Chapter 10: Points and Paths
The ruins of Sector 12 had quieted, but Kael didn't move right away.
He stood amid ash and broken bone, sweat drying on his neck, Kureha lowered at his side. The Nest Matron was dead, her corrupted flesh dissolved into pale vapor. A jagged fang blade — her remains, or a piece of them — still pulsed faintly near her corpse.
Kael didn't touch it.
His blade was already in hand.
His blade was enough.
He brought up the system HUD, the blue flicker casting soft light across the cracked concrete beneath his feet.
> [CP: 60]
[Reputation: 1]
[Level: 7 | EXP: 40 / 950]
[Primary Quest: Complete]
[New Feature Unlocked – POINT EXCHANGE TERMINAL]
Locate nearest Beacon Hub to access CP Exchange
He frowned.
A beacon node nearby had activated, marked on his HUD — west of his current location, across the Sector 13 boundary.
Dangerous ground. But what wasn't?
"Alright," Kael murmured. "Let's see what that bought me."
---
The route west wound through what remained of a commercial strip — fractured roadways choked with collapsed signage and the bones of barricades. He passed a pharmacy with its doors peeled open like a wound, dried blood still crusted on the frame.
He didn't stop.
By midday, he reached the Beacon Hub, a bunker structure reinforced with scavenged iron and system alloy. Glimpses of old defense tech still flickered in standby mode, broken but watchful.
Inside, the core checkpoint flame pulsed quietly.
>[Location: Beacon Hub – West Sector Node]
Kael sat for a moment. Unwrapped the bandages on his ribs, checked the clotting, replaced the wraps tighter. His breath slowed, measured.
Then he stood and approached the terminal on the far wall — flickering, ancient, but functional.
> [Point Exchange Accessed]
Available CP: 60
He scrolled through the list:
---
📜 Available Exchange Options:
Skill Manual (Tier D) – 30 CP
Weapon Mod Kit (Basic) – 25 CP
Light Combat Armor – 45 CP
Class Technique Unlock – 50 CP
Inventory Expansion +5 – 20 CP
Minor Healing Injector (x3) – 15 CP
CP Lottery Crate (Random) – 10 CP
---
Kael barely hesitated. His eyes locked on it.
> Class Technique Unlock – 50 CP
Grants one compatible combat technique based on current class and recorded kill patterns.
He selected it.
> [Processing…]
Sync Verified: Ronin
Evaluating draw stance, movement arc, memory feedback…
Technique Chosen: Phantom Draw (Lv. 1)
Teleport behind target upon unsheathing.
Duration: 1.5 seconds
Cooldown: 12s
First strike guarantees 1.5x damage if unseen.
Requires Sync ≥15%
Kael let out a low whistle.
Now that was something.
He left the hub with a lighter step and 10 CP remaining, but something heavier settling in his chest — not dread, not fear.
Expectation.
---
Trouble found him just two blocks into Sector 13.
He rounded the corner of a shattered residential tower and walked straight into a pack of malformed beasts — wolves, once, but warped now. Bone jutted from their shoulders like spines. Their fur was thin, skin blackened. The stench of rot clung to them.
They turned from their kill.
Saw him.
> [Bonewolves – Lv. 6–8]
Pack Size: 4
Instinct Rating: High
Aggression Level: Triggered
Kael sighed.
"Of course."
His cloak shifted. Kureha hummed at his side.
> [Iaido Step – Ready]
[Phantom Draw – Ready]
Two lunged in perfect sync.
Kael didn't blink.
He vanished.
Phantom Draw activated — a surge of motion, then silence — and he was behind the first beast before it could process the void in front of it. His strike landed between shoulder blades, clean and final.
The wolf collapsed into data haze.
> [EXP +70]
[EXP: 110 / 950]
Kael pivoted.
Parried the second beast mid-pounce. Let it overshoot. His blade reversed direction in a blink, severing its back leg and spine in a single clean motion.
> [EXP +70]
[EXP: 180 / 950]
The third sank teeth into his side.
He snarled through it, elbowed hard into its eye socket, and felt the bone crunch. Blood seeped warm beneath his shirt.
> [Wound: Minor – Laceration]
[HP: 148 / 170]
No hesitation.
He slid back with Iaido Step and executed a rising cut through the final wolf's chest before it could even think of running.
> [EXP +70]
[EXP: 250 / 950]
[Draw Cut Sync: 17% → 17.5%]
[All Hostiles Eliminated]
Kael crouched low as silence returned.
He wiped the blade on his cloak. It sizzled faintly where blood met metal.
Then he sheathed it. Kureha didn't resist. It never did, now.
---
Later, Kael found a ruined convenience store and slipped through a half-smashed window to rest. The shelves were empty. The air was thick with age. But the roof held, and the wind couldn't touch him here.
He sat against the back wall.
Opened his system again.
> [Quest System – Additional Functions Unlocked]
Three new tabs appeared:
World Rankings
Quest Ranks
Personal Record
Kael tapped World Rankings.
> [Current Rank: #9,011]
Closest Rank Above:
Reya Vance – Rank #9,010 – Lv. 11 – Class: Spear Valkyrie
Closest Rank Below:
Zion Cross – Rank #9,012 – Lv. 7 – Class: Deathblade
Kael stared at the names.
Tens of thousands of others out there. Some alone. Some in groups. All chasing survival with different weapons, different codes.
He didn't know them.
But they'd know him, soon enough.
---
He leaned back, eyes scanning the fractured skyline.
The wind outside had turned. Cold again. He could smell ash riding it.
His wounds ached. His side throbbed with each breath.
But Kureha was sharp.
His mind was clear.
And for once, he didn't feel behind.
He felt ready.
---
📊 Kael Draven – Status (End of Chapter 10)
Level: 7
EXP: 250 / 950
Class: Ronin (Unique)
CP: 10
Reputation: 1
Wounds: Minor – Healing
Mental Clarity: 7
Ash Memory: 9%
World Rank: #9,011
Skills & Techniques
Draw Cut Lv. 1 (Sync: 17.5%)
Iaido Step Lv. 1
Reflex Trace Lv. 1
Phantom Draw Lv. 1 (New)
Perks
Edge Memory – Bonus vs known enemies
Keen Edge – +4% crit rate vs elite targets
Checkpoint: Beacon Hub – West Sector Node
Status: Wounded, Tracking, Advancing