After a long, draining flight, they finally touched down on Canadian soil. A taxi was already waiting at the curb to whisk them away. The airport behind them looked cold and metallic, its glass reflecting the dim orange glow of distant runway lights. A thin mist clung to the ground, swallowing sounds and softening every movement into something distant and unreal.
They drove for hours, leaving the city lights far behind until the towering skyscrapers were replaced by an endless, dark sea of pine trees. The road narrowed gradually, the asphalt rougher, occasionally lined with old wooden signposts bleached pale by snow and time.
Eventually, the taxi pulled up to a modest, bright yellow hotel tucked deep within the heart of the forest. The building stood alone, surrounded by towering trees whose branches swayed slowly in the night wind.
Noen stepped out, the crisp mountain air biting at his skin, but Ignaz remained in the back seat. He rolled down the window just an inch.
"You'll stay here tonight. I've already given you your tickets," Ignaz said, his voice flat. "I'll be back to pick you up at 8:30 tomorrow morning. Got it?"
Noen nodded silently. Without another word, Ignaz rolled the window back up, and the taxi disappeared into the dark woods, leaving Noen alone in the silence of the wilderness.
He let out a long sigh and stepped inside. The lobby was warm and smelled of cedar. An older woman stood behind the front desk, looking up from her monitor.
"Good evening, sir. You are...?"
"Cain. Noen Cain."
The woman tapped at her keyboard for a moment before pulling a brass key from a drawer. "Here you go, Mr. Cain. We hope you have a relaxing stay with us."
Noen thanked her and took the elevator right next to the desk. He walked down a few dimly lit corridors until he reached his room. He swiped the key, the door clicked open, and he stepped into a surprisingly cozy space.
"Even a double bed... nice!" Noen muttered. Without a second thought, he kicked off his shoes and flopped face-first onto the mattress.
"Ouch!"
Noen bolted upright, his heart jumping into his throat. Something was moving under the heavy duvet.
"Uaghhh..." A long, loud yawn echoed from beneath the blankets. The duvet shifted, and a head of messy hair poked out. "How long was I out? Oh—hey, Nono!"
"Kaelin?!" Noen scrambled off the bed, nearly tripping over his own feet. "What the hell are you doing here?! And why are you in my bed?!"
Kaelin Cross sat up, stretching his arms over his head with a lazy grin. "Because I was waiting for you, obviously. What else would I be doing?" He glanced at the clock on the bedside table. "I seriously can't believe how slow airplanes are. I almost died of boredom waiting for you to show up."
"How did you even get here so fast?" Noen asked, his voice a mix of awe and frustration.
"Duh, I'm an Enhancer. I just enhanced my speed. It's basic logic," Kaelin said, acting like it was the most obvious thing in the world. He casually pulled a bag of chips from under the duvet and crunched on one.
Noen stared at him, annoyed. "You said yesterday you'd help me... and then you just knocked me out."
Kaelin tossed another chip into his mouth. "I didn't knock you out, Nono. Your tiny, sub-FFF brain just couldn't handle the data. Don't blame the messenger."
"You said you could help," Noen said, looking Kaelin dead in the eye. "What did you mean by that?"
Kaelin's playful expression shifted. He set the bag of chips on the floor and leaned forward. "You know what an Enhancer does, right?"
Noen thought for a second. "Yeah! My friend Kai just became one. He has a D-Class system. He can sharpen a knife or give his dad's car more horsepower. But that's about it—he hasn't gathered much LP yet."
"Watch this, Nono. Open your System Overlay. Quickly."
Confused, Noen swiped the air, and his glowing blue interface materialized. Kaelin pressed his fingers together again.
"Enhance: Stat Reforge."
A blue orb in the shape of an arrow manifested between his fingertips.
"Why do you give your abilities such complicated names?" Noen asked.
"Because they sound cool," Kaelin smirked. He flicked the arrow toward Noen's screen. The orb hit the interface and melted into the code.
[Stat Increase accepted ✅]
[New Affinity Stat: 0]
Noen's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "Whoa! What did you just do?"
"I fixed your Affinity Stat. For the next few hours, if you kill a magical beast, you'll gain experience just like a normal 16-year-old with a fresh system.
Noen was ecstatic. "That's incredible! Can you do that for my other stats too? My strength? My speed?"
"No. I wont do that."
"What? Why not?"
Kaelin sighed, standing up from the bed. "Because I'm not giving you a free ride. You will have to earn it. Besides, what I just did is basically a glitch. In about two or three hours, your system will 'spit out' the effect and you'll be back to getting as much LP as you did before. So basically nothing."
Noen's face fell. "So... how is this supposed to help me now? I'm stuck in a hotel in the middle of nowhere."
"Oh, Imma make sure it will help." Kaelin said, a dangerous glint appearing in his eyes.
"Enhance: Beastcall."
A massive, glowing red orb ignited over Kaelin's index finger. Before Noen could react, Kaelin fired it straight into Noen's chest.
Silence filled the room. Noen patted his chest, confused. "What was that? I don't feel anyth—"
"I've marked you."
"Marked? What does that mean?"
Kaelin walked toward the window, looking out into the pitch-black Canadian forest. "It means every magical beast within a five-kilometer radius is going to drop everything they're doing. They are all heading here, right now, with one single goal: to kill you."
Noen's blood turned to ice. "W-What?!"