Sam gasped sharply, the burning heat of fresh blood still seeping into his skin. The raw power—the fierce surge coursing through his bones—anchored him in a strange, unsteady calm.
"Dad... did you hear that?" Sam's voice trembled, barely more than a whisper, but it carried a desperate urgency.
Darian Coer didn't flinch. His rugged hand pressed firmly over the jagged wound bleeding through Sam's shirt, fingers working quickly to staunch the flow. His eyes, dark and fierce, held unwavering determination despite the obvious pain etched on his face.
"Yes, son. I heard it. I know," Darian said, voice steady but low. "We've been given a chance. Now... it's on us."
The silence stretched for a heartbeat, then the familiar DING of system activation sliced through the air.
----------------- SYSTEM INTEGRATION COMPLETE -----------------
--- UNIVERSAL SURVIVAL SYSTEM ONLINE ---
INITIALIZING...
PROGRESS: 1% ▓▓▓▓ 25% ▓▓▓▓▓▓ 36% ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ 89% ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ 100%
──────────────────── STATUS REPORT ──────────────────────
NAME : DARIAN COER
AGE : 44 (M)
BLOODLINE : HUMAN
────────────────────── CORE STATS ────────────────────────
STRENGTH : 22
VITALITY : 28
AGILITY : 36
─────────────────────── SKILL REGISTER ─────────────────────
HARSH MENTALITY ... [ S ]
CLOSE RANGE FIGHTER ..... [ S ]
RANGED WEAPON MASTERY ... [ S ]
PAIN TOLERANCE .... [ S ]
THOUGHT ACCELERATION .... [ S ]
MAPPING ...[ A ]
POISON RESISTANCE .... [ C ]
ADAPTABILITY ... [ S ]
SURVIVAL INSTINCT .... [ S ]
QUIET MOVEMENT .... [ S ]
HAWK EYE .....[ A ]
──────────────────── SYSTEM FUNCTIONS ────────────────────
▸ IDENTIFY
▸ PROTECT MODE
▸ CHAT SYSTEM
▸ SHOP
(Note: Only SYSTEM SKILLS are compatible with word-command activation.)
"Dad, there's... a serum... in my back pocket," Sam said, voice strained but urgent. "Please—take it out and use the Identify skill. Tell me what you see."
Darian's hands moved without hesitation, fingers deftly slipping inside Sam's torn jacket pocket. His fingers closed around a cold, metallic vial—the serum, tucked away like a fragile secret. The dim light caught its sleek surface, reflecting a faint blue glow.
"IDENTIFY." His voice was firm, carrying the weight of command.
The DING echoed again, and a holographic interface flickered into view, shimmering in the air between them:
╔═══════════════════════════════════╗
║ --- IDENTIFICATION --- ║
╟───────────────────────────────────╢
║ NAME : REGENERATION TRAIT SERUM ║
║ RANK : SSS ║
║ TYPE : TRAIT-UNLOCKER ║
╟───────────────────────────────────╢
║ DESCRIPTION : ║
║ A high-tier experimental serum engineered by genius ║
║ researcher "Sam Coer." When injected, it unlocks the ║
║ regeneration trait, drastically accelerating cellular ║
║ healing, tissue recovery, and overall survivability. ║
╚════════════════════════════════════╝
Darian's gaze met Sam's, a mix of concern and disbelief. "It says it unlocks regeneration. And your name's on it... Did you make this? Is it safe?"
Sam nodded weakly, struggling to keep his voice steady through the pain. "If it's that… then please… use it on me."
Without hesitation, Darian found a visible vein along Sam's neck, careful but quick. The injector clicked softly, and the vial emptied steadily into Sam's bloodstream.
"Sam, your skin's turning red," Darian noted with growing alarm, eyes scanning the strange darkening veins pulsing beneath the surface. "Is this normal?"
"I'm fi— AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" Sam's scream tore through the crumbling alley like a raw scream of agony. The pain exploded inside him, hotter and sharper than anything before.
"Sam! What's happening? Help! Someone—please!" Darian's voice cracked, desperation raw in his shout. But the ruins were empty, silent save for their breath and the distant echoes of chaos.
In Sam's distorted vision, the Universal Survival System interface flashed urgently:
╔══════════════════════════════════╗
║ --- UNIVERSAL SURVIVAL SYSTEM --- ║
╟──────────────────────────────────╢
║ NAME : SAM COER ║
║ AGE : 24 (M) ║
║ BLOODLINE : HUMAN ║
║ TRAITS : REGENERATION (UNLOCKED) ║
╟──────────────────────────────────╢
║ CORE STATS ║
║ STRENGTH : 11 ║
║ VITALITY : 17 ║
║ AGILITY : 10 ║
╟─────────────────────────────────╢
║ SKILL REGISTER ║
║ • INSIGHT .... [ SSS ] ║
║ • CODE TYRANT ... [ S ] ║
║ • GENETIC MASTERY ..... [ S ] ║
║ • MIND MATRIX ... [ A ] ║
║ • THOUGHT ACCELERATION ... [ B ] ║
║ • SHARP MEMORY ..... [ SS ] ║
╟────────────────────────────────────╢
║ SYSTEM FUNCTIONS ║
║ ▸ IDENTIFY ║
║ ▸ PROTECT MODE ║
║ ▸ CHAT SYSTEM ║
║ ▸ SHOP ║
║ ║
║ (Only SYSTEM SKILLS are compatible with word-commands) ║
╚══════════════════════════════════════════╝
What the heck—this pain is worse than when I lost my arm…
Minutes passed—five, maybe seven. The world blurred around Sam as sweat poured down his temples, stinging his eyes. His body writhed and twisted, convulsing in the grip of the serum's violent transformation.
Slowly, agonizingly, the fire inside began to ebb, flickering out like a dying ember. The redness faded from his skin, veins shrinking back beneath the surface.
"Son, are you alright? You scared me." Darian's voice softened, cautious now.
Sam blinked, breath shallow and ragged. "I think... I almost died. But I have pain tolerance skill… E-rank. Barely saved me."
Darian kept his hand steady against the bleeding wound on Sam's arm, inspecting the damage. "Your bleeding's stopped. Your color's back... But why isn't your arm regrowing?"
Sam swallowed hard, struggling to steady his voice. "Let me check. Identify Trait—Regeneration."
The system responded instantly:
╔════════════════════════════════════╗
║ --- IDENTIFIED --- ║
╟────────────────────────────────────╢
║ TRAIT : REGENERATION ║
╟───────────────────────────────────╢
║ DESCRIPTION: ║
║ This trait increases healing rate over a thousandfold, ║
║ but requires an equally massive intake of nutrients. ║
║ Limbs can regrow if enough nutrients are available. ║
║ Fatal brain injuries are non-recoverable. ║
╚═════════════════════════════════════╝
Sam exhaled slowly, relief mixing with lingering pain. "It's fine. As long as I eat well, the arm will grow back someday."
Darian nodded grimly. "Let's get home. I hid the kid in a safe spot."
Sam's fingers trembled as he fished another vial from his pocket. "Wait, Dad. Here—another serum. I made many, but only brought three."
Darian took the new vial without hesitation and injected it. Sweat broke across his forehead instantly. His pain tolerance of S-rank dulled the agony; he showed no sign of weakness.
In moments, his wounds began to close, skin knitting together with unnatural speed.
"Dad, what are your stats? Did you have regeneration skill before?" Sam asked, curiosity edging into his exhausted voice.
"No, I don't have that. My stats are strength 22, vitality 28, agility 36," Darian replied steadily.
Sam pondered. "No wonder you healed so fast. Looks like vitality directly boosts healing speed."
"Let's head home."
"Yeah... let's go home."
Outside, the sunset burned with a terrifying beauty. The sky bled a molten orange, cracked wide open by a massive interdimensional rift. Sunlight poured through the gash in golden veins that stretched like dying scars across a torn canvas.
Sam opened his eyes slowly and inhaled deeply. This wasn't a dream. This was reality. Every shattered piece of it.
So much had happened in a single day. The serum worked. Earth faced annihilation. I faced Draco. I tasted death—and it tasted cold.
The Earth Spirit awakened. Nuclear weapons were absorbed into a power beyond comprehension. Rifts opened everywhere. Monsters poured through like tides. And I lost my arm.
It was regenerating, yes—but the pain was real, relentless. Only the system's skills dulled the agony.
With one hand, I picked up my severed limb from the dusty ground. Better to restore it with my regenerative ability than waste weeks of nutrients and healing.
I turned to my father.
"Dad," I said, voice firm despite exhaustion, "I've marked the kid's location on your phone. Go pick him up and take him home. I need to stop by the lab first."
His eyes narrowed, unease flashing across his face. "What about the monster?"
"It's dormant for now. The system already placed a time-lock."
┌──────────────────────────────────────┐
│ --- SYSTEM NOTIFICATION --- │
│ GLOBAL EMERGENCY QUEST TRIGGERED │
├──────────────────────────────────────┤
│ QUEST NAME : Universal Survival Protocol – Earth's Awakening │
│ STATUS : ACTIVE │
│ ISSUER : EARTH SPIRIT CORE │
│ TARGET : Outer Interdimensional Threats │
├───────────────────────────────────────┤
│ SYSTEM INSIGHT: │
│ Earth Spirit reawakened due to overwhelming outer- │
│ dimensional interventions, activating defense mode. │
├────────────────────────────────────┤
│ RIFT STATISTICS: │
│ Total hostile interventions detected : 8,734 │
│ Forcefully closed by user : 2,321 │
│ Remaining active rifts : 6,413 │
├─────────────────────────────────────┤
│ CRITICAL ADVISORY: │
│ Earth's nuclear arsenal is being absorbed as temporary │
│ energy reserves; shield stability depends on depletion. │
├────────────────────────────────────┤
│ TIME BEFORE GLOBAL COLLAPSE: │
│ 20 Days 23 Hours 17 Minutes │
├───────────────────── ───────────────┤
│ OBJECTIVES: │
│ Close remaining rifts │
│ Reduce interdimensional pressure │
├─────────────────── ──────────────
Darian nodded. "Stay safe, son. We'll finish this."
With a final glance at the broken cityscape beneath the burning sky, I felt the weight of fate pressing down hard.
This was just the beginning.