Power Awakening

Day 8 – Floor 3: Duskrun Hollow

Midnight cloaked Duskrun Hollow in quiet shadows. Most players were asleep in rented rooms, their avatars resting in silence. Others roamed the cave-city's winding streets, bartering with NPC vendors for late-night food or weapon upgrades. The atmosphere was dim but alive—glowing fungi and crystal lanterns casting flickering light across the jagged walls.

Michael stepped out of The Gloomrest Loft, hood pulled low, eyes sharp with purpose.

He walked alone through the side alleys, the soft crunch of his boots echoing behind him. The cool cavern air brushed against his skin, and though the streets held pockets of life, he barely noticed. His focus was elsewhere—on the system that had chosen him.

"I don't know why I have this thing… but if it's a cheat code, I'll figure it out—step by step."

Michael smirked to himself.

He opened his menu with a flick of his hand and summoned a sandwich from his inventory. As he took a bite, a wave of memory struck him—him and Micha, laughing and eating at that restaurant in floor zero just a week ago, an "organic sandwich" Michael called it.

He stopped walking. Swallowed hard.

"Damn, Micha… I really miss you."

There was a long pause. The sounds of the Hollow faded behind him. Then he chuckled softly, a bitter edge in his voice.

"All my actions from here on out… they're for you. I swear I'll make them pay. Every last one of them."

His gaze hardened, and he resumed walking.

Michael exited the Hollow Spire Caverns through a back tunnel, using a shortcut he'd found while wandering for 10 minutes. He ventured out into the rocky fields beyond, where few players dared go at night. For over 45 minutes he searched—dodging monsters, slipping through tight corridors, even getting grazed once by a goblin's rusted axe.

Then finally—he found it.

An old training site carved into the stone. Ten cracked combat dummies lined the edges of a flattened clearing, surrounded by jagged cliffs. It was quiet. Isolated. Perfect.

"Well, finally…"

Michael rolled his shoulders, then started stretching—from head to toe. His muscles were tense from days of grief, but his mind was sharp.

"Let's see what this system can really do."

The rocky air was still. Only the low hum of distant crystal veins broke the silence.

Michael stood in front of the first dummy, fists clenched.

"Alright… let's start from the top."

He opened his main menu, but instead of the standard HUD, a ripple shimmered through the air—like glass bending in heat. His fingers hovered over the [Origin Protocol System].

"Origin Protocol: ZERO… what are you really?"

He tapped it.

The air shimmered again, and the dark circular interface bloomed onto his HUD. That rotating sigil pulsed gently, as if aware. Then, with a chime, new lines appeared:

[Protocol Shift – Choose Class Mode:]

• Combat User

• Pulse Caster

• Swordsman

• Nullmage

[Current Sync Rate: 12%]

Michael's breath caught. Four classes. All open to him. No walls. No class locks. It didn't make sense—and yet it felt right. Like this system wasn't just bolted onto Deadlink… it had always been here. Just waiting for him.

"Let's try Combat User first."

He tapped the icon. A faint light surged through his limbs—he felt heavier, stronger, more grounded. Muscle memory he didn't recognize flooded into his body. He stepped forward and took a stance without thinking. Fist raised. Elbow tucked. Feet aligned.

"Weird… it's like I've done this before."

He struck the dummy.

BAM!

The impact cracked the wood.

[Skill: Brutal Jab – Unlocked]

Skill Level: 1 – Cooldown: 6s

Michael blinked. "That fast?"

He tried again. This time, he flowed forward with a two-hit combo: jab, uppercut.

CRACK–THUD.

The second strike knocked the dummy off balance.

[Skill Progression: +3%]

He looked down at his HUD. A new bar had appeared below his health and stamina — dark, with a glowing trace of light inching forward.

[Zero-Sync Progression: 13%]

"So I earn progress by using each class… and it tracks everything."

Michael stepped back, heart pounding—not from exhaustion, but excitement.

"Alright. Next."

He invoked the command mentally this time:

Protocol Shift: Pulse Caster.

A surge of static danced through his fingertips. Sparks arced across his wrists. Suddenly, twin energy pistols materialized at his sides, sleek and semi-transparent—unstable prototypes. He held them up.

"Lightweight. No recoil ports…"

He aimed at the next dummy, drew a breath, and fired.

ZNNKT!

A burst of plasma shot forward, striking dead center. The dummy didn't just shake—it singed.

[Skill: Volt Shot – Unlocked]

Skill Level: 1 – Cooldown: 3s

Michael smiled.

"Now that's my style."

He side-stepped, firing a volley—left, right, pivot, backpedal. The guns responded like extensions of his arms.

[Skill: Slideburst Reload – Locked]

[Hint: Requires Mid-Combat Reload Trigger]

Michael paused.

"So some skills only unlock in combat flow? Not from a menu… but from actions."

He holstered the pistols. They vanished in a crackle of blue light.

"Let's keep going."

He spoke again:

Protocol Shift: Swordsman.

Immediately, the fractured blade formed in his right hand—sleek, slightly curved, with faint inscriptions along the hilt. It felt like a S-Tier blade. This wasn't crafted… it was manifested.

He raised it, adjusting to its weight. It wasn't heavy—but it demanded respect.

[Skill: Horizon Cleave – Unlocked]

He stepped toward the next dummy and slashed horizontally, channeling his full momentum. The blade shimmered with green light and carved a deep gash across the wood.

Michael's face hardened.

"Feels… pure."

Then came the last one.

Protocol Shift: Nullmage.

This time, there was no weapon. Instead, a chill swept over the area. His fingers tingled, and his vision dimmed for a moment—like the world itself paused to see what he'd become.

Black mist coiled from his palms.

[Skill: Phase Rend – Unlocked]

He reached toward a dummy.

"Let's see what you do…"

He swiped the air.

SHRRT.

Reality shimmered, and a line of void energy tore through the dummy. It didn't just burn—it disappeared. The top half of the target faded into static and vanished like deleted code.

Michael stumbled back slightly.

"That… wasn't normal."

He looked at his HUD. The Zero-Sync bar had jumped again.

[Zero-Sync Progression: 16%]

[Warning: Phantom Class Echo Detected]

Stability Dropping – HUD Distortion Increasing

The world warped for a split second. A flicker.

Michael blinked.

Standing across from him—just for a heartbeat—was another him. Wearing a black long cape, with a black mask, with flaring neon green eyes. Holding a green neon Blade. Then… gone.

"What the hell was that…?"

His HUD flickered. For a moment, all his health, stamina, and level bars were replaced by a static-ridden text:

[ORIGIN PROTOCOL: AWAKENING – INCOMPLETE]

Michael stood in silence, heart hammering. Sweat beaded at his brow.

This wasn't just some overpowered system.

It was alive. Watching him. Testing him.

And it was only just beginning.

He took one final breath, sheathed the blade, and stepped back from the dummies.

He knew what this system was doing.

"Alright. You want me to prove myself?"

He looked up at the flickering cavern ceiling.

"Then watch closely. Because I'm not stopping."

Michael stood frozen.

His breath came shallow. The training grounds were quiet again, but something had changed. The air felt charged. Like static crawling beneath his skin.

He turned slowly, scanning the cavern walls, the flickering crystal torches, the scattered dummy stands. Nothing.

But he felt it. That other version of himself wasn't just a glitch. It had weight. Presence. Will.

His HUD continued to distort—flickering, fragmenting. Text scrolled by in fractured lines:

[WARNING: Stability Threshold Breached – 62%]

[Unknown Echo Signature – Linked]

[Synchronization Delay Detected]

[— Accessing Subroutine: Ghost node —]

"I don't like this feeling" he whispered.

He stepped backward instinctively, but the moment his foot touched the stone, his vision fractured again—reality rippling like shattered glass.

Then…

A flash.

Michael's surroundings dissolved. The training dummies, the cavern walls—gone.

He stood in a vast, colorless void.

No sound. No light source. Just endless grey. And in the distance—floating midair—was a single rotating sigil. The same symbol from the Origin Protocol HUD, but massive. Towering like a moon.

A voice rang out. Not spoken, but imprinted directly into his mind:

"YOU ARE NOT READY."

Michael staggered. "Who the hell are you? And why do you look like me?"

Silence.

Then, the symbol pulsed—and a ripple tore across the void. In the center of it appeared the masked figure again, hovering a few feet above the ground. Cloak trailing like smoke. Blade ignited in neon green fire.

This time, it moved.

It dropped silently, landing across from Michael in a perfect stance. It tilted its head, as if studying him.

Michael summoned the blade again.

"Alright. You want to test me? Let's go."

He lunged forward.

Their blades met.

CLASH!

A shockwave burst outward, shattering the stillness of the void. Michael twisted into a horizontal slash, but the masked version dodged it effortlessly, rippling like shadow. It countered with a flicker-step and slashed downward.

CLANG!

Michael blocked, his arms buckling under the weight—not physical, but systemic. This thing wasn't just stronger—it knew him. Every strike, every movement felt like fighting a reflection that already predicted his next move.

"I don't care who you are!" Michael roared, his blade flaring with green light. "I won't lose! Not to you. Not to anyone!"

He pivoted, activating Horizon Cleave, but before the strike landed, the masked figure vanished—

—and appeared behind him.

A cold whisper echoed in his skull:

"Incomplete…"

Pain exploded through his back. The figure's blade had touched him—but no damage was registered. No health loss. Just… pain. A warning.

Michael dropped to one knee, panting.

[Zero-Sync Progression: 19%]

[Stability Recalibrating…]

[Ghost Node Exit Triggered]

The void shattered like glass.

And then he was back—standing alone in the training grounds.

Sweat dripped down his face. His blade clattered to the stone floor beside him.

"What the hell was that…"

His HUD stabilized with a soft chime. The distortion faded. No more glitches.

But one new line had appeared, glowing faintly at the corner of his interface:

[Ghost Node Challenge: 1 of 7 – Encounter Survived]

Michael stared at it, pulse thudding in his ears.

"So that… was the first test."

He turned his gaze skyward—toward the jagged stone ceiling of Duskrun Hollow, the flickering blue torches, the yawning darkness beyond.

He clenched his fists.

This system wasn't just a gift.

It was a gauntlet.

And now, he was in it.