A storm wind blew hard, rain fell heavily, and I curled up in my dark room, remembering my childhood before my relationships, my friends, and even my family began to drift apart.
The laughter of children echoed under the blazing sun. "Safir! Lein! Why are you running so fast?" I said with frustration. Safir, a girl with dark blue hair and eyes, turned toward me. "We're not too fast, Balance. You're just too slow."
Suddenly, a sandal was thrown at Safir. "HEY! Who did that?!" Safir shouted angrily. A tomboyish girl with blonde hair answered. It turned out to be Asa.
Once Safir realized who had thrown the sandal, she immediately backed off. "My mistake, Asa, hehe."
Orion, who was standing beside Asa, tried to calm her down by massaging her shoulders. Larry tried to scold Lein, his twin brother. And Charlotte was still alive.
Wasn't that such a wonderful time? Nothing like now, when all your friends have grown older than you and have begun leaving one by one.
My fate was to be the youngest among them, the child of their parents' superiors. They were already working for their families. When I wanted to play with them, they would only look at me with pity before returning to their work.
In the midst of the heavy storm rain, I fell asleep in the shadow of those memories.
When the rain stopped, the atmosphere was still gloomy.
I hurried down to the first floor of my house for breakfast. My father was there, about to leave for work. I sat at the dining table, directly across from him.
SLAM!
Father slammed the table with a face full of anger, staring at me, pointing out my poor grades. "What is this, Balance?"
I could only bow my head and hold back my emotions when Father struck me and shouted at me.
Besides, if I said I was being bullied by the Hero's younger brother, they would not believe me. I knew the fact that my family was hiding secrets that contradicted one another.
My father, the emperor of this planet, Pumpkin Night, bore the emblem of the Black Wolf (Lupus Niger) with the moon behind it. The true eye color of the Night family, when awakened, was green. But now he had changed his eye color to hide his identity from his wife.
My mother, Serina Shield, the leader of the rebels fighting against my father, bore the emblem of the Brown-Headed Crow (Corvus fuscicapillus). She had curly hair and brown eyes.
And I... my name is Balance, their only child. My hair and eyes are black like my father's, and my face resembles my mother's. They have been taking me to their respective headquarters at different times since I was seven years old. I am now fourteen.
Honestly, I have told their secrets on multiple occasions, but they assumed I was making things up. That frustrated me. Father also never told Mother about my health condition, which led Mother to train me as a fighter even though my body is far weaker than other children my age.
This distance only worsened as the war intensified, and my aunt's death hit Father hard. How could I tell him that the person who killed my aunt was a subordinate of his own brother-in-law, who is also my uncle?
After enduring Father's angry scolding at breakfast, I packed my things and headed straight to school.
The journey was long. I had to avoid puddles and traffic. Thankfully, I arrived on time. I opened my shoe locker, but my shoes were filled with dirt and glue, making them disgusting. This was nothing new, was it?
Because the Night imperial family has hidden their faces for several generations, many people have begun claiming to be Night princes and princesses. I wanted to be angry, but doing so would only get me into greater trouble.
I opened the classroom door. "Ah, look, the gloomy kid is still showing up to this class."
Willi, the Hero's younger brother, was the one who frequently bullied me at school. He claimed to be a Night Prince and targeted me because he disliked my ordinary appearance, my low physical ability, and the fact that I had not yet received a contract from any god or goddess.
The teachers did not stop him because they were uncertain whether he was truly a prince or not. Harming a member of the royal family was an act punishable by law.
You hate me, don't you, Willi? In any case, tonight I will leave, and perhaps you will never see me again.
Willi demanded the homework he had thrown at me. "Balance! Is it done?" He patted my shoulder, staring at me with a threatening look. "Hey! You did it, right?!" Willi pressed. "Yes, here is your book." I handed it over carefully.
After all, I was going to leave, just as they all wanted.
At midnight, when everyone including my parents was asleep, I left, carrying my savings, my father's credit card that I had cashed out, a few changes of clothes, snacks and instant noodles for temporary supplies, drinking water, rain gear, and my SD memory card to look back on old memories.
I opened the door carefully so as not to wake anyone. "Papa, Mama, I'm leaving."
Click. The door closed.
I ran through the dark streets. After getting far from home, I went to a place I had found on the internet. Apparently, a back alley near the dark park was where fake identities were traded, with many options available. These identities were crafted in such thorough detail that the officials of this country had great difficulty distinguishing them from real ones. But all of them were fictional identities, complete and not stolen from deceased persons.
I forced myself into that dark, muddy alley despite my hesitation. In the end, for now, my name was Nox, age 17, ready to take on the dungeon world.
This world was a world that had collided: the fantasy world of the gods, which had spiraled out of control due to the anger of the Golden Dragon Goddess Leticia, who wanted to stop a student who had betrayed her. Yet even now, no one knew who that student was.
When morning came, I went to an illegal bank to exchange the black card without being detected. This bank was not registered, which is why it was called illegal. But it was not a black market where people could be kidnapped. Information here was confidential. I received a large sum of money, enough to buy a device with 8/512 GB RAM, rent a place for several months, and register as a Council.
The gods from various legends appeared as something called systems. They were beings born from elements or traits believed in by humans. But some top systems were not from legends, such as Author, Golden Dragon, and others.
Councils were warriors chosen by gods and goddesses to serve as companions, entertainment, messengers, and more.
Those chosen by a system would become Councils capable of clearing dungeons. Willi was a rank A Council with the DPS role, which led people to believe he was a prince. Meanwhile, I had not even undergone the determination ceremony yet.
But it didn't matter. With my savings and the money from the card I had converted, I would surely obtain my system. I was confident.
For now, I had a place to live, communication tools, and a fake identity. Now it was time to register as a Council.
The entrance to the Council examination building opened, greeted by humanoid AI. "WOAH."
That was the right word to describe this place, with its gleaming weapons, Roman-style walls, a fragrance like a library, diligent staff in neat uniforms, and senior Councils with luxurious equipment.
"All of this looks so practical! Is there a class detection device? I want to check my class discreetly." "But it seems there isn't one."
I walked to the receptionist to register and find out which god or goddess would form a contract with me. "Welcome, sir. How may I help you?" The receptionist smiled. "I want to check my stats and register as a new Council." I handed over the important documents.
"Ah, a new Council. Please wait a moment." The receptionist informed the testing team.
Shortly after, she returned and guided me to the testing room. One researcher explained the procedure: place your palm for soul synchronization, and your stats would appear on the card given by the receptionist. The stat card was absolute and could not be altered, except for certain Councils with exclusive gods or goddesses.
"Ah, it's here."
I saw my glowing stat card. The receptionist was instructed not to look, because the card was automatically connected to imperial data. "Have a pleasant day, sir."
I would check my stats later at my rented room.
On my way back, I saw a recruitment poster for a small party called Sunflower. I took it, because from the wording and design they seemed like good people. (Maybe.)
In my room, I looked at my stats:
Name: Balance Night
Age: 14
Date: September 25
Clan: Night
Parents: Pumpkin Night and Serina Shield
System: Author
Class: Creator (Support/DPS)
Level: 1
Skills: Create (L), Killer (S), Invisible (a passive skill that automatically activates when the user feels frightened or senses a threat, rendering them invisible), Cat Eyes (C), Cooking (B), Manipulate (A). Other skills will unlock upon leveling up.
Special Monitor: Capable of creating false skill data and identity records, an effect granted only to certain Council members.
"So it seems I can edit my stat screen? How convenient!"
I began adjusting my stats, and the result was:
Name: Nox
Age: 17
Date: September 28
Class: Murderer
System: Anubis
Level: 1
Skills: Death Blood (S), Night Scythe (S)
"Well, even though both versions are equally powerful, at least this one looks better."
"Maybe..."
Balance looked at her own reflection. "Was running away the right choice?"
She began typing the phone number written on the flyer.
They agreed to meet the next day at the plaza in front of the dimensional rift to introduce themselves and learn about the dungeon.
"That older sibling sounded very kind. I can't wait to meet them."
Balance hugged her pillow and blanket in her room.
Come to think of it, when was the last time I had a friend?
"Alright, I should sleep now."
To Be Continued