It received a punch in the face.
One second I was walking out of my crummy apartment, late for a delivery job I didn't even want, and the next, my landlord's son came swinging at me like I owed him something.
"Where's the rent, loser?"
I wiped the blood off my lip and stared him down. "You already threw out my stuff. What more do you want?"
He sneered. "You breathing."
By noon, I'd been fired for showing up late, accused of stealing someone's phone, and got slapped by my ex in front of half the neighborhood because she saw me talking to her sister.
And the cherry on top?
I came home to find the door of my apartment wide open, my last bag of food gone, and a note that just said:
Final notice. Access revoked.
No keys. No credits. No way back in.
I sat down on the concrete steps and just laughed. Not because it was funny, but because everything had finally hit rock bottom. My name's Vaelric, by the way. No middle name, no legacy. Just a guy trying to survive in a city that eats people like me for breakfast.
That's when the system showed up.
[SYSTEM BOOTING…]
You have been chosen.
Initializing Trial of Survival…
Do you accept the contract?
I blinked. There was nothing in front of me. No screen. No voice. Just a weird pressure in my head and those words burned into the inside of my eyes like they were part of my brain now.
I looked around. Nothing had changed. People still walked by like I was invisible. The world kept going like it didn't just throw another weird twist at me.
I laughed again.
"Sure. What the hell. I accept."
[SYSTEM CONTRACT ACCEPTED]
Welcome, Vaelric.
Your soul has been bound to the Trial.
Every kill strengthens you.
Every death brings a choice.
Survive. Grow. Conquer.
The moment I said yes, pain exploded in my chest like someone was carving something into me from the inside. I dropped to my knees, gasping for air as the world twisted around me. My vision blurred, and for a second, I thought I was dying.
Then it stopped.
When I opened my eyes, I wasn't in the alley anymore.
I was standing in the middle of a forest I'd never seen before, surrounded by glowing blue trees, and everything smelled like wet metal and ozone.
In front of me, hovering in the air, was a single message.
Welcome to the Edgeworld.
Beginner Zone: Tier 0
Objective: Survive the first night.
That was it. No map. No weapons. No tutorial.
Just me, a system I didn't understand, and the knowledge that I'd just signed something permanent.
If I died here, I had a feeling I wasn't coming back.
But for once, I didn't feel powerless.
Because something deep in my gut told me this was my chance.
This system didn't pick me by accident.
The first thing I noticed in the Edgeworld was the silence. No cars. No buzzing streetlights. No shouting. Just wind through glowing leaves and something breathing out there in the dark.
I didn't wait long to start moving. The trees around me were huge, some of them wider than buses, and they gave off this faint blue light that made everything feel surreal. The ground was soft, like moss, but the air carried the tension of something watching me.
I didn't have a weapon. Not even a stick. All I had was the system, and even that felt like a vague promise at this point.
Then I heard it.
Crunching footsteps. Low growl. Something big, and close.
I crouched low behind one of the trees, heart pounding. I wasn't some fighter or warrior. I'd never even been in a real fight besides catching elbows in alley brawls.
But this was different. This was survival.
From behind the trees came a beast; some kind of wolf-thing, but way bigger than any dog I'd ever seen. Black fur. Glowing red eyes. Its claws left scorch marks in the dirt with every step.
[New Enemy Detected: Voidfang Pup - Tier 0]
HP: 130Strength: 10Speed: 14Aggression Level: HighStatus: Hungry
Great. A pup. And it could probably still rip me in half.
I backed away slowly, keeping low. But it sniffed the air, ears twitching. It already knew I was here.
I ran.
Not because I had a plan. Just pure instinct. I sprinted between trees, heart slamming in my chest, dodging roots and branches. The wolf crashed through behind me, faster, louder, gaining on me.
The system chimed again.
[Survival Triggered]
Run speed increased by 10%Adrenaline Mode: Active (3 minutes)
It felt like a spark lit in my legs. I moved faster than I ever had, leaping over fallen logs, cutting sharp turns. The Voidfang snapped at my heels, but missed by inches.
Then I saw it; a broken piece of metal sticking out of a tree stump. It looked like a shard of a blade or pipe, rusty but sharp.
I dove for it.
Rolled.
Grabbed it with both hands.
And when the wolf lunged, I didn't run.
I turned and drove the shard straight into its eye.
It screamed, loud and high-pitched, more like a dying machine than an animal. It thrashed and slammed me into the ground, but I held on, twisting the metal deeper until the light in its eye went out.
The body slumped on top of me, heavy and burning hot.
For a second, I couldn't breathe.
Then the system lit up.
[Enemy Defeated: Voidfang Pup]
+30 XP+1 Skill Point+1 Attribute PointLoot Available: Extract?
I pushed the beast off me and sat up, gasping. My hands were shaking. I'd killed something. Not just survived, but fought back. Won.
I looked at the message.
"Extract."
The wolf's body dissolved into black mist, leaving behind a small glowing orb and a dagger with a jagged edge. I picked them up, and the system absorbed the orb instantly.
New Trait Unlocked:Void Instinct (Passive): Sense hostile intent within 10 meters.
That was when I realized what the system really was.
It wasn't just a game.
It was evolution.
I sat down under one of those glowing trees, still catching my breath. My shirt was torn, my arms were scratched, and my whole body ached like I'd gone through a meat grinder.
But I was alive.
I'd just leveled up from killing a monster.
"System," I said, half expecting nothing.
But a blue panel blinked open in front of me, hovering like a hologram only I could see.
[PLAYER PROFILE: VAELRIC]
Level: 1XP: 30 / 100HP: 80 / 100Stamina: 42 / 100Mana: 0
Strength: 9Agility: 11Endurance: 8Intelligence: 5Luck: 2
Unspent Attribute Points: 1Unspent Skill Points: 1
Trait: Void Instinct (Passive)Equipment: Rusted Fang DaggerStatus: Stable
I stared at the numbers, my mind trying to wrap around it. This was real. I had stats. I had a level. My whole life, I'd been told I was nothing. Now? I was something measurable.
I dumped the free point into Strength, just to see how it felt.
Instantly, I felt the change; muscles tightening, arms feeling a little heavier, like I could punch harder, lift more. It wasn't dramatic, but it was there. Real.
Then I tapped the Skill Point slot.
[Choose Skill Path]
Survivor's Edge - Gain bonus damage when at low HP
Reaper's Flow - Each kill slightly restores stamina
Tracker's Mark - See enemy trails for 10 minutes after spotting them
Instinct Spike - Temporary stat boost when ambushed
Wild Adaptation - Resistance to environmental hazards
They all sounded useful. But I didn't even hesitate. I chose Reaper's Flow.
Skill Unlocked: Reaper's Flow (Passive)
Every kill restores 5% stamina
That one would keep me going longer. If this world expected me to fight non-stop, I'd need every advantage I could get.
I stood up and took a deep breath. The forest had gone quiet again, but I didn't trust it.
"Map," I tried next.
Nothing.
"Inventory?"
A simple screen popped up. One dagger. One health shard. One orb fragment marked Unknown Use. Not much, but more than I had before.
I kept moving.
Every step forward now meant something. XP. Skills. Power. A reason to keep pushing.
I had a feeling I wasn't the only one the system had chosen.
If this world had other players?
I'd need to level up fast.
Because I sure as hell wasn't dying at Level 1.