Her words kept echoing in my head My brain wanted to replay that kiss forever, but the mirror in Mara's bathroom had other plans.
I turned the shower on and then stared at myself in the mirror. I looked like a guy who had slept on a strange bed and had a very good night and gotten in a fight with a building. There were purple shadows under my eyes and a small cut on my cheek that I did not remember getting. I touched it. The system pinged a tiny message over my reflection.
[Absolute Regeneration Activated]
[Fatigue Purged. Minor wound recovered.]
The cut closed under my finger. The skin warmed and smoothed. I made a sound that would have embarrassed me if anyone else had been in the room.
"Okay," I whispered to the mirror. "That's cheating. That's beautiful. I love you." I was talking to my own face. It was fine.
I showered carefully and then less carefully when I realized my ribs didn't hate me anymore. The hot water made the bandage adhesive give up without a fight. I stepped out, dried off, and prodded my side in disbelief. The bruise was faded. The ache was already a memory trying to decide if it had actually happened.
Back in the kitchen, Mara had the first aid kit open. She reached for me and then stopped when she saw how I was moving."You're either very tough or very stupid. Which one is it?"
"Yes," I said, and she snorted.
She rewrapped what needed rewrapping, which was mostly my pride. She was gentle. Her fingers skimmed my skin in a way that made every nerve in my body look up from its phone and pay attention. She knew exactly what she was doing. When she was done, she squeezed my shoulder like we had known each other longer than a day.
"You can rest here today if you want," she said. "Or you can go home and pretend you're fine there. Either is allowed. And you can come back. Anytime. For patching up. For pancakes. For… anything."
My brain rushed to fill anything with pictures. I thought the system heard the thought, because a thin sidebar appeared at the edge of my vision.
I choked on absolutely nothing and coughed to hide it. "I would like to come back," I said, and I kept my voice steady with heroic effort. "I would like to do that very much."
She smiled. It was the kind of smile that made a person think bad ideas were worth it."Good. Then we have a plan."
"Before I go," I said, because I couldn't stop myself from poking the miracle, "I need to test something."
She raised an eyebrow. "In what sense?"
"In the sense of… stamina," I said, and then I waved both hands like an idiot. "No, not that. I mean, like, physical fatigue. For training. I'm going to do push-ups on your rug. okay?."
She laughed so hard she had to put a hand on the counter. "Do it cutie. I'll time you."
I dropped to the floor and started pushing. Ten was fine. Twenty stung. Thirty lit a small fire in my arms. Forty felt like I was doing penance for every dumb decision I had ever made. At forty-five my elbows tried to unionize. I collapsed onto the rug, panting. The system pinged again.
[Absolute Regeneration Activated]
[Fatigue Purged.]
The ache drained out of my muscles like someone had pulled a plug. I flipped over and sat up. I could have done fifty more. I could have done a hundred more. I didn't, because I would have liked to still resemble a human man when I stood.
Mara watched my face change and narrowed her eyes like she was putting together a puzzle."You recover fast," she said again, softer this time.
"Great genes," I said again, and I smiled like I could act.
She didn't push. She handed me water and then stole the last sip for herself. Her lips are glossy. I am in danger in a very safe way.
"Okay," she said after a quiet minute. "What's your polite plan?"
I pulled my borrowed sweatpants up properly and tried to look like a person who owned a plan."There's always some tiny gate popping in the outskirts. I can find an E-rank. I can go in. I can see if I can handle it by myself. If I can't, I'll run. I'm good at running."
She hated that idea. I could see it in the way her mouth pressed thin. She also knew she couldn't keep me off a field I kept choosing. She looked at the clock like she wanted to fight time and then sighed."If you promise to be careful, I won't follow you into the street and drag you back by the ankle."
"I promise to be careful," I said. "I promise to be boring about it."
"Liar," she said, but it was affectionate.
She walked me to the door and kissed me like we were already habitual. It wasn't a casual kiss. It was a stored heat, a promise, and a dare. My legs forgot doorways had thresholds and I bumped my hip like a pro.
"Come back," she said, mouth close to my ear. "Anytime you want company. Anytime you need patching up. Anytime you need to be ruined a little."
My hands found her waist automatically. "Yes," I said, and my voice came out lower than I expected. "I will."
She swatted my chest because she could, and then she let me go."Go be careful," she said. "Text me if you need me to yell at a guard again."
I stepped into the hallway with my washed clothes folded under one arm and my busted dagger hilt in my pocket like a souvenir from a worse life. The building smelled like old carpet and hopeful cleaning products. A kid ran past me with a plastic sword and a cape that used to be a towel. His mom yelled a reminder about shoes from behind a door. Arcadia hummed behind the walls like a beast that had learned to purr.
The system hovered at the edge of my vision like a companion that refused to admit it was a companion. I scrolled Quest with a thought because I had decided thinking at it was a thing I could do now.
[Quest]
— None Active. Suggestion: Test your limits. Nearby: E-Rank Gate
— Quarantine Lot C, Southside (2.4 km)
"Of course there is," I said. "Of course there's an E-rank two kilometers away. Why wouldn't there be?"
I texted Mara maybe to fast but i could not help myself. Heading home to get gear. Might check a small gate later. Promise to be boring. She replied with a skull emoji, a heart, and Be boring sexy. I dare you.
I put my head against the elevator door and laughed quietly. It echoed down the empty shaft like someone else was laughing back.
As I rode down, the system nudged a tiny notification into the corner of my eye.
[Tip: You have 0 unassigned stat points. Gain EXP to level up. Conquests grant bonus stats.]
"So I get stronger by killing monsters," I said under my breath. "And by having sex with women who are way out of my league. God bless Arcadia. God curse Arcadia. Both can be true."
The elevator dinged. The doors limped open. I stepped into the morning with my heart beating like it had decided to practice being brave. I wasn't stupid enough to think I was a hero. I wasn't smart enough to stay home, either.
"Okay," I told the city. "Let's see if Level One can be polite to a gate."
For the record, none of this was normal. Hunters didn't have menus, or EXP bars, or glowing pop-ups that told them they were being pathetic.
When someone awakened, they got one power. Fireball, healing hands, stone skin, whatever. One ability. One rank, from F to SSS. That was it. No levels, no grinding, no skill tree. Your rank was stamped the second you awakened, and it never changed.
Want to know your stats? You didn't open a menu. You went to the guild building, let some bored receptionist scan you with a mana reader the size of a microwave, and got handed a printout like a receipt for your whole life.
So yeah. The fact that I had a floating window with "Level: 1" and "Skills: SSS-Rank" staring at me was not just unusual—it was impossible. If the guild found out, they'd probably dissect me before offering me a contract.
The system didn't respond, because the system wasn't here to encourage me. The wind from the street smelled like fried dough and bus brakes and someone's cheap cologne. Somewhere on the south side, a quarantine lot was waiting with a glowing crack in reality and a sign that said Keep Out. I was going to ignore the sign on purpose.
I adjusted the strap of my bag on my shoulder. I tucked the cleaned shirt Mara had insisted I take into the top like it was an amulet. I checked the time and did the rent math without meaning to. I decided not to do the funeral math.
Before I took a step, another small box opened, like the system remembered a joke it wanted to tell.
[Reminder]— Repeat Conquests with Registered Partner may improve skill synergy and grant bonus rewards. Consent remains required. Be decent.
I closed my eyes and smiled because I couldn't help it. "I will come back," I whispered. "I heard you the first time."
I'd told Mara I was heading to my apartment before checking a gate, so that's what I did. No sense showing up to a dungeon with nothing but a broken dagger hilt and a prayer.
My building was five floors of squeaky stairwells, flickering lights, and paper-thin walls that let me know way too much about my neighbors' bowel movements. My door stuck unless you hip-checked it, which I did, and the smell inside hit like instant noodles and hopelessness.
The bed squeaked if you breathed near it, the fridge hummed like it wanted to die, and the sink had been dripping since last Christmas. Home sweet dump.
I dug around in my drawer until I found a knife. Not a good knife. Not even a hunter's knife. Just a little kitchen blade I'd wrapped in duct tape and pretended was "combat-ready."
I held it up, gave it a test swing, and sighed. "Perfect. This one's gonna break even faster than the last one. Can't wait."
I shoved it into my belt anyway, grabbed my patched jacket, and headed back out.
…Because apparently, Level One Ethan Cross was dumb enough to be polite to a gate.
Halfway there, the system chimed.
[Warning: Threat Level Exceeds Registered level]
[Proceed anyway?]
I laughed, because what else was I going to do? Cry?