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Chapter 1: The Coffee Shop and the First Hunt
The last thing Adam remembered was the blinding flash of a semi-truck's headlights and the sickening screech of tires. The world had gone from the mundane smell of a rainy Tuesday evening to a cacophony of twisting metal and shattering glass. The pain wasn't a single, sharp spike, but an all-encompassing, mind-numbing white-hot wave that consumed him. There was the taste of copper, the dizzying sensation of being tossed like a ragdoll, and then… a profound, echoing silence. He felt his life, his very being, unraveling. A final, desperate thought crossed his mind, a wish for just a little more time. The world faded to black.
"This can't be it, right? Did I really just… die? My apartment, my shitty job, my Netflix queue… all gone. I didn't even get to see the last season of that one show. Seriously? That's what I get for trying to be a hero and saving that dumb cat."
Then, the silence broke. It wasn't the sound of an ambulance siren or the muffled voices of paramedics. It was a rhythmic, pulsing hum, a feeling of coldness spreading from his chest to his fingertips. His eyes, which he was sure had been closed forever, snapped open. The first thing he saw was a simple, wood-paneled ceiling. The smell was of fresh coffee and old wood, not blood and asphalt. He was lying in a bed, not on a cold street. He slowly sat up, his body feeling… whole. No pain. No broken bones. Just a slight grogginess, as if he'd just woken from a particularly deep sleep.
A holographic blue screen shimmered into existence right in front of his face, making him instinctively flinch and fall back onto the pillows. It was translucent, covered in strange, glowing symbols and text that he, for some reason, could read with perfect clarity.
[BEEP-BEEP-BEEP] System Core Activation Initiated.
The words flashed in a bold, assertive font. Adam blinked, his brain struggling to catch up. He wasn't dead. But this… this wasn't his reality. This was a goddamn webnovel cliché. His mind, the one that had just been consumed by the panic of a sudden death, now went into full-on, sarcastic commentary mode.
"Oh, for the love of all that is holy. A System? Really? Did I get hit by a truck or a cliché cannon? Okay, calm down, Adam. You're in a strange place, you have a headache, and a floating screen is telling you it's a computer program. Let's not panic. Panicking is for people who haven't read 500 light novels about this exact scenario."
He took a deep breath and focused on the screen, a new set of words appearing.
[System] Welcome, Host Adam Stiels. You have been granted the Grimm Bloodline Evolution System. Your bloodline is pure, a direct descendent of the First Grimm. To begin, you must defeat a Wesen and acquire their blood.
The last part of the message hit him like a second truck. Grimm. Wesen. The words were so familiar, so intrinsically tied to his old life's late-night binge-watching habits. Grimm. He looked around the room, which was now undeniably his bedroom above a small coffee shop. He went to the window and peered outside. Rain was gently pattering on the street, the sign for "The Daily Grind" coffee shop swinging gently in the wind. This was Portland. This was the show.
"Holy crap. This is it. This is really happening. I'm Adam Stiels. The guy who owns the coffee shop. I'm a Grimm. No, not just a Grimm, a direct descendant of the First Grimm. That's… a serious upgrade. Like, going from a bicycle to a jet fighter kind of upgrade. Okay, let's not get ahead of ourselves. What's the timeline? The news report… yes, the news report! The pilot episode. The Blutbad killer. I need to know where I am in the grand scheme of things."
He quickly got dressed, pulling on a pair of jeans and a dark hoodie, the clothes fitting him perfectly. He felt a newfound strength in his limbs, a subtle but undeniable hum of power beneath his skin. This wasn't the scrawny, coffee-addicted Adam from his old life. He was a different man. The personality remained, but the vessel was new, and it was potent. He went downstairs to his coffee shop, turning on the lights and the news on the small, wall-mounted TV. The report was playing a re-run from the previous day. A blonde woman in a white dress, a victim of a savage attack. It was the murder from the pilot episode. The Blutbad killer.
"Okay, so the pilot just happened. That means Nick just found out he's a Grimm. Aunt Marie is probably still in the coma. He's confused, scared, and doesn't trust anyone. This is the perfect time to get involved. I can't just sit here and let the show's plot play out. I have a cheat code. I have a purpose. My purpose is to not let Juliette get turned into a Hexenbiest, to not let Kelly Burkhardt die, to not let the Royal Families ruin everything. I have to protect them."
Just then, the bell on the shop door jingled. A burly man with thick, black hair and a scowl on his face entered. He looked around the empty shop, his eyes narrowing. Adam's new instincts kicked in. This guy wasn't here for coffee. He was radiating… something. A primal, predatory energy. He was a Wesen. Adam didn't even need to use his Grimm vision; he just knew.
"Heard this place is under new management," the man growled, his voice a low rumble. "And I'm here to collect. The previous owner was... well, he knew the arrangement."
Adam's lips curled into a thin, sarcastic smile. "The previous owner is no longer in the picture. And I don't pay protection money. I'm not a fan of organized crime, especially when it's disorganized." He spoke with a deep, calm voice, and as he did, he felt that Aura of the First Grimm activate. The man's scowl wavered, replaced by a flicker of uncertainty.
"Watch your mouth, kid," the man said, but his voice lacked the conviction it had a moment ago. His eyes flickered, and for a split second, Adam saw the woge. A fox-like face, with a long snout and sharp teeth. A Fuchsbau.
"You're a Fuchsbau," Adam stated, his voice now a low, commanding tone. The man flinched, his woge becoming more pronounced as he felt the compulsion to answer.
"How... how do you know that?" he stammered.
"Because I can see you," Adam replied simply. "Now, here's how this is going to go. You're going to turn around, walk out that door, and you're never going to set foot in my shop again. If you do, I'll make sure you regret it. Understand?"
The Fuchsbau seemed to be fighting a silent battle with himself. The compulsion was too strong. He nodded slowly, his shoulders slumping in defeat. "Y-yes. I understand."
"Good," Adam said, his voice returning to a more normal, friendly tone. "Now, get out."
The Fuchsbau turned and practically ran out the door. Adam watched him go, then felt a strange pull. He looked at his hand, and a small, glowing icon appeared on his palm. It was an inventory slot. He knew what he had to do. He followed the Fuchsbau out the back and found him fumbling with a garbage can, obviously terrified. Adam grabbed him by the scruff of his neck, and with a swift, clean move, he used his new-found strength to pin him against the alley wall, drawing a small, specialized knife he found in his new pocket. He didn't want to kill him; he just needed a bit of blood.
"Just a little bit for the road," Adam said, with a slightly manic grin. He made a small cut on the Fuchsbau's arm, just enough to draw a few drops of blood. As the blood hit the inventory slot, the Fuchsbau screamed. The wound closed instantly. Adam pushed him away, and the Fuchsbau scampered off into the night.
He watched the glowing icon on his hand for a moment as the blood was processed. The system's voice, a calm, authoritative presence in his mind, spoke again.
[System] First Wesen Defeated. Initiating Blood Extraction Protocol. Wesen Type: Fuchsbau. Extracting... Alchemical Vial Created: Fuchsbau Potion.
Adam looked at the single vial now glowing in his inventory slot. It was filled with a shimmering, amber liquid. He felt a sense of profound accomplishment. He had a new life, a new purpose, and a new power. And this was only the beginning. He was ready to rewrite the story.