The moment Kael crossed the boundary into the Grayline District, the air changed.
It wasn't dramatic no flashing lights, no alarms but he felt it immediately. The sounds of the city behind him dulled, as if someone had turned down the volume on reality itself. Sirens faded. Screams became distant echoes.
Only the wind remained.
Grayline had once been an industrial zone. Factories, warehouses, rail depots—places that had already been dying before The Convergence finished the job. Now the streets were cracked and uneven, metal structures bent at unnatural angles, and the sky above was permanently dim, as if the system itself had lowered the brightness.
Kael slowed to a jog, then a walk.
His panel hovered at the edge of his vision.
Zone: Grayline District
Recommended Level: 1–20
Threat Rating: Low–Moderate
Low–Moderate didn't mean safe. It meant survivable if he didn't do anything stupid.
He scanned his surroundings.
Abandoned trucks sat rusting in the middle of the road. A collapsed overpass loomed ahead, its shadow swallowing half the street. Broken windows lined both sides, dark and silent.
Kael swallowed and tightened the straps of his backpack.
"Alright," he muttered. "Step one. Don't die."
His status screen slid open as if responding to the thought.
Name: Kael
Level: 1
HP: 200 / 200
MP: 100 / 100
STR: 10
AGI: 10
VIT: 10
INT: 10
No skills. No passives. No weapons.
Just him.
He reached into his bag and pulled out the only thing he had that could pass as a weapon a steel wrench from his part-time maintenance job. It was heavy, cold in his palm, and completely inadequate.
Something moved.
Kael froze.
A scraping sound came from the alley to his right, slow and deliberate. He shifted his stance, heart pounding, eyes locked on the darkness between two warehouses.
Another scrape.
Then a shape stepped into the light.
It was roughly humanoid, but wrong in almost every detail. Its skin was gray and leathery, stretched too tightly over an emaciated frame. Its arms hung too long, fingers ending in blunt, blackened claws. Where its face should have been was a smooth, featureless surface no eyes, no mouth.
The thing tilted its head.
Kael's panel pulsed.
Enemy Detected:
Designation: Grayline Stalker
Level: 2
Threat Assessment: Manageable
Manageable.
"That's reassuring," Kael whispered.
The stalker lunged.
Kael reacted on instinct. He threw himself sideways as the creature's claws slashed through the space where his chest had been a second earlier. He hit the pavement hard, shoulder screaming in protest.
The stalker turned faster than he expected.
Too fast.
Kael rolled again, barely avoiding another swipe, then scrambled to his feet. His heart was hammering so hard he could feel it in his throat.
Think. Don't panic.
The creature wasn't armored. It wasn't big. It was fast but predictable. Every movement was direct, no feints, no hesitation.
Kael waited.
The stalker charged again.
This time, Kael stepped forward instead of back.
He swung the wrench with everything he had.
Metal connected with bone.
The impact jolted up his arm, numbing his fingers, but the stalker reeled, its torso twisting unnaturally. Kael didn't hesitate. He followed up with another swing, then another, aiming where a neck would have been.
The stalker collapsed, limbs twitching.
Kael stumbled back, chest heaving.
For a heartbeat, nothing happened.
Then the body dissolved into pale blue particles.
The system chimed.
Enemy Defeated.
Experience Gained.
A warm sensation spread through Kael's body, like heat sinking into his muscles.
Level Up!
The panel expanded.
Level: 1 → 2
HP: 200 → 220
MP: 100 → 110
Free Stat Points: 5
Kael stared.
"That's it?" he said quietly.
No pain. No backlash. Just… growth.
He didn't hesitate. He dumped all five points into AGI.
AGI: 10 → 15
The change was immediate.
His body felt lighter, sharper. His movements smoother, as if someone had adjusted the calibration on his joints.
Kael flexed his fingers.
"Okay," he said. "I can work with this."
The panel updated again.
Skill Acquired:
Basic Strike (Lv.1)
Description:
A simple, efficient attack that improves damage output.
Kael blinked.
He tested it instinctively, swinging the wrench again. The motion felt… cleaner. Less wasted movement. More intent.
"Good," he murmured.
He didn't celebrate.
If there was one monster, there would be more.
Kael moved deeper into Grayline, sticking to the center of the street, eyes constantly scanning doorways and rooftops. He avoided enclosed spaces when possible, forcing himself to stay aware despite the adrenaline still flooding his system.
Another stalker emerged near a toppled truck.
Then two more near a loading dock.
Kael fought.
He took a hit claws grazing his arm, drawing blood but VIT absorbed most of it. He adapted quickly, using terrain, timing his swings, letting Basic Strike guide his movements.
By the time the last body dissolved, his panel chimed again.
Level Up!
Level: 2 → 3
Free Stat Points: 5
This time, he split them.
STR +3
AGI +2
STR: 10 → 13
AGI: 15 → 17
His arms felt stronger now. The wrench hit harder.
Kael leaned against a streetlight, breathing hard, sweat dripping down his face.
This was real.
Not a drill. Not a hallucination.
A system. Monsters. Levels.
And he was alive.
His gaze drifted to the Relationships tab.
Still empty.
"No rush," he muttered. "Let's survive first."
A sound echoed down the street metal scraping against concrete.
Not a stalker.
He turned just as a blade flashed out of the shadows.
Kael barely managed to twist aside. Steel sliced through the air where his neck had been.
He stumbled back, wrench raised.
A woman stepped into view.
She was dressed in dark, fitted gear, light armor reinforced at key points. A short blade rested casually in her hand, its edge gleaming faintly blue.
Her eyes were sharp. Assessing.
"Not dead," she said. "Impressive."
Kael didn't lower his weapon.
"Not friendly," he replied. "Unfortunate."
She smirked.
"Relax. If I wanted you dead, you'd already be on the ground."
His panel pulsed.
New Relationship Detected.
Name: Nyra Voss
Type: Potential Companion
A second message followed immediately.
Relationship Slot Initialized.
Kael's breath hitched.
So this was how it worked.
Nyra noticed his pause.
"…You saw it too," she said quietly.
"Saw what?" Kael asked.
She tilted her head, studying him. "The system reacting. Most people don't flinch like that unless something new pops up."
Kael considered lying.
He didn't.
"Yeah," he said. "I saw it."
Nyra's smirk widened, just a fraction. "Good. That makes things easier."
She sheathed her blade.
"I'm Nyra Voss," she said. "Solo runner. Mostly."
"Kael," he replied. "Also solo. Apparently."
They stood there for a moment, the ruined street stretching out between them.
Nyra glanced at the dissolved monster remains. "You cleared this stretch alone?"
"Yeah."
She nodded once. "Then you're either lucky… or interesting."
The system chimed softly.
Bond Level Established.
Nyra Voss: 5%
Kael felt it not physically, but mentally. A subtle shift, like a thread being tied.
Whatever this relationship fusion thing was…
It had started.
And Grayline was just the beginning.