Harold Lewis learned early in life that power usually went to the lucky.
Not the hardworking. Not the kind. Not even the smartest.
Just the lucky.
It was a lesson he had seen play out too many times to believe otherwise.
The city where Harold lived had once been famous for its factories. His father used to tell stories about it sometimes—how the streets used to glow at night from the factory lights and how thousands of people worked late shifts building machines that were shipped across the world.
Now most of those factories were empty.
Some had broken windows.
Some had rusted gates chained shut.
Others had simply been left to rot, towering skeletons of steel and concrete against the gray skyline.
Harold leaned against the window of their small apartment and watched the street below.
A police siren echoed somewhere in the distance.
It wasn't unusual.
Lately, sirens had become part of the background noise of the city.
"Harold."
His sister's voice came from behind him.
He turned slightly to see Emily Lewis, his fourteen -year-old sister, sitting cross-legged on the couch with a math workbook open in front of her. Her dark hair was tied into a messy ponytail, and she wore the same frustrated expression she always had when homework became difficult.
"I don't understand this question," she said, holding the book up.
Harold sighed, but a small smile appeared on his face.
"Let me see."
He walked over and sat beside her, taking the workbook from her hands.
Numbers.
Fractions.
Nothing complicated.
"You just divide this first," Harold explained, pointing at the top of the page. "Then multiply the answer by the bottom number."
Emily frowned as she followed along.
"Oh… wait."
Her eyes widened slightly.
"That's actually easy."
"Most things are understood once you slow down," Harold said.
She looked up at him suddenly.
"You sound like Dad."
Harold chuckled quietly.
"I'll try to take that as a compliment."
Just then the apartment door opened.
Heavy footsteps stepped inside.
"Evening, kids."
Harold looked up and saw David Lewis, their father, stepping into the apartment. His work jacket was dusty and there were dark circles under his eyes.
Warehouse shifts again.
"Hey Dad," Harold said.
Emily jumped up immediately and ran to hug him.
"You're late."
"Truck shipment got delayed," David replied with a tired smile. "Had to stay until it arrived."
Harold watched him quietly.
His father had once been an engineer. A good one too, at least from the stories Harold had heard growing up.
But when the company he worked for collapsed five years ago, everything changed.
Now he worked long warehouse shifts just to keep their small apartment.
"Did you two eat?" David asked.
"Yeah," Harold replied. "Leftovers."
"Good."
David walked to the kitchen, poured himself a glass of water, and sat down heavily at the table.
For a moment no one spoke.
It was one of those quiet evenings where everyone was simply tired.
Outside, the wind rattled faintly against the windows.
Harold glanced at the clock on the wall.
11:57 PM.
"You should both get some sleep soon," David said. "School tomorrow."
Emily groaned dramatically.
"Five more minutes."
Harold smiled slightly.
Five minutes usually turned into ten.
That was how it always worked.
The apartment grew quiet again.
Then suddenly the lights flickered.
Harold frowned.
"Power surge?"
His father looked up toward the ceiling light.
"Maybe."
But then something strange happened.
The television screen across the room turned black.
Not just the channel.
The entire screen.
Harold's phone buzzed in his pocket.
He pulled it out.
The screen had gone completely dark.
"Uh… Dad?" Emily said nervously.
Harold turned toward the window.
Across the street, other apartment lights were flickering too.
Then the streetlights outside shut off.
One by one.
Darkness spread across the street like someone had flipped a giant switch.
"What's going on?" Emily whispered.
No one answered.
And then it appeared.
At first Harold thought his eyes were playing tricks on him.
But they weren't.
In the air directly in front of him, glowing faintly like floating glass, a line of text appeared.
SYSTEM INTEGRATION BEGINNING
Harold blinked in utter confusion.
"What…?"
His father suddenly stood up.
"You see that too?"
Harold nodded slowly.
Outside, people had begun shouting.
Someone screamed.
More glowing words appeared in the air.
PLANET ACCEPTED
HUMANITY ELIGIBLE FOR ADVANCEMENT!
Emily grabbed Harold's arm.
"Harold, what does that mean?"
"I… don't know."
More text appeared.
CLASS ASSIGNMENT STARTING
Suddenly Harold's phone lit up again.
Not with a normal screen.
Instead, glowing words filled the display.
So did the television.
So did the air itself.
It was everywhere.
Across the city people began shouting louder.
"Mom! Something's on my screen!"
"I got something called a class!"
"What is this?!"
Harold's heart began beating faster.
"Class assignment…" he muttered.
A new message appeared.
WARRIOR CLASS ASSIGNED
But it wasn't in front of him.
It appeared in front of his father.
David Lewis stared at it in shock.
"Warrior…?"
Before anyone could react, Emily gasped.
Another glowing message appeared in front of her.
SUPPORT CLASS ASSIGNED HEALER
Emily blinked rapidly.
"I… I got one too."
"What the hell is this?!" His father yelled in confusion. What's going on?! Everyone was confused.
Harold stared at them both.
His chest tightened.
Because nothing had appeared in front of him.
Seconds passed.
Ten seconds.
Thirty.
A full minute.
Still nothing.
His father frowned.
"Maybe it takes longer."
"Yeah," Harold said quickly.
But something felt wrong.
More shouting echoed outside.
People yelling class names.
Mage.
Ranger.
Harold waited.
And waited.
Another minute passed.
Still nothing.
His stomach sank.
"Why didn't I get one?" he whispered.
Emily looked worried.
"Maybe it's delayed."
Harold hoped she was right.
Then suddenly another line of text appeared.
But it was different.
The glow was darker.
Almost black.
And strangely… no one else reacted.
Only Harold seemed to see it.
HIDDEN SYSTEM DETECTED
His breath caught.
"What…?"
Another message appeared.
COMPATIBILITY CONFIRMED
His pulse quickened.
This wasn't like the other system messages.
This felt quieter.
Like it was meant only for him.
One final line appeared, the dark letters floating silently in the air.
SHADOW DEBT SYSTEM ACTIVATED
The moment the message appeared, Harold felt something strange rush through his body.
Not pain.
Not exactly.
Just a strange pressure, like the air around him had suddenly grown heavier.
More text appeared.
SHADOW DEBT SYSTEM
USER: HAROLD LEWIS
AGE: 17
STATUS: DEBT BEARER
DEBT LEVEL: 0
BORROWED ABILITIES: NONE
DEBT MISSIONS: NONE
Harold stared at the floating screen.
His father and sister were still talking excitedly about their new classes.
Neither of them reacted to Harold's system.
Which meant…
They couldn't see it.
"This is… just mine," Harold whispered.
But before he could think any further, a distant scream echoed from outside.
Not a confused scream.
A terrified one.
Then another.
And another.
Harold rushed to the window.
Down on the street below, people were running.
Running from something.
Something large as hell.
Something moving far too fast.
A massive shape leaped across a streetlight pole.
Its body was twisted and animal-like, with glowing eyes and claws that scraped against the pavement.
A monster.
The word formed in Harold's mind instantly.
More screams erupted.
Someone fell.
The creature lunged.
Emily gasped behind him.
"Harold… what is that?!"
Harold didn't answer.
Because another message appeared in front of him.
FIRST BORROW OPPORTUNITY DETECTED
HOSTILE ENTITY NEARBY
ABILITY AVAILABLE FOR BORROW
ACCEPT BORROW?
Harold stared at the message.
Outside, the monster roared again.
People were still running.
His father grabbed a kitchen knife instinctively.
"We need to lock the door," David said.
But Harold's eyes remained on the floating words.
Borrow power.
Just like the system said.
But power came with debt.
And somehow he had the feeling that the moment he accepted…
His life would never return to normal again.
Harold took a slow breath.
Then he whispered one word.
"Accept."