After an unknown stretch of unconsciousness, a sharp, relentless ding echoed in his mind, dragging him back to awareness. His eyes snapped open, unfocused at first, then slowly adjusting to the dim, suffocating gloom around him.
He lay in a damp cave.
The air was thick—heavy with rot and decay. Bones littered the ground in every direction, jagged and bleached, some unmistakably human. The realization sent a chill through him, but the stench hit harder. It clawed its way down his throat, so foul and overwhelming that he gagged violently, retching up whatever little remained in his empty stomach.
His body trembled as he clutched his abdomen. A low, primal growl escaped him—hunger, sharp and insistent.
Gritting his teeth, he forced himself upright. Fragments of memory flickered back—the events before he blacked out, the pain, the chaos. Instinctively, he looked down at himself.
His body was stained with dried blood.
But there were no wounds.
Not even a scratch.
He flexed his fingers slowly, then his arms, disbelief creeping in. The agony he had felt before was gone—completely gone—as if it had never existed. In its place was something else… something unfamiliar.
Lightness.
Strength.
His once untrained frame was now lean and defined, muscles sculpted in all the right places, as though forged rather than grown. Even the smallest movements felt precise, controlled—power simmering just beneath the surface.
He inhaled sharply, steadying himself.
"System" he called out his voice sharper than usually yet hinged with exhaustion.
"Host" the sharp ding of the system rung in his head before the familiar screen appeared right in front of him.
"Show me my status" he cleared his throat at how cringe he sounded as he has only heard his parent converse with their system yet it the only time, he has heard the system having a voice or reply to the host.
"NAME; Ieros Esis
"LEVEL; 1
"TITLE; Heir of the sacred sect"
"STATS"
"STRENGTH; 25 SPEED;20"
"QI:35 DEXTERITY; 20"
"SKILL; None"
Ieros's eyes widened as he took in the numbers displayed before him.
From everything he had ever learned, even the strongest newly awakened individuals barely reached a base stat of ten. Anything beyond that required time—training, resources, talent.
Yet his…
His were already far beyond that threshold.
A flicker of disbelief crossed his face, quickly followed by unease.
"This isn't normal…" he muttered under his breath.
But before he could dwell on it, his body stiffened.
A presence.
Heavy. Violent. Drawing closer.
The faint tremor of footsteps echoed from outside the cave, accompanied by the low, guttural breathing of something large.
Something dangerous.
Ieros snapped out of his thoughts instantly, his gaze darting around the cave in search of anything he could use as a weapon. His eyes swept over the damp stone, the jagged walls—
—and the bones.
Piles and piles of them.
Some cracked. Some gnawed. Some unmistakably human.
A wave of disgust rose in his chest, but he swallowed it down. Survival left no room for pride.
Clicking his tongue, he crouched and grabbed the nearest long bone—smooth, pale, and disturbingly intact. A femur. Human, most likely.
His grip tightened around it.
It'll do.
Moving quickly but carefully, he slipped behind a large, jagged rock formation, pressing his body close to the cold surface. He steadied his breathing, forcing it into slow, controlled rhythms as he concealed himself in the shadows.
Then—
It came.
The monster stepped into the cave.
Its presence filled the space immediately, its heavy breaths echoing off the damp walls as though it had been running—fleeing from something even worse. Its massive form shifted under the dim light, muscles twitching, claws scraping faintly against stone.
Ieros held his breath.
Through a small gap, he watched its eyes—dark, predatory—scan the cave with sharp intent. Searching.
For him.
Seconds stretched painfully.
Then, finding nothing, the creature let out a deafening roar that shook the cave itself. Water droplets rained from above, pattering against stone and bone alike.
Ieros didn't flinch.
He waited.
Watched.
Calculated.
At last, the beast turned and rushed deeper into the cave, its focus shifting entirely away from the rock he hid behind.
An opening.
Ieros moved.
Silent. Careful. Controlled.
He crept out from his hiding place, each step measured to avoid the scattered bones beneath his feet. Despite his sheltered upbringing, this was one thing he knew well—monster anatomy. He had studied it obsessively since childhood, memorizing weak points, vital spots, kill zones.
This… he could do.
Closing the distance, he tightened his grip on the femur, his muscles coiling with unfamiliar strength.
Now.
In a single decisive motion, he drove the sharpened end of the bone into the creature's back.
The impact was brutal.
A sickening crack echoed as the improvised weapon pierced through flesh, muscle—straight into the spine.
The monster let out a piercing, agonized roar, its body seizing violently before collapsing. Its limbs twitched, paralyzed, helpless.
Ieros stood over it, chest rising and falling, a slow smirk tugging at his lips.
"Pathetic."
The beast let out a weak, pitiful whine, its once-ferocious presence reduced to nothing.
Disgust flickered across his face.
Without hesitation, he reached for a nearby rock—large, jagged, heavy—and lifted it with both hands.
Then he brought it down.
Once.
Twice.
Again.
And again.
Each strike landed with a dull, wet crunch, blood splattering across the stone floor as he continued the assault long after the creature had stopped moving.
Ding.
A familiar sound echoed in his mind.
He ignored it.
Another strike.
Ding.
Still, he didn't stop.
It wasn't until his arms began to ache and his breathing turned ragged that he finally paused, the rock slipping from his bloodied hands.
Silence returned to the cave.
Ieros stood there for a moment, staring at what remained of the creature, his chest heaving as adrenaline slowly ebbed away.
Then, exhaling deeply, he stepped back and sank down beside the corpse.
"System…" he muttered, his voice low and hoarse.
The translucent screen flickered back into existence before him as he prepared to check the notification he had ignored.
The translucent screen flickered into existence before him, brighter than before, pulsing faintly as if reacting to his state.
Then—
Ding.
Ding.
Ding.
A rapid cascade of notifications flooded the translucent screen, lines of text stacking over one another faster than he could read. The glow intensified, flickering erratically as if struggling to keep up with the sheer volume of information being processed.
Ding.Ding.Ding.
The chimes overlapped, sharp and insistent, echoing through his mind until—
They stopped.
Silence.
Then, a single, clearer tone rang out—deeper, more refined.
Ding.
"Congratulations on your first level up, Host."
The system's voice was calm… almost mechanical, yet there was an underlying weight to it now, as though acknowledging a milestone.
Ieros straightened slightly, his breathing still uneven as he focused on the screen.
"You can now select from a range of rewards."
A brief pause.
"Note: these are exclusive perks granted upon your first level advancement."
The words lingered for a moment before the voice continued, colder this time—
"Choose wisely."
Ieros felt his throat go dry.
A new interface unfolded before him, far more intricate than the previous one. Several options materialized in midair, each encased in faintly glowing panels, pulsing with subtle energy.
Rewards.
Real, tangible power—within reach.
His eyes scanned them quickly at first… then more slowly.
Each one was enticing.
One radiated raw strength, promising a direct increase in physical power. Another shimmered with a strange, ethereal glow—something tied to Qi, perhaps cultivation or energy control. A third flickered unpredictably, giving off a dangerous, almost unstable aura, as if it carried risk along with its reward.
All of them were powerful.
All of them were tempting.
Ieros swallowed hard, his fingers twitching slightly at his side.
"This is…" he muttered under his breath.
Too good.
Too sudden.
But beneath the excitement, his mind began to sharpen.
Analyze.
Compare.
Survive.
His gaze narrowed as he studied each option more carefully, recalling his current situation—the cave, the monsters, the unknown dangers lurking beyond the darkness.
Power was meaningless if it couldn't keep him alive