Kaelen was four years old, and he had a target.
His target was not a person. A direct confrontation, even with the slum's weakest, was a
high-risk, low-reward gamble. His [PHYSIQUE: 2] was a critical liability.
His target was a process.
For three months, he had cataloged the movements of a low-level thief named 'Slack-Jaw'.
[TARGET: SLACK-JAW (HUMAN, MALE)] [AGE: 27] [STATUS: MALNOURISHED (40%),
PARANOID (78%), COWARDLY (85%)] [PHYSIQUE: 9 (LOW STAMINA)] [MANA: 0.1 (INERT)]
[NOTES: A 'BOTTOM-FEEDER'. STEALS TRINKETS AND SCRAPS FROM OTHER
SLUM-DWELLERS. AVOIDS CONFRONTATION. HOARDS MEAGER EARNINGS.]
Slack-Jaw was a creature of pathetic, predictable habit. Kaelen's System had logged his routine
with 99.7% accuracy. Every day, Slack-Jaw would pilfer, and before returning to his own hovel,
he would slip his earnings into a 'dead-drop'—a hollowed-out brick in a crumbling alley wall. He
retrieved his stash only once a week, on 'Market Day Eve', to buy rotgut.
Today was not Market Day Eve. The cache would be full.
The operation began the moment Elara left the shack.
"Going for scraps, love," she said, her voice stronger than it had been years ago. The
'investment' of the seven silver pieces had given them a foundation, and Kaelen's 'perfect'
behavior had kept her [LOYALTY] score a consistent 83.
Kaelen, looking up from a piece of string he was tying into a complex knot, simply nodded. "Play
shadow-hide," he said. It was his standard, simple phrase for 'I will stay here and be quiet'.
She smiled, a flash of warmth in her tired, yellow eyes. "My good boy. Be safe."
The door closed. Kaelen dropped the string. His movements became fluid, economical, and
silent. He crept to the door, his small, grey-skinned body barely more than a wisp.
He peered out. The alley was empty, save for a pile of reeking refuse.
He focused his intent.
[ACTIVATING [SHADOW'S VEIL] (LEVEL 1)...] [MANA: 50/50 -> 48]
The dim light of the alley seemed to bend around him. He didn't become invisible; he simply
became unimportant. A trick of the light. A patch of shadow that moved.
He slipped out of the shack. His bare feet made no sound on the packed, damp earth. He was
three alleys away from his target. This was the most dangerous part of the plan—the transit.
A new variable appeared.
[TARGET: FERAL DOG (MALE)] [STATUS: STARVING (77%), AGGRESSIVE (60%)] [THREAT
LEVEL: 40 (HIGH - TO HOST)]
A gaunt, mangy dog with ribs showing through its patchy fur blocked the alley. It was sniffing the
air, its head turning toward Kaelen's shack. It hadn't seen him, but it smelled him.
Kaelen froze. Running was not an option; his [PHYSIQUE] was too low. Fighting was
impossible.
The dog's head snapped up, growling low in its chest. It stared directly at the spot where Kaelen
stood.
Kaelen focused his mind, channeling the cold, absolute nothingness that was his Affinity.
[ACTIVATING [SHADOW'S WHISPER] (LEVEL 3)...] [MANA: 48 -> 45] [TARGETING: FERAL
DOG... PROJECTING: 'TERRITORIAL DREAD']
He didn't project simple fear. He projected the specific, cold dread of a superior predator. The
feeling that this shadow was not to be challenged. The dog's growl died in its throat, replaced by a high-pitched whine. Its [AGGRESSIVE (60%)]
status plummeted to [5%]. Its [FEAR] spiked. It tucked its tail between its legs, its gaze shifting
past Kaelen, as if terrified of the patch of darkness he occupied. It turned and fled the alley.
Kaelen proceeded without pause. The minor expenditure of mana was a necessary operational
cost.
He reached the target wall two minutes later. It was a grimy, moss-covered brick edifice that
separated the slum from a stinking tannery.
[TARGET: SLACK-JAW'S CACHE (BRICK)] [STATUS: UNDISTURBED]
The brick was, as his analysis had noted, approximately five feet off the ground. A calculated
problem for a four-year-old.
He had already identified the solution.
[ASSET: ROTTEN CRATE (LOW-GRADE)] [INTEGRITY: 22% (FRAGILE)]
He pushed the crate against the wall. His [PHYSIQUE: 2] body strained with the effort, his
muscles burning. It was a sharp, unpleasant reminder of his body's limitations.
[MANA: 45 -> 43] [MAINTAINING [SHADOW'S VEIL]...]
He climbed onto the crate. It wobbled precariously. He ignored it. He was now eye-level with the
brick. His small, grey fingers, surprisingly deft, probed the edges. It was loose. He hooked his
fingernails into the mortar-less gap and pulled.
The brick scraped free, revealing a dark, foul-smelling hollow.
Inside was a small, greasy rag. Kaelen's hand darted in, his [SHADOW'S VEIL] flickering as he
broke his concentration for a moment. He grabbed the bundle and pulled it out.
[RESOURCE DETECTED: 19x 'COPPER FANGS'] [ITEM DETECTED: 1x 'RUSTED IRON
RING' (JUNK)] [ITEM DETECTED: 1x 'GOBLIN TOOTH' (TRINKET, JUNK)]
He pocketed the coins, a small, satisfying weight against his leg. He left the junk. A theft of
everything might be noticed. A theft of some would be attributed to miscounting by a paranoid,
cowardly thief.
He pushed the brick back into place, climbed down, and slid the crate back to its original
position.
The journey back was silent and uneventful. He slipped into the shack and deactivated
[SHADOW'S VEIL].
[MANA: 39/50]
Elara was still gone.
Kaelen crawled to the corner of the shack, near the loose stone where Elara had found the
silver. He didn't use her cache. He had his own.
He dug a small hole in the dirt floor, a foot away from the main one. He dropped the 19 coppers
inside and covered them with dirt, packing it down with his small palm.
It was a pathetic amount of money. It was barely enough to buy food for three days.
But Kael.en's cold, yellow eyes held a flicker of something new. It wasn't satisfaction. It was
confirmation.
His first solo acquisition was complete. He had identified a target, formulated a plan, executed it,
and acquired capital. The System was a tool, his Affinity was a weapon, and the entire world
was a ledger waiting to be balanced in his favor.
He was no longer just surviving. He was building.