Chapter 160: Unnamed

*Will be fix later*

The rain hit the asphalt like a thousand tiny hammers. Ethan Cross pulled his hood tighter and kept walking. The city never slept, but tonight it felt especially hostile. Neon signs reflected in the puddles, smeared and broken. He had just finished a double shift at the warehouse, his back aching, his bank account still empty. Twenty-seven years old and already tired of living.

He turned into the narrow alley behind the convenience store, the usual shortcut home. The lights here were weaker. Shadows stretched long and thin. Somewhere a dog barked once and fell silent.

That was when the world changed.

A soft chime sounded inside his skull, clean and digital, like a notification from a phone that did not exist. Blue light bloomed in front of his eyes, forming a translucent window that hovered in the air no matter how he turned his head.

[SYSTEM INITIALIZING…]

[Host detected: Ethan Cross]

[Compatibility: 97.4%]

[Integration complete.]

Ethan froze. His heart hammered against his ribs. He waved a hand through the floating text. His fingers passed through it without resistance, yet the panel remained perfectly clear.

[Welcome, User.]

[You have been selected as a Participant in the Convergence Protocol.]

[Primary Directive: Survive. Grow. Ascend.]

"What the hell…?" he whispered.

A second panel appeared beside the first.

[Status]

Name: Ethan Cross

Level: 1

Class: Unassigned

Health: 100/100

Stamina: 87/100

Strength: 8

Agility: 9

Endurance: 7

Intelligence: 11

Perception: 10

Free Points: 0

[Skills]

None

[Quests]

New Quest Available: First Blood

Objective: Eliminate one hostile entity within the next 30 minutes.

Reward: 50 Experience, Basic Skill Token

Failure: Permanent reduction of maximum Health by 20%.

Ethan stared. Hostile entity? In an alley behind a convenience store?

A low growl answered the question.

From the deeper shadows near the dumpsters, something stepped into the weak orange light of a distant streetlamp. It had once been a man—or at least it wore the shape of one. The skin was gray and cracked like old concrete. Its eyes glowed a dull red. Long, uneven claws scraped against the wet ground as it moved. The smell of rot and ozone rolled off it in waves.

[Hostile Entity Detected]

Type: Lesser Shade

Level: 2

Threat Assessment: Moderate

The creature lunged.

Ethan stumbled backward, nearly falling. His body moved on pure instinct. He grabbed the metal lid of a trash can and swung it like a shield. The Shade's claws screeched across the metal, sending sparks into the rain. The impact rattled his arms to the bone.

[Combat Initiated]

[Tutorial Mode: Active]

Hint: Physical attacks deal reduced damage to spectral entities. Look for weaknesses.

The Shade came again, faster. Ethan ducked under a swipe and drove his shoulder into its midsection. It felt wrong—cold and hollow, like pushing against thick smoke that somehow had weight. The creature staggered but did not fall. Its claws raked across his side, tearing through the jacket and the shirt beneath. Hot pain flared.

[You have taken 18 damage.]

Health: 82/100

Panic rose in his throat. He had never been in a real fight in his life. Warehouse work was heavy, but it was not combat. Yet something else stirred beneath the fear—a cold, clear focus that did not feel entirely his own.

The System pulsed.

[Opportunity detected.]

Weak Point: Core (center of the chest).

Suggestion: Blunt force or concentrated impact.

Ethan saw it then—a faint, flickering light deep inside the Shade's torso, visible only when the creature twisted under the streetlamp. He did not think. He simply acted. He dropped the trash lid, snatched a broken length of pipe from the ground, and charged.

The pipe punched through the Shade's chest with a wet, tearing sound that should not have belonged to anything living. The red light in its eyes flared once, then died. The body dissolved into black mist that scattered on the rain.

[Hostile Entity Eliminated]

Experience Gained: 50

Level Up!

You are now Level 2.

Free Attribute Points: 3

Basic Skill Token acquired.

Ethan stood in the alley, breathing hard, rain running down his face. The pipe in his hand trembled. The floating panels remained, calm and clinical.

[Quest Complete: First Blood]

Rewards distributed.

He opened the status window again. Three free points waited. Without much thought he put one into Strength, one into Agility, and one into Endurance. The numbers updated instantly. His body felt subtly different—lighter, denser, more awake.

[Class Selection Available]

Available Classes:

- Survivor (Balanced growth, increased Health regeneration)

- Scavenger (Improved item detection and resource efficiency)

- Brawler (Bonus to unarmed and improvised weapon damage)

He selected Survivor. A soft warmth spread through his limbs.

[Class Assigned: Survivor]

New Skill Unlocked: Minor Regeneration (Passive)

Health regenerates 1 point every 30 seconds while not in combat.

Ethan leaned against the brick wall and laughed once, short and shaky. The alley looked ordinary again. No more floating text. No more monsters. Only the rain and the distant traffic.

But the System was still there. He could feel it now, like a second heartbeat behind his eyes. A quiet presence waiting.

He checked the time on his phone. Twenty-three minutes had passed since the first chime. In that short span the world had rewritten its rules around him, and he had killed something that should not exist.

A new notification appeared, softer this time.

[Main Quest Unlocked: The Convergence]

The barriers between realities are thinning. More entities will appear.

Current Global Threat Level: 1 (Localized)

Objective: Reach Level 10 within seven days.

Reward: Advanced Class Options + Title

Failure: Unknown.

Ethan pushed himself upright. His side still hurt, but the bleeding had already slowed. Minor Regeneration was working.

He looked down the alley toward the main street, then back the way he had come. Home was only ten minutes away. Sleep. A hot shower. Pretending none of this had happened.

Instead he turned toward the deeper parts of the city, where the lights were fewer and the shadows longer.

The System did not speak again, but he felt its quiet approval.

Somewhere above the rain clouds, something vast and unseen was watching.

And Ethan Cross, warehouse worker, nobody, had just taken his first step into a much larger, much hungrier world.

He tightened his grip on the pipe and kept walking.

The night was only beginning.

Ethan kept moving, the broken pipe still in his hand. The rain had eased into a fine mist that clung to his clothes and hair. Every few steps the blue interface flickered at the edge of his vision, quiet and patient, like it was waiting for him to ask the right question.

He finally did.

"Status," he muttered under his breath.

The window opened instantly.

[Status]

Name: Ethan Cross

Level: 2

Class: Survivor

Health: 91/100

Stamina: 74/100

Strength: 9

Agility: 10

Endurance: 8

Intelligence: 11

Perception: 10

Free Points: 0

Minor Regeneration was already knitting the shallow cuts on his side. The pain had faded to a dull throb. That alone should have terrified him. Instead it felt useful.

A new notification slid into view.

[Side Quest Available: Night Watch]

Objective: Remain outside for the next two hours without entering any permanent structure.

Reward: 30 Experience + Perception +1

Failure: None (Optional)

Ethan almost laughed. The System was already trying to train him. He accepted the quest with a thought. The timer started counting down in the corner of his vision.

He turned onto a wider street lined with closed shops and flickering streetlights. A few cars passed, their headlights cutting through the mist. Ordinary people going about ordinary nights. None of them could see the translucent panels floating in front of his face. None of them knew that something had started thinning the walls between this world and whatever came next.

His phone buzzed in his pocket. A message from his supervisor about tomorrow's shift. Ethan stared at the screen for a long moment, then locked it and put it away. The warehouse felt like it belonged to a different life already.

A soft chime sounded again.

[Environmental Scan Complete]

Three residual energy signatures detected within 400 meters.

Recommendation: Avoid or engage selectively. Current power level insufficient for prolonged combat.

Ethan slowed. His Perception had not increased yet, but he could feel it—an itch at the back of his neck, a pressure in the air that did not belong to the weather. He chose a quieter route, cutting through a small park that smelled of wet grass and old leaves.

Under a tree near the center of the park, the System pulsed once more.

[Tutorial Progress: 18%]

Next Milestone: Reach Level 5 or acquire first active skill.

Hint: Skill Tokens can be used at any time. Current inventory: 1 Basic Skill Token.

He opened the inventory without thinking. A single glowing icon waited there. When he focused on it, three simple options appeared:

- Impact Strike (Active) – Channel force into a single blow. Cooldown: 45 seconds.

- Keen Eye (Passive) – Slightly improves detection of hidden objects and weak points.

- Steady Breath (Passive) – Reduces