The dead troll smelled worse than Quinn expected. Acrid smoke, coppery blood, and something like rotting meat filled the ruined chamber. He kicked a stone off his boot and leaned against the cracked wall, wiping sweat from his forehead. His heart was still hammering, but not from fear anymore.
It was from exhilaration.
He had fought his first monster, and he had won. Not because he was stronger, but because he was smarter, faster on the uptake. That, he thought, was the advantage of a gamer.
[Fragment of Power fully integrated. Strength attribute increased]
Quinn flexed his fingers, marveling at how different his body felt. There was a weight behind every movement now, a subtle promise of force waiting to be unleashed. He was no longer a scrawny gamer with bad posture. This body was… evolving.
He crouched and pried loose a shard from the rubble. It glowed faintly, pulsing in rhythm with his heartbeat. The System's text floated in his vision.
[Unstable Fragment Detected]
[Absorb? Y/N]
"Let's see how far this rabbit hole goes." He pressed it to his chest. The shard dissolved, warmth spreading through his veins.
[Fragment Acquired: Shard of Insight. Function: Enhanced Perception]
Quinn's eyes widened. The world snapped into clarity. He could see the flicker of dust motes hanging in the air, hear the faint drip of water deeper in the ruins, even feel the slight vibration of distant footsteps far above. His grin widened.
"This is busted," he whispered. "A regeneration shard, strength shard, and now I've got wallhacks."
A thought tugged at him. If this really was Artemis Fowl's world, then somewhere aboveground there was a manor, a boy genius plotting his first schemes, and an underground network of fairies bristling with advanced technology. The books had painted them as untouchable. To Quinn, they now looked like content waiting to be cleared.
But he wasn't stupid. Charging in blind would get him deleted before he even hit level two.
"Alright," he muttered, pacing the chamber. "Step one, stabilize. Step two, gather fragments. Step three, don't get spotted until I'm ready."
The System chimed as if rewarding his caution.
[New Quest: First Steps]
[Objective: Exit ruins without detection]
[Reward: Random Fragment]
Quinn raised an eyebrow. "Even the quest log gets me. Fine. Let's stealth this."
He adjusted his grip on the bloodstained rebar and moved. His enhanced perception guided him like a radar. Every creak of stone, every distant movement registered in his mind. He picked his way through broken hallways until he found a collapsed stairwell leading up.
The ruins gave way to soil and tangled roots. He clawed his way through, dirt under his nails, until he pushed up through the earth into the cool night air.
He froze.
The moon hung high above, casting silver light over manicured lawns. In the distance, lit faintly against the dark, stood Fowl Manor. The sight made his chest tighten. He had read about this place in paperbacks. Now he was trespassing on its lawn.
For a long moment, he just stood there, staring. Artemis Fowl would be inside. Maybe plotting the fairy heist, maybe still sharpening that cold intellect that made him terrifying. Quinn's gamer brain screamed opportunity, loot, alliances. His rational brain screamed suicide.
He crouched back into the shadows.
"Not yet. Not until I've got enough fragments to one-shot a squad of LEP."
The System rewarded restraint again.
[Quest Complete: First Steps]
[Reward: Random Fragment]
A shard materialized, hovering before him, soft green glow lighting his face. He caught it carefully, pressing it to his chest.
[Fragment Acquired: Shard of Silence. Function: Reduces noise made by host]
Quinn nearly laughed aloud. "A stealth buff? Perfect. RNG loves me already."
The sound of rustling leaves snapped his attention to the treeline. A patrol. Not human, his new perception told him. Small footsteps, light, moving in formation. His pulse quickened.
Fairies.
The LEP were here.
He dropped into the underbrush, barely breathing. Through the leaves, he saw them pass: three elves in armor that shimmered faintly under moonlight, carrying weapons that looked half magic, half sci-fi. Their visors glowed faint green as they scanned the grounds.
Quinn stayed still, every instinct screaming to stay hidden. His shard of silence wrapped him in comforting nothingness, muffling even the sound of his heartbeat.
One fairy paused, visor flicking his way. Quinn's hand tightened on the rebar. Seconds stretched. Then, with a gesture, the patrol moved on.
Only when the last glow faded into the trees did Quinn exhale.
He leaned back against the roots, heart racing, but his grin had returned. "Close call. But that confirms it. This is real."
The Fowl world was no longer words on a page. It was alive, dangerous, and watching. And he had just survived his first encounter without being caught.
He wiped dirt from his clothes, eyes fixed on the glowing manor in the distance. "Alright, Artemis. You play your game, I'll play mine. Let's see who breaks first."
The System chimed again.
[New Title Unlocked: Survivor of Shadows]
Quinn chuckled, standing tall beneath the moonlight. For the first time since his death, he didn't feel like a bystander in someone else's story.
This was his game now. And he intended to speedrun eternity.