Ethan reached Caliban Hall and found his room without much trouble.
The door creaked softly as he pushed it open, revealing a space larger than he'd expected—two beds, two wardrobes, and tall windows that spilled warm afternoon light across polished wooden floors.
Not nearly as lavish as the bedroom in his mansion, but neat, functional, and… surprisingly comfortable.
He dropped his bags with a soft thud and let himself fall backward onto one of the beds.
"First day and I've already met two main characters," he muttered to the ceiling. "My luck's not bad."
For a moment, he simply lay there, letting the adrenaline of the morning drain out .Now that the noise had quieted, a familiar itch tugged at the back of his mind.
Curiosity.
Right. He was here now. At Nevermore Academy—the exact place the system had hinted about.
So… would it finally do something?
Ethan exhaled and willed the menu open.
Text flickered to life before his eyes—crisp, clean, and finally different.
[Arrived at the Dimensional Point]
[System Functions Unlocked]
[Status Screen Unlocked]
[System Shop Unlocked]
[Recycle Unlocked]
[Dimensional Travel — Unlocks in 3 Months]
Ethan sat up a little. "Whoa… that's a lot at once."
He tapped the first option.
[Status]
[Name: Ethan Corvin]
[Age: 17]
[Race: Pure-blood Vampire (Evolution Possible)]
[Physical Parameters:
— Punch Force: ~50 Tons
— Speed: 300 km/h
— Durability: Skin can withstand small-caliber bullets
— Stamina: Unmatched]
[Regeneration:
— Minor injuries heal instantly
— Major injuries take time
— Partial immortality: cannot die as long as body remains intact]
[Weaknesses: None]
[Blood Points: None
(Obtained by recycling unique items)]
Ethan stared at the data for a long moment.
"…Yeah. Okay. That's insanely broken."
Strong. Fast. No sunlight weakness. No natural drawbacks. And apparently capable of evolving even further.
Ethan let out a soft laugh, running a hand through his hair.
"Whoa… I can actually beat Captain America now," he muttered. "I could say 'I can do this all day'—and actually mean it."
The thought alone made him grin.
His eyes drifted to the last unlocked function.
[Dimensional Travel]
"Is that what I think it is…?"
Dimensional travel. The words hit him like a jolt.
If he was right, then once that timer ended, he could travel to other worlds. Other universes. Other fictional realities. Games, anime, movies—anything might be fair game.
But for now, the text remained gray and locked.
"Three months," he murmured. "Guess I'll revisit that later."
Next, he opened the System Shop, and rows of items materialized—some weak, some absurdly powerful. Artifacts, weapons, bloodlines, abilities, skills… many of them unmistakably pulled from other worlds.
He scrolled further, curiosity growing.
And then he froze.
One item stood out, glowing faintly with crimson light
[Vampire Progenitor Blood]
Description:
— Telekinesis
— Mind Reading
— Blood Energy Manipulation
— High-tier Charming Ability
— Significant overall physical enhancement ]
Ethan's eyes widened.
"…Okay, that's insane."
A single vial of blood that could turn him into something even stronger than a pure-blood vampire? It felt like a cheat code on top of a cheat code.
But below the description was the cost
[Price: 50,000 Blood Points]
His smile died instantly.
"…Wow. Okay. Never mind. I guess I'm broke."
He flicked open the recycling tab.
Right—Blood Points were earned by recycling unique items. Rare things. Special things. Meaning it wouldn't be easy.
He closed the screen with a sigh and fell back onto the bed, staring at the ceiling.
"Dimensional travel in three months," Ethan said quietly. "Progenitor blood in… probably three lifetimes."
He took a slow breath and reopened the interface, scanning each newly unlocked function carefully—Status Screen, Shop, Recycle. All active. All stable.
But something wasn't right.
One feature he expected to see was missing entirely.
"…Where's the inventory?" he muttered.
He tried the command again, focusing on the empty space where the tab should have appeared. Nothing changed.
No response. No locked tab. No greyed-out icon.
It simply… wasn't there.
Ethan's brows drew together. "Will it unlock later?" he wondered. "Or is it something I'm supposed to earn?"
With how unusual his system behaved, skipping features or presenting them out of order didn't seem impossible.
He closed the menu, thoughtful.
"So the system isn't following the standard structure after all," he murmured. "I'll just have to adapt."
For now, it seemed he would be working without one of the most basic conveniences.
Inconvenient, yes—but manageable. He could work around it.
*****
A/N: If you enjoy my work, you might also like my other novel, "Wicked Grimoire". Feel free to check it out!