Morning sunlight crept through the broken blinds of Ethan Vale's small apartment.
He woke up suddenly.
For a moment he stared at the ceiling, confused. His muscles felt different—stronger, lighter, as if his entire body had been rebuilt overnight.
Then the memory hit him.
The storm.
The shadow creature.
The glowing blue interface.
Ethan sat upright.
"System?" he said quietly.
Instantly, the translucent screen appeared before his eyes.
---
GODLY SYSTEM
Host: Ethan Vale
Level: 3
Strength: 8
Agility: 12
Vitality: 6
Intelligence: 5
Spirit: 2
Skills: • Shadow Dash (Basic)
XP: 140 / 400
---
Ethan rubbed his face.
"So it wasn't a dream."
He swung his legs off the bed and stood up. The moment his feet touched the floor, he felt the difference again. His movements were smoother. His balance sharper.
He walked to the kitchen and grabbed a glass.
Without thinking, he squeezed it.
Crack.
The glass shattered in his hand.
Ethan froze.
"…Okay," he whispered. "That's new."
Before he could think further, the system chimed.
---
NEW DAILY QUEST
Objective: Run 3 km
Time Limit: 1 hour
Reward: +2 Agility
+50 XP
Failure: Minor physical fatigue
---
Ethan stared at it.
"You've got to be kidding."
But after last night, he knew better than to ignore the system.
He quickly threw on a hoodie and sneakers and headed outside.
---
The city was just waking up.
Cars rolled through the streets. People rushed to work. None of them had any idea monsters had been crawling through the shadows hours ago.
Ethan began jogging down the sidewalk.
At first, it felt normal.
Then he picked up speed.
And kept accelerating.
Within seconds, he was running faster than he ever had in his life.
Wind rushed past him.
His legs moved effortlessly.
"What the—"
He checked his phone timer.
He had already run 1 kilometer.
In less than two minutes.
Ethan slowed down, stunned.
"This system is insane…"
The interface flashed again.
---
QUEST PROGRESS
Distance: 1.4 / 3 km
---
Ethan kept running, pushing himself harder.
Instead of exhaustion, he felt energy surging through his body.
His senses were sharper too.
He could hear distant traffic more clearly.
Even the sound of footsteps behind him.
Suddenly—
A strange chill ran down his spine.
The system flashed red.
---
WARNING
Hostile Presence Detected
Threat Level: Low
---
Ethan stopped.
Slowly, he turned toward the empty alley beside the road.
For a moment, nothing moved.
Then something crawled out from behind a dumpster.
It looked like the creature from last night—but smaller.
Its body twisted like living smoke, and its glowing red eyes locked onto Ethan.
The monster hissed.
Ethan's pulse quickened.
"Great," he muttered. "Morning exercise."
The creature lunged.
But Ethan moved faster.
He activated Shadow Dash.
His body blurred through the darkness beside the alley wall.
In an instant, he reappeared behind the creature.
The monster screeched in confusion.
Ethan clenched his fist.
"Let's see what this strength upgrade does."
He swung.
THUD.
The punch sent the creature crashing into the pavement.
It struggled to stand.
Ethan didn't hesitate.
He dashed forward again and delivered a second strike.
The creature dissolved into black smoke.
Gone.
The system chimed immediately.
---
ENEMY ELIMINATED
XP Gained: 120
---
A second notification appeared.
---
LEVEL UP
Level 3 → Level 4
Attribute Points Available: 4
---
Ethan stood there, breathing heavily.
But this time, he wasn't afraid.
He felt something else instead.
Excitement.
Power.
Possibility.
He opened the system menu again.
"Alright…" he said.
"Let's get stronger."
He allocated the points.
Strength +2
Agility +2
The moment he confirmed it, energy surged through his muscles.
The system displayed a final notification.
---
QUEST COMPLETE
Daily Quest: Run 3 km
Reward Granted: +2 Agility
+50 XP
---
Ethan smiled.
Just a little.
Because he realized something important.
Last night, he had barely survived.
But now?
Now he was getting stronger.
And if the system kept giving him quests…
Then one day—
He might become something far beyond human.
Far beyond anything this world had ever seen.
The Godly System flickered softly.
As if it agreed.
---
NEXT QUEST AVAILABLE
But Ethan had no idea…
that someone else had just detected his growing power.
Watching.
Waiting.
Preparing.