The silence of the forest pressed down after the God of Innovation vanished into the heavens. The only sound that lingered was the faint rustle of leaves swaying in the evening breeze. Kael stood still for several moments, gripping the hilt of his worn hunting knife, as though the divine glow might return if he looked hard enough. But there was nothing—only him, the fallen beasts already reduced to black ash, and the young girl staring up at him with wide, uncertain eyes.
She couldn't have been more than eight. A child with raven-black hair, pale skin that caught the faintest glimmer of moonlight, and eyes far too bright for an ordinary mortal. There was an air of fragility about her, and yet Kael felt as though the world itself bent slightly around her presence. He didn't know why—but she was no ordinary child.
Her name, he would later learn, was Christy. She was half-mortal, half-god, born from a bond no one dared speak of openly. Few in the world even knew of her existence, for her father—the God of Innovation—had been too distant, too consumed with divine struggles to ever appear before her. She was raised quietly, sheltered by fate until the corruption of Reiku's beasts finally flushed her out into Kael's path.
But Kael knew none of this. To him, she was just a trembling girl in need of safety.
"Hey," he said gently, kneeling down so his gaze was level with hers. "It's over now. They won't hurt you anymore."
The girl swallowed hard, still clutching her tiny fists against her chest. Her lips parted, and she whispered, "Christy."
"Christy," Kael repeated softly. "I'm Kael. Let's get you out of this forest."
Vance was a humble place. The town sat on the fringe of the great Verdant Forest, little more than a collection of wooden houses clustered around a dirt square. About two hundred people lived there, most of them hunters and farmers. It was not a town that legends noticed; it was a place where people lived simple lives, trading what they had and scraping through harsh winters.
To Kael, it was home. He had lived there his entire sixteen years under the roof of his parents—Ifrit, the town's blacksmith, and Shiva, who worked the fields and tended to the family's small patch of land.
The journey back from the forest was slow. Christy stumbled often, unused to the rough ground, and Kael found himself carrying her on his back half the way. By the time the wooden palisade of Vance came into view, smoke rising from hearth fires, dusk had settled.
"Kael!" A woman's voice called out the moment he entered the town's edge. Shiva, tall and weathered from years beneath the sun, hurried over. "Where have you been? We were worried sick."
Behind her came Ifrit, broad-shouldered and soot-stained from his forge, hammer still tucked into his belt. His eyes narrowed as he saw the child clinging to Kael's back. "And who's this?"
Kael shifted Christy down to her feet. "This is Christy. I… found her in the forest. She was being chased by beasts."
Shiva gasped, kneeling before the girl. "You poor thing. Alone out there? You're safe now, child."
Christy looked down, clutching the hem of her simple tunic, too timid to answer.
"She has no one," Kael pressed quickly, improvising. He could not tell them about the godly encounter—not yet. Not until he understood the weight of it himself. "I couldn't just leave her there. Can she stay with us? At least for now?"
Shiva looked at her husband. Ifrit's brow furrowed, but after a long silence he sighed. "If she truly has nowhere else… then yes. But Kael, this is no small responsibility."
"I know," Kael said firmly.
That night, the four of them shared dinner by the fire. Christy ate quietly, answering questions with small nods. Kael caught her sneaking glances at him from time to time, as though unsure whether to fear or trust him. He smiled reassuringly, though inside, his heart churned.
Because even as he spoke and laughed with his parents, Kael's mind was elsewhere—on the words that still echoed inside his head.
System of Innovation activated.
Later, when the house was quiet, Kael lay on his straw mattress and stared at the wooden ceiling. He hesitated for a long time before whispering aloud: "System."
The response was immediate.
System of Innovation online.
Welcome, Kael.
Current Level: 1
Strength: 4 | Agility: 5 | Vitality: 4 | Intelligence: 5
Available Quests: Create your first innovation.
Special Reward: Newbie Starter Pack unlocked.
Kael's breath caught as glowing text unfurled across his vision like ink in water. He reached out instinctively, and something solid materialized in his hand—a sleek pen, humming faintly with energy.
Item: Pen of Idea.
Function: Allows the user to manifest blueprints into reality. Creation begins with imagination.
Kael turned it over in the dim candlelight, awe and disbelief warring in his chest. A pen. Not a sword or armor. A pen. Yet somehow, he felt its weight was greater than any blade.
The quest pulsed again.
Quest: Create your first innovation.
"What am I supposed to make?" Kael muttered. His thoughts spun with possibilities, but exhaustion soon overcame him. With the pen resting by his pillow, he drifted into uneasy sleep.
Morning came with the smell of bread and stew. Kael joined his parents and Christy at the table, forcing normalcy into his voice. He did not breathe a word about the system. Ifrit was already preparing to head to his forge, and Shiva was gathering baskets for the fields. They had enough to worry about without him spouting madness about divine systems and magical pens.
"I'll head to the forest," Kael announced, slinging his bow over his shoulder. "We could use fresh game for tonight."
Christy's eyes widened. "I'll come too."
"No," Kael said quickly, gentler this time. "You need to rest. Yesterday was… a lot. Stay with my mother. You'll be safe here."
Christy bit her lip, clearly wanting to argue, but Ifrit rumbled from behind his beard, "The boy is right. Listen to him."
Defeated, Christy nodded, though her gaze lingered on Kael as he left the house.
The Verdant Forest stretched endlessly, its canopy a sea of green pierced by shafts of golden sunlight. Kael moved with practiced ease, steps light against the underbrush. Years of hunting alongside Ifrit had trained him well, and today that training would be tested.
A rustle drew his attention. Through the brush, he spotted a small herd of wild boars snuffling at the ground.
Detected: Level 1 Boar. HP: 20.
The sudden notification made Kael's pulse spike, but he steadied himself. Drawing an arrow, he loosed it in one smooth motion. The shaft pierced the nearest boar's neck, and the beast toppled with a squeal.
Boar slain. +10 EXP (10/30).
Kael blinked. The system was tracking his hunt. He gritted his teeth and fired again, downing another. Then a third.
Level up! You are now Level 2. Attribute points pending.
His chest swelled with exhilaration. This wasn't just a gift—it was power. Power to grow, to evolve. Yet he forced himself to focus, dragging the boars into a clearing.
That was when the Pen of Idea hummed again. Kael held it aloft, and instinctively, he imagined something.
He pictured a trap. A pen strong enough to hold boars, baited with herbs they couldn't resist, efficient enough that he wouldn't need to waste arrows every time.
The pen moved on its own, sketching glowing blue lines into the air. Wood and stone rose from the ground, weaving together into a sturdy enclosure. Inside, resra herbs sprouted, their intoxicating scent wafting outward. A hidden door clicked into place, primed to slam shut once prey entered.
Kael staggered back, heart hammering. The trap was real.
Ding! Innovation created: Boar Pen Fortress Trap.
+50 EXP. Level up to 3.
Title unlocked: Newbie Craftsman.
Skill unlocked: [Basic Blueprinting]
Skill unlocked: [Path of Prana]
A laugh escaped his throat. "I actually did it."
The trap loomed before him, solid and practical. Not some divine miracle—an invention, born from his mind and given form by the system. For the first time, Kael understood the true meaning of the God of Innovation's gift.
This wasn't about power in the usual sense. It was about creation. About building something new.
And perhaps, just perhaps, it was the key to standing against the corruption spreading across the world.
Kael wiped sweat from his brow, gazing at the fortress trap with pride. The path ahead was still uncertain, but one thing was clear: his life as a simple hunter had ended.
The boy of Vance had taken his first step toward becoming an innovator.