The city stank of fish, smoke, and fear.
As night descended on Pentos, torches flickered to life along the worn walls of merchant houses and low taverns. The air grew cooler, but no less dense. Moisture clung to everything. The smell of the harbor twisted through the alleys like a snake — always present, always waiting.
Alex kept to the shadows.
He'd spent most of the afternoon navigating side streets and watching. Watching people haggle in markets. Watching dockhands load barrels of grain onto ships bound for Braavos. Watching men in rich silks flanked by bodyguards give orders without speaking.
Pentos was alive — and sick.
At its surface, it was a city of trade. Spices, wine, textiles, coin. But underneath, power pulsed in quiet, invisible currents. Every nod had weight. Every smile might hide a blade. Power wasn't taken in this city. It was stolen slowly, piece by piece, in whispers and shadows.
He had no coin. No family. No friends.
But he had something better.
He ducked into an alley behind a crumbling bakery and sat on an overturned crate. Rats scattered at his movement. His eyes adjusted to the dimness, and he focused.
Not on the street. On the system.
Archive of Shadows – Main Interface
Status:
User: Alex Murray
Vessel: Human Male, 14 years (Pentos Orphan)
Daily Copy Limit: 0 / 3 (Reset in: 5 hrs 47 mins)
Storage Level: 1
Current Storage Capacity: 100 cubic feet
Current Storage Used: 0
Ability Transfers Available: 0 (Unlock at Trait Level 5)
Passive Analysis: Active
On physical contact, available copyable traits will display.
Copied Abilities:
Keen Smell (Level 0 – 0/10 Uses) → Grants heightened sense of smell. → Duration: Passive.
Brutal Strength (Level 0 – 0/10 Uses) → Boosts melee muscle force by 15 percent. → Duration: 5 minutes per use.
Swordplay Fundamentals (Level 0 – 0/10 Uses) → Instills basic sword techniques. Not a master-level skill. → Duration: Passive.
Traits must be used to level up. Each use increases mastery.
Alex exhaled slowly.
There it was. Real. Persistent. The Archive of Shadows wasn't a fever dream. It followed logic. It tracked levels. It offered stats, traits, upgrades.
And it used a mechanic he understood. It rewarded repetition.
He touched the screen — or rather, thought of touching it — and a help panel opened.
LEVELING TRAITS
Traits level up through active use.
Levels determine effectiveness, duration, and unlock advanced functions.
Level 1: 10 uses
Level 2: 100 uses
Level 3: 1000 uses
Level 4: 5000 uses
Level 5: 10000 uses (Transfer enabled)
COPY LIMITS
User can copy up to 3 traits daily (resets at local midnight).
Traits may be copied from any living being or physical object if it contains a unique property.
System Points: Not yet unlocked. (Requires system evolution.)
System Points. Evolution. Unlocks.
So this wasn't even its final form.
A smile ghosted across Alex's face. For the first time since waking in this unfamiliar world, the knot of fear in his chest loosened.
This was not a survival story.
This was a takeover story.
The next priority was shelter. Information and safety. In that order.
He walked until he found the shanty housing district east of the harbor — a row of leaning homes built from scavenged wood and cracked stone. Doors hung from broken hinges. Half the windows were patched with sailcloth. But no one questioned a young boy walking through. Here, everyone was invisible.
He settled into an alley where no one looked twice. A broken rooftop offered partial cover from the misting rain. He laid down, arms crossed under his head, and stared at the clouds.
Tomorrow, he'd copy three more.
Not randomly.
Deliberately.
He needed:
Mobility – something for speed or stealth.
Perception – to help him read people, not just smell them.
Utility – crafting, memory, even languages. Anything that helped him understand this world faster.
He'd focus on low-profile targets. No nobles. No flashy magic. No attention. Yet.
Just quiet growth.
And once he had a base of useful traits?
He'd build his web.
Sleep came in short bursts. The city didn't rest. Somewhere nearby, a man screamed. A bottle shattered. Then silence.
When the system chimed at midnight, it was a welcome sound.
Copy Limit Reset – 3/3 Available
Alex sat up.
Time to test a theory.
He found a beggar curled against the wall of an abandoned tailor shop. The man was snoring loudly, drunk or unconscious. Alex stepped close and knelt. He lightly touched the man's hand.
Passive Analysis – Target Detected
Name: Dorro – Street Beggar
Copyable Traits:
Pain Resistance (Level 0) – Blunts physical pain by 20 percent.
Echo Memory (Level 0) – Recalls brief sounds with clarity.
Pain Resistance was tempting. He would need it eventually.But Echo Memory had long-term value. In a world without microphones, being able to repeat conversations word for word was power.
He made the choice.
Copy Initiated – Echo Memory (Level 0)
Daily Copies Remaining: 2 / 3
He stood and moved on.
Within an hour, he picked up two more:
Balanced Footing from a street performer who walked a tightrope for copper coins.
Quick Bind from a dockworker who could knot ropes with unnatural speed — a small but flexible utility trait for combat, escape, and traps.
By sunrise, Alex was sitting at the edge of the water watching ships roll in.
Seven copied traits. All Level 0. Each would grow in time.
But he needed a plan to use them.
He couldn't train everything randomly. He needed structure. Routine. A way to test and level up consistently without drawing attention.
And he needed to make people owe him. Or fear him. Or both.
But for that, he needed his first real opportunity.
It came by accident.
He was watching a fight at the fish market — two sellers screaming over stolen crates — when he noticed a boy barely older than himself drop a sack of coin behind a stack of crates. The boy ran. The sack stayed.
Alex checked his surroundings, then snatched it.
Inside: silver stags. Dozens.
Enough to buy food. Clothing. A room at a poor inn.
More than that — enough to pretend he belonged.
He kept the coin. Not because he needed it, but because it opened doors.
Tomorrow, he'd be someone else entirely.
And the Archive of Shadows would grow with him.