The bonesetter's foul-smelling poultice itched beneath the bandages, but the sharp agony in Kael's forearm had dulled to a manageable throb. The fire opal had bought decent treatment and two weeks of recovery in a flea-infested flophouse. The gold mark was now a handful of silver crowns jingling in his pocket - enough for meager meals and the worn leather practice vest he now wore. He stood in a derelict courtyard, dawn light filtering through broken roofing, swinging a weighted cudgel at a straw-stuffed dummy. Sweat stung his eyes.
*Basic Analysis: Active (Energy Cost: 1/min)*
**SWING ANALYSIS:**
**- TRAJECTORY DEVIATION: 4.7° LEFT**
**- FORCE DISTRIBUTION: INEFFICIENT (65% ARM, 20% TORSO, 15% LEGS)**
**- RECOMMENDATION: PIVOT RIGHT FOOT, ENGAGE CORE, FOLLOW-THROUGH EXTENDED 8 CM**
Kael adjusted, muscles burning. The blue status screen hovered in his periphery:
**LEVEL:** 0
**EXP:** 25/100
**ENERGY:** 88/100 *(Regenerating: 2.3/hr during activity)*
He'd gained 5 EXP from "recovery training" over two weeks - a glacial pace. Frustration boiled over. *"Crucible! This is taking too long. What's the fastest way to get EXP?"*
The response was immediate and chilling:
**OPTIMAL EXP ACQUISITION METHOD: COMBAT ENGAGEMENT.**
**THEORETICAL MAXIMUM: DEFEATING OPPONENTS IN BATTLE.**
**ESTIMATED YIELD:**
**- STANDARD OPPONENT: 30 EXP**
**- ELITE OPPONENT: 60-100 EXP**
**- BOSS-LEVEL THREAT: 150+ EXP**
Kael stared at the numbers. One decent fight equaled weeks of training. The Crucible wasn't just suggesting violence - it was demanding it. "So I become a thug hunting thugs?" he muttered.
**CORRECTION: HOST BECOMES PREDATOR. SURVIVAL DEMANDS ASCENSION.**
**WARNING: ENGAGEMENTS CARRY HIGH MORTALITY RISK.**
That night, Kael walked into the Warrens' toxin district. Alchemical runoff painted puddles neon, and the air reeked of sulfur and desperation. He found his first target near a glowing green sump - a hulking man with crude metal knuckles, shaking down a starveling child for half a moldy loaf.
**TARGET ANALYSIS:**
**- THREAT LEVEL: LOW**
**- ABILITIES: NONE DETECTED**
**- WEAKNESSES: SLOW PIVOT (LEFT SIDE), LOW PERCEPTION**
**- ESTIMATED EXP: 30**
"Hey, Tin-Fist!" Kael's voice cut through the gloom. The thug turned, sneering. "Pick on someone your own size."
The fight was brutal and clumsy. Kael's practice vest offered little protection against the man's wild haymakers. Basic Analysis highlighted openings, but Kael's body lagged behind the system's cold precision. A knuckled fist grazed his temple. Stars exploded. **VIT CHECK FAILED. STUNNED: 1.2 SEC.**
The thug lunged. Kael barely twisted away, the metal knuckles scraping brick where his head had been. He drove his cudgel into the man's kidney. **CRITICAL STRIKE!** The thug gasped, stumbling. Kael swept his legs, driving a knee into his solar plexus as he fell. The man wheezed, defeated.
**COMBAT RESULT: VICTORY!**
**ENERGY EXPENDED: 18**
**EXP GAINED: 30**
**LEVEL PROGRESS: 55/100**
**GRADE 1 PROGRESS: 11%**
Kael spat blood, trembling. The system's notification felt hollow compared to the throbbing pain. But when he looked at the starveling child clutching the retrieved bread, something hardened in his chest.
Over the next week, the toxin district learned to fear the silent hunter in the practice vest:
- **Fight #2:** Two addicts wielding broken bottles. Energy Cost: 22. EXP Gained: 60 (30x2). Level: 0 → 1 (115/200). New Unallocated Points: 5.
- **Fight #3:** A knife-wielding extortionist. Energy Cost: 31. EXP Gained: 30. Progress: 145/200.
- **Fight #4:** A scarred pit-fighter missing an eye. Energy Cost: 47. EXP Gained: 100 (Elite). Level: 1 → 2 (245/300). New Points: 5. Grade 1 Progress: 49%.
Kael allocated his hard-won points:
- **STR:** 8 → 10 (Baseline human)
- **VIT:** 9 → 11 (Endurance for longer fights)
- **AGI:** 11 → 12 (Faster reactions)
The difference was immediate. Punches landed harder. He moved quicker. Fatigue bit less deeply.
**Fight #5** nearly ended him. A gang enforcer with a shock-glove - crude technomancy that crackled with blue energy. **THREAT LEVEL: HIGH. ESTIMATED EXP: 80.**
The glove grazed Kael's shoulder. Agony seared through him. **VIT CHECK FAILED! TEMPORARY PARALYSIS: RIGHT ARM. ENERGY DRAIN: -15.** He fought one-handed, dodging lethal discharges. Basic Analysis screamed evasive maneuvers as the glove overloaded for a killing blast. Kael dove, sweeping the enforcer's legs as the discharge shattered brick above him. His cudgel found the man's temple. **VICTORY! ENERGY: 9/100. EXP: 80. LEVEL: 2 → 3 (325/400).**
He collapsed in an alley, vomiting from pain and adrenaline. The system remained impassive:
**WARNING: ENERGY RESERVES CRITICAL. REGENERATION RATE INSUFFICIENT FOR FURTHER COMBAT.**
Kael spent three days recovering, assigning his new points to **VIT (11→13)** and **WIL (15→16)**. The willpower boost made the pain more manageable, the fear less paralyzing.
**Fight #6:** A rooftop chase against a smuggler with wall-running boots. Energy Cost: 38. EXP: 30. Progress: 355/400.
**Fight #7:** A chem-berserker foaming at the mouth. Energy Cost: 52. EXP: 100. Level: 3 → 4 (455/500).
One last push. Kael found his target guarding a rusted bridge - Razor, a local warlord known for skinning informants. The man wore segmented armor and spun twin serrated blades. **THREAT ANALYSIS: ELITE BOSS. ABILITY SUSPECTED: LOW-GRADE KINETIC ACCELERATION. ESTIMATED EXP: 150.**
"Come to die, boy?" Razor sneered, blades humming.
Kael didn't answer. He charged.
The fight was a blur of steel and blood. Razor's blades moved faster than should be possible, leaving afterimages. Kael's enhanced agility saved him twice, but a blade opened his thigh. **VIT CHECK PASSED (BARELY). BLEEDING: MINOR.**
**TACTICAL OVERRIDE UNAVAILABLE (COOLDOWN)**
**ADVANCED ANALYSIS ENGAGED (ENERGY COST: 3/MIN)**
The world slowed. Razor's kinetic bursts became predictable pulses. Kael saw the pattern - a half-second lag after each acceleration. He baited an overhead strike, dodged at the last microsecond, and slammed his cudgel into Razor's elbow joint. **JOINT FRACTURE DETECTED.**
Razor screamed, dropping one blade. Kael pressed his advantage, driving him back toward the bridge's edge. With a final, desperate lunge, he swept Razor's legs and sent him crashing through rotten railings into the toxic river below.
**COMBAT RESULT: VICTORY!**
**ENERGY EXPENDED: 94**
**EXP GAINED: 150**
**LEVEL: 4 → 5 (605/600 → 5/600)**
**GRADE 1 COMBATANT STATUS: ACHIEVED!**
Kael collapsed to his knees as notifications flooded his vision:
**SYSTEM UPDATE:**
**- ABILITY MANIFESTATION: UNLOCKED!**
**- SKILL ACQUISITION: UNLOCKED!**
**- AUTHORIZATION LEVEL: INITIATE (1)**
**- NEW SYSTEM FUNCTIONS AVAILABLE!**
He stared at his bloodied hands, then at the status screen glowing triumphantly in the toxic gloom. The path to answers had been paved with violence, and it had only just begun. The War God's Crucible had forged its first true weapon.
---
**<<< STATUS >>>**
**HOST:** Kael James
**SYSTEM:** War God's Crucible (Initiate Phase)
**AUTHORIZATION LEVEL:** Initiate (1)
**COMBAT GRADE:** 1
**LEVEL:** 5
**EXP:** 5/600
**ENG:** 6/100 *(Regen: 10/hr rest)*
**<<< ATTRIBUTES >>>**
**STR:** 10 | **AGI:** 12 | **VIT:** 13
**PER:** 13 | **WIL:** 16 | **ENG:** 6/100
**<<< ABILITIES >>>**
**NONE MANIFESTED**
**<<< SKILLS >>>**
**System Synchronisation:** Lv. 1
**<<< SYSTEM FUNCTIONS >>>**
**NEW!**
**- Ability Manifestation Protocol**
**- Skill Acquisition Interface**
**- Advanced Combat Analytics (3 ENG/min)**
**- Energy Infusion (Locked: Grade 2)**
**<<< OBJECTIVES >>>**
**- Immediate:** Manifest Primary Combat Ability (0%)
**- Ascend:** Achieve Grade 2 Combatant (Level 15) (33%)
**- Unlock:** System Origin Data (Grade 3) (16%)
---
Kael James rose unsteadily, the system's cold fire burning in his veins. The gutter rat was gone. In his place stood a Grade 1 Combatant - and the Crucible hungered for more.