Chapter Four: A Chance Not Missed
The city had started to rot.
Shops, homes, and offices stood abandoned, their doors swinging open in the heavy winds. People had either fled or fallen.
Monsters prowled the streets.
And yet, somehow, the old mall downtown still flickered with life.
A weak barrier shimmered over it — a last remnant of the pre-fusion world — and inside, a handful of shops remained active, relics of the system forcing itself onto reality.
Crow slipped inside, his boots silent against the cracked tiles. His undead hound followed at his heels, its cold blue eyes scanning for threats.
He wasn't here for supplies.
He was here because something — someone — was calling.
He found it in the corner of a half-collapsed store, tucked between cracked relic displays and rusted equipment:
a dusty old summoning capsule, surrounded by a faint purple glow.
Above it floated a single listing:
[ Artifact: Soulbound Hero Capsule ]
— Rank: SS
— Contained Hero: "Seraphina, Ghost Blade of the Lost Legion"
Crow's heart nearly stopped.
Seraphina.
He knew that name.
In his past life, a player had pulled her from one of these capsules — and from that moment on, everything changed.
That player rose from nobody to a top guild master, carving entire kingdoms under their control.
Seraphina wasn't just strong.
She was legendary.
Fast, ruthless, and nearly unkillable, she could phase through attacks, assassinate enemy leaders, and command ghost legions once she evolved.
Crow stared at the capsule, feeling a rare surge of emotion stirring in his chest.
In his old life, he had watched from the shadows as others claimed glory.
Not this time.
He opened the shop menu and checked the price.
[ Cost: 10,000 Gold ]
He barely had a handful of credits from earlier scavenging.
Nowhere near enough.
But then the system flickered again — and a new message appeared:
[ Divine Controller Perk Activated: Pet Recruitment Discount (90%) ]
Crow blinked — then smirked.
New cost:
[ Cost: 1,000 Gold ]
He quickly opened his inventory, selling off scrap metal, potions, even some of the lesser monster cores he'd collected.
Piece by piece.
Every second precious.
Finally:
[ You have 1,020 Gold. ]
Crow jammed the Buy button with a brutal finality.
The capsule hissed open, releasing a mist of cold, silver light.
A figure stepped forward, her body semi-transparent, her hair flowing like smoke, her blade glinting with ethereal fire.
Seraphina.
Her spectral eyes locked onto his.
She knelt, bowing her head.
[ Summoned Hero: Seraphina (SS Rank) has pledged loyalty! ]
Crow's chest tightened — not from fear, but from the gravity of the moment.
In his old life, this was the kind of power that decided wars.
Now?
Now it was his.
He checked her stats quickly:
[Hero Name]: Seraphina, Ghost Blade
Rank: SS (Upgradeable to SSS with conditions)
Skills:
Phantom Strike: Instant movement through shadows. Soul Chain: Bind enemies to slow and weaken them. Legion's Oath (Locked): Command a ghost army.
Crow stepped back, feeling the tide of fate shifting around him.
With Nine-Tails, Queen Bee, his own undead, and now Seraphina at his side, he wasn't just building a team.
He was forging an empire of monsters, legends, and nightmares.
And the world hadn't even realized he was playing yet.
END OF CHAPTER FOUR
Want to dive into Chapter Five next?
(I'm thinking Crow uses Seraphina and Nine-Tails to raid an early mini-dungeon no one else dares touch — stacking more loot and power while everyone else is still trying to survive.)
Or we can have him meet a rival who remembers the old world too!
Which way you want to go?