The hospital was alive with chaos. Doctors and nurses darted through the hallways, their hurried footsteps echoing against the sterile white walls. The rhythmic beeping of monitors filled the air, punctuated by the occasional burst of urgent chatter. In the center of it all, a boy lay motionless on a hospital bed. Wires connected him to machines that hummed steadily, a mechanical lifeline tethering him to the world. His name was Raven Cross, a 17-year-old boy with striking black-and-white hair and piercing crimson eyes.
Raven was a loner, an orphan who had spent much of his life battling illness. He had no family by his side—his parents had died in a car accident when he was younger, an accident he had survived but could never forgive himself for. The memory haunted him, a cruel reminder of the life he had lost. Now, cancer had claimed his body, leaving him frail and weak, barely able to move. He lay in the bed, his fingers tracing the smooth surface of a bracelet on his wrist—the last memento of his mother.
His crimson eyes shifted to the side, observing the world around him with a detached calm. The laughter of nurses drifted in from the hallway. Their lighthearted banter felt so far removed from his reality. Raven preferred to stay silent, to remain an observer. He had learned to analyze and find meaning in the smallest details, a habit born from years of solitude. He could hear fragments of conversations—doctors discussing treatments, nurses exchanging stories—but he kept his thoughts to himself.
"They don't even notice me," he thought bitterly. "Just another dying kid on a bed."
Raven's mind was a whirlwind of opinions and thoughts, but he kept them locked away. His chest felt heavy, not just with the weight of his illness, but with the anger and self-loathing that had consumed him since the accident. He hated that he had survived while his parents hadn't. He hated his own weakness, his inability to escape this slow, inevitable end.
Suddenly, pain flared in his chest, sharp and unrelenting. His fingers instinctively pressed against his heart as the monitors beside him blared to life. The beeping grew erratic, frantic. Nurses and doctors rushed into the room, their voices urgent as they called his name.
"Raven! Can you hear me?"
"Check his vitals! We need to stabilize him!"
Their words faded, muffled and distant. Raven's hearing began to fail, replaced by a low, hollow hum. His vision blurred, the fluorescent lights above him dimming into shadows. His body felt cold, his limbs heavy. He could barely move, barely think. But through the haze, his gaze fell on his mother's bracelet, glinting faintly in the dim light. His thoughts turned inward, a final moment of clarity.
"Mother… I'm sorry," he thought, his mind reaching out to the memory of her warmth. "All I ever wanted was to be strong. Strong enough to protect you. Strong enough to survive."
A voice, soft and otherworldly, broke through the void. It was beautiful, unlike anything he had ever heard before. "Raven Cross, your request is granted."
The world went dark.
---
Raven's eyes fluttered open. The first thing he noticed was the sky—a vivid, endless blue, dotted with clouds that drifted lazily across the horizon. The sun shone brightly, its warmth a stark contrast to the cold sterility of the hospital. He blinked, disoriented, and pushed himself up. The beeping of monitors was gone, replaced by the gentle rustling of wind through grass.
"Is this… heaven?" he whispered, his voice barely audible.
He sat up fully, taking in his surroundings. He was in a sprawling green field that stretched for miles, bordered by majestic mountains and dense forests. Birds soared overhead, their cries echoing in the open air. It was beautiful, surreal. For a moment, he simply stared, overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of it all.
Then panic set in. "Where… where am I?" he muttered, his voice rising with each word. He scrambled to his feet, his hands shaking. "Where's the hospital? Where's my bed? What happened?" His breathing quickened as he spun in place, searching for any sign of the sterile room he had just left.
"What the hell is going on?!" he yelled, his voice echoing across the empty field. His thoughts raced, a chaotic mess of fear and confusion. "Did I die? Is this some kind of dream?"
A flicker of movement caught his eye. He glanced down and froze. The bracelet—his mother's bracelet—was still on his wrist. Its familiar weight grounded him, bringing a small measure of calm to his frenzied mind. He took a deep breath, his crimson eyes scanning the horizon.
"This… isn't heaven," he muttered. His voice softened as the reality began to sink in. "This is… something else."
Suddenly, a black screen materialized in front of Raven, floating ominously in the air. Startled, he stumbled back, his crimson eyes wide with shock. "What the hell is this?" he muttered, his voice trembling as he instinctively raised a hand but stopped short of touching it.
The screen began to glow softly, text forming on its surface in an eerie, orderly fashion. Hesitant but curious, Raven leaned closer to read the words.
---
**Status Screen**
- **Name:** Raven Cross
- **Age:** 17
- **Species:** Human
- **Gender:** Male
- **Level:** 1 (Beginner)
- **Health Points (HP):** 100/100
- **Magic Points (MP):** 50/50
- **Strength:** 10
- **Agility:** 12
- **Attack:** 8
- **Intelligence:** 15
**Normal Skills:**
- None
**Ability Skills:**
- None
**Magic Skills:**
- None
**Items:**
- None
**Weapons:**
- Beginner's Sword
**Unique Skills:**
- **Gluttony:** Absorb the skills and attributes of defeated enemies.
- **Flock Shift:** Dissolve into a swarm of ravens and reappear in another location, useful for evasion or rapid movement.
---
Raven's breath hitched as he took in the details. His name, age, and even his species were all listed, as though he were part of some kind of game. "Beginner? Unique skills?" he muttered under his breath, his gaze darting across the screen. The words felt surreal, like they belonged to someone else.
His eyes lingered on "Gluttony" and its description. The idea of absorbing skills and attributes from defeated enemies made his stomach churn. "What is this, some kind of twisted RPG?" he said aloud, his voice filled with disbelief.
Then he read "Flock Shift." The description sent a chill down his spine. "Dissolve into a swarm of ravens?" he repeated, almost laughing at the absurdity of it. "What does that even mean? How… how would that feel?"
He stepped back from the screen, shaking his head. The surreal nature of it all overwhelmed him. He glanced down at his wrist, where his mother's bracelet still rested. The sight of it calmed him slightly, anchoring him to something familiar.
"At least this hasn't changed," he muttered, his fingers brushing the smooth surface of the bracelet. It was a small comfort in this strange, alien world.
Turning his attention back to the screen, he took a deep breath. "Alright," he said, forcing his voice to steady. "If this is what I'm dealing with now, I need to figure it out. No use freaking out."
But even as he spoke, his mind raced with questions. Where was he? Why was this happening? And most importantly, what was he supposed to do next?
Raven sat down by the base of a sturdy tree, its branches swaying gently in the breeze. He rested his back against the bark and let out a sigh. "So… what comes next?" he murmured to himself, his crimson eyes scanning the distant horizon.
As the silence settled in, he found his thoughts drifting. His gaze turned back to the translucent blue screen floating in front of him. "I don't have any normal skills," he muttered, tilting his head. "Guess that's to be expected. I just started, after all." He scrolled further down, his eyes locking on the section labeled **Abilities**.
"Flock Shift," he read aloud, furrowing his brow. "Dissolve into a swarm of ravens and reappear somewhere else. Huh. That sounds… dramatic." He scratched the back of his head. "But if it works, it could be useful."
Next, his attention shifted to the **Weapons** section. "Beginner's Sword," he read. "A basic weapon for those just starting out. Figures." Curiosity sparked in him, and he raised his hand, palm facing upward. To his surprise, a faint glow materialized, and in a flash of light, a simple yet sharp sword appeared in his grip.
Raven studied it, the weight feeling natural in his hand. He gave it a small, experimental slash through the air, nodding with approval. "Not bad," he muttered, a faint smile tugging at his lips.
Rising to his feet, he glanced at a nearby tree about 20 meters away. He set his sights on it, determination flickering in his crimson eyes. "Alright," he said, gripping the hilt of the sword tightly. "Let's see how this works."
With a deep breath, he uttered, "Skill: Flock Shift."
Instantly, his body dissolved into a flurry of black ravens, their wings flapping in unison. The sensation was strange and fleeting, as though his very essence had scattered into the wind. A moment later, the flock converged near the tree, and Raven rematerialized, standing exactly where he intended. He blinked in awe, patting himself down to ensure he was whole. "Well, that was… weird," he said, chuckling. "But it worked."
Next, his focus turned to his unique skill. "Gluttony," he murmured, holding out his hand. A swirling vortex of grayish-black aura emerged from his palm, its energy radiating with a strange, ominous pull. Raven stared at it, wide-eyed and unsure. "So this is Gluttony?" he whispered, captivated by the power before him. He hesitated, then clenched his fist, causing the aura to vanish as quickly as it had appeared. "Wow…" he breathed. "This is my power. When I absorb things, I become stronger."
Lowering his hand, he sat back down under the tree, his mind racing. "This is crazy," he muttered. "Magic, skills, swords… it's like something out of a game. But it's real. And it's mine." He leaned his head back against the tree trunk, his eyes fixed on the canopy above. "What can I do with all of this? In this new life… in this new world?"
A smirk crept onto his face as the realization dawned on him. "I guess I'll become an adventurer," he said, his voice filled with newfound resolve. "Travel the world, learn new skills, and become powerful. No more weakness."
His gaze dropped to the bracelet on his wrist, his expression softening. "I'll never be weak again," he whispered, running his thumb over the smooth surface. The memory of his mother lingered in his mind, fueling his determination.
Standing up, he tightened his grip on the sword and took a deep breath. "This is the beginning," he said firmly. "My journey as an adventurer starts now."