To the north of dead village, Ruttwa...
The forest thinned into jagged rock formation, giving way to a scar of shale and blackened obsidian— a molten trail carved by centuries of blazing fire, scorching the earth and reshaping the land into a fractured maw of stone.
Just ahead, a dark opening yawned at the base of mountain, where sunlight flattered, stopping just short at the threshold—as if even light feared to awaken the ancient terror slumbering inside it.
A low tremor pulsed the ground. At first, it could have been mistaken for aftershock of distant quake, but then rocks formations began to quiver, a shiver crawling up the mountainside, making the very foundation tremble— as if sensing something stirring within it.
And then, a wail spilt the silence— rising from the depths of the cave like howl of forgotten, ancient beast, a cry etched with agony—long-suffering and raw. There was a pain to it, the kind forged over centuries of battle, of holding something at bay beyond mortal comprehension.
It trembled with weariness, with a fragile echo of fading will.
Beneath the lingering echo of cry, the air shifted—carrying with it a different tone. A clicking grinding hum—like old, forged machine gears turning for the first time in centuries. The ominous sound of something unnatural...beginning to undo itself.
The sound only the beast heard it.
.
.
.
Kazuki's eyes skimmed over the translucent blue screen hovering Infront of him, his gaze slowing absorbing the updated stats, the new skill, and a strange new item.
[STATUS WINDOW]
System Name: Chaos System
Name: Kazuki Hayashi
Level: 12
XP: 6,700 / 7,200
HP: 495 / 500
MP: 260 / 300
Stats:
Strength: 90 (+55)
Agility: 26 (+8)
Intelligence: 96 (+58)
Willpower: 17 (+6)
Vitality: 110 (+60)
Endurance: 5 (+3)
Perception: 5 (+3)
Skills:
—> [Skill: Mana Edge (C)] (New!)
(Expand)
[Inventory]
—> [Core of Malice] (Rare) (New!)
(Expand)
Killing the Fleshbound Wailer had rewarded him with surge of five thousand experience points— catapulting him from level 7 to brink of 13 in a single leap. His core stats—Strength, Vitality, and Intelligence, have skyrocketed, nearing close to three digits. Mana Edge was a skill he'd recently acquired and had been spamming non-stop. No surprise there.
But what intrigued him was the Core of Malice...
He turned to Lillan, ready to ask her about the strange new item. "Hey! do you know anyth—ow!", a sharp sting bloomed in his elbow, he glanced at her casually pinching his arms, her expression deadpan.
He opened his mouth—"What was that fo—"—Twist— another jolt of pain shot up his arms as she nonchalantly twisted his skins few degrees further.
His skin reddened beneath her fingers, a tender bloom of pain flaring up as she finally released his arm.
"You do realize we were almost caught in that explosion, right?" she said calmly. "What if the hut had fallen forward? We'd have been turned into a Kazuki-chicken-Lillan sandwich. Spicy undead edition."
Kazuki rubbed his elbows with a wince, his lips pulling into a pouty grimace. "What about your little beam incident? Already forgot about it? You almost skewered me like a kebab! And then—you smirked! Like it was amusing!"
Unbothered, she reached for his arm again— cool as ice, as if casually intending to torture him into submission. Fortunately, Kazuki was on high alert, with reflex of man on the face of death, he sprung to his feet with a skid.
His legs wide, one hand forward, the other by the waist, Kazuki struck the dramatic Bruce Lee pose, eyes narrowing with forced intensity before breaking into a flurry of exaggerated kung-fu noises:
"Hei! Yah! Haaaa-chooo!"
Lillan burst into laughter, her whole body tilting backwards, shoulder shaking. "Pffft—!" She choked, eyes squinting. "What's up with these weird poses?!"
Kazuki scratched the back of his head, a sheepish smile tugging at his lips. Internally he sighed. I got to live another day. Coughing awkwardly, he straightened up, is voice lowered into something a little more serious.
"Lillan… do you know what a core actually is?"
She stopped mid snicker; there was subtle shift in her eyes: sharp, curious and mix of something else he couldn't identify. Her posture softening into something more thoughtful.
"Why do you ask?"
Kazuki hesitated. "I remember someone once saying that creatures like these drop a core. And if I had one... he would give me tons of coins exchange of it." She gives him a long look, as if searching something.
Then she spoke, voice unusually soft. "Did you ever exchanged anything for a core? No? —Thank the gods you didn't exchange anything with it." Then like a switch flipping, her tone shifted—back to that chaotic scholar-mage vibe. "Cores are important, they contain abnormal amount of mana, condensed by the creatures throughout its life, some scholars even believe that, after dying the cores absorbs all the remaining life force turning into raw mana. They are also used to make artifacts." She pointed toward the debris where the remains of Fleshbound Wailer's corpse laid.
"But core from something like that, it would be corrupted." She folded her arms. "Cores from Undead-type, Abomination-type and Demonic-type monster are usually corrupted."
She gave him a steady look.
"Messing with them is like swallowing poison."
Then she exhaled, short and sharp—like a teacher wrapping up a lecture. Her eyes said I'm done.
Kazuki blinked. "Okay, wow. So, like...corruption equals bad. Got it." nodding sagely, as if agreeing with the ancient wisdom passed down by generations of traumatized scholars.
Lillan let out a long, suffering groan."Yeah… that's the gist of it," she muttered, her voice low and resigned.
Then—
A low rumble rolled the earth, followed by distant guttural cry rising through the air —like the echo of a beast mourning.
Kazuki froze. Both their eyes snapping toward the north.
A beat passed.
Something in the atmosphere shifted.
It was subtle—barely perceptible—but it was there.
The wind stilled.
The birds went silent.
And in that silence… came the sound of gears.
A clicking, grinding hum like stone grinding against stone, like ancient magic groaning back to life after centuries of dormancy.
A familiar ding echoed in his head.