The city slept restlessly beneath a thunderous sky. As midnight passed, Red slipped out from his crumbling Westblock apartment, the glowing holographic map of the Primordius System hovering subtly in his vision. His heart pounded—not from fear, but anticipation. The dot on the map pulsed with a gentle blue light, leading him southeast toward the overgrown, quarantined district once known as Old Ilustra.
Red had only heard stories about Ilustra. Everyone had. Back before the War of Dynes, it had been a place of invention, mysticism, and lost technologies. After the collapse, the area was closed off, its buildings left to rot behind government drones and invisible barriers. But the system's quest marker was clear.
He pulled his hood low, blending into the shadows as he passed checkpoint alleyways and ducked under rusted rails. Strange things happened to people who tried to explore Old Ilustra—they vanished, or worse, came back different.
Red didn't care. If this was where his birthright was hidden, he'd face it.
He reached the outskirts an hour later. The wind here was colder, sharper, as if it carried whispers through the tangled vines and skeletal skyscrapers. The barricades had long rusted, and surveillance drones floated lifeless in their docks.
As Red stepped past the threshold, a cold pulse ran through his veins.
[Entering Ancient Zone: Ilustra - Unmapped Territory]Passive Skill Activated: [Attunement Lv. 1]You can now sense nearby relic energy.
He paused. The ground trembled subtly beneath his boots, and his HUD flickered—symbols appeared faintly in the air, pointing downward.
A ruined metro station gaped open like a broken mouth ahead. The map marker blinked—this was the place.
The stairs groaned under his weight as he descended into the darkness. Graffiti from decades ago coated the walls, but underneath it, something older began to show—runes, etched in silver, glowing faintly as he passed.
His flashlight flickered. Then failed.
Darkness.
Only the glow of his system interface guided him now.
Suddenly, a deep growl echoed from the tunnels. Red froze. Something was here with him.
Threat Detected: Relic Guardian – "Nullfang Beast"Power Rating: E+Combat Mode Recommended
Red's hands trembled. He had never fought anything before—let alone something not even from this world. The ground shook again as the Nullfang padded into view: a massive, hairless panther-like creature with runes carved into its obsidian-black skin. Its eyes glowed red.
New Ability Available:Primordius Surge Lv. 1– For 5 seconds, all stats are temporarily increased by 200%. Cooldown: 1 hour.
The creature lunged.
Red rolled to the side instinctively, heart racing. His body moved faster than he expected, reflexes sharpened by the system. He grabbed a rusted pipe from the ground and swung it as the beast charged again.
CLANG. The blow barely fazed it.
Red ducked a swipe that would've torn him in two. He tapped the interface.
[Activate Primordius Surge]
A shock of blue light engulfed him. Power surged through his limbs—his heartbeat slowed, his muscles responded instantly.
He ducked low, swung the pipe with impossible speed—and slammed it into the creature's leg. Bone cracked.
He kept moving, now channeling pure instinct and newfound strength. He leaped, grabbed a rail, and flipped over the beast, landing behind it.
CRACK.The final blow connected to the back of its neck.
The Nullfang fell with a heavy thud, its body crumbling into ash as blue energy orbited upward.
[Victory]Loot Acquired: Nullfang Core, Beast Fang, Ilustra Key Sigil (Fragment)Skill Learned: Beast Instinct (Lv. 1) – Enhanced senses and agility under stress.
Red collapsed to one knee, panting. His body burned from the surge's aftershock, but a sense of triumph filled him.
He followed the now-unlocked path deeper into the station, where a sealed chamber awaited. The door reacted to the Sigil, opening with a deep hiss of long-forgotten gears.
Inside was a shrine.
At the center: a stone pedestal bearing a metallic gauntlet—sleek, etched with the same lion crest his mother once showed him.
The moment he touched it, visions hit him.
A city in flames. A warrior with crimson eyes wielding the gauntlet against thousands. A lion rising from the ash.
His lineage.
Trait Confirmed: Bloodline of the Sun-AscendedArtifact Bonded: "Lionheart Gauntlet – Prototype Form"System Update: You are now eligible for Class Awakening.Begin Class Quest? Y/N
Red's hands shook as he selected "Yes."
This was real. It wasn't just about surviving anymore.
It was about rising.