I wake up to pain.
My shoulder was throbbing. The weight pressing down on my chest this time wasn't a killer, just exhaustion.When I opened my eyes, pale daylight was seeping through the curtains and spilling into the room like milk.
For a moment, I forgot where I was.Then I saw the broken ceramic pieces on the floor, the half-cleaned blood stains, and the folded, pierced book in the corner.
"Right…" I sighed."Welcome, Ethan. Day two in Veldan."
There was a bad feeling in my gut.But there was something more basic I needed to check first.
"Status," I whispered.
The panel opened as if it had been waiting for me.
⟪SYSTEM⟫[STATUS – UPDATED]
NAME: EthanLEVEL: 1
PATH:– Root: Survivor– Main Branch: Veil – Observer– Sub Branch: Flesh – Endurance
Base Attributes:– Strength: Low– Endurance: Mid-– Agility: Mid-– Mental Focus: Mid– Perception: Mid++
Special Attribute:– Luck: 4 / 10• Status: Still a bit low.• Explanation: The chance of bad outcomes sticking to you is still above average.• Good news: You're no longer in the "disaster magnet" category.
Active Modules:– SIGIL GRID (Skill Network)– System Shop– Quests
Life Status:– Health Bar: Medium– Bleeding: None– Pain: Medium (localized – left shoulder)
Quests:– [SIDE QUEST – Yellow] "Learn to Breathe in Veldan"• Progress: 0 / 3 Days• Note: You still have time for today to count.• Reminder:– Do your training.– Observe the town.– Visit the guard headquarters.
I studied the screen carefully.
"At least I'm not dead," I said. "That's progress."
⟪SYSTEM⟫[SHORT REPLY]
– Correct.– Survival is the prerequisite for all other plans.
"We'll talk about your philosophy later," I said. "First I need to warm this shoulder."
Before going downstairs, I decided to do a bit of training.
I couldn't exactly go for a run, but the basics the System wanted from me were clear:The body has to move, even if it complains.
I slowly stood up and took a deep breath, careful not to strain my shoulder.
"Alright… let's do this."
First round:Slow squats, up and down.My knees held. My blood started to move.
Second round:I was smart enough not to try one-armed push-ups. Instead, I dropped to my knees and did light push-ups, shifting my weight to the right side. I kept the load on my shoulder as low as possible.
Third round:Sit-ups. My heart began punching against my ribs, but it was a good kind of burn.
With every repetition, the damp cave walls flashed in my mind, the darkness whispering Morgael's name, and the sound of last night's dagger.
It felt like I was giving them all an answer:"I'm still here. I'm still alive."
⟪SYSTEM⟫[DAILY ROUTINE – RECORDED]
– Physical Training: Minimum level completed.– Endurance Gain: Small increase (will stack over time).
Note:– Don't overdo it.– You still have a freshly stabbed shoulder.
"Thanks for the gentle reminder," I said, breathing hard.
I looked out the window.Veldan's morning was slowly waking up; thin smoke rose from chimneys, and the first smell of bread drifted through the streets.
"Okay," I said. "Time for headquarters."
The ground floor of the Copper Lantern Inn looked much calmer than last night.
Same number of tables, same chairs, but the air was different.The weight of the night had faded, replaced by the smell of fat and bread.
Garen stood behind the counter. There were dark circles under his eyes, but he clearly had no intention of closing the place.
When he saw me, he raised his eyebrows.
"You're not dead," he said."Good start."
"Thank you," I replied. "Is this your version of hospitality?"
"That's as far as my budget goes," he said.Then he shouted toward the kitchen:"Hey! The stabbed kid from last night is awake. Get him a plate of something hot before he passes out on my floor."
A little later, a simple but perfect plate was set before me:Hot soup, with a bit of bread on the side.
The first spoonful made me forget my shoulder for a second.
"I'm headed to headquarters," I said. "To give my statement."
"Go," Garen replied. "Rian knows his job. Watch Terek. He doesn't talk much, but he doesn't waste words either. In this town, that's a luxury."
"What about you?" I asked. "After all this, your customers…?"
He shrugged.
"Not my first corpse," he said. "Won't be my last. As Veldan grows, its shadows grow too. I just serve breakfast."
I mentally wrote that line down.
When I stepped out of the inn, Veldan's morning greeted me.
A thin layer of mist clung to the stone streets.Up above, laundry hung between rooftops, swaying gently in the wind.
The city smelled… mixed:Fresh bread, wood smoke, a hint of sewage, and oil with a touch of metal.
Ahead, I could see a small square.In the center stood a simple but striking stone pillar, and small stalls were just starting to set up around it.
To the left, hammering sounds rang from a blacksmith's shop.To the right, a small building that looked like a chapel or shrine had a few candles burning outside its door.
"Normal town," I thought."At least on the surface."
⟪SYSTEM⟫[ENVIRONMENT OBSERVATION – SAVED]
– Veldan – Central District:• Main Square, Smith Street, Small Shrine recorded.
Note:– Even in "normal" places, abnormalities can be found if you look at the right time.
"You really don't know how to relax, do you…" I muttered.
The guard headquarters was a slightly raised stone building just past the square.Above the entrance was a simple emblem: a plain sword over a shield, with a small tower in the background.
As I climbed the steps, instead of the smell of last night's blood, I was greeted by cold stone and paper.
Inside, it was more organized than I expected.
In one corner, an old man grumbling about newcomers.In another, a woman dragging in a child who had obviously tried to steal something.At the center tables, a few guards sat and listened to people one by one.
Rian stepped out from a back room and spotted me.
"Drop what you're doing," he called to the others. "Our hero from last night is here."
"Let's cut the 'hero' part," I said. "Cornered victim sounds more accurate."
Rian smirked.
"In this town," he said, "those two are sometimes the same thing."
He led me into a small side room.There was a table, three chairs, and shelves filled with papers.
A young woman sat at the table, holding a quill.Her dark brown hair was tied at the back of her neck, and her face was sharp and focused.
"This is Mira," Rian said. "She keeps records. You tell her what you saw, she turns it into ink. That's how we do things officially."
Mira gave a small nod.
"Explain things as simply and clearly as you can," she said. "I'll handle the rest."
I took a deep breath.I repeated the "world-friendly" version of last night's story.
Sleep…The weight…The pain in my shoulder…The dagger I swung on reflex…The collapsing bed…The slipping foot…The falling body…
I didn't mention Morgan, the cave, the cube, the watch, or the System.But I didn't lie either.
Mira paused a few times to ask details:
"How far was the knife when you first saw it?""Were you standing or lying when you took the first hit?""Do you remember what you were thinking when you defended yourself?"
I hesitated at the last one.
"I didn't have time to think," I said. "I just… didn't want to die."
Her quill paused for a heartbeat.She glanced at me from the corner of her eye, then went back to writing.
After a while, Rian stood, pushing his chair back.
"That's enough for the statement," he said. "I don't see anything here that can be used against you. In fact… most people wouldn't manage even this much under that kind of attack."
"You don't have more questions?" I asked.
"I do," he said. "But most of them are questions neither of us really wants to answer right now."
As Mira closed the file, she drew a small mark on the corner of the page.If I hadn't been watching, I would have missed it.
A small, slanted line.Like she'd started drawing a triangle and stopped halfway.
⟪SYSTEM⟫[MINOR DETAIL]
– Mira added an unusual mark to the corner of the file.– She left the triangle incomplete.
Note:– It might just be a quick hand habit.– Or it might not.
Internally, I muttered, "Sure, thanks," at the System.
Rian headed toward the door.
"That's it?" I asked.
"For now," he said. "This town is not full of fragile rookies like you. But people like you can be useful… at the right time."
"Very comforting," I said.
"I'm just being honest," he replied. "And to be honest: if someone in this town is willing to pay to have you killed on your very first night… there are only two options. Either you're the wrong target, or you've wandered too close to something important."
That sentence landed inside me like a stone.
I stood for a while at the bottom of the steps outside the building, just watching.
Right across from headquarters was a small courtyard. On one side of it hung a notice board.Several sheets of paper were pinned to it:
– Missing animal notices– Small "odd jobs" with tiny rewards– A "Night shift dock watchman wanted" posting
And in the corner, older and more faded than the rest:
"Internal notice: Some documents have gone missing from the Record Office.No responsible party has been identified.Note: Unauthorized descent to the basement is forbidden."
Basement.Missing documents.Triangle-stamped papers.
Coincidence?
Maybe.But my trust in the word "coincidence" in this world was thinning fast.
"Hey."
The voice came from my right.
I turned my head and saw a broad-shouldered young man leaning against the wall.His hair was messy, he wore light armor pieces, and a cheap but well-kept sword hung at his belt.
"You're that kid, right?" he said. "The one who took down the assassin in the inn last night."
"The 'took down' part is debatable," I replied. "But yeah. That's me, I guess."
He grinned.
"Name's Bran," he said. "Part-time guard, part-time problem solver."
"And the third part?" I asked.
"Third half?" he laughed. "Meeting overly curious foreigners."
He spoke casually, but his eyes were sharp. On the surface, he was joking. Underneath, he was measuring.
"Look," he said, growing a bit more serious. "Veldan looks small, but it's layered.If you walk around asking too many questions, some doors close on their own.On the other hand… if you look in the right place at the right time, doors open."
"Which side are you on?" I asked. "The closing doors, or the opening ones?"
"Me?" he said. "I'm the one who knocks and listens to who yells from the other side."
It sounded like an honest answer.Or a very good lie.
"If you ever need something," he added, "for now, just go to the Copper Lantern Inn and say you're looking for Bran. Someone will know where I am."
"For now?" I repeated.
"Yeah," he said. "Nothing in this city stays the same forever.Not inns, not guards… not assassinations with unclear targets."
He glanced at my shoulder and nodded.
"Shoulder's still attached. Not bad. Since you didn't die… I'm glad we met."
He shrugged and walked off.He left behind a faint ache in my shoulder and a faint question mark in my chest.
As I moved away from headquarters, I let my feet carry me through different streets of the town.
In one street, children were playing their own games with stones.In another, an old woman was sweeping her doorstep, glancing briefly at each passerby before pulling her gaze back.
On one corner, I saw a sign hanging over a small herb shop:
"LIRA – Herbs, Salves, and Solutions for Troubling Problems"
The door was slightly open. Sharp herbal smells drifted out—mint, sage, and harsher scents I couldn't name.
I thought about sticking my head in, but my shoulder twinged.
"That's enough for today," I said. "The quest only said 'taste the city.' I don't have to swallow it whole."
⟪SYSTEM⟫[QUEST PROGRESS]
Side Quest: "Learn to Breathe in Veldan"
– Day: 1 / 3– Today's Status:• Physical training: Completed.• Guard statement: Completed.• City observation: Minimum level completed.
Note:– You've started breathing.– Try not to drown.
"You're very supportive," I said. But deep down, I felt a small sense of relief.
I had gone to headquarters.I'd gotten a glimpse of the town.I'd met new faces: Mira, Bran… and others whose names I still didn't know.
They all had one thing in common:
They looked like they knew something.But they weren't ready to put it into words.
I wasn't ready yet either.
But by the end of the day,I could see clearly—again—that Veldan was not just stone buildings and market stalls.Something moved beneath its shadows.
And inside me, there was a small, stubborn feeling:
"Alright, Veldan," I thought."You hide your shadows. While I learn how to breathe, I'll find out which one steps toward me first."
The gears of fate kept turning.
This time, I was a little more on my feet.