The Devil's Rebirth System

Chapter 3: Blood Awakens

The night wind was sharp when Kael slipped out of the orphanage gates. The wooden boards groaned as they closed behind him, but no one stopped him.

No one ever cared where the orphans went. They were rats in the eyes of the city—unwanted, unseen, unprotected.

But tonight, a rat would bare its fangs.

Kael adjusted the hood of his torn cloak as he walked toward the market streets. The faint light of torches flickered against the stone walls, the smell of sour ale and piss hanging in the air.

His thoughts burned with the words still floating before his eyes.

[Beginner’s Quest: Spill First Blood.]

[Requirement: Kill an enemy within 24 hours.]

[Reward: +10 Strength, Beginner’s Weapon.]

[Failure: -50% Stats for 7 Days.]

The System was merciless. It did not give him the chance to rest, to grow slowly, to hide. It demanded blood.

And Kael understood why.

Power was not given. It was taken.

If he wanted to stand again as a warlord, if he wanted Serenya’s throat beneath his blade and Darius’s screams in his ears, then he could not hesitate.

His steps carried him through the maze of the city. He knew these streets from his first life, when he was nothing but a starving boy. He had stolen bread here, bled here, been beaten here. And now, he returned not as prey, but as predator.

The market was quieter now. Merchants were closing their stalls. The honest men went home to their families. The rest—the thieves, the drunks, the predators—lingered like shadows, waiting for the weak.

Kael’s eyes scanned the crowd. His senses felt sharper than before, his body humming with the faint strength the System had given him. The world seemed slower, clearer.

And then he saw him.

A man stumbled from a tavern, swaying, his leather vest greasy, his beard tangled with crumbs of food. His belt jingled with coins, far too heavy for a beggar, far too fresh for an honest drunk.

Kael knew the type well. A gutter thief. A parasite who preyed on children like the orphans. He had seen his kind kick boys half their size into the mud for scraps of copper.

The System’s glow outlined him faintly.

[Target Suitable: Strength +2 compared to Host.]

[Warning: Host is at disadvantage.]

Kael’s lips curled. “Stronger than me? We’ll see.”

He followed.

The drunk staggered into a narrow alley, humming to himself, too lost in his stupor to notice the shadow trailing him. Rats scurried along the walls, their squeaks mixing with the distant laughter of men still drinking.

Kael’s hand closed around a loose stone. His grip tightened.

A new message flickered before his eyes.

[Skill Available: Savage Strike.]

His heart pounded, but his mind was steady. He had killed before. He had watched battlefields burn, had slit throats under moonlight. This body was young, but his soul carried the weight of a thousand corpses.

The man stopped to piss against the wall, swaying on his feet.

Kael moved.

His steps were silent, his breath calm. He closed the distance and brought the stone down with all his strength.

The glow of Savage Strike flared red across his arm. The stone smashed into the man’s temple.

Crack.

The man cried out, blood spraying, staggering back. He fumbled for the knife at his belt, his eyes wide, his mouth spilling curses.

But Kael was faster.

He swung again, the stone connecting with the man’s jaw. Bone shattered. Teeth flew. The drunk gurgled, collapsing to his knees, choking on his own blood.

Kael stood over him, chest rising and falling. His hands trembled—not from fear, but from the thrill, the rush, the fire that surged inside him.

The System’s voice echoed.

[Ding! Quest Complete.]

[+10 Strength.]

[Reward Obtained: Beginner’s Weapon – Devil’s Dagger.]

A black dagger shimmered into existence in his hand, its blade jagged, its surface glowing faintly with crimson light.

The man whimpered, still alive, clutching at his ruined face. His one good eye locked on Kael’s, wide with terror.

Kael crouched down, the dagger gleaming under the torchlight. His voice was calm, almost gentle.

“Fear is the last gift I give you.”

He drew the blade across the man’s throat.

Blood spilled hot and fast, staining the stones. The body convulsed once, then went still.

Silence fell.

The System roared.

[Ding! New Title Acquired: Blooded.]

[Effect: Host gains +10% damage against all living enemies.]

Kael’s chest heaved as he looked down at his hands, drenched in blood. His young body shook, but not with weakness. He felt alive. Stronger. Sharper. His veins burned with new power.

The dagger in his hand pulsed faintly, as if drinking in the life it had taken. Its whispers slid into his mind, cold and seductive.

“Yes,” it seemed to murmur. “More. More.”

Kael stood slowly, his shadow stretching long in the alley. He wiped the blade on the corpse’s rags, then tucked it beneath his cloak.

This was the beginning.

The System had shown him the path. Power was bought with blood, and he would pay that price again and again.

He raised his eyes to the night sky, his jaw clenched, his voice low.

“Serenya. Darius. Wait for me. I’m coming.”

Blood dripped from the blade to the stones. The boy who had once cowered in the dirt had drawn his first kill.

And Kael Draven, reborn with the Devil’s System, had awakened.