Ren

The flickering neon sign of the "Rusty Cog" bar cast a sickly yellow glow on the rain-slicked streets. Inside, the air hung heavy with the smell of stale beer and desperation.

A Young man sat alone in a dimly lit corner booth, nursing a lukewarm cup of something vaguely resembling coffee. From the look of things, He wasn't here for the company.

He listens on the conversation of those around him, drunk and making merry for the spoils the got from hunting raids they completed

He's also an hunter, though not the kind who stalked beasts in the wilds like the others were blabbering about. He hunts something far terrifying than that

He hunts the monstrous creatures spawned from the rifts cause by the Fracture, beings of pure chaos and destructive energy that roamed the ruins of the another world.

This creatures suddenly appeared from strange rift into this world hundred years ago along side the strange event that unleashed immense energy into the world, transforming the planet and everything in it

It was the awakening of chaos, plants and beast exposed to this foreign energy evolved into terrifying nightmare of humanity.

Becoming more powerful and aggressive in nature, preying on humans who were once at the top of the food chain. Even with the advancement of technology and science at the time, humans were still at a lost and great disadvantage against this change.

Nuke and powerful weapons did nothing to this evolved beast and plants, humans fall in their numbers day by day until humans encountered their own miracle.

It so happens the animals and plants weren't the only thing affected by this strange energy, humans too were but just that their own evolution took a longer time to complete.

With this evolution came the awakening Systems in humans, a special kind of gift that grants every awakener special abilities and chance to grow stronger.

Gifted with hope, humans were able to push back the animals that had become beast and man eating plants, claiming their place at the top of the food chain once again

Though it came at a cost of over more than half the population of the planet, it was a stiff price to pay for victory in the end of so they thought till the rift that had appeared earlier on began to break

Unleashing all manner of strange and more terrifying beings an beast than what humanity has ever faced. Beings one could only imagine in fairytale or folklore, some intelligent and sentient just like humans or even more intelligent.

This beings later known to be called Echoes, reck havoc on the planet once again due to the dungeon break at it is been tag.

But with sheer will and determination humanity still end up remaining undefeated, and tonight, he was after one of those being, a dreadful one at that.

Amidst his thoughts, a gruff voice cut through the bar's low hum. "You the kid looking for the Whispering One?"

Ren looked up. A hulking figure with scarred hands and eyes that held the weight of a thousand battles stood over him. This was Garret, a veteran hunter with a reputation as brutal as it was effective.

"I'm listening," Ren replied, his voice calm despite the tremor in his hands.

Garret leaned closer, his breath hot on Ren's face. "The Whispering One you seek is a tricky and a powerful one, kid. it's not easy to get to. The dungeon is crawling with lesser Echoes, and the Whispering One itself is...well, it's got a nasty habit of whispering secrets into your mind, driving you mad before it kills you."

Ren's fingers unconsciously tapped against the table, a nervous habit he couldn't seem to break. His Imperator System he awakens isn't much to write home about, others awaken sophisticated systems or high grade systems but he only awaken an unranked system.

Being unranked isn't even his major problem with the system, if he had awaken a powerful unranked system, it would be better

All he have to do is strive to upgrade it, but his system...., well all he could say is well.

In a world we're grade and type of ones system is paramount to ones level of social status and power, awakening an unranked class useless type of system is dooms day.

Considering the Whispering One are a formidable foe, and this dungeon was legendary for its difficulty though being unranked. There is no telling the rate of survival for one with low level system.

"I know the risks," Ren said, his gaze unwavering. "How much?"

Garret grinned, a flash of teeth in the dim light. "Five hundred thousand credits. And your life."

Ren didn't flinch. Five hundred thousand credits was a king's ransom, enough to secure his future for years. After all, he is no longer part of the Shirogane family anymore, since the day he was discovered to awaken a trashy system with low level grade

The family has given up on him, they disowned him from the family as they saw him as a sore spot to the Shirogane family known for their history of powerful awakeners

Not like he could hold anything against them though, he can't be the heir to a prestigious family with weak trash system that couldn't even grant him any of the three classification of system grading set universally.

His system isn't in the attack class category or the defense class category, nor did it fall under the support class category. Obviously it isn't in the unique class category which is even more rare and outstanding than the previous three.

Still his family was still kind enough to send him off with a substantial amount of money to keep him all his life he he decided to live his life quietly and away from extravagant lifestyle.

But how can he accept the option of living and dying as some nobody at the corner of an unknown street with no name or identity tied to his life.

Thinking about it, the risk is immense, but the reward was worth the gamble. Maybe just maybe if he gets to upgrade his system, his ability showing unawakened in his panel would activate. "Deal," he said, his voice low and steady.

Garret slammed a chipped mug onto the table. "Meet me at the old subway station at midnight. Don't be late." He turned and disappeared into the smoky haze of the bar, leaving Ren alone with his thoughts.

Ren sat there in silence starring at the spot Garret had disappeared from, the rain outside had intensified, lashing against the windows like angry spirits.

Ren pulled out his worn datapad, its screen illuminating his face in the dim light. He scrolled through the intel he'd gathered on the Whispering One

Usually whispering ones could only be found in high level dungeon as anhigh-level Echo with the ability to manipulate minds, it's a creature shrouded in mystery and fear. But there are rare cases where a low level dungeon could still spawn them too

How this dungeon works still eludes humans understanding even at the moment, all they could deduce is the fact rift can open up randomly anywhere and the echoes inside could be random as well.

If a C-class rift opens up, it's certain the echoes inside would range from any level from F to C and the echoes inside can be anything too. But the final boss will always be a C+ level echoe, the strongest echoe in the dungeon.

This particular dungeon he is enquiring about is an unranked class dungeon, the most popular and most spawned dungeon with weak level echoes. Which obviously the final boss will be an unranked class Boss with its strength close to an F-grade class.

This dungeon is a labyrinth of crumbling tunnels and forgotten chambers, a death trap for even the most experienced hunters. He didn't know why his system refused using other echoe type of upgrade crystals aside that of the whispering ones.

He has spent his fortune searching for beffing upgrade crystals for his system since it isn't like every other system that could use any upgrade crystals to evolve

"What a pain in the a*s for a sh*tty system still been picky" Ren curse in his heart as he thought about his predicament.

He checked his System's interface. His stats were decent, but not exceptional. Strength: 15, Agility: 12, Stamina: 14, Intellect: 25, Willpower: 22, Charisma: 10. His intellect and willpower were his greatest assets.

But even at that, the Whispering One was a wildcard. A surge of adrenaline coursed through him, but Fear was a luxury he couldn't afford. He had to focus, to strategize.

He reviewed his plan, visualizing the dungeon layout, anticipating the challenges that lay ahead. He would need every ounce of his skill and cunning to survive.

At midnight, the rain had eased to a drizzle, the air hung thick with the metallic tang of blood and the acrid bite of ozone. Shattered concrete littered the ground like fallen teeth, monuments to a forgotten civilization.

Above, a bruised, violet sky bled into the encroaching twilight, casting long, skeletal shadows from the skeletal remains of skyscrapers. This was the aftermath, the lingering scar of the Fracture.

Sixteen-year-old Ren Shirogane came out from the bar and made his way to the subway, his breath hitching in ragged gasps. His heart hammered against his ribs, a frantic drumbeat against the silence. He wasn't afraid of the darkness; he was afraid of the eyes in the darkness.

Night is the hunting hours of beast and there is no telling when one would encounter a beast that had strayed into town, if not for the steady raid of hunters in the city and the wild, everywhere would have been overrun by beast.

A low growl, guttural and chilling, sliced through the silence. Ren's hand instinctively tightened around the hilt of his makeshift weapon, a rusty pipe scavenged from the ruins.

He wasn't a fighter; he was a strategist, a survivor. But even the sharpest mind couldn't always outwit instinct.

Luckily for him, the old subway station wasn't that far off, it's a derelict husk, swallowed by the encroaching jungle of weeds and vines. He could see Garret was already there, a silhouette against the flickering lights of a nearby generator.

He handed Ren a small, worn map immediately he arrived by his side. "This is all I got kid," Garret said, his voice rough. "The dungeon's layout shifts constantly. You're on your own from here."

Ren nodded, taking the map. He activated his System's interface, the holographic display overlaying the map, highlighting potential pathways and danger zones.

He took a deep breath, the metallic tang of blood still lingering in the air. He was ready. He had to be. The Resonance Crystal awaited, and with it, the chance to rewrite his destiny await too.