The silence returned, but it was ruined now, contaminated by the echo of the Wailer's death rattle and the frantic pounding of Kael's own heart. He lay still for a long time, not moving, not wanting to disturb the fragile truth: he was alive.
The chill air, usually a painful constant, felt distant. The rush from the activated Last Stand skill was fading, leaving behind a deep, exhausting tremor in his bones. He pushed himself up, every muscle protesting, his left side weeping blood. The wound was a long, shallow gash from the Wailer's initial swipe, but it was enough to drain him.
The spot where the beast had dissolved was marked only by a fresh, circular patch of bone-white ash. Kael reached out a trembling hand and felt the dust; it was cold, almost chemically sterile. No body. No proof, save for the pain and the floating data screen before his eyes.
He dragged the scythe closer, using the cold steel to brace himself. He was Level 2. That meant something had changed, but the only change he truly registered was the terror of having faced death and the bizarre, glowing box demanding his attention.
[ASHIR SYSTEM – STATUS WINDOW]
The window hovered, translucent and utterly stable, like a ghost made of mathematics. Kael focused on it, squinting against the growing dizziness.
[HP: 9/100] [Warning: Critical Wound. Bleeding Out. Host requires immediate stabilization.]
"Stabilization?" Kael whispered, the sound a dry rasp. "What am I supposed to do, find a healer?" He hadn't seen a healer in Briar Hollow since the blight swept through last summer.
[New Feature Unlocked: System Inventory] [Initial Item Acquired: Wailer Ash (Minor Grade) x1]
A small box appeared beside the main screen, containing the icon of a tiny, glittering pile of ash.
[Wailer Ash (Minor Grade): Common remnant of a defeated Hollow Beast. Contains traces of corrupted Ashir energy. Cannot be consumed.]
"Useless," Kael muttered, the disappointment sharp.
[New Feature Unlocked: Skill Tree]
He ignored the new prompt, his mind focused solely on the low HP count. He needed to move. He needed a fire, a clean rag, and a place to hide. But the System wasn't done.
[Objective Complete: Quest: Survive the next 60 seconds.] [Reward Claimed: 10 EXP. Level Up! New Level: 2] [Host Status Updated]
SYSTEM GAUGE: POST-COMBAT
ASHIR SYSTEM – STATUS WINDOW
Name Kael Thorn
Level2 (Novice)
HP (Health) 9/100 (Critical)
MP (Mana) 20/20
Strength6 - 7 (+1)
Agility9 - 10 (+1)
Endurance7 - 8 (+1)
Perception11
Luck3
Kael stared. Numbers changing. He hadn't just survived; he had improved. The feeling was intoxicating, despite the pain. He remembered the brief, raw power of the Last Stand, the way his worn body had moved like oiled clockwork. The System was a horrific parasite, but it was a parasite that offered power.
He felt a tiny shift in his awareness. He didn't physically feel stronger, but the knowledge that he was stronger was unsettlingly solid.
[New feature available: Stat Points] [Total Stat Points Available: 1]
The system practically demanded he interact. Kael, driven by the urgency of his low HP, poked the screen near his Endurance score, wondering if he could make the number go higher.
[Allocating 1 Stat Point to Endurance...]
A flash of warmth, brief and intense, radiated from the central point on his chest—the same spot the initial pulse had hit. The pain in his side, though still present, felt marginally duller.
[Endurance: 8} -{9. Host slightly more resistant to exhaustion and physical trauma.] [Stat Points Remaining: 0]
This was real. This was a gift of impossible technology layered onto a dead world of ash and bone.
Was this how the world was supposed to have ended? Not with silence, but with a silent, hidden rulebook?
He forced himself to his feet, gripping the scythe. He had to get back to his lean-to before the smell of his blood drew another beast, or worse, before the patrolling village guards saw the smoke and ash residue and knew what he'd done. Killing a Wailer was impossible for a boy.
The System gave him one last, chilling pronouncement as he began his painful, desperate retreat.
[New Quest Generated] → Objective: Stabilize Core and begin cultivation. Consume **100 units** of purified Ashir energy.} → Reward: Class Selection Unlocked. Primary Ash Potential Activated.} → Status: Current Ashir Energy: 1 unit.
A hundred units. He had one. Kael looked down at the pale, bone-white ash mark where the Wailer died. He killed a ten-foot monster and received one unit of whatever this energy was.
The Path of Ash. It was a promise, but it felt more like a terrifying contract. Kael knew instinctively what he must do now. He had to hunt. He had to face the Hollow Beasts. Not just for food, but for the invisible, vital energy required to keep this terrifying, life-saving System going.
He limped back toward the crumbled walls of Briar Hollow, the scythe dragging lightly behind him. The oppressive silence was back, but Kael no longer heard the wind's empty whistle. Now, he heard the faint, constant hum of the System in his mind, and the memory of the Wailer's blue, hungry eyes.
He had traded his life of quiet desperation for a life of violent necessity. And as the morning light fully broke—weak, cold, and gray—Kael Thorn was no longer just a starved survivor. He was a Hunter of the Ash, bound to a power he didn't understand, fighting to reach that elusive Level 3.