The Duskhound's body lay still, steam rising from the punctured eye where Kael's spear had struck true. The fog curled around him like a living thing, but he no longer noticed the cold or the silence.
He was breathing hard. Not from fear— from clarity.
The system screen still hovered before him, its faint glow casting eerie light across the surrounding.
---
[ Core Unlock Progress: 1.0%]
[ Bloodline Resonance: Initiated ]
[ Element: Null-Origin Flame (Suppressed) ]
[ Skill Gained: Sovereign Perception – Lv. 1 ]
[ Next Milestone: 5% Unlock — Access to Hidden Authority Pathways ]
---
Kael's fingers twitched. The blood on his hands was beginning to dry, but inside, something new burned. A faint heat, deep in his chest, pulsing like a second heartbeat.
This was power. Real power.
Not just brute strength, but something designed— crafted for him. And yet… the screen said suppressed. Even now, only a fragment of it had awakened.
Why?
Why was it sealed?
And who had built something like this... inside him?
He recalled the phrase:
"Origin Heir — Clearance Level: Sovereign."
That wasn't a coincidence.
This system wasn't random.
Someone long ago had created it for him. Or for his bloodline. And that meant his parents, who had always lived like ordinary people, were hiding something far bigger than he'd ever imagined.
---
The wind shifted suddenly.
Kael's eyes snapped toward the shadows.
There was movement in the fog.
Another beast?
No. The system didn't trigger a warning.
It was someone else.
He melted into the mist, crouched low behind a fallen log. He didn't have the strength for another fight.
A figure stepped into the clearing— a girl, maybe a year older than him. Dark cloak. Twin curved daggers at her sides. She moved like a scout— graceful and efficient. Her aura didn't blaze with mana, but it was there, faint and steady. At a single glance he could tell that she was trained.
A scout?
She knelt beside the Duskhound's corpse.
"Fresh kill," she whispered. Her tone wasn't surprised— just cautious. Her gloved fingers touched the blood near the eye socket.
Kael didn't move.
His breath was shallow. Focused.
The system flickered silently before his eyes.
---
[ Warning: Potential Threat — Core User Detected]
[ Estimated Tier: Initiate-Level]
[ Combat Advice: Avoid Engagement. Current strength insufficient.]
---
Smart advice. He stayed still. Watched. Waited.
She stood, scanning the area once more.
For a moment, Kael thought her eyes met his— but no reaction came.
Then she turned, vanishing back into the mist as quickly as she'd arrived.
Silence returned.
Kael let out a slow, silent breath.
He remained hidden for a few more minutes before rising again.
That girl wasn't from the city's outer rings. Her gear, posture, and movement all screamed training. Probably from one of the lesser noble houses. A night scout or an academy hunter-in-training.
But what mattered more… was that she hadn't sensed him.
That meant the system's SovereignPerceptionskill worked.
[ A passive advantage in stealth, reading combat flow, and avoiding detection. ]
A silent edge.
And that was exactly what he needed.
He couldn't afford to be noticed— not yet. Not until he understood what this system truly was. And not until he could protect what little he had.
He wiped the spear, stood, and began the long walk back to Draymoor.
The mist closed behind him, swallowing the scene like a memory.
---
Hours passed.
By the time he reached the outskirts of the outer ring, the twin suns were rising again— painting the sky in orange and violet streaks. The gate guards hadn't changed shift. No one noticed a bloodied boy slipping through the cracks in the wall.
The city was waking up.
Bakers lit fires. Merchants rolled carts. Children gathered around news boards, waiting to see which names made the official Core Awakening List.
But Kael didn't care.
He passed them without pause, eyes shadowed by the hood of his cloak, hands still faintly stained with beast blood.
---
He reached home just as the streets grew crowded. The door creaked softly as he pushed it open.
Inside, the house was still quiet. His father's forge sat cold, the hammer untouched. His mother's books still lined the walls, gathering dust. They weren't poor— just... average. Invisible. Safe.
Kael shut the door behind him and sank into the shadows of his room.
The trapdoor creaked as he opened it, descending once again into the hidden training chamber below.
He lit a small mana lamp and collapsed onto the stone bench, muscles aching from the night's fight.
And yet… he smiled.
Not wide. Not soft.
But Cold and Quiet.
The smile of someone who had faced death— and gained clarity from it.
His hand trembled— not from fear, but excitement.
He opened the system screen again.
The screen responded immediately, smooth and seamless.
---
[System Menu Accessed]
> Skills
> Bloodline
> Inventory [Locked]
> Missions
> Ancestral Records [Locked]
---
So much was still hidden.
But not for long.
He tapped the Missions tab.
---
[New Mission: Identity Unknown]
[ Objective: Create an alias unlinked to your public identity ]
[ Requirements: Conceal appearance, gain recognition under false title ]
[ Reward: Shadow Authority Access, System Masking Function ]
[ Note: In a world of kings, gods, and monsters… the unseen hold true power.]
---
Kael stared at the screen.
A hidden identity.
It made sense.
If he revealed what he had— if people learned about the system, the bloodline, or the name OriginHeir— it would paint a target on his back. Nobles would hunt him. Academies would dissect him. Factions would try to claim or kill him.
But a shadow?
A maskedforce operating from the dark?
That, they would fear.
Kael leaned forward, the flickering lamp casting harsh lines across his face.
The city saw him as weak. Coreless. Barely worth mentioning.
Let them think that.
Let them mock KaelVirein.
He would build another name.
A symbol that could move in silence and leave monsters— human or not— trembling.
He already knew what that name would be.
He just needed time.
Feared. Unknown. Untraceable.
A shadow who would rise where Kael Virein could not.
His lips curved— not into a smile, but something colder. Sharper.