Calder woke to the shrill buzz of the system's internal alarm echoing through his skull. The kind of sound that didn't come from outside his room—but inside his mind. It sounded like a chorus of whispers layered with the screech of breaking glass, pulling him violently from his half-remembered dreamscape.
> \[SYSTEM ALERT: DAILY QUESTS UNLOCKED]
> Completion Rewards: Sovereign Insight Points (SIP), Random Trait Fragments, Stat Boosts
He sat up slowly, blinking against the dawn light slanting through his cracked blinds. His body ached in a dull, unfamiliar way. Like he'd been through a week of military boot camp compressed into one night. His arms were sore. His neck throbbed. And his back...
His back felt wrong. Not broken. Not injured. Just... different. As if someone had pulled apart his spine and reassembled it tighter, stronger.
Dragging himself to the mirror in his apartment's rust-stained bathroom, he blinked blearily at his reflection. Same flat hair. Same awkward frame. Still average. Still forgettable.
Except—no. Not quite.
His eyes weren't the same shade. A faint ring of gold shimmered just beneath the brown, like an ember buried beneath ash. His posture looked straighter. More grounded. His skin, which had always leaned toward a sickly pallor from cheap meals and worse sleep, seemed a touch more vibrant.
> \[Daily Quest 1: Scan Three Low-Level Rift Signatures]
> Status: Incomplete
> \[Daily Quest 2: Meditate to Refine Echo Thread (10 Minutes Minimum)]
> Status: Incomplete
> \[Daily Quest 3: Consume or Prepare Nutrient-Grade Meal]
> Status: Incomplete
> \[Optional: Slay a Riftspawn - Reward Multiplies]
"Right," Calder muttered. "Time to earn my way up."
---
**Week One: Progression Begins**
Every day began at dawn. Calder followed the ritual: search the local ruins of the broken sector for Rift traces, meditate in the corner of his dim room, and cook high-protein meals sourced from whatever scraps he could gather or trade. Occasionally, he would visit the old tech bazaar where discarded AR-glasses or portable Rift detectors would give him just enough insight to complete his scans.
> \[Day 1 Complete: SIP +70 | Strength +1 | Constitution +1 | Trait Fragment: Survivor's Instinct]
> \[Stats]
> Strength: 4
> Constitution: 5
> Endurance: 3
> Speed: 3
> Charm: 2
> Sovereign Insight Points (SIP): 70
Day by day, the routine started to shape him. On Day 2, Calder managed to barter for a military-grade protein bar from a passing scavenger—barely edible, but it completed his food quest.
On Day 3, he began to supplement his meditation with aggressive visualization. During these sessions, he could feel tendrils of warmth threading through his limbs. Echo energy, refined through force of will.
> \[Day 3 Complete: SIP +85 | Speed +1 | Endurance +1 | Trait Fragment: Adaptive Reflexes]
On Day 4, he found and defeated his first Riftspawn: a malformed dog-like creature prowling a trash-choked alley. It lunged, he panicked, then fought back using a rusted crowbar. The creature's blood was thick and smoky.
> \[Quest Bonus: Riftspawn Defeated - +200 SIP | Trait Gained: First Blood (+3% XP gain from first kills)]
By Day 5, he noticed people glancing at him twice in the slums. Not just out of suspicion—but something bordering respect.
By the end of the first week:
> \[STATS – WEEK 1]
> Strength: 7
> Constitution: 7
> Endurance: 6
> Speed: 5
> Charm: 3
> SIP: 420
> Traits: Survivor's Instinct, Adaptive Reflexes, First Blood
His body was leaner, tighter. Each step felt more precise. His jawline sharpened. His voice carried more weight. Even unawakened thugs who'd once shoved him aside now gave him space.
---
**Week Two: The First Signs of Influence**
During the second week, Calder's efforts became methodical.
He added weight training to his routine, using discarded metal rods and cinderblocks. Each session burned but left him stronger. He began practicing basic martial forms from old tutorial videos buried in the city net.
He upgraded his Rift scanning route, sneaking into semi-quarantined zones with higher Rift residue. His body adjusted to the ambient pressure faster each time.
On Day 9, he found a cracked Echo crystal and managed to bind it through meditation. It enhanced his perception momentarily, giving him glimpses into movement trails.
On Day 10, he unlocked a daily chain event:
> \[SPECIAL QUEST TRIGGERED: Echo-Stained Alleyway – Defeat 3 Shadow Wretches]
The battle was brutal. His system guided him with reactive tips mid-combat.
> \[DODGE LEFT – REINFORCED JOINTS ACTIVE]
> \[CRITICAL STRIKE WINDOW – SWING NOW]
He emerged bloodied but victorious.
> \[Bonus Gained: +350 SIP | New Skill: 'Sovereign Instinct' (Low-tier Pre-cog, 1-sec prediction window, 3x/day)]
On Day 12, he rescued a young girl cornered by a Riftspawn—a freakish thing with centipede legs and a lamprey mouth. He killed it with a sharpened rebar, barely managing to stay conscious.
> \[MORAL COMPASS EVENT TRIGGERED: HERO'S ECHO – 5% Public Favor Gained in Local Zone]
> \[Reward: Charisma +1 | Trait Fragment: Kindled Aura]
Later that night, while eating the soup the girl's family gave him, Calder felt a soft click in his bones—his spine straightened. His muscles pulsed with new density.
Each day, his internal system notified him of enhancements: muscle fiber acceleration, reflex tightness, bone strength, endocrine optimization. Even his scent had changed subtly—sharp but not unpleasant.
By Day 13, Calder noticed his dreams shifting. No longer chaotic, but visions of a distant throne carved in obsidian, surrounded by dragons and cloaked silhouettes.
On Day 14, he returned to the slums where he'd once been ignored. This time, strangers whispered after him. One young woman shyly asked if he was an awakened—he simply smiled and walked on.
> \[Day 14 Complete: SIP +120 | Constitution +1 | New Passive: Stamina Regen +5%]
**By the end of Week 2:**
> \[STATS – WEEK 2 SUMMARY]
> Strength: 10
> Constitution: 10
> Endurance: 8
> Speed: 7
> Charm: 5
> SIP Total: 1,150
> Traits: Survivor's Instinct, Adaptive Reflexes, First Blood, Kindled Aura
> Skills: Sovereign Instinct (1-sec precog, 3x/day)
> Passives: Stamina Regen +5%, Subtle Pheromone Drift
His once-awkward body had reshaped. Defined shoulders, thicker arms, carved flanks. His voice resonated with low power. Women started to glance his way longer. Men stepped aside. His presence, though still modest, hinted at what he would become.
The final night of the second week, his system chimed again.
> \[SYSTEM NOTICE: TIER 1.9 REACHED – Sovereign Body Reaching Apex Threshold. Tier 2 Unlock Available Upon Significant Milestone Achievement.]
> Next Path Choice: Demon / Dragon / God / Vampire – Branch Traits Available on Tier 2 Ascension
Calder exhaled slowly, stretching sore limbs beneath a cracked ceiling. His entire body pulsed with potential. He was no longer the nobody who tripped over his own feet in school.
He wasn't strong yet.
But the city had started whispering his name.
And soon, the world would learn it.