Sean O'Brien had exactly seven euros left in his pocket, and he'd just spent them all on a guided tour of Dublin Castle. Not his brightest move, considering he hadn't eaten since yesterday's pot noodle, but he couldn't shake the feeling that he needed to be here today.
The tour guide, a woman with bottle-red hair and the kind of enthusiasm usually reserved for children's TV hosts, led their small group through the State Apartments. "And if you look up at the ceiling," she gestured with practiced flourish, "you'll see the most magnificent example of Georgian architecture in the castle."
Sean wasn't looking up. His attention kept drifting to the windows, to the strange darkness gathering over Dublin Bay. The morning news had blamed it on an approaching storm system, but something felt off. The darkness seemed to pulse, like ink dropped in water.
"You're supposed to be studying for finals," he muttered to himself, running a hand through his perpetually messy black hair. Instead, here he was, burning his last few euros on a tourist trap he'd seen three times before. His mam would give him an earful if she knew.
The group moved into the Medieval Undercroft, and Sean lingered behind, letting his hand trail along the ancient stone walls. The rough texture felt familiar somehow, like a memory he couldn't quite grasp. Ever since he was a kid, he'd been drawn to old places like this. It used to drive his parents mad, the way he'd wander off during family trips to explore every ruin and standing stone they passed.
"The foundations here date back to the 13th century," the guide explained, her voice echoing off the vaulted ceiling. "During renovations in the 1980s, they discovered..."
A deep rumble cut her off. At first, Sean thought it was thunder, but it didn't fade. Instead, it grew stronger, vibrating through the stone beneath his feet. The tourists murmured nervously, phones appearing in hands to check weather apps and news sites.
"Nothing to worry about," the guide assured them, though her smile had lost some of its wattage. "Just a bit of thunder. Now, as I was saying..."
Sean's phone buzzed. A text from his best mate, Connor: 'Mate turn on the news. Something weird happening at the bay.'
Before he could reply, another message: 'Actually nvm just look outside. Where are you?'
"Excuse me," Sean stepped away from the group, heading for the nearest window. The darkness over the bay had grown thicker, seeming to writhe and twist against the sky. As he watched, a massive wave crashed against the seawall, but instead of white foam, the spray looked black as oil.
His phone buzzed again. Connor: 'If youre anywhere near the water get inland NOW'
The rumbling intensified. Dust shook loose from the ceiling, dancing in the afternoon light. The tour group's nervous murmurs turned to frightened whispers.
"Ladies and gentlemen," the guide's voice cracked slightly. "I think we should proceed to the exit. Please follow me in an orderly..."
The lights went out.
In the sudden darkness, Sean's hand pressed against the castle wall. The stone felt warm now, almost alive under his palm. That strange sense of familiarity surged through him again, stronger this time. Something old was waking up – in the castle, in the bay, in his blood.
"Everyone please stay calm," the guide called out. Phone lights flickered on around the room, creating islands of harsh white light in the darkness. "The emergency lights should..."
She never finished the sentence. Every phone, every screen, every digital device in the room lit up at once with the same message:
[System Initialize: Earth Integration Beginning]
[Warning: Dimensional Barriers Weakening]
[All Humans Please Stand By]
Sean stared at his phone, the blue text seeming to float above the screen. The rumbling had stopped, replaced by an absolute silence that pressed against his ears. In that moment of perfect quiet, he heard something that would haunt him forever – the sound of thousands of voices rising from Dublin Bay, a chorus of inhuman shrieks and roars that hadn't been heard on Ireland's shores for millennia.
Then his phone changed again:
[Bloodline Detected: Processing...]
[Warning: Ancient Blood Carries Ancient Responsibilities]
The last thing Sean saw before the world changed forever was his reflection in the black window glass. For just a moment, superimposed over his own face, he caught a glimpse of another – a towering figure with fierce eyes and hair like flame, holding a spear that gleamed with its own light.
Then the System arrived, and everything changed.
A white-hot pain lanced through Sean's skull, and the world fractured into data. Blue boxes filled his vision, cascading like a digital waterfall:
[System Integration: 13% Complete]
[Analyzing Physical Parameters]
[Analyzing Mental Parameters]
[Analyzing Genetic Parameters]
[Bloodline Analysis: In Progress...]
The medieval undercroft had descended into chaos. Tourists stumbled around in the dark, their panicked voices competing with the distant roars from the bay. Someone was crying. Someone else was praying. The guide's professional demeanor had finally cracked, and she was arguing with an American couple about evacuation procedures.
Sean barely noticed any of it. His entire world had narrowed to the stream of information flooding his mind:
[Bloodline Confirmed: Heir of Fionn Mac Cumhaill]
[Genetic Memory Access: Granted]
[Legacy Class Available: Fenian Hunter]
[Warning: Class Selection Will Be Permanent]
"This can't be real," Sean muttered, but even as he said it, memories that weren't his own began to surface. He saw battles fought on shores long ago, spears flashing against scaled hide. He smelled salt air thick with the stench of Fomorian blood. He felt the weight of a legendary spear in hands that weren't his own.
[System Integration: 27% Complete]
[Basic Interface Loading...]
[Status Window Available]
[Skill Window Available]
[Inventory Window Available]
"Everyone needs to calm down!" The guide's voice cut through his daze. "The emergency exits are..."
The ground shook again, harder this time. Somewhere above, stone cracked. The American couple bolted for the stairs, others following in their wake. Sean started to move with them, but his legs wouldn't cooperate. That strange warmth from the castle walls was spreading through his entire body now, making his muscles lock up.
[Warning: Legacy Class Integration Beginning]
[Physical Adaptation Required]
[Pain Suppression Activated]
"Christ," Sean gasped as his bones began to burn. It felt like his entire body was being reforged from the inside out. Through watering eyes, he saw his status window materialize:
[Name: Sean O'Brien]
[Level: 1]
[Class: Pending...]
[Health: 100/100]
[Mana: 150/150]
[Stamina: 100/100]
[Available Classes:]
[Basic Hunter] (Common)
[Basic Fighter] (Common)
[Basic Survivor] (Common)
[Fenian Hunter] (Legendary - Bloodline Restricted)
The castle trembled again. This time, Sean heard something massive moving in the bay, followed by the sound of breaking glass somewhere upstairs. The remaining tourists fled, leaving him alone in the undercroft. Only the guide remained, her phone light swinging wildly as she looked around the room.
"Is anyone still here? We need to evacuate now!"
Sean tried to answer, but another wave of pain dropped him to his knees. The class selection screen pulsed insistently:
[Warning: Immediate Class Selection Required]
[Hostile Entities Detected: Approaching Castle Perimeter]
[System Integration: 41% Complete]
Through the pain, Sean reached out mentally toward the Fenian Hunter class. A new window exploded into view:
[Fenian Hunter]
[A legendary class passed down through the bloodline of Fionn Mac Cumhaill. Grants access to ancient hunting techniques, enhanced physical capabilities, and the potential to wield legendary weapons. Warning: This class carries the weight of ancient oaths and responsibilities.]
[Benefits:]
Enhanced Strength and Agility
Advanced Tracking Abilities
Weapon Mastery (Spears)
Monster Core Absorption
Leadership Potential
Genetic Memory Access
[Drawbacks:]
Bound by Ancient Oaths
Targeted by Ancient Enemies
Increased Resource Requirements
Mandatory Protection Duties
"Last chance!" The guide's voice was getting desperate. "Anyone still down here needs to..."
A scream cut her off – not from inside the castle, but from the street outside. It was followed by another, then another, creating a chorus of terror that echoed through the ancient stones.
Sean closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and made his choice.
[Class Selected: Fenian Hunter]
[Integration Beginning...]
[Warning: Prepare For Physical Transformation]
The transformation hit like lightning. Sean's muscles seized as ancient power coursed through his veins, rewriting his body on a cellular level. His vision blurred, then sharpened until he could count the individual dust motes dancing in the guide's phone light. Every sound became crystal clear – the panicked heartbeats of pigeons in the castle towers, the scrape of scaled flesh against stone somewhere in the distance, the steady drip of water in pipes two floors below.
[Class Integration: Complete]
[Base Stats Adjusted]
[Genetic Memory Upload: In Progress...]
[Combat Tutorials Available]
The guide's phone light swung toward him. "Oh thank God, there you... Jesus Christ!"
Sean caught his reflection in a window – his eyes were glowing with a faint amber light, like candle flames caught in glass. As he watched, the glow faded, but his eyes remained changed, the irises now a deep gold instead of their usual brown.
[Basic Skills Unlocked:]
Hunter's Eye (Active)
Spear Mastery (Passive)
Monster Core Extraction (Active)
Track and Trail (Passive)
Fenian Leadership (Passive)
Another scream from outside, closer this time. The guide – Sean suddenly remembered her name was Sarah – backed toward the stairs. "We need to go. Now. Whatever's happening out there..."
The whole castle shuddered. Dust rained from the ceiling. And Sean heard it – the sound of massive webbed feet slapping against wet stone, coming from the courtyard.
"They're already inside the walls," he said, his voice deeper than before, resonating with something ancient. Knowledge from a thousand hunts flooded his mind. He knew what was coming. Had fought them before, in lives long past.
[First Quest Available: Survive the Initial Wave]
[Reward: Basic Weapon Cache, Experience Points]
[Warning: Multiple Fomorian Signatures Detected]
Sarah's phone light caught Sean's face. She gasped. He didn't blame her – he could feel the changes settling into place. His shoulders had broadened, muscles reorganizing themselves for combat. He stood nearly three inches taller than before.
"What... what happened to you?"
"The same thing that's happening to the whole world," Sean said, moving toward the stairs. "The old stories are waking up. And the monsters from them too." He held out his hand. "Come on. We need to get to higher ground."
A crash from above. Something heavy landing on the castle roof. Sarah grabbed his hand.
They were halfway up the stairs when Sean's new senses screamed a warning. He yanked Sarah back just as a massive, scaled arm punched through the wall ahead of them, sending centuries-old stone exploding inward.
[Combat Tutorial Activated]
[Basic Combat Interface Enabled]
[Target Analysis Available]
The arm withdrew, leaving a hole through which Sean could see the courtyard. Through the gap, a face appeared – fish-like eyes set in a brutish, scaled head, rows of teeth gleaming in the strange dark light.
"Fomorian scout," Sean said, ancient memories supplying the classification. "They always send the small ones first."
"Small?" Sarah's voice cracked. The creature's head alone was the size of a car tire.
[New Skill Available: Improvised Weaponry]
[Tutorial Quest Updated: Survive and Protect]
Sean's eyes landed on a piece of rebar jutting from the broken wall. Without thinking, he grabbed it, yanked it free, and felt his new skills activate. The metal rod hummed in his hands, his enhanced muscles automatically adjusting his grip for optimal throwing position.
"When I say run," he told Sarah, "head for the Record Tower. Don't stop, don't look back."
The Fomorian scout opened its mouth, revealing a throat that glowed with sickly green light. Sean's enhanced vision caught the build-up of acid.
"RUN!"
Sarah bolted down the corridor. The Fomorian's head tracked her movement, but Sean was already moving. The rebar left his hand like a spear, his new skills guiding its flight. It struck true, piercing straight through one massive eye.
[First Kill Achieved]
[Experience Gained: 50]
[New Skill Unlocked: Monster Analysis]
The creature's death scream shook dust from the walls. As it fell, Sean caught glimpses of the courtyard through the hole – more scaled shapes moving in the darkness, and beyond them, enormous shadows rising from the bay.
The System's interface flashed a final warning:
[Main Quest Line Activated: The Hunter's Legacy]
[Chapter 1: Survive the First Night]
[Warning: This Is Only The Beginning]
Sean O'Brien, last tour guest of Dublin Castle and newly awakened Fenian Hunter, took a deep breath and ran after Sarah. The first night of the System had begun, and with it, the return of Ireland's ancient wars.