Asher didn't sleep.
He lay on his bed staring at the cracked ceiling of his apartment, watching the shadow of a water stain slowly shift as dawn crept closer. It looked like a judgmental face.
Which felt appropriate.
F-rank, he thought.
Barely awakened.
Dungeon cleanup material.
Officially useless.
His phone buzzed.
CITY UPDATE: Awakening Ceremony Concludes – Record High Combat Ranks This Year.
Asher turned the phone face-down.
"Good for them," he muttered. "Hope they like stairs and screaming."
The room was quiet.
Too quiet.
Then a familiar pressure settled behind his eyes.
A translucent blue screen slid into view above his chest.
[God's Vault – Access Granted]
Authorization: Heaven's Heart (Anomalous Core)
Access Tier: F
Asher shot upright.
"…Okay. So this is happening."
He reached out and waved a hand through the screen.
It stayed.
He poked it.
It poked back.
"…You're really real."
[Affirmation]
Unfortunately.
Asher snorted. "Great. I got the sarcastic one."
The world shifted.
Not violently. No spinning void, no dramatic falling sensation.
Reality simply stepped aside.
White space stretched endlessly in every direction—clean, silent, and unsettling. Panels of light floated before him, arranged with military neatness.
Asher looked around.
"…This is a store."
[Correction]
This is an armory.
You are not a customer. You are a liability.
"Ouch."
Panels unfolded.
[Initial Vault Grants – Tier F]
• Endless Stamina (Restricted)
Stamina consumption reduced. Recovery accelerated.
Restriction: Combat-only activation.
• Adaptive Combat Sense (Fragmented)
Learns enemy attack patterns during battle.
Effectiveness increases with exposure.
• Damage Conversion (Low Grade)
A portion of damage taken converts into temporary physical enhancement.
• Skill Assimilation (Incomplete)
Defeated enemies have a chance to drop skill fragments.
Asher stared.
Then stared harder.
"…These feel illegal."
[Clarification]
They are inefficient without sufficient risk.
"That's not comforting."
He glanced to the side.
More panels hovered beyond the grants—locked abilities, modifiers, evolutions.
Prices floated beneath them.
10 Angelic Coins.
25 Angelic Coins.
Locked.
Locked.
Do Not Touch.
Asher frowned. "Wait. These are free?"
A new line appeared.
[Notice]
Initial Vault Grants are issued without cost.
Angelic Coins are required for additional purchases and upgrades.
Starter grants are mandatory to prevent immediate death.
Asher blinked.
"…You really think I'd die without these?"
[Confirmed.]
Violently.
"…Fair."
He reread the abilities more carefully.
Endless stamina meant he could fight longer than anyone his rank had a right to.
Adaptive combat sense meant he'd stop being terrible faster.
Damage conversion—
That one made him uncomfortable.
Turning pain into power wasn't heroic.
It was practical. Cold. Dangerous.
"…You're sick," Asher told the system.
[Acknowledged.]
He exhaled slowly.
Fine.
If this thing wanted him alive, it was going to have to deal with how he fought.
[Endless Stamina (Restricted) – Granted]
[Adaptive Combat Sense (Fragmented) – Granted]
[Damage Conversion (Low Grade) – Granted]
[Skill Assimilation (Incomplete) – Registered]
The moment the grants locked in—
Pain exploded.
Asher screamed as heat ripped through his muscles, nerves lighting up like they were being rewritten on the fly. His heartbeat thundered, blood roaring in his ears.
Then—
Silence.
He collapsed to his knees, gasping.
"…You could've warned me."
[Warning would not have altered outcome.]
"…I hate you."
His body felt different.
Not stronger.
Ready.
A final screen appeared.
[Personal Dungeon Key – Activated]
Dungeon Type: Combat Training Zone
Difficulty: F
Clear Condition: Survive and defeat enemies
Asher laughed.
A shaky, exhilarated laugh.
"So that's it," he said. "No tutorial. No safety net."
[Correct.]
Learning through failure is optimal.
"…I'm definitely going to die at least once."
The system did not respond.
The Vault vanished.
Gravity returned.
And the world twisted—
Asher Black was thrown forward, straight into his first real fight.