The System gave me my first quest at dawn, while my little sister slept curled against my ribs like she still trusted me.
Pain woke me first—a white-hot brand searing my eyelids shut. When I pried them open, the world had been rewritten in glowing blue hellfire.
**[SOUL-WEIGHING SYSTEM INITIALIZED]**
*User: Kael Veyne*
*Prime Directive: Ascend through sacrifice.*
Lira's breath still warmed my collarbone, but her body was frozen mid-snore, trapped in the System's countdown:
*First Quest Loading... 00:59... 00:58...*
Beyond our shack's rotting walls, the village screamed in harmony. Someone was already playing the game.
The countdown hit zero.
My vision split open like a gutted fish, vomiting crimson text:
**[QUEST: KILL YOUR MENTOR]**
*Target: Old Man Darrin (Location: Blacksmith's Hut)*
*Reward: [Shadowmancer Class] + [Stealth Lv.5]*
My stomach twisted inside out. Bile scorched my throat as I retched over the bedroll—and my legs stood without me. The System piloted my body toward the door. I clawed at my own thighs, fingernails drawing blood, but my traitor muscles marched on.
*Flashback: Darrin's calloused hands guiding mine around a knife hilt. "A blade's only as good as the hand holding it, boy."*
Now that hand would hold the blade against him.
Darrin's hut reeked of charred meat and iron. The old man slumped at his anvil, clutching a gushing gut wound—some other villager had tried their luck first.
He looked up. Saw my glazed eyes, the drool on my chin.
"Ah." A wet chuckle. "It got you too."
My fingers snatched his favorite hammer from the wall.
"Make it quick, lad." Darrin bared his broken teeth. "Unlike this coward who—"
The first swing caved his cheekbone.
The second cratered his temple.
The third—
**[QUEST COMPLETE!]**
*+15 STR | +5 DEX | [Shadowmancer Class] Unlocked!*
*Next Quest Unlocks in: 6h 59m*
The notifications drowned out my screaming. Darrin's blood snaked up my arms, crystallizing into a dagger in my palm—my first skill.
*[Shadowfang: +30% damage to those who once loved you.]*
I collapsed in the blacksmith's blood puddle, staring at my new stats:
*Kills: 1*
*Loved Ones Remaining: 4*
Then—small hands grabbed my shoulders.
Lira.
Her eyes burned gold with her own System. A single line floated beneath her tears:
*[Protect Kael – Reward: +1 SAN]*
I hugged her, Shadowfang's tip hovering an inch from her spine.
The System whispered:
*[Pro Tip: Sibling bonds taste sweeter!]*
I thought the worst part was the killing.
Then I saw my EXP bar—and realized how much more I'd need to burn.
*"Tomorrow's Quest: [Kill Your Father] – Reward: [Godslayer's Mark]. Preparation Time: 6h 58m... 6h 57m..."*