The mist outside had thickened, draped like a shroud over the trees.
Alex stood just inside the watchtower's broken entrance, one hand resting lightly on the hilt of his dagger. The other held still against the wall, fingers brushing the stone in long, slow patterns. Waiting.
The system's voice had gone quiet. It didn't need to speak anymore. He could feel the interface now like a second spine coiled in thought behind his own.
And it whispered:
Target Approaching.
Distance: 34 meters.
Identity: Human. Affiliation – Black Hollow Raiders.
Status: Alert. Unaware of Host.
He didn't smile.
He didn't tremble.
He just waited .
The sound came softly boots on wet moss, a faint metallic jingle. A man muttering to himself, grumbling about visibility, about piss poor luck. His voice grew louder. Closer.
Alex retreated into shadow, behind a collapsed timber beam, and let the mist do the rest.
A shape emerged.
Leather armor, badly maintained. A short spear in one hand. A cutlass at the hip. Scar over one eye. He was chewing something jerky maybe. Didn't even have his weapon drawn.
Pathetic.
Alex moved like fog silent, boneless, efficient.
Ten steps.
Five.
One.
His hand clamped over the man's mouth as the dagger plunged into the soft pocket between collarbone and neck.
The man thrashed.
Alex drove the blade deeper, turned it, twisted.
Blood sprayed against the stone. Hot. Sharp with copper.
The scout flailed his cutlass half-drawn until Alex slammed his head into the wall once, twice, three times , until it cracked like fruit dropped on stone.
[Enemy Eliminated: Black Hollow Scout – Rank F]
Experience Gained: 20
Title Progression: +1% (Executioner)
Vengeance Protocol Progression: +3%
Kill Type: Silent Execution (Bonus Applied)
Alex crouched beside the corpse. No heavy breathing. No hesitation.
The system flickered:
[You are no longer bound by emotional recoil.]
[First Human Kill - Confirmed.]
[Bloodline Resonance +2%]
Then something new happened.
The scout's blood shimmered.
A stream of red mist thin, serpentine rose from the corpse like steam from a kettle and coiled into Alex's chest.
[Soul Fragment Absorbed]
Initiating Integration…
Alex's eyes widened not in shock, but focus.
Images flooded his skull.
Memories. Flickers.
Gorrin laughing around a campfire.
The man in the black coat arguing with a priest in golden robes.
A map carved into a tree trunk, showing the raider outpost perimeter.
A metal box locked beneath a tent floor, pulsing faintly with blue light.
Then it was gone.
Alex gasped not from pain, but power . The knowledge settled into his mind like ink into paper.
He didn't just kill the man.
He consumed part of him.
[New Skill Tree Fragment Identified: Soul Inheritance – Rank D+]
Unlocked Node: Memory Theft
Description: Slaying intelligent enemies has a 10% chance of revealing fragments of their thoughts, skills, or memories.
Alex looked down at his hands.
They weren't shaking.
They should be.
But they weren't.
He had crossed a line and the system had given him more for it. Rewarded him. Strengthened him.
He didn't feel shame.
He felt efficient .
[Quest Update: Vengeance Protocol - Target #1 (Gorrin the Butcher) has moved to Northern Perimeter. ETA: 3 hours]
Recommendation: Prepare for confrontation.
Suggested Combat Approach: Isolate. Immobilize. Exterminate.
Alex cleaned the dagger on the scout's cloak.
Then he whispered to no one in particular
"Good."