The vault chamber was still humming from the echo of the Guardian's disappearance.
Jace stood in stunned silence, heart thudding like a war drum in his chest. Dust floated lazily in the air, illuminated by faint red lights that pulsed from the pedestal where the black cube now rested. Even after everything he'd just faced, part of him couldn't believe he was still alive.
> [Vault Key Acquired: Bloodbound Archive Alpha – Key #2]
[Fragmentary Archive Expanded. Vault Shop Access Granted.]
The notifications glowed quietly before his eyes. He didn't reach out right away. His body trembled from exhaustion and pain. His limbs screamed at him to collapse. His lungs burned with each breath.
But more than anything… he felt changed.
Whatever had just happened wasn't just a battle. It had been a test of something deeper — his will, his instinct, his purpose.
And he had passed.
He took a shaky step toward the pedestal.
As his fingers brushed the cube, it dissolved into light, flooding the room with a gentle crimson hue. A grid interface formed in the air before him — the Vault Shop — separated into tiers and branches, with dimmed-out options and glowing, active rewards.
At the top it read:
> Vault Shop – Tier 1 Access
[Current Keys: 2]
[Spend 1 Key to unlock a reward]
A small selection of items shimmered in view:
Soul Weapon Blueprint – Crimson Echo Blade
Skill Core – Death Spiral (Lv.1)
Passive – Iron Vein (Stamina +15%)
He hovered over each one, heart racing. It felt real. Tangible. More than anything the Federation academy had ever offered him.
"This is insane..." he whispered. "It's like a private system evolution path. Hidden from everyone else."
The system chimed softly in acknowledgment.
> [Your path is no longer bound to standard growth. The Archive will offer unique evolution options upon each major trial.]
He selected the Crimson Echo Blade blueprint.
The moment he confirmed it, a flash of energy surged into his palm. A red schematic branded itself into his mind — the outline of a blade forged from his blood and system essence. It didn't appear physically, not yet. He'd need resources to craft it.
> [New Blueprint Added: Soul Weapon – Crimson Echo Blade]
[Status: Incomplete – Requires Core Resonance & Shardsteel Alloy]
He blinked. "Core Resonance?"
> [Core Resonance = A Tier C+ or higher beast core aligned with user's soul signature.]
So he'd need to kill another strong beast. One that resonated with his evolving power.
No pressure.
He exhaled slowly and tucked the information away, then looked to the second reward. A passive would keep him alive longer — stamina was everything in a fight — but the skill…
Jace tapped Death Spiral.
> [Skill Acquired: Death Spiral – Lv.1]
[Effect: Temporarily increase blade momentum; weapon spins in a violent arc, dealing 160% physical damage and applying bleed.]
His grin returned. "That'll do."
Another notification popped up beneath the shop.
> [Vault Shop Cooldown: 6 Days Remaining]
[Next Trial Opportunity: Undiscovered]
With that, the interface faded. The chamber dimmed. The altar slid back into the floor like it had never been touched.
Jace let himself fall back onto the ground, staring up at the cracked ceiling above.
This place… this power… it wasn't part of any official system or Academy enhancement path. It was off-grid. Secret.
And yet somehow, meant for him.
---
Outside the vault, the sun was beginning to rise over Zone 5W.
Orange light pierced the jagged skyline. The mist that hung low in the ruins began to lift, revealing twisted metal frames, fractured roads, and shattered towers — all remnants of Earth's last major war with the alien clans.
Jace made his way carefully back through the ruins, moving slower now, drained but alert. He stuck to the shadows, ducking through crumbled streets and derelict storefronts.
His head was filled with thoughts, his mind still swimming with the aftershocks of the Guardian's trial. Not just the system updates or the skills gained, but the implications — the eyes that had watched him, the voice that wasn't the system's, the way the shadows bent to the will of something older than logic.
Who created this vault?
Who placed that Guardian there?
Why did it recognize his Archive?
And maybe more importantly — who else knew about it?
> [XP Gained: 360 (Shardhorn Strider)]
[Level Progress: 92% to Lv. 4]
He was nearly ready to level again. One more fight. One more decent core. And he'd likely gain access to whatever came next.
He opened his personal log — a system note function — and jotted down a few names and terms.
Vault Guardian
Bloodbound Archive
Core Resonance
Fragmentary Keys
Federation Scout Presence
He narrowed his eyes at that last one. The scouts had been armed. Organized. Not random Federation cleanup crew. They'd known something was going on.
And they weren't the only ones sniffing around the ruins.
His stomach growled.
"Ugh, right… food."
Jace scavenged what he could from an old corner store half buried under debris. Most of the sealed cans had long expired, but he found a few rations still wrapped in preservation foil, and a small bottle of purified water.
He ate in silence near a broken window, watching the sun climb through a skyline of decay. Even though the city was a husk, there was something beautiful about the way the light touched the ruined world—like life hadn't given up completely.
He sipped from the bottle and leaned his head back.
And for the first time in years, he smiled.
Not because he felt safe. He didn't. But because for once, he wasn't powerless.
"Low-rank ability, huh?" he muttered. "We'll see how long that label lasts."
As if responding to his defiance, the system chimed again.
> [Bloodbound Archive Update:]
[Unlocked Perk: Instinct Sync Lv.1 – Minor awareness increase during stress.]
[Next milestone: Kill a B-tier beast.]
He raised a brow. "B-tier? We're really skipping ahead now."
Most students didn't face B-tier monsters until well into their second or third year of college training—unless they had elite abilities or joined hunting squads.
He was neither.
But the system didn't care. It was pushing him forward—fast.
Maybe too fast.
Jace pocketed the food wrappers and stood. "Alright. Let's find shelter before another shardhorn wants a rematch."
---
He returned to the outer edges of Zone 5W, away from where he'd fought the beast. There were less collapsed buildings here, and an old subway control room seemed like a decent hideout. Reinforced doors. Underground entry. A single entrance he could block.
Inside, the air smelled of rust and dust, but it was dry.
He locked the door behind him, stacked a metal crate in front of it, and finally allowed himself to breathe.
The quiet was deafening.
He sat in the corner, back to the wall, knees pulled up.
And his thoughts wandered.
Back to the Academy.
Back to the betrayal.
---
Two days ago, Jace had been a nobody.
Ranked dead last among his class at Linwood Academy. The kid with a "Null Pulse" ability—barely useful for lighting a spark, let alone combat. The teachers hadn't even looked twice. His peers laughed behind his back, and some didn't bother hiding it at all.
He'd kept his head down, biding time, hoping his grades and physical training would earn him a decent internship—maybe even a field support role.
But that hope died the moment of the mock raid exercise.
Jace remembered it vividly—how they'd lured him out during the simulation, told him he was being assigned a solo support position. He'd followed orders.
And found himself locked inside a damaged zone pod.
They left him there. On purpose.
And disabled the signal beacon.
The last thing he heard before the doors sealed was one of the squad leaders—Graye—laughing.
"Don't take it personally, loser. Just helping thin the herd."
---
He clenched his jaw.
If he hadn't forced the emergency override… if he hadn't stumbled into the overgrown tunnel system that led to the tomb… he'd be dead.
He wasn't going to forget that.
The world hadn't given him anything. But he was going to take everything back.
And the first place to start… was back at the Academy.
---
The next morning, Jace woke to the sound of low rumbling.
He snapped awake, blade in hand, scanning the room.
The metal wall vibrated slightly, and faint tremors shook the crates. Not an earthquake.
> [System Alert: High-energy pulse detected. Location: Zone 5W, Sector 9A.]
He checked his map. That was only a few kilometers away.
> [Warning: Signature matches unknown elite-class energy profile.]
He sat forward, heart thudding. "Another Vault?"
Or worse… someone else using a system like his.