Deep in the labyrinth of tunnels beneath the arena, glowing green moss clung to the ancient walls and pulsed with a heartbeat of its own in the otherwise pitch-black cave. It bathed everything in an ethereal glow that gave the blood splattered across Ace’s hands a dark green sheen. His teammates surrounded him, each of them suspended in perfect, terrible stillness as the System froze time.

  While the demented little girl floated beside him, Ace studied the glowing blue screen that hovered in front of his face. He had chosen his class and his Skills, and there was no going back.

  “I’m curious,” the floating girl said as the world around them remained suspended in time. “Why didn’t you choose the others?”

  Ace hesitated, not altogether sure he wanted her to know his rationale. However, with a simple glance around to remind him of her almost limitless power, it was clear he didn’t have much of a choice but to indulge her.

  Here goes nothing, he thought.

  "Death's Gambit was tempting," Ace admitted. "But surviving one fatal blow with a five-minute cooldown is worthless if I'm immediately killed afterward. Better to have abilities I can use consistently."

  "And Bloodstorm Matrix?" she asked, eyeing him curiously.

  "Converting damage I take into power sounds good until you realize I have to take that damage first. I'd rather avoid hits entirely with Shadow Realm Immersion."

  "What about Tactical Apocalypse?" she pressed.

  "Too dependent on the environment. Besides, I learned enough of that in the Marines to get me through.”

  The System's smile widened. "My, my. You really are thinking like a survivor." She drifted closer, her youthful face inches from his. "I wonder if that will be enough."

  He met her gaze with an intense glare of his own, daring her to give more information away, but she merely shrugged.

  “Now, Sergeant, it would seem that you leveled up during your fight. But what’s this?” She scanned his face, as though she were reading something he couldn’t sense or see. “Hmm. Only a Level 5 after all that murder? I’m a little disappointed in you, Sergeant.”

  “Wait.” He glanced up at the floating girl before him. “If that’s true, then how am I only a Level 5?”

  She smirked devilishly, as though she had caught him in a perfectly laid trap. The System crossed her tiny arms in front of her chest and raised her chin defiantly. “You chose a legendary class, my darling. Did you think leveling would be easier for you than it is for the others?”

  Of course.

  With her, there was always a catch.

  “There is good news,” she continued. “You get Allocation Points for each Level. Because you’re a legendary class, you get 9 AP per Level to allocate to your stats however you like. Isn’t that generous?”

  “Very,” he said dryly.

  “Now,” she said, clasping her hands together. “A little something you should know—your HP and Soul Meter are built off your stats, too. HP builds off Vitality, and SM builds off Intelligence. Each has a base of 100, but they grow as your stats grow. HP is obvious—your health, silly, or lack thereof—but your SM is a measure of how much magic you can use, and therefore your ability to use your powers. Can’t just let you fling spells willy-nilly, now, can I? Everything has a cost in my world,” she added with a little wag of her finger.

  “Of course it does,” he muttered.

  “So what’ll it be?” she asked, ignoring the sarcasm dripping from his voice. “That’s 45 AP. Need a little reminder of what your stats are now?”

  He shook his head.

  A glowing blue screen had appeared in front of his face out there in the meadow. The first time something like that happened was hard to forget.

  “I’m going to show you anyway,” she said with a cheerful tilt of her head.

  Sure enough, the screens before him flickered out, and one remaining screen popped to life in their place. The now-familiar stats sheet appeared before him, and he scanned his numbers. In the corner, his AP count slowly dimmed and brightened in a steady rhythm, waiting for him to allocate however he saw fit.

  Hmm.

  His Vitality—the durability stat and HP builder—was already high. So was Intelligence—the SM builder. He briefly debated raising them, but the gap between those and the others was too great. He was lowest in Dexterity—the speed stat—as well as Wisdom—which marked how quickly his Soul Meter would regenerate. Given his fancy new skills, he figured putting a little extra into Wisdom was a good move. His Strength stat could use a boost, too.

  Easy choices.

  With a few taps, he made his decisions. The moment he was done, the screen before him flickered and faded to nothing.

  Before he could so much as blink, a rush of adrenaline shot through his body. Every cell instantly recalibrated itself for war. His body hummed with coiled potential—his muscles growing larger, ready to unleash force that would shatter human bones. The world around him seemed to downshift, the details of every surface sharpening as his brain processed everything at supernatural speed. His balance shifted, his center of gravity recalibrating, like someone had hacked gravity's source code in his favor. The power wasn't just physical—it was transformative, and it gave him a clearer view of everything around him.

  All that, and he had only increased three of his stats.

  Holy fuck—he couldn’t even begin to imagine what it would be like as the rest of his stats grew.

  As the powerful sensations faded from his body, a new screen popped to life in front of him. Ace read through the limited text on the prompt and frowned.

  “Titles?” he asked curiously.

  With a petulant huff, she nodded. Ace glanced at the System, surprised to find her expression had shifted dramatically in the span of just a few seconds. Her eternal smugness had given way to annoyance, as though this last bit was something she was forced to do.

  Hmm.

  “What are titles?” he asked.

  She crossed her arms, her youthful features scrunching into an irritated scowl. "Yes, titles. Congratulations, you've done something moderately impressive." The dismissive tone didn't match the sharp look in her eyes. "I have to give you awards for certain achievements. Don’t think you’re special or anything.”

  Ace raised an eyebrow. "You're saying there are elements of this world that you don't control?"

  Her scowl deepened. "Just read your stupid titles and move on before I change my mind about letting you have them."

  With a mischievous grin, Ace studied her face for a moment longer. How curious. For the first time since arriving in this bloodsoaked world, it seemed as though there might be rules even the System herself had to follow—and that meant there were limitations to her power.

  The realization felt dangerous, like a weapon he wasn't quite ready to wield, but he filed it away carefully.

  The screen expanded, revealing four distinct titles.

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  ———

  [Eclipse Predator]

  First vampire of your summoned heroes to hunt and consume a being of pure shadow, becoming something darker still.

  System Message: Well NOW you've done it! I bring out a perfectly good nightmare beast, and you turn it into a juice box. Do you have any idea how expensive those things are to summon? Most creatures collapse into madness after touching such darkness. You? You're just... thirsty.

  + 5% to Strength

  + 5% to Vitality

  + 5% to Dexterity

  ———

  [Void Hunter]

  Killed 10 creatures connected to the shadow realm

  + 10 Vitality

  + 10 Intelligence

  ———

  [Behemoth Slayer]

  Kill a creature at least 20 levels above you.

  System Message: Killing something twenty levels above you? Someone's an overachiever! I supposed being outmatched just isn't as fun as being outnumbered, hmm? Do try to save some impossible feats for later, precious.

  + 10% all stats

  ———

  [Prince of Blood]

  Survive the System trolling you.

  System Message: You beat my darling little demon that easily? Be still my nonexistent heart! You really should be dead, my darling. Most newborns can barely figure out which end of the fang goes where, but you just HAD to show off, didn't you?

  + 12% to all stats

  ———

  Ace studied each title carefully, noting how they corresponded to his achievements in the arena. The stat bonuses were substantial—far more than he'd expected.

  "These stack?" he asked, trying to keep his tone neutral despite his excitement.

  The System's eye twitched slightly.

  "Yes," she said through gritted teeth.

  That meant a 27% increase to almost all of his stats, plus the flat bonuses from Void Hunter. No wonder she looked irritated—he was receiving power she hadn't planned to give.

  "So I just... claim them?" he asked.

  "All of them," she confirmed reluctantly.

  Ace couldn't help the small smile that tugged at his lips. After everything the System had put them through—and all of them she had killed or sabotaged thus far—he enjoyed watching her squirm.

  With a bratty little pout, the System waved away the screen before he could ask any follow-up questions.

  Yet again, it flickered, and this time it revealed the summation of everything he had just done.

  His full stats, with Skills and all, were displayed before him.

  ———

  NAME: Logan ”Ace” Blackwell

  LEVEL: 5

  CLASS: Dusk Emperor

  RACE: Vampire (Nightseed)

  Titles:

  Eclipse Predator

  Void Hunter

  Behemoth Slayer

  Prince of Blood

  STATS:

  Strength: 27

  Vitality: 29

  Dexterity: 28

  Intelligence: 33

  Wisdom: 35

  POWER:

  HP: 684/684

  SM: 759/759

  EXP SOLUTES:

  Human: 0%

  Vampiric: 92%

  Monster: 8%

  Dragon: 0%

  ———

  A thought hit him, and he frowned.

  With the buffs, his HP and SM had increased. That was good, sure. And the EXP from his kills, coupled with the blood, must’ve refilled his HP. That was also good news, but he had no idea if it was enough for what he would face out there. Maybe he should’ve put more of his AP into his Vitality and Intelligence stats to grow those.

  Oops.

  Too late now.

  The System snapped her fingers. The blue screen before him vanished, and time resumed its normal flow around them. The tunnel gradually came back to life. The drip of water from the ceiling resumed, and the eerie glow of the moss pulsed with renewed vigor. One by one, his companions blinked and shifted, as if waking from a shared dream.

  Marcus shook his head slightly, his psychic fire dimming as he readjusted to reality. Olivia flexed her fingers, blood-red energy still dancing between them. Tara stared down at her hands in awe, as though she had just learned something incredible, while Rachel looked even more despondent than before. Victor's massive frame seemed somehow more imposing, as if his selection had physically enhanced him further.

  Interesting.

  The System must have suspended time for each of them individually, guiding them through their own skill selections in what seemed like private sessions. Her power was impressive—manipulating time and reality for multiple people simultaneously—but the revelation about the titles had shown her hand.

  There were rules even she had to follow, systems beyond her direct control.

  "Well?" Tara asked, breaking the silence. "Did everyone make good choices?"

  Victor grunted noncommittally, but the confidence in his stance suggested he was pleased with his selections. His massive frame pulsed with barely contained power, the shadows around him deepening as if drawn to his newly acquired abilities. His eyes, cold and calculating, swept across the others with predatory assessment, cataloging potential threats and weaknesses with mechanical precision. The Blood Tyrant's very presence seemed to compress the air in the tunnel, making it harder to breathe.

  The others shifted nervously in the aftermath of their transformations. Marcus's fingers twitched with residual psychic energy, violet sparks dancing between his knuckles as he struggled to contain the mental powers now coursing through his newly rewired nervous system. Olivia stretched like a cat waking from a nap, her movements unnaturally fluid as crimson afterimages trailed behind each gesture.

  Tara looked at him expectantly, and he debated what to do.

  Ace kept his expression neutral when Tara's question hung in the air, his newly heightened senses cataloging micro-expressions across the tunnel. Victor's eyes narrowed fractionally as he studied Ace’s features—a predatory assessment disguised as casual disinterest. The Blood Tyrant was fishing for intelligence, using Tara as unwitting bait.

  Nope.

  That wasn’t intel Victor would get to have.

  As far as Ace could tell, information was the only real currency in this hellscape. In the Marines, they'd called it OPSEC—operational security. Here, it was a basic function of survival: what someone revealed subtracted directly from their life expectancy.

  Ace had recognized Victor's nature the moment the man had chosen Blood Tyrant. The class name alone broadcast his temperament. Someone who viewed power as zero-sum, who'd measure his success against others' failures. The man didn't just want to survive—he wanted to dominate. And domination required identifying threats before they recognized themselves as competitors.

  The massive stat increase from Ace's titles burned like a coiled secret beneath his skin. His Shadow Realm Immersion ability, coupled with those stacked bonuses, represented an advantage he couldn't afford to broadcast.

  Not yet, anyway.

  Tara wasn't the enemy—he sensed an ally in the Blood Saint—but the tunnel had ears. Whatever camaraderie they'd developed fighting in the arena might not survive the fundamental bloodlust of this new existence. Predators recognized other apex predators, after all, and apex predators eliminated competition.

  He would tell her later, when Victor's hulking presence wasn't listening in. For now, silence was armor. His Skills, his titles, his unexpected bonuses—these weren't just abilities. They were classified intel in a war he was only beginning to understand.

  The black fire of the Dusk Emperor pulsed beneath his skin, eager to be acknowledged. Deployed. Unleashed. But Ace had learned discipline long before the System had sunk her claws into him.

  Power revealed was an advantage surrendered.

  So he met Tara's curious gaze with a slight nod—a silent promise of later disclosure—and he otherwise maintained his tactical silence.

  Tara stood apart, eerily still, the Blood Saint's holy aura creating a subtle distortion in the air around her like heat rising from sun-baked asphalt. None of them spoke, the silence heavy with newfound secrets and calculated advantage.

  “Oh, good!” The System hovered above them all, her earlier frustration now hidden behind her customary sadistic smile. "Everyone’s keeping their new stats to themselves! How delightful. You're learning already."

  She drifted toward the far end of the tunnel, gesturing for them to follow. "Now then, my little monsters. It's time to see if your choices will keep you alive out there. The real world awaits, with all its teeth and claws and hungry shadows."

  As they followed, Ace caught Victor watching him with renewed interest.

  "There’s something different about you," Victor said under his breath, falling into step beside him. "Something big."

  Ace kept his expression neutral. "Same as all of us."

  Victor's eyes narrowed. "No. Not the same." He glanced toward the System, who was now floating ahead, seemingly lost in her own thoughts. "She was... different with you."

  Before Ace could respond, Olivia joined them, her movements unnaturally fluid after her transformation. "Did anyone else notice time stopping?" she whispered. "Or was that just me?"

  "For all of us, I think," Ace replied carefully. "Private consultations."

  Marcus, who had drifted close enough to overhear, nodded. "Efficient. Keeps our abilities secret from each other."

  Tara fell into step beside Ace, but she didn’t add to the conversation. After awhile, they fell silent as they walked the lone tunnel. The System paused ahead of them, and Ace’s small group of survivors instantly stopped mid-stride as she pivoted to face them.

  "Remember," she said, her voice uncharacteristically solemn. "What you've become is just the beginning. What you'll be..." She grinned, and even though she was little more than a silhouette, her teeth glowed white. "...well, that depends entirely on what you kill next."

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