Chapter 1: Hunter in the Dark
In the pitch-black darkness, it was as if the sun no longer existed in this world.
Only twilight, dim light, and night remained.
---
Aisei awoke from a short nap deep in the forest.
His hand swiftly snatched a large bird trying to escape from one of his traps.
"Looks like we've got dinner tonight,"
he whispered, dragging the creature toward the underground lab.
It had been two days since Aisei last caught anything. Hunger gnawed at him constantly.
Finally, luck was on his side.
The journey to the lab was long, and he muttered silently:
"You have to stay strong, Aisei... if you want to survive in this hopeless world."
From afar, the ruins of the lab began to appear.
Despite the Cataclysm that struck five years ago and destroyed nearly everything, the lab still stood.
Its upper structure had collapsed, but the underground section remained intact —
enough to serve as shelter from the savage creatures now ruling Earth.
---
The Cataclysm.
A world-ending disaster.
Meteor showers. Unnatural storms.
Animals mutated — larger, fiercer, more wild.
Monsters from nightmares began to roam.
Humanity lost its way.
Their only goal now: survive.
---
"Hungry?"
Aisei asked as he saw Ajuka daydreaming near the lab entrance.
Ajuka, 15, had been Aisei's closest friend since childhood.
His parents often left him with Aisei's family due to overseas work.
Ajuka shook his head.
"Prof. Johar's grumbling. Says his stomach sounds like a thunderstorm."
Aisei chuckled and tossed the bird to him.
"If you're hungry, catch your own. Say that to the old man."
"He's too old to be hunting... hahaha,"
Ajuka laughed, catching the bird.
They stepped into the lab.
Inside, Professor Johar — an old man with a thick white beard — was busy stirring a glowing liquid in a test tube.
Once, this lab have 70 scientists.
Now only one remained.
The rest? Dead or missing.
"Project CP001 is 80% complete,"
he said without looking.
"Soon... we'll make the breakthrough… NYAHAHAHAHA!"
Professor Johar, now 60, had once been a friend to Aisei and Ajuka's parents.
Since the Cataclysm, he'd raised the boys himself.
Despite his age, his passion for bizarre research burned on.
Aisei and Ajuka nodded silently as they chewed on the tough meat.
Their eyes weren't red from fatigue—
but from rage.
From the fire of vengeance.
---
The next day, Ajuka prepared to hunt.
The area around the lab had long been cleared,
but Mount KIR remained unexplored.
"I'm coming with you, Juka.
I've got a bad feeling,"
Aisei said.
Juka — his nickname for Ajuka.
He couldn't shake last night's vision:
A monstrous creature…
glowing red eyes…
breathing like thunder.
With machetes in hand, they headed to the mountain.
They laid traps.
They waited.
The wind whispered through the trees.
It carried the scent of death.
---
Suddenly—
GRRAAAHHHH!!
A massive claw ripped through Ajuka's back!
ZAAASSHH!!
Ajuka crashed to the ground, gritting his teeth through the pain.
Still, he tried to stand.
Aisei reacted instantly.
He swung his blade toward the beast.
SHAKK! SHAKKK!!
His eyes widened.
"A fox… with two tails?!"
Until now, he'd only fought single-tailed ones.
This creature was larger. Stronger.
Deadlier.
(I need to get it away from Ajuka!)
The beast lunged.
Its claws almost tore through Aisei's chest —
he dodged just in time and drew it away.
He counterattacked, aiming for its heart — but only hit the leg.
ZAAAASSSHHH!!
The claw slashed his arm. He winced.
Then — a direct blow to his chest.
BAMMMMM!!
Blood sprayed from Aisei's mouth.
He barely blocked the final attack with his blade.
Staring into the fox's eyes, Aisei whispered:
"I… I won't die… I'll keep living!"
"YOU WORTHLESS BEAST! I'LL KILL EVERY LAST MONSTER LIKE YOU!!"
The fox bared its fangs —
aiming straight for Aisei's head—
DUGHH!!
The beast dropped.
"Stupid fox!!"
Ajuka yelled, bloody but standing, his machete buried in the creature's back.
He shoved the corpse aside.
"You okay, Sei?"
Sei — his nickname for Aisei.
"I'm okay… lucky you showed up.
Otherwise, I'd be headless! Hehehe…"
They sat and laughed quietly,
even as pain was written all over their faces.
While inspecting the body,
a bluish-green light glowed from the fox's chest.
"What's that?"
Ajuka asked.
Aisei dug slowly.
SHAK SHAK…
He pulled out a strange glowing stone.
"Weird… First time we've seen anything like this,"
Aisei muttered.
They had no idea—
all the monsters they'd fought until now…
were nothing compared to what lurked on Mount KIR.
And that stone…
was no ordinary stone.
Its glow brightened.
Their breath shortened.
Their vision spun.
They collapsed.
---
This…
was the beginning of something greater.
The awakening of two chosen humans,
who would soon unlock the power within.
MicroCell Gen-9 Charging
Charging: 1%… 5%… 10%…
Inside Aisei.
MicroCell Gen-10 Charging
Charging: 1%… 5%…
Inside Ajuka.
Since Aisei held the stone, his charge progressed faster.
Not long after, Aisei opened his eyes.
A faint voice echoed:
"...10%..."
MicroCell — a bioactive technology developed by their parents.
Injected into their bodies long ago…
Yet neither of them ever knew.
How?
Why?
Still a mystery.
Aisei noticed the stone had dimmed.
He slipped it into his pocket.
"I'll let Prof. Johar take a look…"
Then, inside Aisei's mind—
[TATATA… TATATA…]
The sound of a keyboard echoed in his thoughts.
He closed his eyes.
---
[Entering The Chamber]
Aisei now stood inside a massive, empty room.
In front of him — a giant screen and a sleek keyboard.
The Chamber.
Aisei's mysterious ability that allowed him to enter his own mental realm.
On the screen, glowing text began to appear, one line at a time.
Side Quest Complete: Defeat the Two-Tailed Fox
Difficulty: F
Reward:
+1 Strength
+1 Agility
+1 Defense
● Playground - Slot 777
● 1x Token
Aisei stared at the screen, brows furrowed.
"This feels... just like a game."
He shouted into the void,
"Hey Chamber! So if I kill monsters, I get rewards?!"
[Krik... krik...]
No response.
(-_-)
Yet the keyboard clacked on.
[TATATA... TATATA...]
STATUS WINDOW
Name: Ri Aisei
Age: 15
Strength: 11
Agility: 7
Defense: 9
Playground:
● Slot 777
Item:
● Token 1
"Token?"
he whispered.
A shiny token materialized in his palm.
At the same time, a glowing Slot 777 machine rose from the Chamber floor —
it looked exactly like a real casino machine, complete with lights and reels.
"Slots? Seriously… gambling?"
It required one token to activate.
Aisei inserted the token.
The screen began to spin.
Thud! – Thud! – Thud!
One by one, the images stopped.
Emergency Pills x3.
Dang!!
Aisei muttered as he grabbed a small bottle with a green plus symbol (30 tablets).
He held onto the bottle, then wandered the Chamber, searching for more clues.
But the room was empty.
No doors.
No paths.
No voices.
Just him… and the strange system.
---
He opened his eyes — back in the real world.
"Emergency pills? What do these even do… heal wounds or something?"
Bub!
Suddenly, the bottle appeared again in his hand.
Aisei smiled.
"Yup. This is definitely a superpower."
Beside him, Ajuka was still unconscious.
Aisei gently shook his friend.
"Juka, wake up."
Ajuka opened his eyes, confused.
"Ahh… my head's spinning... What happened, Sei?"
Before Aisei could answer —
Ajuka's blood, still dripping from his wounds, started floating.
It spun in the air, then pooled over his palm.
"Uish... I can control blood?!"
Aisei scratched his chin.
"Looks like… we both got powers."
"We? You too? What's your power?"
Ajuka asked curiously.
"Uh... Slot machine."
"Slot machine?! Hahahaha! You're built to destroy society!"
Ajuka burst into laughter.
(-_-) Aisei just looked away in shame.
He showed the pill bottle.
"I got this from the Chamber."
Ajuka raised an eyebrow.
"From what?"
Aisei began explaining everything — the giant screen, the status window, the quest system.
Only then did they realize
both of them had awakened something… something powerful.
They tested the emergency pills.
As soon as they swallowed them, the wounds on their hands and backs began to heal.
The pain faded.
Skin regenerated.
It was real.
Miraculous, even.
They kept experimenting.
Ajuka practiced manipulating the flow of blood — redirecting it, shaping it, even trying to turn it into a weapon.
He named his ability: Bloodcaller.
Meanwhile, Aisei tried to reconnect with the Chamber and test his physical stats.
---
Later, at the lab, Aisei handed over the two-tailed fox's body and the mysterious stone to Professor Johar.
As usual, the creature's body was recorded, vital organs kept for research, and the rest?
Cooked for dinner.
Aisei and Ajuka then resumed work on fortifying the outer defenses of the lab.
That was their daily routine.
---
Over dinner, they told Prof everything.
He just laughed.
"NYAHAHAHA! With monsters popping up these days, nothing surprises me anymore!
This morning I saw a dragon. If I could get one of its fangs…"
Aisei could only shake his head.
Suddenly, the Professor coughed violently.
Blood trickled from his lips.
"Prof?!"
The boys rushed over, alarmed.
Prof smiled faintly.
After losing their parents, he had been the only one to raise them.
If not for him, they might've lost their way long ago.
"CP001 is nearly complete,"
he said weakly.
"But… if you ever meet 'that bastard'? Could you do it? If you meet his child, could you...?"
He stopped.
Tears rolled down his cheeks.
He placed a hand on both Aisei and Ajuka's heads.
"I don't want you boys to die. I want you to live. If possible… Just forgive him.
Live in peace."
Ajuka tried to protest, but Aisei touched his shoulder.
"Juka…"
"Forgive? In a world like this? Might as well wait for death,"
Ajuka said sharply.
Prof closed his eyes.
"I believe… there are still humans out there. But be careful.
This world isn't just dangerous because of beasts — but because of people too."
"You really think people are still alive?"
Aisei asked.
Prof smiled.
"You — a scrawny brat — managed to survive.
Why not others?"
Ajuka stood up, grabbed a tool, and went back to working on the barricade.
Before he got too far, Prof spoke softly,
"Listen to Aisei, alright… Ajuka?"
Ajuka turned back and nodded.
"Yes, Prof."
Aisei sighed quietly.
"Don't worry, Prof.
If I meet other survivors... I'll try to save them."
---
"Ting!"
A translucent screen suddenly appeared in front of Aisei's eyes.
Side Quest: Save Professor Johar from Death
Difficulty: E
Reward:
+2 Strength
+2 Agility
+2 Defense
Skill: Listener's Intuition
Token: 3x
Aisei blinked at the screen.
"Prof... can you see this thing in front of me?"
Prof glanced over and replied,
"Yeah… I see some delicious braised fox thigh."
Aisei just sighed.
(-_-)
Only now did he realize —
he was the only one who could see these screens.