✦ "Sometimes, when you see everything clearly… you discover what you were better off not knowing."
– From Kain's reflections
When Kain activated the "Dragon Eye," it felt like a spark of pain tore through his retinas, creeping deep into his skull. Something inside him was being reshaped. With every passing second, his perception of the world felt like it was being completely recalibrated.
He opened his eyes slowly—and everything changed.
The forest, once familiar, now looked like an entirely new world. Details he'd never noticed before stood out with crystal clarity, as if etched onto glass. The falling snowflakes were no longer just melting specks of white; he could now see each individual crystal twirling through the air—each one unique, like a frozen short story.
He looked far into the distance, and suddenly, it all felt closer.
His eye worked like a zoom lens. He focused on a distant branch and felt as though his face was mere centimeters away from it. It wasn't just visual—he could feel the roughness of the bark, the curve of a leaf, the hesitant flutter of birds picking at the snow. In a blink, he saw things move in slow motion. A small bird flapping its wings looked like it was swimming through the air—each flap lasting whole seconds through his "eye."
He thought to himself:
"This... will be incredible in combat."
He could see the vibrations of objects, movement speed, distance—even facial expressions. It felt like the world had become an open book, and his eye... was the key.
He stayed in the forest longer than planned—just to adjust. This power didn't feel like it was his yet. Something this profound demanded respect.
By the time he returned, the snow was falling again—soft, silent, cold.
He drove the truck calmly, but his mind was elsewhere. His thoughts drifted far—somewhere unreachable.
He remembered his mother… that gentle gaze that could calm the whole world.
He remembered his father… that deep, confident voice that could erase doubt with a single word.
He remembered those cold December nights… coming home from work, exhausted, worn out, only to find the warmth of family waiting, a simple meal, and a genuine smile.
A tear slipped from his eye without him realizing it. The cold air froze it before it reached his chin. He wiped it away silently, then murmured:
"Can warmth be born twice?"
He arrived home.
Paused for a few seconds at the door, took a deep breath, and entered.
The scene was familiar. As if time had reset itself.
Charlie and Bella were in the kitchen, dinner was being prepared, the conversation warm, the air filled with the scent of home.
"Déjà vu? No… a new life with old faces."
He sat at the table with them. They ate in a comfortable silence. Glances, smiles—no need for words.
Then he tested his new ability.
He looked at Bella and noticed a small, translucent button beside her—something only he could see. Just the thought of pressing it with his mind, and a screen appeared:
[Status Analysis — Entity: Bella Swan]
✦ Species: Human
✦ Class: High School Student — Human
✦ Threat Level: Very Low
✦ Innate Ability: None
✦ Current Mood: Confusion… Curiosity… Internal Tension
✦ Physical State: Low energy — Faint activity
✦ Core Stats:
[ Strength ]: 5
[ Agility ]: 5
[ Intelligence ]: 8
[ Vitality ]: 6
[ Defense ]: 4
[ Stamina ]: 7/3
"A perfectly ordinary girl… or so it seems."
He then turned his gaze to Charlie. Another button, another screen:
[Status Analysis — Entity: Charlie Swan]
✦ Species: Human
✦ Class: Adult Civilian — Human
✦ Threat Level: Low
✦ Innate Ability: None
✦ Current Mood: Calm… Responsible… Slight Concern
✦ Physical State: Stable energy — Moderate activity
✦ Core Stats:
[ Strength ]: 10
[ Agility ]: 8
[ Intelligence ]: 10
[ Vitality ]: 12
[ Defense ]: 9
[ Stamina ]: 10/4
"A solid profile for a middle-aged cop… Good, but nowhere near what I'll be up against."
They finished dinner, and Kain headed to his room. He was exhausted—his body aching, his mind flooded with thoughts—but he didn't need to study or revise anything.
"The world is repeating itself… and I'm the one being rewritten."
He fell asleep instantly.
The next morning, he woke at six.
Opened his daily task list:
✦ [Daily Tasks]
– Run 1 km
– 15 Push-ups
– 25 Squats
Time Limit: 24 hours
Reward: 6 FP
"Oh, they raised the difficulty a bit… Fair enough."
He went downstairs and found Charlie already up. He greeted him, had a light snack, then said he was heading out for a run.
The air was still cold, but Kain had grown used to Forks' chill.
He ran, did push-ups, jumped, and completed the routine. He waited a moment...
[Mission Complete!]
[Congratulations, Host. You have earned 6 FP.]
He opened his status instantly and distributed the points evenly, as usual:
✦ Host Basic Status
Name: Kain Swan
Race: Human
Level: 3
[ Strength ]: 15
[ Agility ]: 14
[ Intelligence ]: 17
[ Vitality ]: 15
[ Defense ]: 13
[ Stamina ]: 14/12
FP Available: 0
SP Available: 0
Current XP: 0/25
He looked at his stats with a satisfied smile.
Then he returned home to get ready for another school day…
But deep down, he knew that the coming days would no longer be "ordinary."
Back home again…
Kain returned home quietly. No one asked him anything. He wasn't in the mood to talk—not even with Charlie, who was absorbed in a baseball game on TV.
He tossed his bag on the couch, went up to his room, and picked up some papers… but didn't read a word.
There was a voice inside him, whispering:
"The coming days won't be ordinary."
And it wasn't just a feeling.
The school day began.
The early classes passed like heavy clouds in a gray sky—neither rain nor light.
Kain sat in class, answering questions without even looking at the paper.
How boring it is to study what you already know—and worse? When what you know feels… trivial.
"God, I thought learning programming in college was boring… but this?! This is torture!"
He muttered to himself while staring at the clock hands, watching them as if they were mocking him.
But... everything changed during lunch break.
[Ding!]
[New Mission Generated]
[Mission Details]
✦ Annoy a member of the Cullen family.
✦ Time Limit: 30 minutes
✦ Reward: 30 XP and 30 SP
✦ [Warning: If failed, no missions will be generated for two days]
— "Huh?!"
Kain froze in place.
The message was short, simple… but heavy like danger.
— "Thirty minutes?! What do you think I am, a stand-up comic?! And how am I supposed to piss them off without getting sliced and dumped in the forest?"
He sat at the table beside Bella, who was busy chatting with Jessica, Mike, Eric, and Angela.
He tried to look normal, but he was on edge.
Bella noticed and asked,
— "Kain? Are you okay? You seem really spaced out."
— "Huh? Oh… nothing… just… lack of sleep, maybe."
She smiled at him kindly, then quickly returned to her conversation with the others.
Ten minutes passed.
Ten minutes of fruitless thinking.
Then… a bold idea struck him.
— "System… can you temporarily disable the mental block?"
[Yes, if the host desires it.]
— "Do it."
Edward wasn't present today.
He knew he had disappeared for two days—just like in the original story—so he wasn't surprised.
But he was suspicious of someone else… someone silently watching… "Eliana."
From the very first moment, when she looked at him with genuine surprise, she couldn't read his thoughts.
Was she like Edward? Did she have the same ability? If so… maybe this was his chance.
He started to focus his thoughts. Gathered his emotions.
He thought of Edward… tried to hate him, to amplify the anger… but it didn't work.
— "Angry, but not angry enough…"
He refocused, but this time, in a different way. He tried to enhance his negative feelings toward Eliana. He had felt from the start that she was always watching him. Her way of thinking, her silent stares—those were what made his heart pound violently.
He didn't hate her the way he hated Edward, but his anger stemmed from the feeling that she was still observing everything. Those glances, that silence, and the constant watching… that's what angered him more than anything else.
Then he looked at Alice Cullen, who was chatting with Rosalie. He wasn't captivated by her beauty, nor did he see it as a reason for anger. But he felt something uncomfortable—as if her presence was just a reminder that they were always watching him. That their eyes never left him for a second.
That sense of helplessness, the knowledge that they knew everything about him—that's what ignited his anger. Not anything about her personally.
Then, suddenly, Eliana sensed the shift in his aura—as if a flame had lit within his heart.
The anger wasn't directed at any one person, but rather at his situation, at the constant surveillance.
That was exactly what the system needed.
[Ding!]
[Mission Complete!]
[Congratulations! You have gained 30 XP and 30 SP]
[Level Up Achieved]
Kain suddenly felt a slight tingling travel up his spine, like a pulse of energy sneaking through his body.
He pressed his hand beneath the table, suppressing the sensation.
Then he asked:
— "System… did you reactivate the mental block?"
[Yes, it was only disabled temporarily. It was re-enabled after the mission to avoid detection.]
Kain exhaled in relief.
— "That was close…"
Then he opened his new status window.
✦ Host's Basic Status
Name: Kain Swan
Race: Human
Level: 4
[ Strength ]: 17
[ Agility ]: 16
[ Intelligence ]: 19
[ Vitality ]: 17
[ Defense ]: 15
[ Stamina ]: 16/16
Available FP Points: 0
Available SP Points: 30
Current XP: 5 / 30
— "Just one more level… then I'll unlock the new skill…"
He smiled quietly, then stood as the break ended, ready for whatever came next… unaware that the system had another surprise waiting—for the next physics class.
After returning to his seat, Kain finished his post-lunch classes uneventfully.
Even the teacher lecturing about the American Civil War sounded like she was speaking underwater.
But…
When he entered the physics class, something felt different.
Who noticed him first?
Alice.
She sat alone in the second row and smiled as he approached.
He hesitated for a moment, then made a decision—he sat beside her.
[Ding!]
[New Mission Created]
[Mission Details]
✦ Spark Alice Cullen's curiosity about your power.
✦ Time Limit: 60 minutes.
✦ Reward: 30 XP and 10 SP
✦ [Warning: Failure will prevent new missions for 2 days]
Kain froze, holding his breath.
— "What's with you, damn system? Trying to get me killed?! I'm barely strong… and you want me to reveal that?"
He looked at Alice.
She was staring at him curiously, her left eyebrow slightly raised, as if asking, "What are you hiding?"
— "Are you okay?"
She said it playfully, almost teasing, like she was testing him.
— "Fine… more or less."
He smiled, but his eyes were wary.
— "You're different today. Not just calm… there's something in your aura. Did you change something? Perfume? Hidden power? Dark secret?"
She said the last part with a slight tilt of her head and a strange glint in her violet eyes.
Kain chuckled softly:
— "None of that… just a bit of meditation."
— "Meditation?"
She repeated the word like she was tasting it.
— "I bet it wasn't just regular meditation. You've got that look—like someone who's… discovered something. Something big."
— "Or maybe you're just good at reading faces?"
She shrugged lightly and tilted her head more:
— "I'm good at reading many things. But you… you're strange."
— "Strange?"
— "In a good way. Like someone trying to hide a volcano behind a shy smile."
She whispered it, with a hint of playful seduction:
— "And I love volcanoes…"
Kain felt a chill run down his spine—not fear, but that inner alertness, the feeling you get when you realize the person in front of you isn't ordinary… and sees more than they should.
But he responded calmly:
— "Maybe you're imagining things… or just trying to analyze me."
— "Am I succeeding?"
Kain smiled without answering.
[Ding!]
[Mission Complete!]
[Congratulations! You have gained 30 XP and 10 SP]
[Current XP: 35/30 — Level Up Achieved!]
Kain felt the familiar numbness crawling through his body, like something inside him was becoming clearer… stronger.
But this time, it wasn't just a level up…
There was something else…
Something the system was hiding.
"The new skill… it's almost time,"
Kain whispered to himself—unaware that Alice was still watching him, and with her usual smile, she whispered:
— "So intriguing… Kain Swan."
Alice whispered it in a soft tone, with a delicious mischief.
But at the moment Kain smiled without a word, as the leveling sensation slowly faded, a thought suddenly shot through his mind like an arrow.
— "Wait a second…"
He froze, then muttered:
— "How could I forget that?"
During lunch break, five of the Cullens had been in the same place. And the Dragon's Eye was ready… but he hadn't used it.
— "I was distracted by the mission, sure… but I'm an idiot. I missed the chance to see the stats of five non-human beings!"
Frustration washed over him. A being like him—relying on intel, systems, and analysis… how could he have missed such a moment?
He moved his eyes, landing on Alice, still close, as if waiting for him to see something else in her.
— "Alright… time to make up for it."
Without hesitation, he activated "Eternal Dragon Eye," focusing on Alice.
[Status Analysis — Entity: Alice Cullen]
✦ Type: Vampire — Elite
✦ Class: Pinnacle of the Elite
✦ Threat Level: Extremely High
✦ Innate Ability: Future Insight (Probability Vision)
✦ Current Mood: Curious… Amused… Observant
✦ Physical State: Stable energy — Calm activity
✦ Core Stats:
[ Strength ]: 142
[ Agility ]: 176
[ Intelligence ]: 159
[ Vitality ]: ∞ (Unmeasurable)
[ Defense ]: 148
[ Stamina ]: 171
Kain felt the air around him grow heavier.
— "This… isn't just superiority. These numbers are monstrous."
— "Her defense alone is higher than all my stats combined."
His eyes widened gradually, realizing that each member of this family might possess similarly terrifying stats.
— "And I was among them… without knowing."
— "I should've scanned them all… especially Emmett and Edward… damn it."
He also noticed the lack of a stamina bar—and concluded it was simply because vampires don't get tired.
But when he looked back at Alice, still gazing at him with that same mysterious smile, a more unsettling thought crept in…
— "Did she notice I used the skill?"
Before he could finish the thought, Alice blinked slowly, her eyebrow arching slightly—as if saying:
"I was wondering when you'd use it."
🌀[End of Chapter 5]
✦ Next Chapter: "The Dragon's Eye… and the Breath of Lightning"
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