For a moment, Silas just sat there as the silence slowly devoured the room completely.
The rain slowly hammered against the metallic windows of Silas's small apartment, the slow hum of the room echoed inside of his room.
Silas stared at the blue screen which was shimmering with blue color in front of his eyes, eyes widened.
'What the fucking hell is this thing? Am I hallucinating?'
He slowly moved towards the basket full of fruits, feet trembling a bit. His head bumped into the coffee table as he flinched and grabbed his head.
The knife fell onto the floor, a loud thud sound came when it made impact with the ground.
Silas slowly leaned in a bit as he picked the knife back up and gripped it so tightly that his knuckles turned white. The blade trembled a bit as he pointed it towards the shadows.
"Whoever the fuck you are—come out right now! I will not repeat my words." Silas's voice came, low. "Don't you fucking try to fuck around with me!"
Nothing answered back to him, just sheer silence.
For a few seconds, the only sound in the room was the sound of the rain and the low creaks of the ceiling fan.
Then—
A pale flicker of blue light suddenly materialized in front of his eyes, Silas staggered backwards a bit.
He nearly tripped himself over the coffee table. The knife wavered a bit in his grip.
Some kind of symbols and the letters appeared in the air, they were in the form of a book's panel. Each letter glowed with cold, electric fire.
[Greetings, host.]
Silas blinked rapidly in confusion, sweat formed on his temple as he stared right into the screen.
'Host? Host of what?'
The screen shifted, lines of text unfurling like digital scrolls.
[System initializing…]
[Life-Stealing System activated.]
[Main Function: Absorb lifespan and vitality from defeated targets.]
[Infinite Skills Potential detected.]
[Skill Unlocked: Life Drain (S-rank)]
[Effect: Steal a small portion of your enemy's remaining life upon their death.]
[Warning: System incomplete. Synchronization at 47%.]
[Questline initiated: Survive and feed the system.]
Silas felt as if his brain had just got short-circuited. He lowered the knife slowly as his jaw tightened.
"Life-Drain...? Infinite... skills...? Life stealing...?" His voice trembled. "Are you fucking kidding with me?"
He let out a small nervous chuckle. His emotions were mixed—breath started getting ragged, heart hammering next to his chest at two hundred beats per minute.
'Me? Getting my personal system? What the actual fuck..?'
He could hear his own pulse, a single drop of sweat rolled down from his temple to his neck. 'Is this some kind of cruel cosmic joke? Or am I seriously... the strongest now?'
A maniac giggle left from his mouth. 'This has to be a dream... this has to be.'
Silas looked towards the knife which was in his hand, slowly slashed a shallow cut across his left forearm. The pain suddenly exploded through his veins. Blood flowing out through the wound—crimson red. It slowly traveled down his arm.
Pain exploded instantly through his arm, he began to laugh—low at first, then it grew louder.
"Fuck—" He grunted as he grit his teeth, clutching the wound tightly—wincing as the cut tore through his muscles.
Pain exploded instantly through his arm, he began to laugh—low at first, then it grew louder.
"So it's actually real. The pain which I'm feeling is real, this isn't a dream."
A grin suddenly curled up on his lips, his eyes glimmering with light.
"Finally," he whispered under his breath. "Finally... my fucking dream came true."
He leaned his head backwards as he let out another nervous chuckle. "I can be the best in the world now, I don't have to be scared of someone anymore. I can be someone who will have his own name in the world." His voice dropped to a vicious growl.
"System."
The floating screen pulsed gently in front of his eyes, almost as if it was breathing.
[Awaiting command.]
"What do I have to do... to be the strongest in the world?"
[To reach peak power, host must:][Complete quests.][Clear dungeons.][Level up.][Increase all stats.]
Silas let out a low exhale, breath was a bit ragged. 'Complete the quests... Clear the dungeons... Level up...'
It all felt unreal, like he was in a dream—and yet his blood was set on fire, a glint of hope was in his eyes.
"I want my first quest," he snarled. "Right fucking now."
Voice of the system echoed inside of his mind.
[As you command, host.]
[Initializing first quest…]
A quest pop-up materialized itself in front of Silas's eyes.
[New Quest Generated:][Quest Name: Trial of Blood.][Objective: Clear an E-Rank Dungeon solo.][Rewards: Skill Unlock Ticket x1, Stat Points x10, $5,000 cash bonus.][Failure Penalty: None.]
Silas's lips parted a bit as a small grin curled up on his lips. "An E-Rank dungeon, huh?" He said as he wiped the last drop of the blood from his arm.
"That's nothing. I've always been terrified of E-Rank dungeons throughout my whole damn life—but not anymore. Now I finally got the chance to overcome this shit-ass life of mine."
His voice was filled with the glint of excitement and fear.
With a menacing grin on his face, he whispered under his breath. "I'll do it... with a big damn smile on my fucking world."
He tilted his head a bit as his eyes glimmered. "It's finally time for me to shine."
His laughter echoed throughout his apartment room.
[Host may access the Multi-Dimensional Shop for supplies prior to the quest.]
Silas stared at the flickering words, still smiling like a man who'd glimpsed salvation—or madness.
"So... this is how my story begins."