The four Ash Wolves fanned out, their low growls vibrating through the dusty air. Lee's heart hammered, but his body felt strangely calm, humming with a new energy.
I feel… lighter. I guess all that carrying in the mines wasn't in vain.
One wolf lunged. Lee's body moved before his mind could, a swift sidestep that felt as natural as breathing. The beast's jaws snapped shut on empty air.
But how can I beat wolves with no weapon? Panic finally cut through the adrenaline.
Another wolf charged. This time, Lee didn't dodge. He pivoted and kicked out, his foot connecting with the wolf's muzzle with a solid thwack. The creature yelped and tumbled back, shaking its head before rising with a deeper, more vicious snarl.
Tch. Not enough. Lee's teeth clenched as all four began to close in, their circle tightening. Now what do I do? System!
The familiar, glitched interface appeared before his eyes. His vision raced across the options until his gaze landed on something new.
Blade Summon?
He didn't hesitate. "Blade Summon!"
A shard of metal, a blade roughly the length of his forearm, materialized in his hand. It wasn't a sword no hilt, no crossguard. Just a raw edge, sharp enough to cut.
What is this? Just the blade? He stared at it in disbelief. Well… I'll take anything.
The first wolf lunged. Lee swung in a wild arc. The glowing edge sliced clean through its neck. The beast collapsed.
[ASH WOLF SLAIN. 25 XP GAINED.]
[QUEST UPDATE: UNLOCK THE FIRST SEAL - 1/4]
Another wolf lunged from his left. Lee sidestepped, his movements quicker than ever, and drove the blade deep into its spine.
[ASH WOLF SLAIN. 25 XP GAINED.]
[QUEST UPDATE: 2/4]
The third wolf came from behind, claws raking across his shoulder before he spun. Pain shot down his back, hot and sharp, but instinct took over. He brought the blade up and the wolf impaled its own mouth on the edge. It thrashed, jaws snapping around the glowing shard. Lee planted a boot in its stomach and kicked it away, ripping the blade free in a spray of blood.
"Blade Summon!" A second blade formed in his other hand, and with a sharp flick of his wrist, it shot forward like a dart, skewering the beast before it could recover.
[ASH WOLF SLAIN. 25 XP GAINED.]
[QUEST UPDATE: 3/4]
The last wolf, seeing its pack torn apart, tried to flee.
"Oh no you don't!" Lee hurled his blade, the raw edge spinning through the air and striking deep. The wolf crumpled before it could vanish into the ash.
[ASH WOLF SLAIN. 25 XP GAINED.]
[QUEST COMPLETE: UNLOCK THE FIRST SEAL - 4/4]
[REWARD: 100 XP]
[NEW SKILL ACQUIRED: {Keen Edge}]
[LEVEL UP! You are now Level 2.]
[+5 Stat Points Awarded.]
A wave of power washed through him, soothing the sting of his wounds. New knowledge unfolded in his mind, teaching him where to strike, how to make every cut sink deeper.
Lee looked up at the glowing text. "A new quest…? I didn't know you got quests like this. Is my system different?"
[NEW QUEST: ESCAPE THE ASH PITS]
[OBJECTIVE: Reach the world beyond the canyon walls.]
[SUB-OBJECTIVE: Do not be detected by the Guards.]
[TIME LIMIT: Until sunrise.]
He pulled open his status screen.
[STR: 10 | VIT: 10 | AGI: 12 | INT: 0 | WIS: 9 | LCK: 5]
"I need to be fast. I need to be quiet." His jaw tightened. "All points into agility."
[+5 IN AGILITY]
[AGI: 17]
"Alright. Quest accepted."
He began to walk, his new agility making every step feel light and sure. The canyon rim was a distant slash of darkness under the stars, impossibly far.
"The Ash Pits," he thought, "A big hole where they throw the trash. Us. The walls… they're supposed to be impossible. People have tried. They fall. Or they get an arrow in their back. Those who escape become criminals for life."
He slipped behind a mining rig as a patrol of guards trudged by, their armor catching faint glimmers of firelight.
"Not all Nulls end up here. Some families just… run. They'd rather vanish than take the Ceremony. Live as ghosts." He glanced down at his hand, still wrapped around his summoned blade. "But me… I've got a Class now. If I play this right, I can pass for one of them. Maybe even blend in."
The wasteland stretched on. An hour passed in silence.
"I've been walking for an hour now," he muttered, opening his system. [STAMINA: 85/130]. "My stamina's getting low." He slumped against a petrified stump, its stone bark scraping his back. "So far, only a wolf pack and a Stone-Shelled Scuttler… its meat's edible. Learned that the hard way."
His eyes drifted across the horizon. "The Ash Pits are divided into districts. I lived in District B. Closest to the wall. More monsters. Highest death rate. Means no one will notice I'm gone. Still… this place is miles across. Doesn't matter. Once I leave, I'm done with this hell."
He rose again, forcing his tired legs forward. "All we do here is mine. Mine and die. We're the machinery that fuels the Blessed." His voice turned bitter. "And they don't even see us as human."
The walk blurred into a grueling haze. He passed empty watchtowers, rusted chains, even the bones of Nulls who'd tried before him. At last, the canyon wall loomed over him, a mountain of stone stretching into darkness.
Lee tilted his head back. "This is… massive." His system flickered. [STAMINA: 117/130]. "Looks like stamina went up when I leveled. Didn't notice."
"Blade Summon," he whispered. A second shard formed in his free hand. He tested it against the wall. The raw edge sank into the rock with a satisfying crunch.
"Good. These blades aren't just weapons." He looked up at the impossible climb. "They're my ladder out of this prison."
He took a few steps back, drew in a breath, and sprinted. His feet pounded the stone, launching him upward. At the peak of his leap, he drove one blade into the rock. It caught. The other followed higher. His muscles screamed, but he pulled.
And so began the ascent.
Time lost meaning. Every motion was the same: stab, pull, climb. His hands tore open, skin splitting until blood slicked the glowing blades. His grip faltered once, the blade slipping free with a sickening crack. He dangled for a moment over the abyss, heart in his throat, before slamming the blade back into the stone.
Forty-five minutes later, he dragged himself onto a narrow ledge. The ground below was nothing but black haze. He stared at his hands, raw and bleeding. "My hands… it's the blades. They cut as much as they save me."
There was no choice but to keep going. He pushed upward again, this time faster, his agility turning every movement fluid, precise.
The higher he climbed, the stronger the wind grew. It howled past his ears, tugged at his rags, threatened to peel him from the wall. Still, he climbed.
At last, his torn fingers caught the final edge. With a guttural cry, he hauled himself over the rim and collapsed onto flat ground. The air was crisp and cold, burning his lungs after years of ash and smog.
For a long moment, he laid still, staring at the endless sky above. Then he pushed himself up.
The world opened before him.
Behind, the canyon was a scar of fire and shadow. Ahead stretched a wasteland of black stone and dust, rolling under the silver glow of the moon. Far off, jagged mountains clawed at the sky.
And in the distance, faint flickers of light. Torches. A settlement.
The world was… big.
A sea of rolling, dark rock and hard packed world stretched out under a ceiling of endless stars. The moon, a sharp sliver of cold silver, cast long, dancing shadows that made the landscape seem alive. In the far, far distance, the jagged teeth of mountains bit at the sky.
It was nothing like the of lush, green fields he'd seen as a child. This was a land of dust and stone
But it was free.
A single, weathered road, little more than a dirt track, snaked from the direction of the town and vanished into the dark expanse.
This was it. Not a kingdom. Not safety. But a direction. A beginning .
The wind, a constant, whispering presence up here, tugged at his ragged clothes. It didn't smell of smoke and despair. It smelled of distance, of rock, of a world waiting to be walked.
He was out. He was free. And he was utterly, terrifyingly alone.
Lee's chest rose and fell, breath ragged, as the wind whispered across the barren ground. For the first time in years, the air did not smell of despair. It smelled of freedom.
A soft glow appeared in his vision.
[QUEST COMPLETE: ESCAPE THE ASH PITS]
[NEW QUEST: FIND SHELTER]
[OBJECTIVE: Reach the distant lights of the settlement before sunrise.]
[WARNING: THE NIGHT BELONGS TO PREDATORS.]