Kevin gritted his teeth. He ignored the burning pain in his body. He dragged himself across the snow. He crawled under the fallen pine tree. He curled his large body into a tight ball. He pulled his knees up to his chest. He covered his face with his good arm. He buried himself in the snow and the dead branches. He became completely still. He looked just like a pile of dirty snow under a dead tree. He waited. Crunch. Crunch. The heavy boots landed at the bottom of the ravine. The raider was very close. He was only twenty feet away. Kevin began to hyperventilate. His breathing became incredibly fast and shallow. Huh-hu-huh-hu. He could not stop it. The terror was overwhelming. He pressed his hand over his own mouth to muffle the sound. He squeezed his eye shut. Crunch. Crunch. The footsteps walked slowly around the bottom of the ravine. The raider was searching. "I can smell your blood, boy," the raider taunted. His heavy boots kicked the snow. "You are bleeding. You are scared.

The wind screamed. It was a terrible, high sound. It sounded like a giant monster crying in the dark. Kevin slowly climbed up the steep side of the snowy ravine. Every single step was a massive fight. The snow was incredibly deep. It reached up to his waist. Underneath the soft white powder, there was hard, slick ice. His heavy boots slipped. He slid backward. He gasped for air. Haaah... Haaah...His right shoulder was broken. It was wrapped tightly in a white sling against his chest, but the pain was blinding. It felt like hot glass grinding inside his bones. In his good left hand, he held his custom-made iron mace. The metal handle was freezing cold. His fingers were completely numb. He could barely feel the weapon. "I have to hurry," Kevin whispered to himself. His teeth clacked together from the extreme cold. "Gage. Sam. Ben. They need me." He finally reached the top of the steep hill. He pulled his heavy body over the edge. He collapsed face-first into the deep snow. He lay

Kevin stared in absolute, paralyzing shock as he read the words. [CRITERIA MET.] The text paused for a second. Then, more words appeared rapidly. [HUMAN BLOOD SPILLED IN DEFENSE OF PACK.] Kevin gasped. He looked down at his bloody hands. The machine knew what he had just done. The machine had watched him drive the rusty rebar through the raider's throat. [GENETIC SYSTEM RESONANCE DETECTED.] "Genetic resonance?" Kevin whispered, his voice trembling. The machine was reading his DNA. It recognized his blood. It recognized who his father was. Jonah was the greatest host the System had ever known. Jonah had broken the rules of the world. Jonah had unlocked Mythic skills. Because Kevin was Jonah’s son, the dormant, invisible seeds of the System were already hiding inside his blood, waiting for a trigger to wake them up. Killing a living human being to protect his friends was the trigger. The final, terrifying message flashed across the blue screen in large, bold letters. [HOST '

Jonah felt a terrible, crushing weight of guilt settling over his own soul. It was the sins of the father. Jonah had carried the System for years. He had fought the virus. Because he was connected to the machine, the dormant, sleeping computer code was passed down in his blood to his child. The genetic resonance. Kevin was infected with the magic because of Jonah. And Kevin killing a living man was the violent trigger that woke the machine up. "I cursed you, Kevin," Jonah whispered, tears filling his own dark brown eyes. "I brought this machine into your life. I am so sorry." Kevin slowly pulled his head back. He looked up at his father. His face was a mess of tears and blood. "No, Dad," Kevin sniffled. He shook his head. "You did not curse me. The world cursed us. You just taught me how to survive." Kevin looked back at the dead raider. He swallowed hard. The sight of the dead man made him sick. "But Dad... I took his life," Kevin whispered. "I feel like a monster. I feel like P

The whiteout blizzard was screaming. WHOOOOOOSH! Jonah and Kevin ran through the deep, freezing snow. They were moving incredibly fast. Kevin’s body was completely different now. The magical System had initialized in his blood. His broken shoulder was fully healed. His cracked ribs did not hurt at all. His new Agility stat was very high. He did not sink into the deep snow like a normal man. He moved lightly, jumping over the thick white powder like a fast, silent ghost. Jonah ran right behind his son. Jonah did not have the System anymore. He was just a giant human man. He pushed through the snow using his massive, raw muscles. His breath came out in thick white clouds. Haaah... Haaah... "Dad! Stop!" Kevin yelled suddenly. Kevin froze in the middle of the dark pine forest. He held his iron mace tightly. He pointed his good left hand at the ground. Jonah stopped. He breathed heavily. He looked at the snow. To Jonah, the snow was just flat and white. "What do you see, Scout?" Jona