
---
The morning crowd was already forming. People hurried to work, sipping coffee, scrolling through phones. No one looked at the dirty boy with blood on his clothes.
Rayan kept his head down and walked.
He tested his new skill:
[ ACTIVATE DETECT ]
A wave of energy pulsed from his body. For a second, he saw the world differently—every living thing glowed with a faint aura.
The man beside him: [ LEVEL 3 - IGNORE ]
The woman across the street: [ LEVEL 4 - IGNORE ]
A dog sleeping in a doorway: [ LEVEL 1 - IGNORE ]
No threats nearby. Good.
The skill cost energy, though. After just ten seconds, he felt tired. He deactivated it.
"Useful, but expensive," he muttered.
---
He walked for an hour, searching.
Abandoned buildings were either locked or occupied by other homeless people. Some were dangerous—he detected high-level auras inside and stayed away.
Then he found it.
An old warehouse near the river. The door was broken. Inside, it was dark and dusty. Old machines sat rusting in the corners. But there was a small office in the back—a room with a door that locked.
Rayan pushed the office door open. A desk. A chair. A dusty couch. And best of all—a window high on the wall that let in light but was too small for anyone to climb through.
[ LOCATION DISCOVERED: ABANDONED WAREHOUSE - OFFICE ]
[ STATUS: SAFE HAVEN ]
[ EFFECT: REST SPEED +20% ]
[ EFFECT: HEALTH REGENERATION +5% ]
Rayan almost cried with relief.
He locked the door, collapsed onto the couch, and closed his eyes.
[ QUEST COMPLETE: FIND SHELTER ]
[ REWARD: 50 EXP + HEALING POTION ]
[ HEALING POTION ADDED TO INVENTORY ]
[ LEVEL UP! ]
[ CURRENT LEVEL: 3 ]
[ STAT POINTS AVAILABLE: 5 ]
Rayan opened his eyes. Stat points? He focused, and a new screen appeared:
[ STAT DISTRIBUTION ]
[ STRENGTH: 8 ] (Affects physical damage)
[ AGILITY: 6 ] (Affects speed and reflexes)
[ VITALITY: 7 ] (Affects health and stamina)
[ INTELLIGENCE: 9 ] (Affects skill power)
[ PERCEPTION: 8 ] (Affects detection and awareness)
[ UNASSIGNED POINTS: 5 ]
Rayan studied the numbers. His intelligence was highest—probably from all those nights thinking, surviving, planning. His agility was lowest—no surprise, since he'd been starving for years.
He thought carefully. What did he need most?
Survival. Always survival.
He put 2 points into VITALITY. More health meant more chances to survive.
He put 2 points into AGILITY. Running away was his best weapon.
He put 1 point into PERCEPTION. Seeing danger before it saw him.
[ STATS UPDATED ]
[ VITALITY: 9 ]
[ AGILITY: 8 ]
[ PERCEPTION: 9 ]
[ HEALTH INCREASED: 120/120 ]
Rayan felt the changes immediately. His breathing eased. His muscles felt less heavy. Even his vision seemed sharper.
He smiled. This system... it was changing him. Making him better.
---
He slept.
For the first time in years, he slept without nightmares.
When he woke, sunlight was streaming through the high window. He checked the system clock—he had slept for twelve hours.
[ HEALTH: FULLY RESTORED ]
[ STATUS: WELL RESTED ]
Rayan stretched. His body felt good. Strong.
He remembered the healing potion and focused on his inventory:
[ INVENTORY ]
[ 1x HEALING POTION ] (Restores 50% health instantly)
[ 0x COINS ]
[ 1x NIGHT STALKER CLAW ] (Crafting material)
A claw? He didn't remember taking that. The system must have automatically collected it.
He pulled the claw from his inventory. It materialized in his hand—sharp, black, still faintly warm.
[ NIGHT STALKER CLAW ]
[ EFFECT: Can be used to craft a basic weapon ]
[ CRAFTING RECIPE UNLOCKED: NIGHT BLADE ]
[ REQUIREMENTS: 2x Night Stalker Claws + 1x Metal Handle ]
He needed one more claw. That meant killing another one of those creatures.
The thought made his stomach turn. But if he wanted to survive... if he wanted to become strong enough to never be helpless again... he would have to fight.
---
Rayan spent the next two days exploring his new territory.
He learned the warehouse's secrets—a hidden basement full of old machine parts, a broken window on the second floor that led to the roof, a water pipe that dripped clean water into a rusted barrel.
He collected metal scraps. Found a sturdy pipe that could serve as a handle. And each night, he used his DETECT skill to watch the creatures that came out after dark.
They were everywhere. Level 5 to Level 10. Some humanoid, some beast-like. They hunted the streets, looking for the weak, the lost, the alone.
Rayan watched them from his rooftop. And he planned.
On the third night, he was ready.
[ SELF-MADE QUEST: HUNT THE HUNTERS ]
[ OBJECTIVE: Defeat 2 Night Stalkers ]
[ REWARD: 500 EXP + NIGHT BLADE RECIPE COMPLETE ]
[ RISK: HIGH ]
Rayan looked at the quest. Five hundred experience. That would level him up multiple times.
But death... death was permanent.
He thought about the moon. About the voice that saved him. About the question: "Will you die with silence?"
"No," he whispered. "I won't."
He jumped down from the roof and walked into the darkness.
---
The first Night Stalker found him within minutes.
It emerged from an alley, its yellow eyes glowing. It was smaller than the first one—Level 6 instead of Level 8. But still deadly.
Rayan activated DETECT. The creature's movements slowed in his perception. He could see its muscles tense before it attacked.
When it lunged, he was ready.
He dodged left, swung the metal pipe, and connected with its ribs. The creature screamed and stumbled.
[ COMBO: 1 HIT ]
Rayan didn't stop. He attacked again and again, using every ounce of his new strength and agility. The pipe dented. His arms ached. But he kept swinging.
After thirty seconds of brutal fighting, the creature fell.
[ VICTORY! ]
[ ENEMY DEFEATED: NIGHT STALKER (LEVEL 6) ]
[ EXP GAINED: 150 ]
[ ESSENCE ABSORBED: +3 STRENGTH ]
Rayan gasped for air. His hands were shaking. But he had won. Alone. Without sacrificing years of his life.
He touched the dissolving body and collected the claw.
[ 2x NIGHT STALKER CLAWS OBTAINED ]
[ CRAFTING REQUIREMENTS MET ]
[ CRAFT NIGHT BLADE? ]
[ YES / NO ]
"Yes," Rayan whispered. "Craft it."
Light surrounded his hands. The claws and the metal pipe floated in the air, twisting, merging. Heat. Smoke. Then—
A blade appeared.
Black. Sharp. Curved like a crescent moon. It fit perfectly in his hand.
[ NIGHT BLADE CRAFTED ]
[ WEAPON: NIGHT BLADE (RARE) ]
[ DAMAGE: 20-30 ]
[ EFFECT: +15% damage against dark creatures ]
[ EFFECT: Glows in the presence of enemies ]
Rayan held the blade up. In the moonlight, it seemed to drink the darkness.
He smiled.
"Now," he said, looking into the night. "Who's next?"