Chapter 3: First Skill

[Demon Eyes (Rank B)] [When this ability is activated, one of your eyes will transform, granting enhanced vision. You’ll be able to see traces of mana in the air, see in the dark, and even gain heightened reflexes.] [This ability can be improved.] Information popped up in front of Damian right after he took the eye. It was about his new ability. And the creature’s eye? It had vanished. Somehow, it was absorbed into his body. "What the hell is going on? A System?" he thought. Damian had read books where something like this happened, but he never imagined it could be real. Then again, he never imagined demons would start showing up and slaughtering people either—so there’s that. He focused on the new System, and a menu appeared in front of him. It looked just like a character sheet from a game. [Damian Crowe] [Power Rank: F] [Attributes:] [Strength: 2] [Endurance: 1] [Agility: 1] [Intelligence: 5] [Charisma: 3] Along with his stats, he could also see all the abilities he had acquired, as well as the missions he had to complete. At that moment, he only had the extraction ability—ranked SSS according to the System—and the new skill he had gotten from that demon. He wasn’t sure how he was supposed to improve his stats. There was no mention of experience or levels. Apparently, this didn’t work like a game in that sense. Still, Damian was excited. Something was clearly changing in him. He was finally awakening mana. At least, that’s what he believed. He could now see demons, interact with them, and even absorb their powers. Those were things only awakened individuals could do. Maybe the future wouldn’t be so bad for him after all. Things were finally starting to come together. He had landed a job that paid well, and now he was getting stronger. What more could he ask for? After confirming there was nothing else of interest in that house, he headed back downstairs. As soon as he got there, he saw Nataly opening the front door, a worried look on her face. "Damian, are you okay?" she asked, pausing to catch her breath. "We sensed a demon heading toward this house. Did you see anything?" The demon she was talking about was definitely the one he’d found at the window earlier. Of course, he had no intention of telling her that. "I didn’t see anything," he said. "But do you want to take a look to make sure?" "Yes, absolutely. You can head back to the car—everything looks clean enough." Damian grabbed his things, along with the bags full of body parts, and made his way to the car. The driver was waiting for him. He loaded everything into the trunk, and the two of them left. "Are you okay?" the driver asked. "I heard a demon was heading toward the house." "I’m fine. I think it went somewhere else—I didn’t see or hear anything." Of course, in their minds, there was no way Damian would’ve been able to see a demon if the demon didn’t want to be seen. That was the greatest weakness of people who hadn’t awakened mana. But apparently, that was no longer his case. The driver dropped him off at home, then headed back to the office. The body parts had to be stored in a secure facility inside the building. Damian didn’t need to worry about that. The only thing he needed to do was go home, get some rest, and reflect on everything that had just happened. Everything was quiet. It was the first time he’d returned to his building this late. Pretty much everyone was already asleep. Damian felt an overwhelming sense of peace being there. No noisy neighbors stomping around or talking in the hallways. "This is the first time I’ve seen this building so quiet," he thought. Damian walked into his apartment and headed straight for the balcony. He wanted to test out that new ability he had just acquired. The moment he activated it, his left eye turned completely red, and the pupil changed shape—it became slightly flattened. The eye was clearly inhuman, or at least far from what a normal human eye should look like. His vision changed drastically. He could see much farther than usual. The cars passing on the street below looked slower. The darkness of the night seemed to vanish completely. But the most impressive part was the mana traces floating in the air. Some were blue, while others had a sort of dark purple hue. Damian wasn’t stupid. The blue ones definitely belonged to Hunters. The dark purple traces were left behind by demons. He had no idea whether those traces were old or recent. The full extent of his new ability was still a mystery. It was something he’d have to learn over time. Only through experience and continued use would he discover what that new eye was truly capable of. Damian went to the bathroom mirror to take a look at his new eye. It was... unsettling, to say the least, and explaining it to normal people would definitely be a challenge. He tried thinking of a way to hide it. The first idea that came to mind was covering it with something. Since Damian didn’t own an eye patch, he grabbed a T-shirt and wrapped it around his head. To his surprise, the eye could still see—even through the fabric. That gave him a few ideas. "An eye patch could be cool," he thought, "but how am I supposed to explain suddenly wearing one out of nowhere? Might have to wait a bit before I start using this thing." It would be way too weird to just show up with an eye patch overnight. Anyway, Damian was exhausted. He decided to get some sleep. Tomorrow was going to be a busy day. * A thin, wiry demon was moving through the city’s sewers. It had only one eye left. The demon soon reached another one—a larger figure who seemed to be a leader of some sort. "How did you lose that eye? What happened?" "I ran into a strange Hunter... He could see me, but I couldn’t sense any mana coming from him. And the weirdest part? He could understand what I was saying. I had to offer him my eye just to get out alive..." "What?" All the nearby demons froze, stunned. This was the first time anything like that had ever happened. "And did you piss him off? If you’ve made an enemy of someone like that, you’ll be exiled from the group!" The one-eyed demon quickly replied, "No, of course not. He actually seemed happy when I gave him my eye. I think we’re good..." The demon leader went quiet, deep in thought. "Maybe we can bring him over to our side... A powerful ally like that could be a huge asset to our group." * Damian woke up a bit late, but still early enough not to be late for work. He got dressed, putting on something a little more formal for his shift as a barista at the café. It was a bit far from where he lived, so he usually had to call a car to take him there. But to his surprise, when he looked out from his balcony, he saw the same black luxury car from yesterday parked right in front of the building. "No freaking way." When he went downstairs, he found his driver already waiting. "What are you doing here? How do you even know I’m heading to work?" Damian asked. "We looked into your information, obviously. It’s not a good idea for you to be going out alone. You know, your line of work tends to attract a few enemies. I’ll be driving you to work every day too." Damian didn’t refuse the offer. Who would? Having a private driver with a luxury car was pretty damn nice. He could go to both of his jobs without spending a dime, and in way more comfort than he was used to. Everything in his life was changing so fast that it almost felt like a dream. When the car stopped in front of the café and Damian stepped out, everyone inside saw it through the windows. Even his boss came out to meet him. "What the hell is that car? Are you selling drugs or something?" They just couldn’t believe someone like Damian would have a private driver and a high-end car. Honestly, they had a point. "No, I’m not," Damian said. "And even if I was, why would I bother showing up here to make coffee?" "...Fair enough," his boss said, letting out a laugh. After everything he’d seen at the crime scene the night before, working at the coffee shop was actually kind of therapeutic. It gave his mind a break. There weren’t that many customers, and the people working there were chill. The atmosphere was calm. Way better than staring at severed body parts in the middle of a living room. Still, even if being a barista was nice, Damian’s thoughts kept drifting back to his job as a cleaner. He wanted more skills. He wanted to get stronger. So when night came and the car pulled up again, Damian smiled. A real, genuine smile.