The day began like every other.
With a notification.
Ping.
Daily Objectives
Run 5 Miles (0/5)
100 Push Ups (0/100)
100 Sit Ups (0/100)
Meditate for 30 Minutes (0/30)
Reward
+2 Stat Points
+50 Bloodline Experience
Dawsyn let out a tired groan as he rolled out of bed.
"You really don't believe in rest days, do you?"
The System offered no response.
"I'll take that as a no."
The cool morning air greeted him as he started his run through the worn streets of the neighborhood. Every step sent a dull ache through muscles that were still recovering from the Bloodline Trial. His body was healing faster than it ever had before, but soreness had become his new normal.
By the time the sun peeked over the rooftops, he had finished his run.
Push ups.
Sit ups.
Meditation.
The meditation should have been the easiest.
Instead, it was torture.
Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Eryndor burning.
He saw dragons falling from the sky.
He saw children crying beneath the dying World Tree.
Most of all…
He heard Auren's voice.
"Power exists only to protect those without it."
The words echoed in his mind long after the objective had been completed.
When the System finally confirmed his rewards, the afternoon had already arrived.
His stomach growled loudly.
"I should eat before meeting the old man."
He reached into his pocket.
Empty.
His wallet.
Still sitting on the kitchen table.
Dawsyn groaned and turned around.
After grabbing it, he stepped back outside before freezing.
"The necklace…"
The Crimson Fang still hung from the bedpost where he had cleaned the dried blood from it.
Another trip.
Another delay.
By the time he finally placed the necklace around his neck, the sun had begun dipping toward the horizon.
He rubbed the back of his neck.
"Today's just not my day."
The neighborhood seemed strangely quiet.
No children playing.
No music drifting from open windows.
Even the stray dogs had disappeared.
His instincts told him something wasn't right.
He kept walking anyway.
The old church wasn't far now.
Just a few more blocks.
A voice suddenly broke the silence.
"There he is."
Dawsyn stopped.
Four men stepped from between two parked cars.
Another emerged from the mouth of a nearby alley.
One more leaned casually against a chain link fence.
The man standing in front smiled through swollen lips.
His jaw still carried the bruises Dawsyn had left a few nights earlier.
"You've been hard to find."
Dawsyn looked around.
The alley sat just to his right.
The old church stood beyond it.
Less than a block away.
He slowly clenched his fists.
"I figured you'd come looking."
The bruised man laughed.
"Smart kid."
"You embarrassed me."
"My boss doesn't forgive embarrassment."
Without another word, the men rushed him.
The first swung a wild hook.
Dawsyn ducked beneath it and drove his fist into the man's ribs.
A second attacker came from his left.
Predator's Eyes activated instantly.
Everything slowed.
He pivoted.
The second man's punch struck his own partner.
Dawsyn followed with a sharp elbow that split another thug's lip.
For a brief moment…
He controlled the fight.
Then someone grabbed him from behind.
A fist buried itself into his ribs.
Another slammed into his kidney.
Pain exploded through his body.
He ripped himself free and sprinted toward the alley.
"After him!"
Footsteps pounded behind him.
The alley wasn't long.
Rusted dumpsters lined one side while cracked brick walls towered over the other.
He could already see the church at the opposite end.
Freedom was only a few more steps away.
A figure suddenly stepped out from behind a dumpster.
A rusted steel pipe rested across his shoulder.
"There you are."
Before Dawsyn could react…
The pipe crashed into his shoulder.
Pain shot through his arm.
His left hand immediately went numb.
He stumbled into the brick wall.
The others caught up seconds later.
A punch landed across his jaw.
A boot slammed into his ribs.
Another drove into his stomach.
Blood filled his mouth.
Still…
He refused to fall.
With a growl, Dawsyn drove his forehead into the nearest thug's face.
A sickening crack echoed through the alley.
The man collapsed clutching his broken nose.
Dawsyn followed with a hard right hook that dropped another attacker.
His breathing became ragged.
His vision blurred.
His body screamed at him to stop.
He didn't.
The thug with the steel pipe stepped forward once more.
This time…
The pipe slammed across Dawsyn's back.
A sharp pain shot through his spine.
His knees buckled.
He crashed onto the pavement.
The men surrounded him.
One grabbed the front of his shirt and dragged him the remaining few yards before throwing him onto the cracked concrete steps of the old church.
Dawsyn hit hard.
His head bounced against the stone.
Warm blood trickled from the cut above his eye.
The man carrying the pipe slowly climbed the steps.
"You should've stayed out of our business."
He raised the pipe over his head.
"This is where it ends."
The pipe came crashing down.