The small, dimly lit room felt even more suffocating with every passing minute. The soft hum of the air conditioner was the only sound, and Alex sat on the edge of the bed, his head buried in his hands. His thoughts were a mess—confusion, fear, and an overwhelming sense of loss tangled inside him. The sudden shift in his life, the awakening of the ghoul gene inside him, and the appearance of the system... it was all too much to process.
"What even is a ghoul, aren't those stuff from from fantasy books" he thought
He looked up, wiping a hand over his face, and then caught a glimpse of himself in the small mirror across the room. The reflection staring back at him seemed... unfamiliar.
His dark brown eyes, now a shade too dull, locked with his own, and for a moment, he felt like he was staring into the eyes of someone else entirely. He noticed how gaunt his face had become, the sharp edges of his jawline more prominent than before, as though his body was still adjusting to the changes. His once-smooth skin now carried faint dark veins beneath the surface, a sign of the ghoul blood slowly taking root.
Alex ran his fingers through his messy, jet-black hair, noticing how it seemed to have grown a bit longer than before, the strands now falling over his forehead in a way he hadn't remembered. There was a dull sheen to his complexion, like a faint glow that wasn't quite normal. He could still see the faint traces of the battle—the cut on his shoulder was almost completely healed, the wound having sealed without a trace of scarring, something that would've been impossible in the past.
His body was leaner now, the muscles more defined, but they were not as they once were. Before, he'd been more physically enhanced with his old ability, but now, he felt stronger in a different way—faster, more agile. His body moved with a fluidity that he hadn't felt before, but it came with an eerie, primal undertone. The ghoul within him had awakened, and it was changing him, inside and out.
Alex exhaled sharply, pushing away the strange sense of detachment creeping over him as he studied himself further. He wasn't the same person. Not anymore. His reflection was a constant reminder of the hybrid nature he now carried—the tension between his humanity and the gnawling ghoul inside him.
But even more unsettling were the new sensations—the hunger that lurked beneath the surface, always there, gnawing at him, waiting for an opportunity to be fed.
He closed his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath, trying to steady his thoughts. He couldn't afford to break down now. The academy, his new life, everything was still ahead of him. He had to keep going.
His hand reached up to touch the pendant around his neck, only to find it gone. The necklace, once the vessel that held the system, had vanished after the system had fully integrated with him. The feeling of loss hit him once more, but he pushed it aside. It didn't matter now. The system was with him, inside him, and he had to learn to control it.
A soft ding echoed in his mind, and the system interface flashed before him:
Name: Alex Kairo
Race: Halfling Ghoul
Strength: 15
Stamina: 30
Agility: 16
Hunger: 20%
Energy: 90
He stared at the numbers, trying to understand the significance of it all. He didn't feel the power of the numbers—at least not yet. He was still weak, still struggling to control the hunger and the ghoul instincts inside him. But the system was there, helping him track everything.
As Alex pondered the meaning of these stats, he suddenly felt the weight of his situation. He was heading to the academy in just a few days. He wasn't sure if he was ready, but he had no choice. The academy was where he would learn to control his abilities, to face the challenges ahead, and maybe—just maybe—he could make sense of this new, terrifying world he had been thrust into.
With a sigh, Alex stood up and turned away from the mirror. "I'll figure this out. I have to."
He walked toward the small desk in his room, eyes lingering for a moment on the holo-tab, which still displayed the list of supplies he needed for the academy. Uniforms. Boots. Standard-issue gloves. And a few personal items. He'd need everything. The thought of training, of being around others who had abilities, filled him with a mix of excitement and dread. But first, he had to face the reality of his new life—one that didn't belong to the Alex he had known before.
As the transport pulled up, he noticed a familiar face walking toward him—one of the neighbors, a girl from his high school, Miranda.
She gave him a small wave and a smile. "Hey, Alex. Heading to the academy too?" she asked, her brown eyes filled with curiosity.
Alex nodded, offering a half-smile in return. "Yeah. First day tomorrow. Feels kinda surreal."
She chuckled. "Tell me about it. I'm just hoping I don't trip during the assessment. Have you been training at all?"
"Uh... not really," Alex admitted. "Been a little distracted lately." He didn't want to explain the weird, overwhelming feeling of becoming a ghoul. Miranda didn't need to know that part of his life.
"Well, you better get used to it," she teased, "because the assessment's brutal. But hey, we'll get through it together, right?"
Her words were comforting, though they didn't make him feel any less anxious. It was nice to have someone familiar, even if only in passing.
"I'll figure this out,no point thinking about it from now". He thought
Alex stepped onto the transport, his heart pounding as the doors slid shut behind him.