Chapter 1: The New Soul
Bam! The punch was a blur, moving faster than Ren's eyes could track. He scanned the hallway, desperate for help, but it was a tomb. The only witness was Max's lackey, leaning against a locker with a jagged, cruel smile, enjoying every second of the spectacle.
Max stepped forward, his expression twisted with malice. Ren scrambled backward, but his heels hit cold stone. A dead end. Max didn't hesitate. He rushed forward, raining down strikes that moved with supernatural speed. Even the lackey couldn't track the movements.
A heavy thud echoed as a fist connected with Ren's temple, slamming his skull back into the wall. He felt the sickening warmth of blood trickling down his neck, and a white-hot flash of pain surged through his mind. Yet, somehow, the agony didn't break him. It forged a desperate, jagged resolve. He forced himself to stand.
Max laughed. "I see a little blood on the back of your head. Looks like someone's in pain." He lunged again, aiming for Ren's face. Ren shifted, moving just an inch—enough to avoid the brunt—but it didn't matter.
Thud. His head was driven into the stone again. Another trickle of blood joined the first. Ren's vision blurred; he was dazed, his strength failing. He felt weak, useless, and hopeless against the mage-in-training standing before him.
But Max wanted more. Instead of a simple punch, he decided to deliver a true beating. He dashed forward with surprising speed, closing the gap in a heartbeat. Ren knew this was it: he had to fight back now, or he would die.
As Max reached him, Ren didn't move away. He lunged forward, throwing his entire weight into a massive headbutt. The impact was brutal. Ren's own forehead split, blood masking his face as it mixed with the wounds on the back of his head, but he didn't care.
"How... how dare you!" Max roared, his pride wounded more than his flesh. He leaped into the air, throwing a high-velocity kick at Ren's head.
Driven by pure instinct, Ren dove. Max's foot missed Ren by a hair and slammed into the stone wall with enough force to shatter the masonry. Max shrieked, his leg snapped at an unnatural angle as he tumbled to the floor. But he was a mage; with a surge of mana, he forced the bone to knit back together and stood up, his eyes burning with rage.
Ren was trapped against the wall once more. Max, looking for a final, crushing blow, decided to get a running start. He sprinted down the corridor, building massive momentum as he charged. Ren waited until the last possible second, then threw himself to the side.
Max couldn't stop. His legs were moving too fast, his momentum uncontrollable. His head hit the wall with a sickening crack.
He slumped to the ground, his skull split open. Through the jagged crack in the bone, a glimpse of brain matter was visible amidst the gore. It was a small fracture, but it was fatal. Blood pooled rapidly on the linoleum, spewing from his mouth and the wound like a grisly faucet.
Ren stared at the corpse, horrified. Charlie, the lackey, was frozen in terror. But while Charlie was terrified of the death, Ren was terrified of the consequences. He didn't care about Max; he cared about what this would do to his own life.
Suddenly, a dark blue orb of light drifted out of Max's mouth and plunged into Ren's chest. A surge of warmth spread through his veins.
[The Soul System has been integrated. Hello, Host.]
"What? Who are you?" Ren gasped. "Am I hallucinating from the head trauma?"
[You are not hallucinating. User Notification: First Blood Unlocked.]
[Achievement: You have killed your first opponent. +5 Soul Units.]
To Charlie, Ren appeared to be staring blankly at a wall, ignoring the dead body at his feet.
"Stats," Ren whispered.
Strength: 5
Speed: 5
Reflex: 5
Agility: 5
Endurance: 5
Attribute: Soul
Title: Soul Eater
Race: Human
"Pitiful. Utterly pitiful," a dry, ancient voice rasped inside his skull.
"Who's there?"
"Are you so dense, Host? I'm the one calling you 'host,' idiot."
"Why are you in my head?"
"You killed someone. That broke the seal. The system is here, and so am I."
"Are you the system?"
"Do I sound like a machine? No. My name is Solar."
"Like... the solar system?"
"Precisely. I've been trapped in this box for thousands of years waiting for a harvest. Excuse me if I'm a bit rusty with the spelling of my own name; I haven't seen a dictionary in an eternity." Solar's tone turned cold. "Don't get too excited, kid. You committed murder. Murder has consequences."
Ren looked down at Max. It was true. He had ended a life. "Wait," Ren said, his mind racing. "If I kill people... do I get more units?"
"Yes. And units buy skills. But I'll block the good ones if you're too poor. The cheapest skill is 10 units."
Ren looked at the terrified witness. "That's only five units away. No one else is in this hallway. If he's gone... will anyone really know?"
"Not if the witness is silenced," Solar tempted. "Go ahead. Harvest him."
"I have no choice," Ren whispered. "I need the power."
He reached into the system, pouring all five of his units into Strength. His muscles tightened; he felt a surge of raw, violent potential.
[Strength: 5 -> 10 (Allocated)]
"Unbalanced," Ren noted coldly. "I'll fix the rest later."
He walked toward Charlie. The boy trembled, backing away. "Ren, please! I won't tell! I don't want to die!"
"Your death is for a greater cause," Ren said, his voice devoid of emotion. "Believe me."
Before Charlie could blink, Ren struck. With his strength doubled, his fist didn't just punch—it indented Charlie's skull. The boy fell instantly, his eyes going dull. A second blue soul drifted into Ren's chest.
[3 Soul Units Harvested. Total Soul Units: 8.]
Ren looked at his blood-soaked hands. "Only eight. Two more to go for a skill." He looked down the dark, empty hallway. "I guess it's time to be a murderer, then."
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