Morning came, but I had no need for rest. This body required sleep, food, warmth. Pathetic requirements.
The villagers bustled about outside my small home. They laughed, argued, carried water, bartered over vegetables. Simple, fragile lives. Their existence was so easily erased, so laughably disposable.
I wandered into the street, no one spared me a second glance. To them I was nothing. A background face. Forgettable. Exactly how I wanted it.
But peace never lasts long in stories.
A scream split the air.
I turned my head calmly. A wild beast—starved, its eyes glowing faintly with mana—had slipped through the forest and into the village. It roared, claws raised, at the nearest farmer as he tripped in the dirt, too slow to flee.
The villagers screamed and scattered like frightened livestock.
Pathetic.
I stepped forward, unnoticed, my small feet silent against the paving stones. My eyes fixed on the beast's claws. A single thought.
Disintegrate.
The claws vanished into nothingness. The beast stumbled, confused, before it could even register the loss. I extended a hand, the gesture more for my own amusement than necessity.
Integrate.
The claws reformed—this time, as chains of jagged black steel, binding the beast's legs and throat. The creature collapsed, choking.
The villagers gasped. "The gods protected us!" someone cried.
I smiled faintly. They would never understand.
But someone—or something—did.
A flicker in my mind. A voice without sound. Words etched themselves into my vision.
[System Initialization Complete
Scanning Entity…
Anomaly Detected
Designation: Forgotten Background
Error: Power Source Unregistered]
I froze. Then I laughed inwardly. So, the world itself finally noticed me.
More text scrolled, urgent, broken.
[Attempting Stat Allocation…
Strength: ??????
Endurance: ??????
Mana: ∞
Intelligence: ?????
Charisma: ERROR
Skill Detected: Null & Reforge
Classification: Undefined]
Undefined. Error. Anomaly.
The System was trying to measure me… and failing.
How delightful.
"Wh-what happened to the beast?" a villager faltered, staring at the chained monster.
I turned, tilting my head, letting my small face remain blank, innocent. "I don't know," I said softly.
They believed me. Of course they did. A ten-year-old could never do such a thing.
But the System's words still burned across my sight.
[Quest Generated: Survive. Observe. Integrate.]
So the world itself had taken an interest in me. It wanted to monitor me, cage me, perhaps even control me.
I felt a shiver of anticipation crawl up my spine. Not fear. Excitement.
"So even the world itself dares to watch me," I whispered under my breath, unseen in the chaos.
I smiled. A cruel, twisted smile.
"Then watch closely… as I break your rules."