In the world of Aethyros, the gods carved ten continents, each sustained by a divine shard—light, shadow, fire, water, air, earth, dream, beast, life, and death. For millennia, these shards preserved balance across the realms of mortals, angels, demons, and forgotten races.

But balance is fragile.

When Aric Ignovad, a lowborn youth from Eldranor, awakens not only the pitiful skill Lesser Restoration but also the long-lost Fragmented Protocol, the world itself trembles. This forbidden eleventh force—older than the gods, neither light nor dark—stirs calamities across Aethyros: volcanoes erupt, seas rage, ancient beasts rise, and myths step out of legend.

Mocked as weak, Aric’s only path forward is through his mysterious system, one that allows him to grow stronger through dungeons, guild trials, and battles against primordial monsters. But survival comes at a cost—every step he takes pulls him deeper into a destiny that could break the divine Accord of Ten.

As gods descend, guilds clash, and ancient races prepare for war, Aric must decide:
Will he remain a pawn of the divine… or embrace the power and defy the gods themselves?

Which meant the forest had suddenly turned into a very strange shopping trip.


Tried to spit some kind of sticky slime at him.


Result: One very annoyed Aric with half a boot glued shut.


Result: Aric learned that tiny claws hurt more than they should.


Result: Aric stabbed first, admired later.


By creature number nineteen, the thrill was gone.


The assimilation process still worked — the red life essence swirling into him — but each time, the system's bland text scrolled past:


He wasn't getting stronger in any obvious way, and his skill list remained stubbornly short.


"Seriously? Nothing? Not even Better Tree Climbing? Or earth digging" Aric grumbled as he wiped rabbit blood off his blade. "What's the point of murdering half the forest if you can't at least brag about it?"


Still, he pressed on. Eaiteen kills, no new skills. His stat gains were microscopic — a fraction of a point here, a fraction there. Even the received ex was negligible.


It lurked near the edge of the F-3 zone, where the trees grew dense and the light thinned into a murky twilight. Aric only spotted it because his Sound Sense picked up the faint scrape of claws on bark.


When he finally caught sight of it, his breath caught.


Small, sleek, with dark fur and pale, reflective eyes built for the dim hours. It blinked at him, head tilted, as if sizing him up.


He circled slowly. It followed, steps silent, until Aric feinted left, Burst Step kicking in. The creature darted back — fast, but not fast enough. His blade cut clean, the forager dropping to the moss.


Skill Gained: Night Vision (Lv 1) — Allows clear vision in low-light environments.


The shadows around him peeled away, the murky gloom replaced by crisp clarity. Every branch, every leaf, every glint of insect wings was visible as if the sun were still up.


"Now this… this is going to make things interesting."


Chapter 2 - Chapter 4 –18 Misses & One Jackpot