The climb back toward the academy felt longer than the descent.
Every step echoed with the wraith’s final whisper, threading itself through my thoughts like a splinter I couldn’t pull free.
*Grow… or be devoured.*
The corridor behind me was silent now. No whispers. No shifting shadows. No pulsing cracks in the stone. But the cold under my ribs hadn’t faded. If anything, it felt sharper—like the Deathbound energy was awake in a way it hadn’t been before.
The system pulsed faintly.
Deathbound Resonance: Elevated
Emotional Stability: Compromised
Recommendation: Seek isolation.
Isolation. Right. Because that had gone so well the last time.
I reached the base of the staircase leading back to the west wing. The dying mana lamp above flickered weakly, casting long, trembling shadows across the walls. I hesitated, glancing back one last time.
The Underhalls were quiet.
Too quiet.
I exhaled and climbed.
The service door creaked open into the night air. The academy grounds were still, the lamps dimmed to their nighttime glow. No students wandering. No instructors patrolling. Just the cold breeze brushing across the courtyard.
I slipped out, letting the door close behind me.
The system flickered again.
Quest Progress: Into the Underhalls
Objective Updated: Investigate deeper fractures (0/3)
Warning: Entity activity increasing.
Three fractures.
Three deeper points.
Three places where the Deathbound power was leaking into the academy.
Perfect. Exactly what I needed—more problems.
I kept to the shadows as I crossed the courtyard, sticking close to the hedges and avoiding the brighter lamps. The academy felt different now. Heavier. Like the walls themselves were listening.
Halfway to the dorms, a faint shimmer caught my eye.
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A scry?orb drifted across the courtyard, its crystalline surface glowing with soft blue light. It scanned the area slowly, methodically, humming with detection magic.
My pulse spiked.
Shadow Veil was still on cooldown.
I ducked behind a stone bench, pressing myself into the darkness as the orb floated closer. Its glow washed across the grass, across the pathway, across the bench—
And stopped.
Right in front of me.
The system pulsed sharply.
Alert: Detection field approaching.
Shadow Veil Cooldown: 11 minutes
Recommendation: Remain still.
I held my breath.
The orb hovered inches from my face, its glow bright enough to sting my eyes. If it detected even a flicker of Deathbound energy—
A voice echoed across the courtyard.
“Orb Seven, return.”
The orb froze, then drifted away obediently.
I didn’t move until it vanished behind a building.
Only then did I let out a slow, shaky breath.
I needed to get back to the dorms. Now.
I slipped inside the Class D building, the door clicking softly behind me. The common room was empty except for a single student asleep on a couch, snoring softly. I climbed the stairs quietly and pushed open the door to Room 12B.
Ren was sitting on his bed, surrounded by open books, hair sticking up in every direction.
He looked up immediately. “Where were you? You missed curfew by, like… a lot.”
I froze.
Ren wasn’t suspicious. He wasn’t sharp like Calder or observant like Varron. But he wasn’t stupid either.
“I went for a walk,” I said. “Needed air.”
Ren frowned. “At night? With the scry?orbs out? Dude, that’s how you get detention.”
I shrugged. “Didn’t get caught.”
He stared at me for a moment, then sighed. “You’re weird, you know that?”
“Yeah,” I said quietly. “I know.”
Ren went back to his books, muttering something about mana equations. I sat on my bed, letting the silence settle.
The system pulsed again—soft this time, almost gentle.
New Passive Unlocked: Wraith?Touched
Effect: Increased sensitivity to Deathbound anomalies.
Note: Exposure to fragmented entity has altered resonance.
Altered resonance.
Great. Another thing to hide.
I leaned back against the wall, staring at the cracks in the ceiling. The wraith’s words replayed in my mind.
*The academy stirs. The Headmaster watches. The crystal remembers.*
If the Headmaster was involved…
If the academy was already searching for anomalies…
If the fractures were growing…
I wasn’t just hiding a forbidden affinity anymore.
I was standing on top of something ancient. Something dangerous. Something the academy feared enough to bury beneath stone and silence.
And it was waking up.
The system flickered one last time.
New Quest Available: Echoes of the First Wraith
Objective: Identify the origin of the Deathbound fractures.
Reward: Deathbound Skill Upgrade (Major)
Warning: High risk. Proceed with caution.
I closed my eyes.
Strength grows in shadows.
But shadows had teeth.
And they were starting to bite.
Thirteen years ago, the world was remade. Earth ceased to exist, and Nyr rose in its place. Most of the planet's population has been reduced to NPCs, mindless husks whose lives are plotted out by the scripts in their brains. Those who kept their minds are known as Heroes. Granted access to the mysterious System, unimaginable power is theirs to claim if they're willing to fight for it. But without a steady supply of XP, their Systems will go offline, and they'll join the rest of the world as NPCs.
This is the world Jeremy finds himself in. One minute, he was fifteen years old and enjoying his summer vacation, and the next he was in a dungeon, surrounded by monsters and a woman who looked suspiciously like his high school girlfriend. Miranda has risked life and limb more times than she can count for the chance to bring back the only person she ever cared about. When Jeremy's System activates at the worst possible time, she must guide him through hostile territory, facing monsters and rival Heroes every step of the way, while also teaching him how to survive everything Nyr has to throw at him. But can there really be a place for meek, mechanically-minded Jeremy in this terrifying, exhilarating new world? Or is he doomed to fade back into nonexistence?