Friend

The cemetery was silent except for the occasional rustle of leaves. Gray clouds hung low, threatening rain but never delivering. Fitting weather for a graveyard visit.

Sunny stood before two freshly dug plots, the soil still dark and loose. The headstones were temporary—simple markers until the proper ones arrived. His parents deserved better.

"Hey, Mom. Dad." His voice cracked. He cleared his throat and tried again. "I, uh... I brought flowers."

He placed the cheap bouquet between the graves. The flowers looked pathetic, just like he felt.

"I don't really know what to say." He shoved his hands into his pockets. "I'm going to make it right. I promise."

A notification appeared in his vision.

[NEW QUEST: AVENGER'S OATH] 

[DESCRIPTION: FULFILL YOUR PROMISE TO YOUR PARENTS] 

[REWARD: UNKNOWN] 

[FAILURE PENALTY: UNKNOWN]

He waved it away irritably. Even here, the system wouldn't leave him alone.

"I miss you both so much." His voice was barely a whisper now. "I don't know how to do this without you."

The graves offered no response. Just dirt and silence.

His phone buzzed in his pocket. He almost ignored it, but it kept vibrating insistently. He pulled it out and checked the screen.

Mina.

For a moment, he considered not answering. What could he possibly say to her? But his finger hit accept anyway.

"Hey," he said.

"Sunny?" Mina's voice came through, hesitant. "Are you okay? I've been trying to reach you for days."

"I'm fine."

"I heard about your parents. I'm so sorry. I should have been there—"

"Don't." He cut her off. "It wouldn't have changed anything."

Silence stretched between them. In the background, he could hear the distinctive sounds of a Player lounge—people talking about dungeons and levels, equipment being maintained.

"Where are you?" she asked finally.

"Cemetery." No point lying.

"Oh, Sunny..." Her voice softened with pity.

He hated that tone. Hated it more than anything.

"It's fine. Really. I'm handling it."

[LIE DETECTED] 

[MENTAL STRESS ACCUMULATING] 

[WARNING: SKILL ACQUISITION HINDERED BY EMOTIONAL INSTABILITY]

Great. Now the system was calling him out on his bullshit.

"I'm coming back to the city tomorrow," she said. "Let me help you. You can stay with me until—"

"I've got a place." Another lie. The hostel would kick him out in three days when his money ran out.

"Sunny..."

"How's Player life treating you?" he asked, desperate to change the subject. "Still climbing the Tower?"

He could practically feel her hesitation through the phone.

"Yeah," she said finally. "We cleared Floor 15 last week. The guild is pushing for 20 by the end of the month."

Four years ago, when they were thirteen, they made a promise to become Players together. Enter the Tower as a team. But at the latent ability testing, she scored S-rank potential. He scored nothing. Not even the lowest F-rank.

She rose quickly through the Player ranks, while he stayed behind, watching her on the news feeds.

He didn't blame her. How could he? It wasn't her fault he was born without talent.

"That's great," he said, and he meant it. "Always knew you'd be amazing."

"We miss you at the guild," she said. "Even though you can't enter the Tower, you could still join as support staff. Your tactical plans were always—"

"I have to go," he interrupted. "Got a job interview."

"A job? Where?"

He hesitated. "SEM Dungeon Management."

"The clean-up crew?" Alarm filled her voice. "Sunny, that's dangerous! Those jobs are for desperate people who—"

"I am desperate people," he cut in, his voice ice cold.

She fell silent.

"I need money to register as a Player," he continued. "You know what the fee is."

"But... you failed the testing. They won't let you—"

"Things have changed."

He glanced at his shadow. For a split second, it seemed to ripple, like the surface of a disturbed pond.

[UNIQUE SKILL: VOID ABSORPTION - 3% UNLOCKED]

"I need to go," he said. "I'll call you later."

He hung up before she could respond and looked back at his parents' graves one last time.

"I'll make it right," he repeated. Then he turned and walked away.

---

The SEM Dungeon Management Authority occupied a massive warehouse-like building on the outskirts of the city. The metal exterior was stained with something dark that might have been rust—or blood.

A line of people stretched from the entrance—about twenty men and women with the same desperate look in their eyes. All of them needed money badly enough to risk their lives.

Sunny joined the end of the line.

The man in front of him—middle-aged, with a scar across his nose—looked him up and down.

"First time?" he asked.

Sunny nodded.

"You're young." The man frowned. "How old? Eighteen?"

"Seventeen."

The man whistled. "They might not take you. There're laws about minors in cleanup."

"I need the money."

"Don't we all." The man grinned, revealing missing teeth. "Name's Garrett. Been doing this three years now."

"Three years?" His eyes widened. The average lifespan of a cleanup worker was six months. "You must be good."

Garrett tapped his temple. "Smart, not good. There's a difference. First rule of cleanup: let the others go first."

"Sounds like a great team player," Sunny said drily.

Garrett laughed. "Second rule: there is no team. Just survivors."

The line moved forward slowly. As they approached the entrance, Sunny could see people leaving through a side door—some looking relieved, others dejected.

"What's the pay like?" he asked.

"Thirty thousand credits per cleanup," Garrett said. "More for higher-level dungeons. Death benefit pays double to your next of kin."

Thirty thousand. He'd need thirty-four jobs to reach a million. If he survived.

[NEW CALCULATION: 34 CLEANUP JOBS REQUIRED] 

[ESTIMATED SURVIVAL PROBABILITY: 22%] 

[ALTERNATIVE PATHS AVAILABLE]

He ignored the system message. There were no alternatives. Not for someone like him.

Finally, they reached the front of the line. A bored-looking woman sat behind a desk, scanning applicants with a handheld device.

"Next," she called.

Sunny stepped forward.

The scanner hummed as she passed it over him. A red light blinked on its screen.

"Age?" she asked without looking up.

"Seventeen."

She sighed. "Parental consent form?"

"My parents are dead." His voice didn't even waver. "Killed in the Starfall incident downtown."

Her expression softened slightly. "Guardian, then?"

"None."

She looked at him properly for the first time. "Look, kid—"

"I need this job." He met her gaze steadily. "I have no one. I have nothing. In three days, I won't even have a place to sleep."

She hesitated.

"Please." The word tasted like ash in his mouth. He hated begging, but pride wouldn't pay the bills.

After a long moment, she sighed again and tapped something into her computer.

"Emancipated minor status verified," she lied, overriding the system. "Standard contract. Sign here."

She pushed a tablet toward him. The contract was hundreds of pages long, but the summary was simple: SEM wasn't responsible if he died.

He signed without hesitation.

"Orientation room three," she said, handing him a badge. "You start tomorrow. Six AM sharp."

He took the badge and nodded his thanks.

As he walked toward the orientation room, the system chimed with a new notification.

[QUEST PROGRESS: JOIN THE CLEAN-UP CREW - COMPLETED] 

[REWARD: JOB ACCESS GRANTED] 

[NEW QUEST: SURVIVE FIRST CLEANUP]

[REWARD: 30,000 CREDITS, EXPERIENCE GAIN] 

His path was set now. An impossible climb from the very bottom.

But that was fine.

After all, the fallen had nowhere to go but up.

Even if it killed him.