Alone in my room, I stared at the System window and took a deep breath. I couldn’t resist glancing at the door again. I’d locked it after Melea left, but my nerves were tingling so much that paranoia was kicking in. I didn’t even know why I felt like this. My mind was calm, I knew what I was going to do, but my heart began beating like a clock on steroids. It was like I suddenly knew a secret, and if it got out, my whole world would crash.

I read the line again.

[Welcome to the Becoming Stronger Quest.]

Mentally, I selected the window. It vanished, replaced with the main menu of my normal system, only it looked different. The color remained teal and I was starting to get the impression that it would stay that way from now on.

A red exclamation point marked the corners of the Stats, Items, and Guide buttons. In other words, something happened to all of them while I was asleep. Only there were more important alterations to my main menu. There was a new button above Guide and below Items — Tasks.

Where should I even start? Obviously something big happened, but I felt normal. Pathetically normal.

“I’ll just start at the top and work down,” I muttered, then opened my Stats window.

Jyn Devhro

Rank E

Lv 1

EXP to Next Level 8

HP 12/12

MP 5/5

Strength 8

Magic 8

Constitution 8

Stat Points 0

Agility 10

Perception 12

Intelligence 8

My lips parted and my eyes popped wide. “Wha…?”

I couldn’t hardly process what I looked at. What did Lv 1 mean? I mean, I get what it means -- if I was in a video game. I’d played a few of them at friends’ houses. I’d heard that before the Gates opened people spent trillions of dollars on just entertainment. But that was when society didn’t have to worry about how to survive or rebuild a collapsed society. Right now, that kind of technology was so expensive and excessive, that most people didn’t even bother with it.

Even though the Hunter Stats were formatted in a game-like manner, it was mostly for efficient readability — not because they wanted us to treat our lives like a game. But I’d never heard of anyone given a level.

It made sense that I would begin at Level 1. Even that was generous. Really, I should be starting at Level 0. But what blew my mind even more, was the next line.

“EXP to Next Level 8,” I whispered. In a gaming sense, this meant that I could actually level up. That I could get stronger. The name of the quest popped into my head again.

My heart was beating so hard that the monitors at my bedside started to wail.

The doorknob rattled and jerked. “Jyn?” Melea yelled and started to pound on the door.

I jumped so badly that I almost fell off the bed. “Ah, yes, Melea?” With a flick of my hand, my System window disappeared.

A half second later the door flung open and Melea leapt in, looking ready for battle. Her half-manic eyes examined me with laser-like precision, looking for something out of place.

I stiffened and I clutched my blanket, feeling like a thief caught with a billion-dollar-sized energy stone. “Uh, hi?”

She frowned and entered, checking the heart monitor. It continued beeping like crazy, but I bet it had more to do with my guilt conscious now.

“Is everything okay?” Melea pressed a button on the monitor then touched my forehead. “Why did you lock the door?” She took my wrist and looked at her watch.

I took a breath and forced my pulse to slow down. As much as I appreciated Melea for being a super nurse, I wouldn’t get anything done if she kept interrupting me. That’s why I locked the door, but I wasn’t going to tell her that. “I’m okay, really. I was just thinking about something that stressed me out.”

“Hmm,” she hummed slowly and let go of my wrist. “Do you want to talk about it?”

I shook my head. “No. It’s fine, really.” I glanced at the machine. “But can we unplug that?” I had a feeling that I was going to see a few more shocking things in the next couple minutes.

Melea frowned. “Absolutely not. Not until Healer Jonovan says so.”

“Okay…” I tried to smile, but even I could tell that it was wobbly. I guess the monitor had to stay. I’m sure if I unplugged it by myself, Melea would rip the door apart. I’d just have to be careful to not let my heart spike. “But what about the IV?”

She relented and pulled out the IV. It took another couple minutes before I could convince her that I was really okay. As Melea left, I didn’t even think to lock the door, but I did make a mental note to be quieter.

I opened my Stats window again and looked them over. This time, I focused on my stats. The numbers were still pathetically low, but there was a huge difference. For the first time, I had a magic stat — albeit still really low. But the fact that I had a magic stat was huge. Hunters were divided into mages and melee. Mages were much weaker physically, but they made up for it with their magic. A melee Hunter didn’t have magic at all, they fought with their enhanced, superhuman strength and abilities. None of which I had …

I was a melee Hunter, so why had I also been given a magic stat? I went back to the main menu and checked again. Sure enough, there wasn’t a Spells option. But could I learn magic? I had to admit, I was petty enough to fantasize how great it would be to light Liticia’s hair on fire the next time she barged into my room.

Since there was no clear answer about my sudden magic stat, I finally looked at the Tasks button. The beeping on the monitor increased a bit as my heart sped up with anticipation. What crazy thing did this System want a Level 1 puke to do? I took a deep breath and forced my emotions to calm then opened the Tasks. For a moment, I stared at the screen, my brows furrowed. It was completely blank, except for the words [No new tasks] across the top of the window.

“That was anticlimactic,” I muttered, and closed out of it.

Next was Items. Since the Orcs took my Items Bag and Jonovan gave me a new one, there shouldn’t be anything inside the Items yet. So why was there an exclamation point on the button?

Curious, I opened it. Two of the ten slots were filled, but it wasn’t with items that I was familiar with. I frowned and held out my hand. Instantly, the number one slot emptied as a short sword appeared in my hand. “Where did this come from?”

A window appeared above it.

[Her Will (Kindjal) +10 attack. A blade that’s might is greater than it’s reach. Cannot be dropped, sold, or stolen.]

“Her Will? That’s it’s name?” Kind of an odd name for a sword. I mean, it’s not like it was a horse or something. Wouldn’t a name like Slasher be better? Name aside, I couldn’t describe the sudden rush of rightness I felt holding the blade.

The handle fit my grip like it was made just for me. I couldn’t resist rubbing my thumb over the dark metal. It was metal, but somehow it held the warmth of wood. I’d never felt anything like it. As a Hunter, I’d seen my share of weapons. This wasn’t my first time seeing a Russian Kindjal, but it was my first time seeing one with a hand guard. Normally they had just a stub — usually metal — on the knuckle side of the grip. But this one had a small platinum colored guard that protected my hand.

My lips curled into a smile as I moved the kindjal around, watching the light gleam across the seventeen-inch blade. All Hunter swords were made by forging different monster byproducts together with steel, since the only thing that could hurt a monster was parts of other monsters. There were swords made with dragon scales, wolf fangs and other items. S Ranked Hunters were so strong that only swords made with powdered energy crystals could withstand their moves. So Hunter swords were never a solid color, the metal developed multiple tones and patterns blended into the blade.

But this kindjal’s curved blade was different from anything I’d ever seen. Instead of being multiple shades of metal, it was eighty percent metal and twenty percent crystal that swirled and blended together. Absolutely stunning. Any Hunter would look at this and snort, since the clear stone in the blade was obviously not an energy crystal. This short sword was nothing but a pretty pencil sharpener. Only the description made me pause. It said that it was stronger than my last short sword. In fact, my old weapon didn’t have any boosts — I didn’t even know that weapons could have boosts. Was it something that I could see now because of my new System, or was the kindjal just that unique?

Humming to myself, I put the kindjal away then pulled out the other item in my Items Bag.

A fitted, black leather breast armor dropped onto my lap. It was obviously well made and obviously my size, but there was nothing that appeared special about it. After the pretty weapon, the new armor was a bit of a let down. Then a window blinked into my sight.

[Her Resistance (Leather Armor) +10 Defence. It might be just a breastplate, the defence applies to the whole body. Cannot be dropped, stolen, or lost.]

“Her Will, Her Resistance, Becoming Stronger Quest,” I muttered. “These are the weirdest names. At least it’s easy to understand what they mean, I guess.”

I picked up the armor and paused. It was basically light as a feather and practically flexible as cotton. I mean, I’d seen Hunters do flips and somersaults while clothed in lorica Segmentata armor, but I could be folded into a pretzel in this armor. How was it supposed to protect me? And how was it supposed to protect my legs when it was just a breastplate?

I frowned and retrieved the kindjal again. I glanced from the pretty blade to the useless armor. What if I ruined one? Then again, if they were a piece of junk, it was better to know now then when I was face-to-face with a monster.

I took a breath and stabbed the armor. The point of the kindjal stopped dead on contact. I couldn’t even feel the pressure on the other side of the armor.

“Cool,” I whispered. So the armor wasn’t worthless after all? Or was the blade dull? It didn’t look like it. Curious, I poked at the bed by my hip. The kindjal sank two inches, cutting the mattress like soft butter.

“Gah!” I gasped and pulled the kindjal out. “Whoops,” I whispered and shifted over until the hole was hidden beneath my hip.

That was enough playing around, I decided and put them away. If this continued, I was going to get myself in real trouble. I opened up the main menu. There was only one option with a notice symbol left — the Guide.

I opened it up and instantly saw what was new. Amidst the usual options — monster info, fighting movements, Hunter laws and common knowledge, maps of Gate Vale and Eden — was Becoming Stronger Quest. I opened the button and instantly a screen appeared.

[Welcome to the Becoming Stronger Quest. This is a program specially designed for the host. With this program, the host is able to gain Experience Points (EXP) through appointed tasks and eliminating monsters. The EXP will enable the host to grow stronger and even unlock abilities. Further explanations will be given when the host is ready for them. The contract has already been agreed upon and cannot be revoked. Please note that the host is not permitted to talk about this program or tasks with anyone.]

I stared at the screen with mixed feelings. It was exciting, amazing even, that I actually could level up — whatever that meant. But the fact that I couldn’t take back whatever contract I made was a bit alarming. I didn’t even fully know what I’d signed up for.

Maybe I shouldn’t feel so relieved that I couldn’t tell anyone about it. Since I didn’t have to make that decision, it was like a weight that I hadn’t noticed till now was lifted from my shoulders.

It all just didn’t seem real, but I couldn’t deny that this was. I was alive, and somehow this ‘quest’ had attached me. I didn’t know why and honestly, right now, I didn’t care. As long as I could get stronger, as long as I could finally give my family the life I always wanted to, I’d pay the price when the debtor came.