Chapter 2 – The First Drop
The night after the Awakening still burned in Aiden's mind. The empty classroom. The cold silence after the laughter faded. The sound of Kai shouting his name before the door sealed shut.
That was the day he was supposed to awaken his Talent.Instead, the Gate swallowed him.
He woke in darkness. No ground, no sky—just a dim, endless void that pulsed like a dying heartbeat.
He thought he was dead… until the voice came.
[System Initialization Complete.][Unique Skill Registered: Drop Maker.][Level: 1 | Experience: 0/100 | Class: Unassigned.][Warning: Host not synchronized with planetary system. Forced sync in progress…]
The words burned into his vision, floating in the blackness. He tried to move, but his body felt heavy, like he was sinking into cold oil.
Then something clicked, and the world shifted.
He was lying on cracked stone, under a crimson sky. Giant black spires jutted from the earth, glowing faintly with blue runes. Around him, the air vibrated—thick with mana, the kind that made breathing feel like swallowing fire.
And just ahead, something moved.
A creature crawled across the ground—its body thin, its skin a patchwork of scales and flesh. It looked almost human, but its eyes were empty, leaking darkness.
Aiden froze.
He had no weapon. No armor. Just the clothes from the exam hall.
The creature lifted its head and screamed.
[Monster Identified: Lesser Shade Lv.3][Warning: Host combat potential—extremely low.]
He stumbled back, but his foot hit a stone, and the noise drew it closer. Its movements were jerky, like a puppet controlled by broken strings.
It lunged.
He rolled aside, barely avoiding the claws that slashed where his neck had been. Adrenaline drowned out fear. His hand found a jagged rock on the ground. Instinct took over.
When the creature came again, he swung.
The rock cracked against its skull. Once. Twice. Again.
Each hit splattered black ichor that sizzled on the ground. The Shade twitched, clawing at him until finally it collapsed into mist.
[Kill Confirmed.][+25 EXP.][New Drop Available.][Would you like to generate loot? Y/N]
He stared at the glowing prompt. His breath came in ragged gasps. Every part of him screamed to wake up—but the pain was too real.
He reached out.
[Y Selected.][Drop Maker Activated.][Generating loot based on kill parameters…]
The body disintegrated completely, leaving behind a faint, spinning sphere of light. It pulsed once, then split into three smaller orbs.
[Possible Loot:]
Cracked Fang (Common)
Shadow Dust (Uncommon)
Shade Core Fragment (Rare - Locked)[Select One]
Aiden blinked. Three drops. One locked. He could see the difference—the locked one flickered, fading like something beyond his reach.
"Why's it locked?" he muttered.
[Insufficient Level.]
He cursed softly. He picked the Shadow Dust—the one that glowed faintly blue.
[Shadow Dust Acquired.][Material Type: Energy Reactive | Used for Low-Tier Enhancements.]
The dust melted into his hand, and a faint warmth spread through his arm. His heartbeat steadied. The exhaustion lessened just a little.
He looked down at his trembling hands. They were still human—but the air here was eating away at him. He could feel it.
[Status Window]Name: Aiden CrossLevel: 1 (25/100)Health: 80/100Mana: 20/20Stamina: 35/50Strength: 3Agility: 4Endurance: 3Perception: 5Intelligence: 4Luck: ?Unique Skill: Drop Maker (Lv.1)Title: NoneEvolution Path: Locked
Everything about him screamed weak. The numbers were pitiful compared to what he'd seen on other students' screens. Some had base stats above ten before even choosing a class.
He clenched his fists. If this was what he had to start with, fine. He'd start here.
He began walking toward the spires. The air shimmered around them, forming thin distortions—like portals. One of them pulsed, and a small crystal protruded from the ground beside it. He touched it.
[Dungeon Boundary Detected.][Entry Restricted: Minimum Level 5.]
He exhaled sharply. "Figures."
No way forward. No way out.
He turned his gaze to the horizon. Beyond the black spires, he saw movement—figures gathering. Dozens of them. Some crawled, others limped, but all had the same empty eyes as the one he'd killed.
He was surrounded.
He could run. But there was nowhere to run to.
He tightened his grip on the rock and lowered his stance.
"I need to level up."
He charged the nearest Shade.
It wasn't bravery. It was survival instinct in its rawest form. Each kill brought pain, exhaustion, and fear—but also light. The drops. The tiny spheres that spun in the air, waiting for his choice.
By the time the sky shifted from red to deep violet, he had killed five Shades. His clothes were shredded. His arms ached. But he was still standing.
[Kill Count: 5][EXP: 125/100][Level Up!][Level: 2][+3 Stat Points Earned.]
He collapsed to one knee, breathing heavily. His body glowed faintly as the level-up energy surged through him.
It wasn't pleasant. It was like being torn apart and rebuilt in an instant. His muscles spasmed, and the pain made him bite his tongue. But when it was over, his breathing felt easier, and his vision sharper.
He opened the stat screen.
[Allocate Stat Points?]
He placed all three into Agility. If he couldn't outpower them, he'd outmove them.
The difference was immediate. The next Shade he fought missed by inches, and his counterattack landed faster. He could now dodge, retreat, strike, repeat—barely surviving.
He was learning, and each battle made him just a little faster, a little colder.
But something was wrong. Each time he used the Drop Maker, the light of the loot orbs dimmed faster. The rare drops stayed locked no matter how many he killed.
When he reached Level 4, a new message appeared.
[System Alert: Drop Maker nearing overload threshold.][Limit Detected — Skill may evolve upon stabilization.]
He frowned. "Evolve? How?"
[Requirement Unknown.]
Typical.
He sat against one of the spires, letting the faint hum of mana soothe his frayed nerves. The Shadow Dust he'd collected earlier glimmered faintly, reacting to his heartbeat. He realized it wasn't just material—it was feeding the Drop Maker, reinforcing it.
He smiled faintly. "So even dust matters."
As he stood, the ground trembled.
From the horizon, a figure appeared—taller than the others, its body wrapped in black mist. Its footsteps cracked the ground.
[Elite Shade — Lv.7][Warning: Host level too low for engagement.]
He gripped the rock tighter, every muscle tensed. The fear was there again, clawing at the edges of his thoughts—but beneath it was something else.
Resolve.
He'd been abandoned once already. Left to die by people who only cared about numbers on a screen. Not again.
He picked up a broken spear from the ground—a relic left by some long-dead challenger—and raised it.
The Elite roared.
He charged first.
The clash shook his bones. The spear lodged into the creature's shoulder. It backhanded him, sending him crashing into a spire. His ribs cracked, pain searing his chest. Blood filled his mouth, but he forced himself up.
One chance.
He drove the spear through its neck.
It screamed, dissolving into black smoke.
[Elite Kill Confirmed.][EXP +200.][Level Up!][Level: 3 → 4.][New Drop Available.][Special Condition Met — Drop Evolution Triggered.]
A single golden orb floated where the body fell, spinning slowly.
[Choose Your Reward:]
Fragmented Core of Shadows (Rare)
Mist-Touched Spearhead (Uncommon)
Unknown Blueprint (???)
He stared at the last one. The question marks pulsed like they were alive.
He hesitated, then reached out.
[Unknown Blueprint Selected.][Item Created: Basic Drop Forge.][Description: Allows crafting and upgrading of drops into equipment. Efficiency: 5%. Upgrade Locked.]
A glowing sigil formed beneath his feet, etching itself into the ground before fading.
He laughed softly, breathless. "A forge. My first forge."
The darkness around him seemed less suffocating now. The void sky flickered, and he saw faint motes of light—stars, maybe.
He had survived the first day.
And for the first time since the Awakening, Aiden felt something close to hope.
It wasn't warmth or safety. It was colder, sharper.
The kind of hope that could kill gods.