The mutated rat moved faster than anything that size had a right to move.
Seed threw himself sideways, crashing into a dumpster as the creature's jaws snapped shut where his throat had been a second before. Pain exploded through his shoulder, but adrenaline kept him moving.
"System!" He shouted. "A little help here?"
[HELP YOURSELF! YOU'VE GOT ARMS, HAVEN'T YOU?]
[TIP: KILLING IT GIVES YOU DARK MANA. DYING GIVES YOU NOTHING.]
[CHOOSE WISELY.]
The rat landed and immediately pivoted, its multiple eyes gleaming with predatory hunger. Seed scrambled to his feet, his hand closing around something cold and metal, a rusted pipe that had fallen near the dumpster
Not much, but it was better than nothing.
The creature charged again. This time, seed was ready. He swung the pipe with everything he had, connecting with the side of its skull. The impact vibrated up his arms, and the rat squealed, stumbling sideways.
But it wasn't done.
It recovered faster than he expected, launching itself at his legs. He felt teeth tear through the thin morgue gown and into his calf. Intense pain shot up his leg as he screamed.
His vision blurred with pain and rage. 'This thing, this F-rank piece of shit monster, is not going to be what killed me. Not after I'd literally come back from the dead'
He brought the pipe down again and again, raining blows on the creature's body. Something crunched. The rat's grip on his leg loosened. He hit it again, and again, until it stopped moving entirely.
For a moment, Seed just stood there, panting, leaning on the pipe as blood, both his and the rat's, mixed with the rain at his feet.
[CONGRATULATIONS! FIRST KILL ACHIEVED!]
[DARK MANA ACQUIRED: +10]
[NOT BAD...]
A strange sensation washed over him; cold, dark, like ice water in his veins, but not unpleasant. Power. Raw and primal..he watched as the status screen updated.
[DARK MANA: 10/500]
'Ten points. Just ten?. I needed four hundred and ninety more to fill even one pool?'
"How the hell am I supposed to get stronger if monsters only give me ten points?" Seed growled.
[HIGHER RANK MONSTERS = MORE MANA.]
[OBVIOUSLY, DUMBASS.]
[ALSO, YOU'RE WOUNDED. MIGHT WANT TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THAT BEFORE YOU GET INFECTED AND DIE OFF]
[DYING TWICE IN ONE WEEK WOULD BE A NEW RECORD.]
Seed looked down at his calf. Blood oozed from several deep puncture wounds. The pain was starting to override the adrenaline, making his vision swim.
[SYMBIOSIS SHOP AVAILABLE. 100 POINTS TO SPEND.]
[MAY I SUGGEST: BASIC HEALING SALVE - 30 POINTS?]
"Do it," he gasped.
[PURCHASE CONFIRMED. -30 SYMBIOSIS POINTS]
A small vial materialized in his hand, glowing faintly with a soft blue light. He didn't question it, he just uncorked it and poured the contents over his wounds.
The effect was immediate. The torn flesh began to knit together, the pain fading to a dull ache. In seconds, only faint scars remained.
"Okay," Seed breathed. "That's actually pretty useful."
[70 POINTS REMAINING. SPEND WISELY.]
[MIGHT I ALSO SUGGEST PANTS? YOU'RE INDECENT.]
Despite everything, he almost laughed. Here he was, soaked, bleeding, having just killed a monster with a pipe while wearing a morgue gown, and the system was concerned about his modesty.
He spent another 20 points on basic clothing, a simple black shirt, pants, and boots that materialized in another flash of light.
Dressed and somewhat recovered, Seed surveyed the alley. Dawn was still hours away. He needed shelter, and more importantly, he needed to figure out what the hell he was going to do with his new "life."
[QUEST UPDATE: SHELTER OBJECTIVE NEARBY]
[ABANDONED APARTMENT BUILDING, TWO BLOCKS EAST]
[WARNING: MAY CONTAIN MORE MONSTERS. YOU'RE WELCOME.]
"Of course it does," seed muttered, gripping the pipe tighter.
He started walking, keeping to the shadows. Nexus Prime's underbelly was dangerous at night, even before the dungeons appeared, this part of the city had been rough. Now, with monsters occasionally escaping into the urban environment, it was practically a death trap.
The apartment building loomed ahead, a decrepit structure marked for demolition. Perfect for hiding. He slipped inside through a broken window, his new boots crunching on glass.
The interior was dark, musty, filled with the detritus of abandoned lives. He made his way up the stairs, testing each step before putting his weight on it.
On the third floor, he found a room that was relatively intact. He barricaded the door with an old dresser and collapsed against the wall, finally allowing himself to process everything.
He had died. And Somehow, he'd been resurrected by a system with a personality disorder. He had two types of mana, neither of which he fully understood, and apparently his path to power involved both killing monsters and...doing the other thing.
"System," he said quietly. "Why me? What makes me special?"
[WHO SAID YOU WERE SPECIAL?]
[YOU DIED IN THE WRONG PLACE AT THE WRONG TIME.]
[OR THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME, DEPENDING ON PERSPECTIVE.]
[THE SYMBIOSIS SYSTEM NEEDED A HOST. YOU NEEDED TO NOT BE DEAD.]
[MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL ARRANGEMENT.]
"And the dual mana system? The skill variants?"
[THAT'S WHERE IT GETS INTERESTING.]
[EVERY SYSTEM HAS ITS GIMMICK. YOURS IS THIS DUALITY.]
[LIFE AND DEATH. LIGHT AND DARK. CREATION AND DESTRUCTION.]
[MASTER BOTH, AND YOU'LL BECOME SOMETHING THIS WORLD HAS NEVER SEEN.]
[FAIL, AND... WELL, AT LEAST YOU TRIED.]
He closed my eyes, exhaustion finally catching up with him. Tomorrow, he'd need to figure out how to survive in a world that thought he was dead. He'd need to acquire skills, fill his mana pools, and start climbing back toward the strength he'd lost, or never had.
But tonight, he just needed to rest.
[QUEST COMPLETE: SURVIVE YOUR FIRST NIGHT]
[REWARD: 50 SYMBIOSIS POINTS, BASIC SURVIVAL KIT ADDED TO INVENTORY]
[WELL DONE, SEED WALLACE. YOU'RE SLIGHTLY LESS PATHETIC THAN BEFORE.]
[SWEET DREAMS... IF YOU CAN SLEEP KNOWING WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO TO GAIN WHITE MANA.]
Seed groaned. "I hate you already."
[THE FEELING IS MUTUAL. NOW REST. TOMORROW, WE START YOUR REAL TRAINING.]
As he drifted off, one thought echoed in his mind: Elena. His former teammate. The girl whose scream had been the last thing he heard before dying.
Did she think he was dead? Did she grieve?
Would she accept what he had become?
A sound outside the door made his eyes snap open, footsteps, multiple sets, moving through the building. And voices, speaking in whispers.
"—said he saw a hunter-rank aura signature coming from this building—"
"—probably just a stray monster—"
"—check anyway. The boss wants any awakened brought in—"
His blood ran cold. Hunter traffickers. They prowled the ruins looking for weak or newly awakened individuals to sell on the black market.
And he had just lit up their radar like a beacon.