Kian winced. "Yeah, yeah. Bad joke. I know."
He scratched the side of his head, embarrassed even though no one was around to hear it.
Soul Sense hummed quietly in the background—thin threads of perception brushing over brick, trash bags, broken glass, rusted metal ladders. It barely cost anything: just one point of mana per second, and Kian's natural regeneration was nearly triple that.
Which basically meant?
It might as well cost nothing.
"Honestly," he muttered, "I could keep this on 24/7 and still have mana to spare."
[ I do not recommend 24/7 monitoring, Host. Your brain will become fatigued. Even low-level sensory overstimulation can accumulate over time. ]
Kian sighed. "…So no becoming a walking ghost detector?"
[ Not without side effects. ]
"Tch. Boring."
He turned the corner into a narrower alley. The streets here were darker, narrower, filled with graffiti and flickering street lamps. Hell's Kitchen at night felt like a place where the shadows themselves were tired of being shadows.
Then—
A pulse.
A faint ripple brushed against his mind.
Kian stopped moving.
"…Another one."
He followed the sensation slowly, like a compass needle pulling him forward.
Behind a dumpster, half swallowed by darkness, another faint wisp hovered. This one was slightly brighter—still Common, but with a bit more substance.
"Second soul of the night," Kian whispered.
He raised his hand, forming the small vortex of Soul Devour. The wisp drifted into his palm, dissolving gently.
[ Soul acquired: +1 Common Soul. ]
Kian exhaled.
"…Okay. Let's keep going."
Kian slowed his pace, glancing around the familiar streets near his apartment building—the cracked pavement, the flickering streetlamp, the corner deli that always smelled like burnt coffee. Despite the normal setting, Soul Sense kept sweeping the area like a quiet sonar.
He rubbed the back of his neck.
"…Okay. Let's keep going."
A moment passed before curiosity finally poked at him again.
"So, by the way… how do they even get classified?" Kian muttered, weaving between parked cars as he circled closer to home.
Coiny responded immediately:
[ Host, Common souls are untrained civilians. ]
[ Uncommon means trained professionals, people with discipline, or individuals who possess talent bordering on genius. ]
[ Rare souls are individuals who are one-in-a-century geniuses, or people with awakened—or even unawakened—superhuman abilities. ]
Kian whistled softly.
"So basically… superheroes, prodigies, or people born weird."
[ Correct. ]
He scratched his cheek thoughtfully.
"Hm. Since this world doesn't really have mutants, that means I either have to find super criminals… maybe the Hand's ninjas count as Rare. Or—"
His eyes narrowed.
"—does the system count unawakened Inhumans as Rare?"
A brief flicker of golden text flashed in his vision:
[ Yes. Unawakened Inhumans possess latent superhuman potential. They register as Rare souls. ]
[ And if they have a more powerful ability, they may even reach Epic or Legendary classifications upon awakening. ]
Kian's brows lifted.
"Well… damn. Lucky me, living in the same city where Terrigen bombs basically make people pop out of the ground like surprise loot boxes."
He sighed.
"I wonder which poor guy or girl would have died before getting superpowers… after all, the Terrigen bombs or rather the sea food Terrigen happen in 2014 or 2015," Kian mumbled, reminding himself of the timeline.
And After three hours of another search he returned home, now laying on his bed, he checked his gains.
" let's see what I got," he muttered, checking his inventory.
In his inventory: five Common Souls and one Uncommon Soul.
"I've got a long way to go to complete this quest… at least it doesn't have a timer," he muttered.
[ Note: Quests are optional. Host may choose to accept or ignore them entirely. ]
"I love you, Coiny. You're not like these other systems that force their hosts to grind endlessly," he said softly.
[ Don't worry, Host. I won't do that either. ] Coiny replied.
Kian smiled at that and yawned.
"Anyway… I'm going to sleep. It's 3 in the morning, so another three hours of rest for me," he said, shrugging, and lay down, finally drifting into sleep.
Kian woke up slowly, sunlight streaming through the curtains. His body ached a little from all the walking the night before, but he pushed himself out of bed.
He went into the kitchen where his mom was already preparing breakfast. The smell of scrambled eggs and toast filled the apartment.
"Morning, Mom," he said, sliding into his seat.
"Morning, Kian," Supriya replied with a smile. "Eat up—you'll need energy for the day."
Kian picked up a fork and ate quickly but neatly, trying not to make a mess. The familiar routine of breakfast made him feel grounded, like nothing extraordinary had happened the night before.
Once he finished, he cleaned his plate and waved to his mom.
"I'm heading out now," he said.
"Drive safely," she replied.
Kian grabbed his hoodie and scarf, putting them on over his casual clothes. He slipped his headphones over his ears and adjusted them, listening to music to calm his nerves.
Moving through the quiet streets, he kept his pace steady and normal, trying to act like any other teenager heading out for the day.
But while driving, Kian kept Soul Sense active, scanning the area for unusual energy or lingering presences.
"Hm… there's one," he muttered, spotting a faint shimmer near a large building. He pulled out his phone and snapped a quick photo. "Let's mark this one."
As he continued toward school, he noticed a few more faint glimmers in different locations. Each time, he quietly took a photo, careful not to draw attention.
By the time he reached the school gates, he had a small map of potential soul locations.
"I'll come back for these after school," he muttered to himself, pocketing his phone. "Better not waste time now."
He slipped into the flow of students entering the building, acting completely normal, and spent the day as usual.
By evening, Kian was back out, this time on his bicycle. "Time to go hunting," he muttered.
He first rode to all the locations he had markedt before, moving cautiously. By around eight, he returned home, exhausted but satisfied, carrying three Common Souls and seven Uncommon Souls.
"What a good haul," he said with a small grin. This time, he had passed by the Fisk building and spotted the seven Uncommon Souls there.
"I wonder… just how many more I could find if I actually went inside," Kian thought, though he had no intention of getting caught by the Kingpin. He decided to stay clear of the building until he was stronger.
Along the way, he devoured the Common Souls he had collected, gaining small improvements in agility, intelligence, and other basic stats. Devouring Souls also gave him another boost, exp to level up twice. They weren't just about Stats and Wraiths—they could also help him level up too.