The streets of Neo-Veridia stretched ahead as Henry walked, hands stuffed in his pockets, his eyes flickering between the towering buildings and the darkening sky above.
It felt different now.
Everything did.
Just weeks ago, he was struggling—barely scraping by.
A nobody.
A guy drowning in debt, a burden on his family, someone who could do nothing but dream of something more.
And now?
He had leveled up significantly over the past few days.
Literally.
Status Window.
Name: Henry
Rank: F
Level: 9
Experience: 11,300 / 15,000
Strength: 3,500
Agility: 3,100
Endurance: 2,800
Vitality: 2,600
Perception: 2,200
Skills Acquired:
Domain of the Stonebreaker, F-Rank Unique Skill.
Dash, F-Rank Movement Skill.
Titan's Grip, Passive Ability.
Relentless, Passive Ability.
Title Earned:
The One-Man Army, +100 to all attributes, enemies below your level are 30% more likely to flee.
One more level, and he'd have the potential to break into E-rank.
E-rank.
Still nothing compared to the true monsters of the world.
But to him?
It was everything.
A step forward.
A step toward proving to himself—and everyone else—that he wasn't useless.
He grinned to himself, feeling the excitement bubbling in his chest.
His body felt stronger.
His movements felt lighter, sharper, faster.
Even walking felt different—like he was carrying a purpose now.
Everything was changing.
And for the first time in a long time—
He liked it.
Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw them.
A couple.
Huddled close on a street corner, arms wrapped around each other, whispering, laughing.
Their love was obvious in the way they looked at each other.
Henry's grin faltered.
And then—
It hit him like a lightning bolt.
His girlfriend.
Sienna.
His heart skipped.
Wait.
Sienna.
How had he not thought about her?
Ever since waking up with the system, his mind had been filled with dungeons, stats, leveling up, power.
His future.
But her?
She hadn't even crossed his mind.
Guilt settled in his stomach.
Had she been worried?
Had she tried to reach him while he was unconscious?
Henry reached into his pocket, pulling out his phone.
He scrolled to her contact and hit call.
The dial tone rang.
Once.
Twice.
Then—
"The number you are trying to reach is currently unavailable."
Henry frowned.
Weird.
She always answered.
Even if she was busy, she'd text.
His fingers tightened around the phone.
A feeling—one he didn't like—began creeping up his spine.
Something wasn't right.
Paranoia? Maybe.
But after everything he'd been through, his gut wasn't something he ignored anymore.
Without hesitating, he flagged down a taxi.
He yanked the door open and slid into the back seat.
"Where to?" the driver asked, glancing at him through the rearview mirror.
Henry barely hesitated.
"56th South Avenue. Meridian Apartments."
The driver nodded and pulled into traffic.
Henry sat in the back seat, bouncing his knee impatiently as the city blurred past.
It wasn't too far.
Maybe ten minutes.
But tonight?
It felt like forever.
His mind raced.
Maybe her phone was dead.
Maybe she was out.
Maybe he was overthinking this.
But he couldn't shake the feeling.
His instincts had saved his life in the dungeon.
And right now—
They were screaming at him.
The driver glanced at him through the mirror.
"You alright, kid? You look like you're about to fight someone."
Henry let out a breath. "Just... in a hurry."
The driver chuckled.
"Girlfriend?"
Henry blinked. "What?"
The driver smirked. "I know that look. I've driven enough guys to surprise their girls with flowers or some dumb romantic gesture."
Henry scoffed, shaking his head. "Not that kind of visit."
"Ah. The other kind."
Henry didn't answer.
Because he wasn't sure yet which kind of visit this was.
When Henry finally reached Sienna's building, he paid the driver and stepped out.
He'd been here countless times.
Late-night movies.
Dumb takeout dates.
Lazy mornings where she forced him to make coffee because she sucked at it.
He exhaled, rolling his shoulders.
Relax.
It's fine.
It's just a visit.
He walked into the lobby, nodded at the night guard, and took the stairs two at a time.
By the time he reached her door, something felt… wrong.
He could see light coming from inside.
She was home.
But—
There was no music playing.
No muffled sound of a TV.
No usual soft humming from the other side of the door.
Henry frowned.
Knock, knock.
Silence.
He waited.
Knock, knock.
"…Sienna?"
No answer.
Something cold settled in his chest.
He knocked again.
Harder.
"Sienna, it's me."
Still nothing.
His jaw tightened.
Something was wrong.
Then—
His eyes flickered to the door handle.
It was slightly open.
A sliver of darkness was visible through the gap.
Henry's breath hitched.
No.
His body moved before his mind could process it.
One hand pushed the door open wider—
And what he saw made his blood turn to ice.
His heart pounded, the weight of an unspoken truth pressing down on him like a slow, suffocating tide.
He saw her.
Sienna.
Standing in the middle of the room.
But she wasn't alone.
A man stood beside her, his arm casually slung around her waist, like he had done it a thousand times before.
Henry froze.
The room felt smaller.
Like the walls were closing in.
Like the air was vanishing.
Sienna's eyes widened.
She took a step forward, lips parting like she wanted to speak—
But Henry had already seen everything he needed to see.
He should have known.
The unanswered calls.
The fact that she hadn't texted him once since he woke up.
The gut feeling that something wasn't right.
It had all led him here.
And now—
Now, he was standing in the doorway of a life that no longer had space for him.
Sienna finally found her voice.
"Henry, I—"
The words caught in her throat, hesitation filling the space between them.
The other guy?
He barely reacted.
Didn't step back.
Didn't act guilty.
Didn't do anything except raise an eyebrow, like Henry was some stranger interrupting his night.
That pissed him off more than anything.
Because he wasn't some stranger.
He was the guy who used to know every part of Sienna's life.
The guy who had once thought she was his future.
Henry felt something inside him shift—like a final thread snapping.
And strangely?
It didn't hurt the way he thought it would.