The apartment felt warmer than usual when Rian returned from his delivery shift, though nothing in the room had changed. He set the pouch of coins on the table and stared at it for a long moment. Twenty-four copper. Not much. But the knowledge that he had earned it tightened something steady inside his chest.
The pouch made a dull sound when it hit the wood. Solid. Real. Not imaginary numbers on a screen or money borrowed with promises he couldn't keep. He reached out and nudged it with one finger, watching it roll slightly before settling again. It was strange how something so small could feel so heavy with meaning.
He washed his hands, scrubbing away the grime of the day. The water ran brown at first, then clear. He drank a cup of plain warm water , letting it slide down his throat slowly, grounding him. His body needed rest and let his body rest for an hour.
His muscles ached from pushing the cart, but it wasn't the painful kind. More like a reminder that he had used his body for something real.
He lay back on the bed and closed his eyes for a while. The sounds of the district drifted in through the thin walls. Carts rolling over stone. Voices bargaining. A distant tram bell chiming as it passed through the main street. The world moved on, indifferent, but he had finally moved with it.
By the time the sky turned navy blue, hunger nudged at him. He looked inside the fridge again. eggs. Bread. Jam. He decided to save the eggs for tomorrow. Tonight, bread and water would do.
He chewed in silence, listening to the muffled noise of the nighttime market outside vendors closing down, Wooden shutters slamming shut, footsteps fading, distant laughter, the clank of mana-tools being packed away. Sleep tugged at his eyes.
That was when the system chimed sharply.
Alert: Unusual mana fluctuation detected within 200 meters.
Recommended action: Heightened awareness.
Rian straightened on the bed.
"What do you mean by 'fluctuation'?"
A beat passed.
The system offered nothing further.
A prickle of unease crawled up his spine. He stood and stepped to the window, parting the curtain just enough to peer outside. The street below had thinned. Rune lamps cast steady pools of light along the stone road. Everything looked… normal.
Then a scream cut through the quiet.
Rian's breath caught.
A cart overturned near the corner shop, crates rolling across the stone street. A fruit vendor tried to scramble backward as a shape small, dark, and fast bounded toward him. The creature was low to the ground, its body lean like a starving stray dog, but its eyes glowed pale green and its teeth were far too sharp for any normal animal.
A monster.
A real low-tier monster.
Right outside his building.
Rian's stomach dropped to his feet.
Another scream echoed. The creature lunged, and the vendor held up his arms to shield himself. People on the street scattered, ducking behind stalls and doors. No hunters were in sight.
Rian's first instinct kicked in run.
Run now.
Run before anything saw him.
Run before he became a repeat of his old life, dying again on the pavement.
He stepped back from the window, his breathing fast and shallow.
Then the system chimed again this time in a tone he had not heard before.
Emergency Good Deed Quest Generated:
A civilian is in immediate danger.
Assist within your ability.
Reward: Courage +1, XP +20, Hidden Stat Growth
Penalty for ignoring: Responsibility −1, Confidence −1
Rian froze.
"…No," he whispered, voice trembling. "I… I can't fight that. I've never fought anything in my life."
The system responded instantly.
Clarification: Assistance does not require defeating the monster.
Objective: Help the victim escape danger.
Methods may vary.
A knot formed in his throat.
Help… escape.
Not defeat.
Just… help.
He stared at the small wooden broom haft leaning against the sink. It was barely half a broom, cracked at the handle. Hardly a weapon. But it was something he could hold.
His legs shook as he grabbed it.
"You're kidding me," he whispered. "How am I supposed to…?"
The vendor screamed again.
Rian's heart thrummed.
He knew that scream.
He'd heard a version of it in his past life the sound of someone cornered while he hid, powerless and terrified.
He had died because he'd never learned to stand.
Was he going to repeat that?
No.
Rian shoved the door open and ran down the stairs. His feet slapped the concrete. Each step felt like a mistake, but turning back felt worse. When he burst into the street, the cold night air hit him like a slap, clearing his thoughts.
The creature crouched low, ready to strike the vendor again.
Rian's voice cracked as he yelled, "HEY!"
The monster's glowing eyes snapped toward him.
He instantly regretted everything.
But he forced his shaking hands to tighten around the broken broom handle. He lifted it high, trying to make himself look bigger even though he felt like he might collapse.
The system chimed in his vision.
Courage Check… PASS (barely).
The creature snarled and lunged toward him.
Rian screamed and swung the broom wildly.
The wood connected with a surprising crack. The creature yelped, momentarily stunned. Not injured. Just startled. Enough to hesitate.
"Run!" Rian shouted at the vendor without looking back.
The vendor didn't need to be told twice. He scrambled to his feet and stumbled down the street, limping heavily, nearly falling before catching himself and disappearing around a corner.
"Come on, come on," Rian whispered, trying to stop his hands from shaking. "I don't taste good. I'm probably poisonous."
The creature lunged again.
Rian dodged sideways barely his shoes scraping the street. He swung the broom again, this time not to hit, but to scare. The creature flinched, hesitated, then slowly backed away with a hiss. After a tense few seconds, it turned and bounded into a narrow drainage tunnel.
Gone.
Rian collapsed to his knees, gasping ,broom clattering from his hands.
The system chimed like steady applause