Chapter One
Caroline had always known she was at the very bottom of the food chain. In a world where people were born with gifts—fiery magic that could split mountains, claws that could tear through steel, or senses sharp enough to smell a demon from miles away—she had been born with nothing. No gifts, no strength, no special bloodline to her name.
Just Caroline.
The villagers whispered "defect" whenever she passed by, though she pretended not to hear. Children born powerless were rare, but when they did appear, most didn't survive long. Either demons claimed them or the world itself pushed them to the fringes until they broke.
But Caroline was stubborn. She had survived sixteen winters in this cruel world, even if survival meant endless labor, doing odd jobs no one else wanted, and returning every coin to the old orphanage that had raised her.
The orphanage was a crumbling stone building at the edge of the village, smelling faintly of mold and smoke. Sister Elara, a weary woman with kind eyes, ran the place. She was the only one who had ever looked at Caroline without contempt. For her, Caroline endured. She scrubbed floors until her hands bled, delivered messages across treacherous roads, collected herbs in the forest where monsters prowled.
It was on one of those errands that her fate changed.
---
The morning mist clung to her boots as she trekked deeper into the forest, clutching a worn satchel at her side. Sister Elara had asked her to find Silverleaf, a herb that grew only in shaded places and was used to treat fevers. Caroline had gathered herbs countless times before, but something about the silence of the forest today unsettled her. No chirping birds. No rustling undergrowth. Just… quiet.
She found the herb after hours of searching, a cluster of silver-veined leaves glowing faintly under a patch of mossy rocks. Relief fluttered in her chest as she crouched to pick them.
That was when the growl came.
Low. Deep. Predatory.
Caroline froze, the hairs on her neck standing up. Slowly, she turned her head. From the shadows between the trees, a pair of golden eyes burned. A beast padded into view, larger than any wolf she had ever seen. Its fur was black as midnight, matted with old scars, its fangs glistening with saliva.
A Nightfang.
Her breath hitched. Nightfangs were tier-two beasts, the kind that even trained hunters struggled against. Caroline had no weapon, no magic. Just her satchel of herbs and a fragile human body.
Run, her instincts screamed.
She bolted, the forest blurring around her as branches tore at her arms and legs. The beast roared and gave chase, each thunderous step shaking the ground behind her. Her lungs burned, her legs screamed, but still she pushed forward.
A claw slashed across her back.
Caroline screamed, pain exploding through her body as hot blood soaked her shirt. She stumbled but didn't fall. She couldn't afford to.
Not yet.
Not here.
The beast lunged again. She veered sharply, ducking under a fallen log, scraping her knees raw as she crawled through mud and roots. Her vision blurred, her breath ragged.
Half-dead already.
But still moving.
A dark mouth of stone appeared ahead—a cave hidden beneath an outcrop. With the last of her strength, she threw herself inside, collapsing against the cold, damp floor.
The Nightfang snarled outside, pacing, its claws scraping the stone. But for some reason, it didn't enter. After a long moment, the sound of its growls faded into the distance.
Caroline's hands trembled as she pressed against her wound. The world spun in dizzy circles. She was going to die here. Alone.
Unless—
Her gaze shifted deeper into the cave. A faint glow pulsed from the far wall, like the heartbeat of something alive.
Dragging herself across the floor, she reached the source. Embedded in the stone was a gem, no bigger than her palm, glowing with an otherworldly light that shifted between crimson and violet. It pulsed in rhythm with her own faltering heartbeat.
Without knowing why, she touched it.
The moment her fingers brushed the surface, the gem shattered into pure light and surged into her chest.
Caroline gasped, arching as energy ripped through her body. Every nerve ignited, every drop of blood boiled with searing heat. Her scream echoed through the cave as the power swallowed her whole.
Then darkness.
---
When she woke, the pain was gone. She lay on the cave floor, her wound sealed, her body trembling with strange energy.
And then—
Ding!
The sound was clear, mechanical, yet it reverberated directly inside her head.
> [Player has met the recommendation for the System.]
[Welcome to the Demon System.]
[Would you like to accept? Y/N]
Caroline froze. Her lips parted, but no sound came.
Another ding followed.
> [Please say "Yes" to accept.]
She swallowed hard, heart pounding. Demon… system? What did that even mean? Systemswhat even are those. Stories of chosen individuals who gained powers beyond imagination but only in video games and movies.
And it was asking her.
Her throat felt dry as she whispered, "Y-yes."
The cave pulsed with light.
> [System activated.]
[Initialization complete. Binding to host: Caroline.]
[From this moment forward, you are a Player in the Demon System.]
Her vision filled with glowing text only she could see:
> [HP: 50/100]
[Stamina: 20/50]
[Mana: 0]
[Status: Weak, Malnourished]
Caroline's hands shook. Numbers? Stats? This wasn't magic. This wasn't anything she had ever known.
The system wasn't done.
> [Because the host was chosen at near-death, a Starter Gift has been issued.]
[Would you like to open it?]
She nodded before she could think.
> [Starter Gift opened.]
[Congratulations! You have obtained: Skill – Demon's Endurance (Passive).]
A warmth spread through her body, subtle but undeniable. The fatigue that had weighed her down for years seemed to ease slightly, her breathing steadier.
Caroline sat in stunned silence, staring at her trembling hands. She, the powerless orphan at the bottom of the chain, had just… changed.
And slowly she lose consciousness again