His bedroom was quiet. Too quiet.Kael stood in the center of the room, the familiar posters on his wall and the stack of textbooks on his desk now seeming like relics from a different life. The memory of the frozen world, of the hound's claws inches from his skin, was branded into his mind.
He had survived. His father was safe downstairs, completely oblivious.But it wasn't over. He could feel it. The silence was just a temporary reprieve.
The Codex… The name echoed in his thoughts. That's what it called itself. The power that rewound time and saved us. But what is it? How do I access it again? I need to understand.
His focus sharpened, his desire for answers hardening into a tangible intent.As if responding to his will, a soundless chime resonated deep within his skull.
Chime!
A brilliant, golden light bled into reality before his eyes, resolving into the familiar, translucent window.
[A New Quest Has Arrived.]
[Special Mission: Defeat a Monster]
Objective:Defeat a Monster
Target:Torpor, an Ancient-Class Void Beast.
Location:Gunung Padang.
Time Limit:48 Hours.
Failure:The target will consume the residual energy of your Anima, gaining immense power and alerting the Host of the Void to your existence. Your family will be targeted.
Reward:???
Kael's blood ran cold.Go back? I have to go back to the place I just died?
His eyes scanned the quest details, his mind racing. Torpor. The name itself means lethargy, apathy. It has to be related to those hounds. But 'Ancient-Class'? That sounds… bad.
He felt a surge of helplessness. He was a student, not a monster hunter. He had no weapons, no training. How was he supposed to fight something like that?
His eyes fell to the bottom of the window, noticing a section he'd almost missed.
[Sub-Quest: The First Inheritance]Objective: Locate the Guardian's heirloom hidden within the First Codex.
Target: The Genesis Shard.
Hint: The origin of your power holds the key to its future.
The pieces clicked into place, sharp and terrifyingly clear.The relic. It's not just a side mission. It's the key.
The system wasn't just sending him on a suicide mission. It was giving him a path. A ridiculously dangerous, almost impossible path, but a path nonetheless.Find the relic first. Use it to fight the beast.
He stared at the 48-hour time limit, a countdown to his potential death or the endangerment of his family. The fear was still there, a cold knot in his gut. But now, mixing with it, was something else. A spark of adrenaline. A flicker of grim determination.
He was no longer the person who had left this room this morning.He would be a savior for his family that he didn't understand, and his first quest had just begun.
How am I supposed to defeat a monster I couldn't even survive the first time?
The question echoed in the crushing silence of Kael's bedroom. An Ancient beast. A 48-hour deadline. It was an execution order disguised as a quest.
His only weapon was the power that had saved him—the golden window, the system called the Codex. But it was a locked armory, and he didn't have the key.
First things first, he thought, his jaw tightening. I need to open that window.
The silence of his bedroom was a lie. A timer was screaming in his mind, counting down the seconds he had left to live.
Panic was a fire that would burn him alive if he let it. He couldn't afford that. He was a student. A scholar. This was just another problem set, the most important one he'd ever been assigned. He sat on the edge of his bed, forcing the frantic rhythm of his heart to slow.
He needed to analyze the data. He replayed the memory of his own death, not as a victim, but as a researcher studying a primary source.
The activation of the Codex wasn't random. It was a reaction. It had triggered on a razor's edge of desperation, fueled by a single, all-consuming will to protect.
The power responded to my intent, he concluded. So, my intent should be the key to calling it back.
He closed his eyes, ready to test the theory.
First Attempt. He focused his thoughts, shaping them into a clear, concise request. Codex, show yourself. He pushed the thought out with all his mental strength.
The silence in the room only deepened. Nothing. Not a flicker of light, not a whisper of power. It was like shouting into a vacuum.
Too polite, he thought, a flicker of irritation cutting through his focus. It wasn't a request. It was a demand born from the brink of annihilation.
Second Attempt. This time, he chased the feeling. He ignored the words and focused on the memory of the awakening itself—the ghost of lightning in his veins, the phantom fire that had blazed across his chest. He reached for that internal spark, trying to fan it into a flame.
Something shifted.
The air in the room grew heavy, charged with a static pressure that made the hairs on his arms stand up. A faint warmth bloomed in his torso, a pale echo of the inferno from before. He was on the right path, he could feel it. The power was there, humming just beneath the surface, but he was still missing the final piece to draw it out.
He opened his eyes, a bead of sweat tracing a path down his temple. Frustration coiled in his gut.
He was thinking of it as a force to be unleashed, a power to be begged for. That was wrong. The windows, the quests, the clean lines of the interface… it wasn't some chaotic, primordial magic.
It was a system. An instrument.
And an instrument doesn't play itself. It waits for the conductor.
The realization struck him with the clarity of a ringing bell. The feeling was the orchestra, but his will—expressed as a clear, undeniable command—was the conductor's baton.
He stood, his posture straightening. He took a deep, centering breath, and closed his eyes a final time. He gathered that nascent fire within him, letting it burn steadily. Then, focusing all of his will, all of his intent into two simple words, he spoke into the quiet of his room.
His voice wasn't a shout or a plea. It was a low, firm command that resonated with absolute authority.
"Status Window."
Chime!
The soundless note rang through his soul. He opened his eyes.
Light, pure and golden, bled into the air before him. It didn't just pop into existence; it wove itself into reality, a tapestry of shimmering, ancient glyphs that resolved into a clean, modern interface.
It was here. He had called it.
A slow, cold smile touched Kael's lips. The fear was still there, a knot of ice in his stomach. But now, it was joined by something else entirely.
Control.
The golden light was blinding.
Kael shielded his eyes, and when he lowered his hand, the window was there. Floating. Silent. Real.
His gaze immediately locked onto the text, his mind automatically parsing the data.
[STATUS]
Name: Kael
Title: The Summoner
The Summoner. The title felt like a promise and a threat rolled into one.
He scanned his stats, his heart sinking with each number.
Strength: 12
Agility: 15
Stamina: 18
These stats are garbage. He could feel a cold sweat on his brow. I'm barely stronger than I was before.
Then his eyes caught two other stats.
Willpower: 35
Resonance: 10
Willpower is high… and what in the world is Resonance?
He filed the question away for later. His gaze fell on his skills.
[Passive] Pantheon Synergy
[Active] Eternal Dominion (Prototype)
Before he could analyze them, his eyes snapped to the edge of the interface. Other glyphs. Hovering like silent invitations. One looked like a swirling constellation, and it pulsed with a faint, familiar energy.
That one.
The moment his intent focused on the glyph, the world vanished. He was adrift in a sea of stars. A universe inside the system. Countless constellations were dark, locked away. But one, directly in front of him, glowed with a soft, warm light.
[PANTHEON ACCESSED: INDONESIAN (PARTIAL)]
Within it, a single star burned brighter than all the others. A sun. He reached for it with his thoughts.
Ding!
The universe of stars dissolved, replaced by a new, more detailed window.
His breath hitched. It was here.
[SUMMONS]
Name: Garuda, the Divine Eagle
Pantheon: Indonesian
Class: Mythic Beast
Role: Air Superiority, Divine Support
Status: Pledged
Summoning Command: "Descend"
Cost: [High] Initial Stamina Drain
He stared at the words, his mind reeling. The miracle that had saved him from certain death… it wasn't a one-time event. It was a skill. A repeatable, controllable skill.
His eyes locked onto the Cost. High Stamina Drain. That means I can't use it carelessly. With a Stamina of 18, maybe I can only manage one summon before I collapse.
It was a weapon with a heavy price. But it was still a weapon.
He looked at the 48-hour timer in the corner of his vision. It was still ticking down. Relentless.
But the fear that had been strangling him was finally loosening its grip. The enemy was an Ancient beast. The odds were stacked against him.
But now, he had the rules to the game. And he had his first playing piece.