The first thing Seed noticed was the cold.
Not the chill of winter or the refreshing cool of air conditioning. This was the cold of absolute absence, the kind that seeped into your bones and whispered that something was seriously wrong.
The second thing he noticed was the smell. Antiseptic and Chemical.
He Opened his eyes to darkness, his breath coming in short, panicked gasps. His hands shot up and immediately hit something solid inches from his face. It felt Metal. Cold metal on all sides.
What the hell?
Memories flooded back in fragments. The dungeon. The C-rank gate that his academy team had been assigned for their final evaluation. The Dungeon-quake that shouldn't have happened. The ceiling collapsing. Elena's scream. The crushing weight of stones on him. The darkness.
He had died.
He knew he had died.
So why could he feel his heart hammering against his ribs?
"Hello?" His voice came out as a hoarse croak. He pushed against the metal above him, and with a screech of protest, it gave way. Lights blinded him as he sat up, gasping.
He was in a morgue.
On a metal bed.
In a body bag.
"Oh, you've got to be fucking kidding me—"
[SYMBIOSIS SYSTEM INITIALIZED]
"Huh?"
The glowing blue text appeared directly in his vision, hovering in the air like some kind of holographic display. He jerked back, nearly falling off the bed.
[WELCOME BACK TO THE LAND OF THE LIVING, SEED WALLACE]
[CONGRATULATIONS ON NOT STAYING DEAD!]
"What... what is this?" He whispered, reaching out to touch the floating text. His hand passing right through it.
[I'M YOUR NEW BEST FRIEND, YOUR GUARDIAN ANGEL, YOUR TICKET TO GREATNESS!]
[JUST KIDDING. I'M THE SYMBIOSIS SYSTEM, AND YOU'RE STUCK WITH ME NOW.]
[NOW, LET'S SEE WHAT WE'RE WORKING WITH HERE...]
The text dissolved, replaced by a status screen that made seed's heart drop.
[SYMBIOSIS SYSTEM - STATUS PANEL]
[USER: Seed Wallace
LEVEL: 1 [Back from the dead and still at square one? Pathetic.]
CLASS: Symbiotic Duality Hunter
STRENGTH: 6 [I've seen grandmas with better stats.]
AGILITY: 5 [You move like a sloth with arthritis.]
VITALITY: 8 [i see why you died easily the first time]
INTELLIGENCE: 15 [Hey, finally something decent!]
WISDOM: 12 [Smart enough to know you're screwed, hehe.]
CHARISMA: 9 [With that personality? Surprising.]
[MANA POOLS]
DARK MANA: 0/500 [Go kill something already.]
WHITE MANA: 0/500 [you're going to enjoy how you get this one, hehe.]│
SYMBIOSIS POINTS: 100 [Starter package. Don't waste it.]
"Is this thing... insulting me?" Seed muttered, staring at the comments beside each stat.
[YEP! SOMEONE HAS TO KEEP YOUR EGO IN CHECK.]
[NOW, LET'S GET DOWN TO BUSINESS. YOU DIED, I BROUGHT YOU BACK. YOU'RE WELCOME, BY THE WAY.]
"Why?" The question burst out of seed.
"Why bring me back? What do you want?"
[WHAT I WANT IS IRRELEVANT. WHAT YOU NEED IS POWER.]
[AND I'M GOING TO GIVE IT TO YOU... IF YOU CAN HANDLE IT.]
[THE SYMBIOSIS SYSTEM OPERATES ON DUALITY: DARK MANA AND WHITE MANA.]
[DARK MANA IS ACQUIRED BY DEFEATING MONSTERS AND DUNGEON CREATURES.]
[WHITE MANA IS ACQUIRED THROUGH... LET'S CALL IT 'INTIMATE LIFE ENERGY EXCHANGE.' USE YOUR IMAGINATION, WINK WINK!.]
Seed's face heated up as understanding dawned. "You can't be serious."
[DEADLY SERIOUS. BALANCE IS KEY. TOO MUCH OF EITHER AND YOU'LL BURN OUT.]
[BUT HERE'S THE FUN PART: YOU CAN CONVERT REGULAR SKILLS INTO OVERPOWERED VARIANTS USING EITHER MANA TYPE.]
[THINK OF IT AS SKILL EVOLUTION. BABY FIREBALL BECOMES MAMA HELLFIRE OR PAPA HOLY FLAME.]
[PRETTY NEAT, HUH?]
Before Seed could respond, the morgue door burst open. A middle-aged man in scrubs froze, his clipboard falling to the floor.
"You... you're alive?" His voice cracked. "You....you were declared dead three days ago!"
Three days. He'd been dead for three days.
"I got better," seed said weakly, sliding off the metal bed. His legs wobbled but held. "I'll just... show myself out."
"Wait! You need medical evaluation! The authorities—"
Seed didn't wait to hear the rest. Whatever this system was, whatever had happened to him, he couldn't let them lock him up for testing. He bolted for the door, surprising himself with his speed.
The man shouted behind him, but he was already running down the corridor, his bare feet slapping against the cold floor. Emergency exit signs guided him through the maze of hallways until he burst out into an alley behind the hospital.
Rain fell down, soaking through the thin morgue gown he wore. The city lights of Nexus Prime glittered in the distance, familiar yet strange. Three days ago, he had been a hunter academy student with dreams of glory. Now he was a resurrected corpse with a sarcastic system and empty mana pools.
[FIRST QUEST UNLOCKED!]
[TUTORIAL QUEST: SURVIVE YOUR FIRST NIGHT]
[OBJECTIVE: FIND SHELTER, ACQUIRE CLOTHING, DON'T DIE AGAIN]
[REWARD: 50 SYMBIOSIS POINTS, BASIC SURVIVAL KIT]
[TIME LIMIT: TILL DAWN]
"Great," he muttered, wrapping his arms around himself against the cold. "Just great."
A sound echoed from the alley's entrance, sharp, chittering, inhuman. His blood ran cold as a shape emerged from the shadows. It was roughly the size of a large dog, with dirty fur, too many eyes, and teeth that shined in the dark alley
A mutated rat. F-rank monster. Common in city sewers and alleys.
And he had zero mana, zero skills, and zero weapons.
[OH, LOOK! YOUR FIRST MONSTER!]
[DON'T DIE NOW. I JUST GOT HERE.]
The creature's multiple eyes fixed on him as it lunged forward.