Morning came by, softening the outlines of the world. Ray crouched in the undergrowth, eyes fixed on the two villagers dragging a bundle of wood toward the gates.
They talked casually in a language he didn't understand, but their tone and gestures made sense. One laughed. The other complained. This world was full of life, and Ray remained a ghost on its edge, unknown and unseen.
He had watched them for three days now. Every habit, every path, every weakness. He even noted the guards' rotation schedule.
The hunter with the scar always returned by noon. Children fetched water from the western stream twice a day.
He could sketch the rhythm of their lives, and yet he didn't belong to it. The system remained silent, as though waiting for something to shift.
On the fourth morning, something did.
While following a pair of herders through the forest trail, Ray saw one of the goats break free and bolt through the trees.
The boy ran after it, shouting, but stopped short when the animal disappeared into a thicket of vines and twisted roots. He looked terrified, turned, and dragged the girl with him back to the village.
Ray waited until they were gone, then approached the place where the goat had vanished. The air felt different here—cooler, heavier. The trees leaned inward unnaturally as if bowing toward something buried.
The vines parted like curtains when he stepped through, revealing a stone archway swallowed by moss and time.
The ruin wasn't large from the outside—just a circular entry sunken into the earth. Yet even before he stepped closer, the system reacted.
---
[System Alert]
Detected: Pre-Fall Structure – Identification Incomplete
Warning: Residual system-compatible fragments may exist within. Proceed at your own risk.
Note: No native signatures detected. You are alone.
---
Ray stared at the message. Pre-Fall? Did that mean this ruin was from an older version of the world? Before something major had changed? Maybe even before magic as they knew it existed?
He pulled his sharpened stick from his belt and tested the steps leading down. They held under his weight, though each echoed slightly more than the last.
The passage was dim, lit only by light filtering through cracks in the stone above. Strange symbols lined the walls—none he could read, but they shimmered faintly as he passed. He kept moving.
The air changed again deeper in. It became colder, filled with whispers he couldn't quite hear. Not voices exactly—more like echoes of memories.
Then a door appeared. Circular, metallic, covered in markings and rust. Unlike the stone elsewhere, this one pulsed faintly, as if reacting to his presence. He stepped forward, and the system flared again.
---
[System Interface Unlocked: Fragment Archive]
You have discovered a dormant system shard. Synchronization increased.
Synchronization: 6.7%
New Entry Available: The Age of Inheritance
---
Ray blinked. A translucent window appeared before his eyes, showing a flickering image—a vast city in the sky, metal towers humming with energy. Something massive and wrong tearing open the heavens. The image faded, but a quiet truth settled into his mind.
This world had once been more advanced than anyone imagined. Something destroyed it. And the system was part of whatever came after.
He placed his hand on the door. It hissed and opened without sound, revealing a chamber bathed in blue light.
Inside stood a single pedestal, and upon it, a floating crystal about the size of a fist. The moment he stepped inside, everything shifted.
A low hum filled the room. The crystal pulsed in rhythm with his heartbeat. The system's voice echoed, clearer than ever.
---
[System Core Fragment Detected]
Do you wish to bind this fragment to your interface? This will unlock deeper functionality.
Warning: Irreversible.
Danger Level Unknown.
Confirm Y/N?
Ray hesitated only a second before saying, "Yes."
The crystal shattered into light. Rays of energy shot into his chest, flooding his body with heat and pressure. He fell to one knee, gasping as data, feelings, and raw instinct poured into his mind like a river bursting through a dam.
Then everything went dark.
When he opened his eyes, the system interface had changed.
---
[System Sync: 12.4%]
Level: 1
Class Awakening: Initiated – Adaptive Stray (Stage 1)
Core Passive Unlocked: Echo of Adaptation
[Gain an instinctive understanding of enemy attack patterns after surviving three direct strikes.]
Skill Slot 2 Unlocked: Empty
---
Ray's breath caught. This was real power—not just a tool, but a path forward. He could adapt. Learn. Evolve. Not just survive this world… but one day rule it, if he chose.
But the ground shook.
A rumble, soft at first, then growing. Dust fell from the ceiling. Something old had awakened.
Ray spun and sprinted from the chamber, the door slamming shut behind him. The passage he'd used to descend was caving in, stones dropping like teeth in a giant's jaw.
He ducked and rolled, dodging rubble, until he burst out into the clearing just as the entrance collapsed behind him.
The ruin was sealed.
But not before giving him a piece of its truth.
He stumbled back into the trees, panting, heart racing. His body hurt from the strain, but it was different now—stronger. More resilient. And something inside him had changed.
The system was evolving, and so was he.
That night, Ray didn't sleep in his usual hiding place. He travelled farther north, toward the hills, distancing from the ruin and the village.
He found a rocky overhang and built a small fire, just enough for warmth.
He reviewed his system again.
---
[Status Update]
Name: Ray Tanaka
Race: Human (Foreign Entity)
Level: 1
Class: Adaptive Stray
Sync: 12.4%
Core Passive: Echo of Adaptation
Skill 1: Reactive Insight Lv. 1 (Cooldown: 18 hours)
Skill 2: Empty
Energy Reserve: 6/12
---
He smiled at the new cap on energy because the system grew as he did. With more energy came more freedom & freedom meant options.
As the fire crackled, Ray wondered how many ruins like that were scattered across the land. If they all held fragments, what would happen once he gathered enough?
Would he unlock the truth behind his arrival? Or something far more dangerous?
He didn't know.
But one thing was clear. He wasn't just surviving anymore. He was beginning to walk a path no one else could even see.
---