Chapter 1: Welcome to the Ruin
The rain burned.
Not in a metaphorical sense, but literally. Each droplet sizzled against exposed skin, leaving thin welts that smoked in the cold wind. Acidstorm. Day 403 of the Ruin.
Kai Ardent ducked beneath a jagged concrete overhang, tugging the shredded hood of his synth-fiber cloak tighter over his head. He glanced up at the sky—gray with that sick green tint it always got before a storm turned lethal.
[Environmental Status: Moderate Hazard Detected]
[Health Regen Disabled. Passive Damage: 0.5 HP/sec]
[Advised Action: Shelter/Resistance Gear Equipped]
He chuckled dryly. "No shit."
His breath fogged in the air. The system's dull, blue UI flickered in his vision like a low-budget AR overlay—glitchy, fragmented, and slow to update. He tapped his temple twice to reset the screen, then pulled up his status window.
Name: Kai Ardent
Level: 12
System: Ascension Protocol [UNSTABLE BUILD]
Class: Unassigned
Health: 78/120
Mana: 33/40
Skills:
— [Improvised Weapon Proficiency I]
— [Instinct Boost (Passive)]
— [Glitch: Data Spike (Random Effect)]
— [System Rewrite - 0.02%]
System Note: "Growth Unbound. Risk Unstable. Proceed With Caution."
He closed it with a grunt.
Twelve levels in over a year. Most other survivors had triple that by now—mages throwing fireballs, tanks smashing through beasts with powered gauntlets, assassins blinking through shadows.
But they also had stable systems. Reliable upgrades. Structured quests.
Kai had glitches. Randomized skill triggers. The last time he leveled up, his body caught fire for three seconds and he grew gills—for five minutes. He couldn't breathe air during that time. It had not been fun.
Still, he was alive. That counted for something.
The storm was worsening. Through the acidic haze, he spotted movement up the street—shadows shifting between the collapsed cars and rusting wreckage. Not human. The gait was too fast. Too fluid.
He knelt and picked up a piece of rebar, still crusted with dried ichor from his last encounter. His fingers tightened.
[Improvised Weapon Proficiency Activated]
+3% Crit Chance, +10% Speed vs. Organic Targets]
The air grew still. Even the acidic rain seemed to pause.
Then it pounced.
A Crawler—all muscle, chitin, and bone spikes—burst from behind an overturned police transport, its many legs churning the asphalt to mush. Its maw opened, hissing with a sound like tearing fabric.
Kai rolled, barely dodging the lunge. The concrete where he'd been exploded, claw marks smoking.
He didn't think.
He let the Protocol kick in.
[Skill: Data Spike — Triggered]
[Effect: ??? (Randomized Outcome)]
The rebar in his hand crackled with blue static, then shattered.
Kai swore. "Useless piece of—!"
But the Crawler convulsed, screaming as the static jumped to its exoskeleton. It twitched, spasming uncontrollably, then collapsed—twitching, not dead but disoriented.
Kai didn't waste the opening. He grabbed a splintered piece of glass-rebar hybrid and drove it into the beast's eye cluster.
[Critical Hit x2. Weak Point Hit.]
[Crawler (LV 14) Defeated.]
[+320 EXP]
LEVEL UP!
WARNING: Ascension Protocol Unstable—Commencing System Rewrite...
Randomizing Trait Evolution...
Trait Gained: [Adaptive Mutation - Low Tier]
New Ability Unlocked: [Mimic: Organic Form – Locked]
System Rewrite Progress: 0.12%
Kai collapsed backward, breathing hard, body shaking. Not from fear, but from the surge of something deeper—something unexplainable.
He could feel it happening. The system inside him—growing. Learning. Becoming something else.
And he was changing with it.
Not just stronger.
Different.
He didn't know if that was good or bad.
But he knew one thing for certain:
He was no longer alone.
From the shadows behind the storm, other figures were watching. Cloaked. Hooded. Eyes glowing faintly.
Players.
And Kai had just leveled up in their territory.
[End of Chapter 1]
Let me know if you'd like the next batch (Ch. 2–5 maybe?), want to adjust the tone, or dive deeper into world-building (like system mechanics, factions, etc.).