2025-03-24 17:13:42Ethan’s footsteps echoed softly as he slipped through the twisting back alleys of Black Hollow. The rain had lessened to a thin drizzle, but the stones beneath his feet were still slick and treacherous. His hood was pulled low, shadowing his face as he moved beneath the broken arches and sagging rooftops.
His hand curled around the hilt of the dagger beneath his cloak — the same dagger he had pulled from a dead man’s throat not an hour ago. His mind replayed the moment in crisp detail. The gurgle of blood. The cold clarity in his veins.
No hesitation.
And the System had rewarded him for it.
[NEW SKILL UNLOCKED: Blade Mastery (Lvl 1)]
“Strike with precision. Strike with purpose.”Ethan’s lip curled faintly. Kill to grow.
He slid into a narrow passage between two buildings, pressing his back to the wall as two figures approached from the opposite end of the street.
Crimson cloaks. Valtorin guards.
Selene’s dogs.
Ethan’s eyes sharpened. A new sensation flickered at the edge of his senses — a faint hum beneath his skin. His gaze shifted and lines of faint blue light outlined the figures in the dark.
[System Alert: Enemy Identified – Lvl 4]
Strength: 5 | Speed: 3 | Weapon: Steel BroadswordI can see their stats…
Ethan grinned. That’s new.
The guards walked toward him, muttering to each other. One carried a torch, the flame hissing and crackling against the damp air. Ethan’s gaze locked on the heavy sword strapped to his belt. Expensive steel. The type of weapon only nobles and trained house guards could afford.
The guards passed beneath a flickering street lantern. Ethan slid deeper into the shadow, steadying his breath. The System’s blue outline sharpened, highlighting weak points across their bodies.
Throat. Knee. Left shoulder. Unprotected.
[Skill Activated: Stealth Lvl 1]
“Move unseen.”Ethan stepped from the shadows. Silent.
The guard with the torch barely had time to blink before Ethan’s dagger slid across his throat in one clean motion.
A quick breath of air — then blood.
The man’s mouth opened in a soundless scream as he collapsed. The torch fell from his hand, sputtering out in a hiss of steam against the wet stones.
The second guard drew his sword, eyes wide.
"Shit—"
Ethan moved.
[Skill Activated: Blade Strike Lvl 1]
He ducked under the swing of the sword and slashed upward. His dagger cut deep into the guard’s arm. The man screamed, stumbling back. Ethan pressed forward, twisting the blade as he drove his knee into the guard’s gut.
The guard fell to one knee, clutching his wounded arm.
Ethan grabbed him by the hair and yanked his head back. His dagger hovered just beneath the guard’s jaw.
"Who sent you?" Ethan’s voice was low, sharp as the edge of the blade.
The guard’s breathing hitched. "I—Selene. She… she knows you activated the System."
"How?"
The guard’s breath quickened. Blood streamed between his fingers. "Sh-she’s a Seer… she knew it would awaken… after the kill…"
Ethan’s eyes narrowed. "What else?"
"I… I don’t know—"
Ethan’s blade pressed against the guard’s throat.
"Wrong answer."
"No—wait! The System — she thinks it belongs to House Valtorin! It’s… it’s part of their bloodline!"
Ethan froze. "Bloodline?"
"I swear—"
Ethan’s eyes darkened. He let go of the man’s hair and stepped back. The guard sagged with relief, clutching his injured arm.
"Thank you…"
Ethan’s dagger flashed.
The guard’s throat opened in a spray of red.
[EXP Gained: 20]
[Level Up!][Strength +1 | Speed +1 | Blade Strike Lvl 2]Ethan stood over the body as the last breath rattled from the guard’s lungs. His heartbeat steadied. His breath evened out. The System pulsed faintly in his mind.
No hesitation.
Ethan crouched and began searching the bodies. From the first guard, he found a silver ring bearing the Valtorin serpent — worth at least five marks on the black market. He pocketed it.
From the second guard, he took the steel broadsword. The weapon was heavier than his dagger, but well-balanced. High-quality steel. Better than anything a street rat could hope to own.
[New Weapon Acquired: Steel Broadsword]
“A finely crafted blade. +3 to Strength in combat.”Ethan tested the weight of the sword before sliding it beneath his cloak.
Footsteps.
Fast. Approaching.
He slipped back into the shadowed alley, pressing against the wall as three more guards swept down the street toward the bodies.
"Shit…" One of the guards knelt beside the corpse. "It’s him."
"Go. Report to Selene."
The guards rushed down the street toward the noble district.
Ethan’s eyes narrowed. Selene.
If Selene knew about the System, that meant House Valtorin had more secrets tied to it.
And if the System was tied to noble bloodlines…
Ethan’s gaze sharpened. That means I shouldn’t have it.
He slipped away from the alley and moved deeper into the slums. A single thought burned beneath his skull:
Why me?
The System flickered, and the cold voice echoed through his mind.
[Quest Updated: The Noble Hunt]
Objective: Learn the origins of the System.
Reward: Unlock Advanced Skill Tree.Ethan's lips curled.
"Origins, huh?"
[Skill Tree Unlocked: Shadow Techniques]
“Strike from darkness. Kill without sound.”Ethan climbed onto the side of a low building and settled into the darkness beneath the eaves. His cloak blended into the shadows as his eyes tracked the street below.
A noble carriage passed slowly beneath him, flanked by House Valtorin guards. And there — through the open window — sat Selene Valtorin.
She sat with perfect posture, a glass of dark wine in one hand. Her silver hair fell in loose waves over her shoulder, framing pale blue eyes that shimmered unnaturally even in the dim light.
She smiled faintly as the carriage passed beneath Ethan’s perch.
For a single, frozen moment, their eyes met.
Selene’s smile deepened.
Ethan’s grip tightened on the hilt of his dagger.
She knows.
The carriage rolled on, vanishing down the street.
Ethan slid back into the dark, his breath curling against the cold air. The System’s pulse throbbed faintly beneath his skin.
Selene wanted the System.
Too bad for her — it was his now.
"Kill to grow."
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Latest Chapter
Lyra’s Poisoned Gift
The upper quarter of Black Hollow had once belonged to merchants, bankers, and minor nobles. Now it belonged to fear.Lyra walked through it dressed like a message.Tight crimson leathers, one dagger visible, five not. Her cloak was black silk that shimmered when it caught the torchlight — spun from noble funeral robes. She’d stolen it off a Valtorin corpse weeks ago.The guards saw her. And looked away.No one stopped her anymore.She didn’t walk fast. She strolled, because speed would’ve admitted risk. And Lyra never let herself admit fear — not out loud, and never to herself.The House Valtorin estate towered ahead — not the Spire where Selene ruled, but a city manor used for "outreach" and political intimidation.Tonight, it would bleed.[Side Quest Active: Provocation – Embarrass Selene Before Her Arrival]Target: House Valtorin's City SeatObjective: Plant a forged relic, steal back a true one, and leave a mark.Risk: ExtremeReward: +10 Infamy | Selene’s rage escalates encounte
The Box That Whispers
They didn’t return to the Guildhall. Too exposed. Too obvious.Instead, Ethan led the crew into the catacombs beneath the burned-out husk of the old cathedral — the one Black Hollow’s priests abandoned after the God of Silence stopped answering.Only the brave or the cursed came here now. Ethan was probably both.The air was thick with old ash and mold. Dead candles littered the floors. Bones, too.Kael set a perimeter. Lyra lit three torches and wedged them into the crumbling stone. Nara laid down an inkline ward circle — fast, practiced, whispering in that inhuman tongue she used when working.Ethan sat at the center of it all, the black box resting on his lap.[Item: Sealed Black Box]Status: Locked – Requires Forbidden Lineage AccessWarning: Unknown consequences on open“You’re sure about this?” Kael asked, crouched nearby, blood still drying on his temple.“No,” Ethan replied.Lyra sat cross-legged behind him, blade out, expression unreadable. “Good. We’re already cursed. Might
Whisper-Path
Beneath Black Hollow, past the abandoned waterway and through the cracked aqueduct wall, the whisper-path opened like a throat cut into the earth.It was silent. Too silent. Not the kind where you can hear your own breath — the kind where you start to forget what breath sounds like.Ethan moved first.His dagger was drawn, but it wasn’t the blade he trusted — it was the System, humming just beneath the skin, highlighting every motion, every sound, every stone out of place.Behind him, Nara walked barefoot. Her steps didn’t echo. The sigils inked into her skin pulsed like faint, slow heartbeats — one red, one black, one pulsing to a rhythm no one else heard.Kael moved third. His breathing was calm. Focused. Calculated. Every step had purpose. Every glance had a weight.Lyra brought up the rear, flipping a silver coin between her fingers like they were walking into a tavern, not a noble vault heist.[System Alert: Whisper-Path Detected – Forbidden Construct]Type: Residual Thought Echo
The Gathering Storm
The rain fell hard on Black Hollow.It poured down the slate roofs of the slums and sluiced through the cracked alleys like veins bleeding water. Thunder rumbled across the sky in long, low groans — not angry, just tired.The city listened. It always listened. Especially when things changed.Tonight, they had.The Guild was his now.Ethan stood beneath the great skylight of the Guildmaster’s sanctum, high in the center of the old blackstone tower. The rain tapped steadily against the stained glass above, casting distorted ripples of color across the chamber walls.Kael stood to his left, silent, arms crossed. The shadows beneath his eyes were darker than usual.Lyra lounged across a half-collapsed velvet settee to Ethan’s right, boots kicked up, blade twirling idly between her fingers. She was dressed in black tonight. No red. No smiles.They had all killed this week.Ethan’s fingers traced the edge of the map spread across the stone table in front of him. The city was etched into it
Lyra’s Game
The Eastwatch brothels glittered like dying stars.Red lanterns hung low over narrow alleys, casting flickering shadows across sweat-stained walls. Perfume, wine, and blood all clung to the same sticky air. Music drifted faintly — hollow flutes and off-key strings — masking the whispers and screams in the rooms behind closed curtains.Lyra moved like smoke through the crowd.She was dressed in silk now, all deep red and gold, a slit riding high up one leg, a dagger sheathed against her bare thigh. Her face bore a velvet mask, but her smile was all teeth.[System Interface: Linked – Guild Captain Elimination in Progress]Target: Sarn VoxLocation: The Crimson Lantern, EastwatchStatus: Paranoid | Drunk | Surrounded by escorts and mercsShe slipped past a heavy-set guard at the door with nothing more than a wink and a whisper. He didn’t even look back.Inside, the Crimson Lantern was less a brothel and more a palace for the wicked. Every corner overflowed with noise — laughter, moans, m
A Throne of Knives
The throne room smelled of blood and smoke.Ethan stood beneath the carved silver insignia of the Guild — a blade beneath a crown. The corpse of Varric Kaen, the Guildmaster, lay slumped at the foot of the throne, blood pooling beneath his body in slow, widening rings.Kael cleaned his daggers with calm, clinical precision, but his eyes were on Ethan.Lyra was already climbing the steps to the black stone throne. She dropped into the seat with a sigh, crossing one leg over the other.“Well,” she said brightly, twirling her dagger, “that was dramatic.”Ethan didn’t move. His breathing had slowed, but the System still pulsed in the back of his skull — cold, alive, watching.[System Update: Title Opportunity Available]"Position of Power Vacant: Guildmaster."Would you like to claim this title?[Y/N]Ethan’s eyes narrowed on the interface.“Do it,” Kael said. “No hesitation.”“Obvious trap,” Lyra muttered. “Still… power’s power.”Ethan stared at the floating text for a moment longer. The
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