[Connection Established…]Private Trade Channel: Earth Spirit NetworkParticipants:📍 Buyer: KLU📍 Seller: Soldierboy
Soldierboy:"Hah… another buyer? Listen, KLU or whatever your name is—if you're here to haggle, buzz off. I've had enough today. Either show me an S-rank weapon or a healing potion B-rank and above, or don't waste my damn time."
His tone was sharp, bitter, like he'd just been burned by a dozen false trades. He was done being patient.
KLU:"Soldierboy. Relax. I'm not here to waste your time. I don't have an S-rank weapon at the moment… but I do have something better."
Soldierboy:"Better? Than an S-rank weapon? Tch. You're just another talk-big type, huh?"
KLU:"It's an A-rank healing serum. Fully authenticated by Earth Spirit System."
[File Uploaded: A-Rank Healing Serum | Verified by Earth Spirit | Status: Capable of restoring critical damage and stopping fatal bleeding.]
The connection went quiet for a second.
Then—
Soldierboy:"…Wait. Wait, wait, wait. Are you serious right now? An A-rank healing serum?! You know how rare these are?!"
His tone flipped instantly—suspicion laced with awe. He sounded like a starving man seeing a feast.
Soldierboy:"You're not messing with me, right? This isn't some system glitch or mislabeled junk potion?"
KLU:"It's real. And I've got more."
Soldierboy:"More…? How many? No, wait—who the hell are you?! You sitting on a golden vault or something?!"
I smiled to myself.He's biting the bait hard. Let's reel him in.
KLU:"Who I am doesn't matter. Let's just say… I'm well-stocked. In fact, I even have one SSS-rank serum."
Silence.For two seconds.
Soldierboy:"…W-What did you just say?"
KLU:"You heard me. A Trait Opener. SSS-rank."
Soldierboy:"No… no no no. That's not possible. You're joking. Are you insane?! That's myth-level gear!"
'Let's hide details of serum as it contains my name. I don't want to risk it. I had bring 3 high serums with me. Two used and now this one remains.'
KLU:"It's not a myth. It's right here. Scanned and verified."
[Uploading Item Data: Trait Opener Serum | Rank: SSS][Note: Item Description Censored by Earth Spirit System.]
Soldierboy:"…I— I don't even… What the hell am I looking at?!"
His voice cracked. It was like a child seeing a dragon egg for the first time. Fear, awe, excitement—all tangled up.
Soldierboy:"Y-You're really something else… You don't just have this… you're actually showing it off? Who are you, man?!"
KLU:"Again. Doesn't matter. I'm not here to play games. I want that S-rank skill book you listed. That's all. Decide now—my time is limited."
Soldierboy:"O-Okay, okay, no need to be so aggressive… I mean, we're both users, right? Why don't we slow down and… maybe be friends?"
He was trying to recover, to smooth-talk now that he'd been rattled.
Soldierboy:"Look—I'll send you a friend request. Let's stay in touch. I've got other S-rank stuff I haven't scanned yet. Maybe we can build something?"
KLU:"Forget the friendship talk. We just met. This isn't a tavern—this is business."
Soldierboy:"Damn, you're ice cold. Fine, fine. But look, I'm not your enemy here. I've got power. Connections. I can help you in the long run."
KLU:"If that's true, then give me the book for free. I'll add you."
Soldierboy:"Wh-What?! That's… That's hard, KLU. It's not that I don't want to do it but as of now that 'A' rank serum is way more valuable than anything to me right now. "
'He's desperate. Real desperation—not faked. I could almost feel his hand shaking on the other side of the system. I am feeling a little guilty. Still… this guy… he's not a bad person, is he?'
KLU:"Then offer something else. Another S-rank item. No weapons."
Soldierboy:"Ngh… Alright! Wait, wait… give me a second—just a damn second!"
[File Uploaded]Item: 𑑗𐊆𐍈𐐬𑓅𐐝𑒰𐑢𐐸𐍉𑑞 | UnrankedDescription: Ancient, forgotten text. Written in a language currently unrecognized. Discovered in an underground temple post-space fracture. Estimated Rank: A to S.]
KLU:"This is what you're offering me? A dusty relic written in lost runes?"
Soldierboy:"Please, KLU! I know how it looks—but this is the only thing I have! I swear, I'm not scamming you. I found it myself! That place nearly killed me!"
His voice trembled. He wasn't lying. His pride was cracking.
Soldierboy:"I-I don't even know what it is exactly. But something tells me… it's powerful. Even if we can't read it yet…"
Is he begging now? No, he's being real. That's worse. Makes me feel something.
KLU:"Fine. I'll take it. I wanted that Survival book anyway. And sure—I'll add you."
Soldierboy:"R-Really?! Thank you, bro. Seriously, thank you. I've added the Survival Way book with it. Consider this a start."
KLU:"We'll talk when I'm free again. Later."
[Trade Complete]Items Received:
🔹 Survival Way (Skill Book — S-Rank)
🔹𑑗𐊆𐍈𐐬𑓅𐐝𑒰𐑢𐐸𐍉𑑞 (Unknown Origin)
Friend Request Accepted: ✅ Soldierboy
The system window vanished. The books manifested beside my console—one sleek and hard-bound, the other wrapped in thick black metal chains, as if it had survived centuries.
KIRA's voice stirred with snark as always.
KIRA:"Congratulations. You just made a friend and possibly adopted a demon-possessed book. Want me to keep a priest on standby?"
KLU:"Just scan the damn book."
After finishing the trade…
Somewhere on Earth, far from cities and warzones, on a lonely island forgotten by time, a man stood silently under the grey sky. Wind howled through broken trees. Waves crashed against jagged cliffs in the distance.
He was that Soldierboy who traded with KLU.
A man forged in heat of war. He was no boy now. His body was scarred, weathered, and hardened by years of war and pain.
His right arm had a long burn mark from an explosion. His left shoulder bore the almost faded tattoo of an elite unit due to bullet wounds.
His hand clutched a small vial—glass cold to the touch, glowing faintly with a soft blue light. The serum shimmered like moonlight trapped in liquid.
His eyes locked onto it, filled with something rare in men like him: hope.
"With this serum… my daughter will live," he whispered, voice low and rough like gravel.
He held it close to his chest.
'I spent years writing that survival book to stay alive out there… never thought it'd be used to save her, its a blessing.'
He turned and walked toward the rusted staircase, each step creaking under his heavy boots.
Upstairs, the air was heavy. The room smelled of medicine, herbs, and metal. Machines buzzed quietly. The space didn't feel like a home anymore. It felt like a hospital room.
Vials of healing potions were neatly lined on shelves. Crushed green-rock leaves—powerful natural healers—hung drying in the corners.
Wires ran across the floor, connecting homemade devices patched together with tape, steel, and scraps of forgotten tech.
And in the center of the room…A bed.On it lay a girl, motionless.
Sara.His daughter.
She looked like a ghost.
Twenty years old today, but her body had shrunk to skin and bone. Her cheeks were sunken. Her arms looked like twigs. Tubes ran from her to the machines keeping her alive. Her hair was thin, her lips dry.
He sat beside her quietly, his rough hand gently brushing her pale fingers.
"Sara… hey, baby girl," he whispered, voice shaking. "It's your birthday today. You're twenty now."
He forced a smile, but it faded quickly.
"You've been asleep for seven years… ever since the fever took you. Your mother… she never stopped praying you'd wake up. And when she passed…"(His throat tightened.)"…I promised her I'd keep fighting. I promised I'd bring you back."
He pulled the vial from his coat pocket and stared at it one last time.
"This is it, Sara. This is the gift I traded everything for. Fought through storms, bled for it. Almost died for it."
He raised the vial into the soft glow of the ceiling lamp. The serum sparkled.
"Please work," he whispered. His hands were shaking. "Please…"
He gently pressed the injector against her arm.
"I can't lose you too."
The serum was in.
Injected straight into Sara's fragile arm.
Soldierboy staggered back a step, staring at her like a man watching the edge of a miracle.
His breath turned ragged.Chest heaving.Sweat poured from his brow, soaking through the collar of his worn black jacket.
Every second felt like it was being dragged across the blade of time.
He leaned forward, eyes wide, scanning every inch of her face, her hands, her heart monitor.
"Come on… come on… please…"
Ten seconds passed.Still nothing.
No twitch. No shift. No change in her heartbeat.Only silence—mechanical, heartless silence.
His pulse roared in his ears. His knees trembled.
"No… no, no, no…"
His voice was a whisper breaking into pieces.
The room seemed to close in around him.The walls too small. The machines too loud. The air too thick.
Every fear he had buried in his soul was now clawing its way back up.
Twenty seconds.Still nothing.
He fell to his knees beside her bed, gripping her cold hand in both of his.
"Why isn't it working? It said it could heal… it said even fatal damage could be reversed!"
His voice cracked.
He slammed his fist against the side of the bedframe.
"WHY?!"
Thirty seconds passed.
And still…
Nothing.
His face twisted with despair.Jaw clenched.Eyes wild.Shoulders shaking uncontrollably.
He was breaking apart. Right there. Right then.This was the last thing he had left.
Then—
A flicker.
So small, he almost missed it.
Her right hand twitched. Barely. Just once. But it moved.
His breath caught in his throat.
He froze.
The heart monitor beeped—just once—slightly faster than before.
Then again.
Then her eyelids fluttered.
Her eyelid twitched.
Just once.
Soldierboy's breath caught.
"Did I see that? Was that real? Is she… is she getting better?"
In that split second, all the shadows in his heart—every fear, every ounce of grief—were replaced by a flicker of hope so bright, it almost blinded him.
Then—Another reaction.
But not the one he expected.
The arm where he'd injected the serum began to darken.
First the veins turned pitch black.Then the skin followed, like ink spilling beneath the surface.
His smile faltered.
"What… what's happening?"
The blackness spread, crawling up her arm, across her chest, down to her legs.
"No. No no no. Someone—someone help! God, please! Anyone!"
Hope shattered. Again.
Sara's body now lay motionless, fully cloaked in obsidian skin. But—
She was breathing.
Fast. Shallow.Her chest rose and fell like a heart in panic.Sweat began pouring from her like rain from cracked stone.
"I need answers—KLU!"
He shouted, scrambling to his watch, fingers shaking as he jammed the command.
"Connect me to KLU. NOW!"
"Connecting…"
The silence in the room dragged on. Every passing second was unbearable. He was begging—pleading—with the universe to let that connection go through.
Then, finally—
"Connection established."
"KLU! WHAT IS HAPPENING TO MY DAUGHTER?! HER BODY—IT'S TURNED BLACK! SHE'S SWEATING, SHE'S BREATHING LIKE SHE'S DYING—!"
KLU's voice came through calm, smooth, like always—an anchor in chaos.
KLU: "Calm down, Soldierboy. From what you're describing, this is the healing stage. She's currently undergoing full-body regeneration."
"Healing?! Are you sure?!"
KLU: "I'm not sure what exactly happened to her to trigger a full-black transformation… but don't panic. That black state is temporary. It neutralizes all foreign agents—diseases, viruses, damaged cells, toxins, even necrotic tissue. The darker it is, the more critical the internal condition."
"…You mean… she was this far gone?"
KLU: "Yes. And believe me—I've seen worse. They all recovered. Just wait. Watch closely. 3… 2… 1… Look behind you."
Connection Terminated.
"KLU? Hey! Answer me—!"
He turned around.
His eyes widened.
Sara's eyelids began twitching rapidly. Her hands trembled.Her entire body began to give off steam—actual vapor, pouring out from her pores like a boiling machine.
"Sara… Sara?! Wake up, my child! Dad's here! I'm here—wake up!"
Her name.
That's all she could hear.
Somewhere in that vast darkness where her mind had drifted for seven long years, a voice called to her again and again.
Sara… wake up…
The sound grew louder.
The darkness grew thinner.
Her eyes, heavy as anchors, began to open—slowly.
Every inch they moved felt like lifting a mountain.
Her vision was a mess of blur and light.
Then that voice…
Clear. Familiar. Full of love and pain.
She blinked hard. Slowly, shapes sharpened.
The first thing she saw after seven years of endless sleep—
Was her father.
Older. Worn. Eyes full of tears.
"Aaa… aaa… daaa… daaa…"
She tried to speak. The effort twisted her face with pain.
Soldierboy leaned in, his heart splitting with joy and heartbreak at the same time.
"Sara…" he whispered. "Don't push yourself. I'm here. Dad's here. Just rest now, okay? You're safe."
She blinked again. Her lips trembled. Then she finally said it—
"…Daaad…"
Her voice was hoarse. Weak. But real.
That one word shattered whatever was left of the man who had fought for the world and bled in wars.
He held her hand to his forehead, tears dripping down like rain.
"You're back. You're really back…"
He wanted to talk more. Ask her so many things.
But her body was still recovering—still encased in that black healing state.
"Sleep now, Sara," he said softly, brushing her hair back. "You'll be fine. Dad will be right here. Always."
He looked down at his watch, where KLU's interface had faded.
"I'll never forget this, KLU."
"I don't know who you are… or where you are… but if you ever need help—anything—I'll give it. Even if it costs me hell."
He sat beside her bed in silence.
Hand in hand with his daughter.
Finally, not alone.