Yesterday had been a whirlwind of a new discovery, new techs and understanding, and a system touring it was a splendid day and he was enjoying this new world. Azrael had barely processed it all, but one thing was clear: strength was survival. And connections was power it was a splendid time and he discovered the ranks and situation of the world by reading history books it was wonderful.
"I want to enter a Gate," Azrael said as he stepped out of the bathroom,his towel draped over his neck, and his eyes focused with quiet determination.
Lyra hearing this raised a brow from where she lounged on the couch, sipping on some kind of smoothie. "What?"
"I'm thinking of starting today we have to be strong enough to build a better future for humanity than dying or becoming extinct."
She blinked, then narrowed her eyes. "Do you have a death wish? You just woke up from a coma. You barely know how to activate your skill, and you want to throw yourself into combat already?"
"That's the best way to improve," he replied, stretching. "Real battles push you. They force your body, your reflexes, your instincts to catch up."
Lyra sighed, putting down her drink. "You're impossible. Fine. But we're doing this my way. I'll book a gate,but only one with a low-risk clearance."
Azrael grinned. "Thanks. Also… thanks for teaching me how to use a phone. This tech is complicated, yet somehow, it makes sense. I kinda like it."
Lyra chuckled. "You'll get used to it. Now go get dressed. I'll book the gate. Maybe… I'll get to test out my ability too."
Azrael turned and headed to his room, still smiling but as he reached for his pants, a sharp notification in red appeared before his eyes:
[Daily Quest Failed]
[Begin Penalty]
Before he could react, his body was ripped from reality. In an instant, he was submerged in the water an icy cold and deep water surrounded by monstrous fish the size of cars.
[Penalty: Survive. You must not lose consciousness for the next one minute or face permanent death.]
He couldn't speak and opening his mouth would drown him. He kicked upward, trying to breach the surface, but a massive fish slammed into him. Its jagged teeth sank into his arm, ripping it clean off.
His scream was muffled by a rush of water. His vision blurred.
[0:56]
He flailed desperately, only to feel another sharp pain as his legs were torn apart. The agony was unimaginable. And his lungs screamed for air, his chest burned due to it coming in contact with salt water, and blood clouded the water around him.
[0:37]
More fishes approached. Something bit into his side. And his body was breaking apart. He couldn't move. His mind was fading, blurring at the edges.as terror clawed at him.
[0:20]
He stared at the flickering timer, eyes wide in horror. His mind was slipping… drowning and dying.
[0:10]
A fish delivered the final bite on his head. His brain felt like it exploded. His last thought: So this is how it ends…
But then light came into his view.
He gasped and found himself standing again, back in his room. His pants were still halfway on. No blood. No pain. No water.
Another notification replaced the red:
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[You have a new Daily Quest!]
100 Push-ups
100 Sit-ups
100 Squats
Run 10 kilometers
[Warning: Failure will result in a Penalty.]
[Rewards: 3 Stat Points + Random Reward Box]
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Azrael stared at the screen, breathing hard. His hands trembled. That… wasn't just pain. That was death. Real death.
He made a silent vow. I'll never fail another quest.
A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts. as he quickly putted on his pants.
"You ready?" Lyra called. "Gate's booked."
Azrael shook off the sweat, pulled on a white hoodie with a red-lined neck curve, and looked into the mirror.
"Stunning as ever," he muttered, smiling weakly to himself.
He stepped out of his room and nearly tripped due to what he saw.
Lyra stood in the hallway, dressed in a sleeveless Egyptian-style outfit that somehow hugged her curves perfectly. Gold accents shimmered against her bronze skin, and her hair was tied up in a high, fierce ponytail.
Azrael stared at her lost in her mesmerizing beauty.
She noticed and turned bright red. "Wipe that dumb look off your face."
She smacked him lightly on the head and pushed past.
Outside the apartment, a small box sat beside the door. Azrael picked it up, opened it, and found two sleek, curved daggers. As he held them, a new notification appeared:
[Inventory Unlocked. You can now store and equip items.]
Before Lyra could ask, Azrael made the daggers vanish with a thought.
"Your skill?" she asked, arching an eyebrow.
"Yeah," he lied smoothly.
"Neat," she muttered, starting the Tesla. "Let's go."
They sped through the city, the familiar blur of neon and skyline passing by. Eventually, the car stopped in front of a massive, polished building the Hunter Association Base 1 he was awfully familiar with the building.
"Wait here," Lyra said. "Need to grab something real quick ok?."
Azrael nodded, too busy admiring his new inventory interface and wondering about his still-unclaimed reward box.he decided when they were back in the apartment he will complete it and claim the box. Lyra disappeared into the building.
Inside, she was immediately greeted.
"Miss Evercrest, welcome."
"Where's the package?" she asked sharply.
"Yes, ma'am. Right away. Please have a seat."
Lyra stayed standing, tapping her foot.
Meanwhile, Azrael was fiddling with his daggers, watching them flicker in and out of his inventory. He remembered the skill change from earlier.
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[Skill Acquired: Assassin's Build - X-Rank]
A unique skill granting assassin-type abilities. Due to unexpected alteration, the skill now branches into side-skills unlocking every 5 levels].
[First Side Skill: Basic Dagger Mastery]
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He smiled. It may have started as D-Rank trash, but now its on another level X-Rank. Something in him had changed and it was thanks to the influence of this new world and system.
A moment later, Lyra returned with a slim package and handed him a black ID card with silver inlays.
"Your license she said. You're officially registered as a variant," she said, climbing into the car. "Now, time for some action."
Azrael tucked the card into his pocket as the car roared to life again, heading toward their first gate.
Arriving at the gate, Azrael stepped out of the car, eyes narrowing as he scanned the surroundings.
"Wait a minute… Isn't this the gate I collapsed in last time?" he asked, his voice laced with unease.
"Yep," Lyra said casually, shutting the door behind her. "It's the same one. And it's the one we're entering today."
Azrael gave her a look. "You serious?"
"If we can't clear it today, we come back tomorrow," she said with a shrug. "And we'll keep doing that until we've mastered our first skills."
She cracked her knuckles, eyes gleaming with anticipation.
"Alright less talking, more entry."
She flashed her ID at the gate terminal, and a dull hum echoed through the air as the swirling green gate pulsed to life. Azrael swallowed, his fingers brushing over the handles of his stored daggers. There was no turning back now.
"Time to see what I'm really made of," he muttered, stepping forward beside her as they vanished into the light.
The moment they stepped through the gate, the environment shifted drastically. What had once been a quiet forest was now a frigid wasteland. Icy winds howled through the barren plains, biting at their skin with each gust. The sky above was gray and heavy, casting the land in a dull, lifeless hue.
Time here ticked differently, each hour outside equaled an entire day within. It wasn't just the monsters they had to worry about. Surviving in this frozen hell meant enduring the elements too.
Azrael scanned the desolate landscape and muttered, "That's strange… this place looks nothing like before. Last time, it was a forest. Why did it change?"
Before Lyra could respond, a low growl echoed from ahead.
A pack of wolves emerged from behind a jagged ridge, massive creatures with thick fur and fangs coated in frost. Their icy breath fogged the air as they loomed over the carcass of some unlucky beast they'd been feasting on.
The wolves' eyes locked onto the new arrivals. More prey.
A chilling snarl filled the air.
________________________________________
[Ding…]
[Quest Initiating…]
[Objective: Kill 100 Ice Wolves]
[Reward: 1 Side Skill, 5 Attribute Points, Random Reward Box]
_______________________________________
Azrael's heart pounded. A system quest. His motivation surged.
From the back of the pack, a much larger wolf stepped forward,its fur darker, its presence was heavier. It was the alpha.
"Awoooooooooooo!" it howled.
The others answered, voices blending into a haunting chorus.
But just as they raised their heads, one wolf dropped with a dagger embedded between its eyes.
The pack froze, shocked. Then, their eyes burned with rage.
"They're coming," Azrael muttered, readying his stance.
Lyra didn't hesitate. Her fingers danced, and a wave of blood-red energy shimmered around her.
Crimson Threads.
Razor-thin blood whips erupted around her, writhing in the air.
The condition for activation? Blood.
The daggered wolf's leaking wound was enough.
"Holy hell… that skill is broken," Azrael breathed, watching the blood twist unnaturally through the cold wind.
One of the threads lashed out, grabbing his dagger and flinging it back to him with perfect precision.
"If I bind one, you end it. Got it?!" Lyra shouted.
Azrael caught the dagger mid-air and nodded.
"Now!" she yelled, ensnaring a wolf and slicing one of its legs mid-bind.
Azrael dashed forward, low to the ground. One clean strike. The wolf's head rolled off its shoulders.
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[Killed 2 Ice Wolves – 300 EXP Gained]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Quest Progress: 2/100]
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There was no time to admire the notifications. More wolves surged forward, snarling and snapping.
Azrael ducked under a leaping one, slashing its throat. Lyra's threads lashed left and right two was her limit, and that limitation was starting to show.
Focused on the wolves flanking them, she missed the one charging directly at her.
Azrael saw it first.
"Lyra!" he shouted, hurling himself forward.
The wolf tackled him mid-air, flinging him across the snow with brute force. He hit the ground hard, rolling over ice and slush before coming to a stop.
"Dammit!" Lyra hissed, then whipped both threads into the charging beast. They tore into its gut, splitting it open.
She spun toward where Azrael had landed only to find another dead wolf instead.
No Azrael.
"What…?" she whispered, then blinked.
Further left, another wolf fell, its skull caved in. Azrael stood over it, panting, bleeding from his forehead, but alive.
Before she could say anything, the alpha wolf stepped forward.
Its howl was deep and resonant one that shook the air itself. Its aura blanketed the battlefield like an avalanche.
Azrael's instincts screamed. He activated Appraisal.
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[Name: Iron Jaw Ice Wolf]
[Rank: Epic Boss]
[STR: 30 | AGI: 34 | HP: 200 | MP: 250]
________________________________________
His eyes widened. "Epic boss?!"
Without hesitation, he shouted at the top of his lungs:
"Lyra, don't engage! Fall back! I'll hold it off!"
"Lyra being stubborn shouted, we will take it down together!". The two of them came together and the wolves closed in.Dozens of them.
Snarling and Snapping thier jaws as Eyes glowing in the frostbitten haze Came close.
Azrael and Lyra stood back-to-back, They were surrounded.
He panted weakly his fatigue was piling up,his blade slick with blood, and his breath visible in the cold air.Multiple Cuts streaked across his arms. His coat was torn, and crimson dotted the snow beneath his boots.
Lyra wasn't much better her threads had grown sluggish, and her movements slightly slower. Blood ran down her shoulder and the side of her cheek.
They weren't going to survive if this dragged on They needed a strategy and they need it quick.
"Three on the left!" Azrael shouted, ducking under another lunging wolf.
"Got it!" she answered
Her threads snapped out,the two of them slicing the nearest wolves' legs mid-pounce while the third remained barely summoned.
Then it flickered and her eyes widened. That was impossible.
A thread she hadn't called shimmered behind her, instinctively slashing a wolf about to land on her blindside.
Three threads.
She blinked, the realization hitting her. "I… broke through?" She shouted as
a surge of energy coursed through her veins. Her will had deepened under the pressure of life and death and her skill responded in kind.
The wolves hesitated for just a second. But that second was all she needed.
Lyra raised her hand.
Crimson Threads: Trinity Bind.
Three blood-drenched whips burst from her fingertips Consuming the surrounding blood and tore into the wolves like a whirlwind. One wrapped around a throat.and Another cleaved through the spine of one of the wolves. The third lashed outward in an arc, cutting three wolves mid-jump into a rain of gore.
Azrael moved with the carnage, weaving between corpses,his eyes locked on the boss, the Iron Jaw Ice Wolf, still watching, and still waiting.
Azrael's instincts screamed danger. That thing wasn't going to wait forever. and he was right.The alpha growled and then charged towards them the Snow exploded beneath its claws as it bolted forward like a missile. Azrael sprinted toward it with his dagger raised, ducking under its first massive swipe.
He slashed its jaw hoping for a reaction.the blade struck the beast's metal-like jaw and shattered.
"Shit!" he hissed, stumbling back with only the hilt in his hand.
The Iron Jaw roared and lunged again this time seriously furious.
Azrael rolled aside, barely dodging as its claws gouged the frozen earth. A counterattack was impossible now.as he was weaponless.
Lyra whipped her threads toward the beast's flank, but they bounced off the thick hide with sparks. "Too tough!" she shouted. "We need to target a weak point!"
Soon the beast growled and opened its mouth releasing a frost mist, which lyra hardly dodged, leaving her left arm limp.
Azrael's eyes darted to its mouth.
"Open it up!" he yelled.Its the only weak point it has apart from the eyes.
Lyra understood immediately.And One thread lashed at the beast's eye, not to wound but to annoy it.Her plan was a success.
The boss howled,its jaw widening in a snarl. And Azrael ran.He dashed up a broken ice ledge,and leapt the momentum carrying him above the beast's open maw.
From his belt, he grabbed the broken ledge and plunged it straight down the moment the wolf snapped at him.
Steel met flesh and the wolf howled in pain the blade sunk deep into its mouth, not in the jaw, but through the upper palate, piercing Its brain badly.
The beast collapsed mid-roar,and the sound of choking turned into a gurgle as it hit the ground with a quake-like thud.Silence fell.and their breath steamed in the air.As blood pooled around the alpha. Dead wolves littered the snow, and a light flurry began falling over the battlefield.
________________________________________
[Quest Progress: 20/100]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
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Azrael collapsed beside the body of the alpha, panting heavily. He winced In pain, clutching his broken ribs.For something was definitely broken.Lyra dropped beside him, exhausted as well. As blood streaked down her leg, and one of her arms hung limp due to the devastating ability of the alpha.
They were in no shape to move on."We are going to rest here," she said, her voice rough.Azrael nodded. "And we will collect the Crystals later. No way I'm walking another step."
The corpses around them were still warm as faint steam was rising from the blood-soaked snow. They nestled close to one of the bigger wolves, letting its massive body shield them from the wind for now.
Lyra pulled out a small vial glowing blue from her storage ring."Thank god I bought healing potions at the association. Here." She tossed one to him.Azrael caught it,and uncorked it with his teeth, as he drank It.The warmth flooded his body as the potion worked its magic.All his wounds healing quickly.Lyra drank hers as well, sighing deeply in thought.as Snow continued to fall.
We tried right?,she asked while looking at Azrael.
Yeah and i think its time we pick thier crystals and continue going deeper, we are going to clear this dungeon today. I hope!