Monday, June 1st — 6:15 a.m.
The alarm shrieked through the room, tearing apart the early morning silence.
Akito opened his eyes, surprised — he felt surprisingly energetic.
"Strange…" he muttered. "Nothing hurts…"
But a system window floated into view:
[Wounds will fully heal in: 37h]
"Well, at least I can't feel the pain. I'll take it."
He quickly got ready, slung his backpack over his shoulder, and stepped outside. On the way, he couldn't resist peeking into the same alley where he had fought the mutated rats the night before.
It was spotless. No blood. No trash.
"Like it never happened," he muttered, and walked on.
Ten minutes later, he descended into the subway. The ride to the quieter district went quickly. Another five-minute walk, and he was at the construction site.
"Morning, Akito!"
"Morning…" he replied weakly. By the time you greet everyone, it already feels like you've done a full shift.
"Akito! Over here!" the foreman called.
"Coming!" he shouted back, weaving through the noise, machinery, and deafening drills.
"Morning."
"Morning. You'll need to unload those three pallets of cement and carry the bags up to the third floor."
Akito barely held back a sigh — but nodded.
A job is a job.
11:57 a.m.
A voice echoed through the site:
"LUNCH!"
Akito had just finished carrying the second pallet. He dusted himself off and headed to the canteen. Same line, same free lunch, same routine.
Then he heard:
"Today's payday."
"Oh right, it's the first," he muttered. That, at least, was good news.
He was finishing the last spoonful when a translucent system window popped up right in front of him. He froze and quickly glanced around.
No one reacted.
Perfect… so I'm still the only one who can see this.
[New Quest!]
[Eliminate 25 "Fallen" (0/25)]
[Time Limit: 8h]
"The Fallen"? What the heck are those? Akito thought as he dismissed the window.
Better to finish work quickly — the sooner it's done, the more time he'd have to rest.
4:24 p.m.
Work was finished. On his way home, a notification appeared:
[Deposit Received: ¥200,000]
He smiled.
At home, sitting in the kitchen, Akito started calculating:
Rent: ¥90,000 Utilities: ¥15,000 Internet & phone: ¥6,000 Kaito's debt: ¥20,000
Remaining: ~¥70,000
Gotta survive the month. It'll do. Barely.
The quest still echoed in his mind. He decided to check his weapon stats:
Dagger (Common)
Damage: 110 Durability: 25
Durability's low, but the damage is solid. Hopefully, it holds up.
6:39 p.m.
Akito headed out. His destination: an abandoned railway long forgotten by the city.
When he arrived, he saw them.
Hideous silhouettes crawled out from the darkness.
Above their heads floated: [Common]
He opened his inventory and equipped the dagger. A light black blade with a steel grip formed in his hand.
"Well then… ready for round two?"
The wind howled. Somewhere in the distance, stray dogs barked.
And the hunt began.
These things…
They looked like dead humans — rotting flesh, twisted limbs, bodies moving like puppets controlled by clumsy hands. The stench was awful — and somehow real, despite being system-generated monsters.
One of the Fallen lunged at him, its body jerking unnaturally as it sprinted forward.
Akito remembered something from his self-defense video:
"When someone charges, step back and strike head-on."
He took a stance.
A step back — and in the next second, the dagger pierced straight through the creature's head.
[Enemy eliminated (1/25)]
He barely had time to react before another lunged. He dodged, but not fully — and was slammed in the chest with both of its hands. He flew backward, crashing into an old rusted train car. A cloud of dust exploded around him.
[-50 HP]
Damn… Akito grimaced. Something hurt deep inside.
That metallic taste… Internal bleeding. One or two more hits like that and I'm done.
He stood up. Blood dripped from his mouth.
I need to act fast. I can't win like this. I need a boost.
He summoned the blue, semi-transparent interface:
[Stats]
[Inventory]
[Shop]
He selected [Stats].
Strength: 0 / ∞ [+] Speed: 0 / ∞ [+] Endurance: 0 / ∞ [+] Vitality: 1 / ∞ [+] Energy: 0 / ∞ [+] Bonus Points: 3
Alright… Strength to 1, Speed to 2. Let's end this fast.
[Attack increased: 60 → 80]
[Speed increased by 10%]
Akito dashed forward, stomped one of the Fallen into the ground, and decapitated it with a single slash.
[Enemy eliminated (2/25)]
Minutes dragged into an eternity.
The ground was littered with corpses.
Akito could barely stand, gasping for breath.
[Enemy eliminated (19/25)]
"Should've put points into endurance…" he thought bitterly.
But he clenched his jaw.
Just a little more.
Fifteen minutes later — it was over.
The final monster collapsed, its chest split wide open.
Akito dropped to the ground beside it.
[Level Up: 4 → 11]
[Stat Points Gained]
[Reward: 2,500 eni | Skill: "Iron Will" (Lv.1)]
"Whew…" he exhaled, lying on the dirt.
"If it wasn't for that dog…"
He turned his head.
The stray that had saved him at the last moment lay torn apart.
Its body ripped, entrails spilled across the rocks.
"Thank you…" Akito whispered.
"I wish I could've done more for you."
He changed into spare clothes, stuffed the bloodied ones into an old backpack, and headed home.
The subway echoed with emptiness.
10:41 p.m. — Akito stepped into his apartment.
Quiet. Familiar. Safe.
His body was exhausted — but his heart was buzzing.
Victory.
Under the dim kitchen light, he pulled up the system once more.
[Stats]
Attack: 80 HP: 120 Mana: 0 Height: 182 cm Weight: 78 kg Age: 18 Skills: "Iron Will" (Lv.1) Strength: 1 / ∞ Speed: 2 / ∞ Endurance: 0 / ∞ Vitality: 1 / ∞ Energy: 0 / ∞ Bonus Points: 17
What's "Iron Will"? Akito tapped the skill.
[Iron Will — Lv.1]
Reduces perceived pain by 20% as long as the user doesn't flee from combat.
"Useful…" he muttered.
He opened Inventory:
2,550 eni, nearly broken dagger.
Akito sold it for 150 eni — looks like durability affects price.
Now — the Shop.
[Recovery Potion Lv.1] — 1,200 eni
[Buy?] → [Yes]
A small vial with glowing green liquid appeared on the table.
Akito drank it without hesitation.
Next… a new weapon.
He scrolled for a while… until something caught his eye:
Dagger: "Raident" (Rare)
Damage: 180 Durability: 75 Effect: Causes a localized explosion on hit (does not damage user) Price: 1,500 eni
"Mine," he said softly, and the weapon appeared in his inventory.
He yawned, closed the panel, and collapsed onto his bed.
Just as he was about to drift off, a message appeared before his eyes:
[Reach Level 50 to unlock your First Guardian]
Akito smiled.
"Now it's getting interesting."