By sunset, Grey was Level 5.

  Slimes weren't glamorous.

  But they were profitable.

  He now had:

  18 copper

  2 slime cores

  Mild acid burns

  Growing confidence

  They sat on a fallen log as light faded.

  "You adapt quickly," Lyra said.

  "Trial and error."

  She studied him again.

  "Most people specialize early. You're building wide."

  "Is that bad?"

  "No."

  She hesitated.

  "Just uncommon."

  Grey checked his status.

  Level: 5

  Luck: 10

  Perception: 10

  Agility: 11

  Intelligence: 11

  A notification blinked.

  [Hidden Condition Met.]

  [Luck Alignment Lv. 2]

  Hidden Effect Revealed: Critical events have a 5% increased chance to become "Fortunate Variants."

  "…That sounds broken."

  Lyra's head snapped toward him.

  "What changed?"

  "Nothing," he said quickly.

  Her eyes narrowed.

  Emotion: Suspicion.

  "Grey."

  He looked at her.

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  "You're not normal."

  He laughed.

  "I got hit by lightning after winning the lottery."

  She didn't laugh.

  "That's not coincidence."

  The wind shifted.

  For a moment, the air felt heavier.

  Lyra stood slowly.

  "We're not alone."

  Grey triggered Emotional Insight.

  Predatory hunger.

  Multiple sources.

  From the treeline.

  Shapes emerged.

  Not slimes.

  Larger.

  Lean.

  Clawed.

  Dire Wolves – Lv. 7

  Four of them.

  Grey swallowed.

  "That's above my pay grade."

  Lyra's hand hovered near her blade.

  But she didn't draw it.

  Instead, she looked at him.

  "This is a growth moment."

  "That's ominous."

  "If you survive this alone, your system will respond."

  "Alone?"

  She stepped back.

  "I will intervene if you're about to die."

  "That's not reassuring!"

  The wolves lunged.

  Grey's heart pounded.

  He dodged the first one barely.

  Claws ripped through his sleeve.

  He rolled, grabbing a stone.

  Think.

  Micro-Analysis.

  The lead wolf preferred its left side by a hair.

  Old scar.

  He threw the stone.

  It missed.

  Hit a tree.

  The tree branch broke.

  Fell.

  Struck a second wolf in mid-air.

  They collided.

  Grey didn’t waste it.

  He grabbed a broken branch, pointy end out.

  Agility kicked in.

  He plunged it downward—

  Critical hit.

  The wolf let out a cry and disintegrated.

  [Dire Wolf Defeated]

  [Level Up!]

  The other wolves held back.

  Emotion: Uncertainty.

  Grey felt a change inside him.

  Focus cleared.

  Fear receded.

  Time slowed a hair.

  Luck wasn’t just random lunacy.

  It was tilt.

  Momentum.

  The wolves charged again.

  One slipped on mud.

  One bumped into another.

  Grey moved through the gaps he didn’t make.

  When the final wolf went down, he plopped to his knees.

  [Level Up!]

  [Level Up!]

  Level: 8

  Lyra approached him slowly.

  Emotion: Awe.

  "You passed a boundary," she whispered.

  A new window opened.

  [Evolution Available at Level 10.]

  Choose Path:

  — Fortune Walker

  — Probability Breaker

  — Stormbound

  Grey’s eyes fixed on the final option.

  Stormbound.

  Lightning flickered dimly in the distance.

  Clouds.

  Lyra noticed his gaze.

  "What do you see?"

  He looked at her.

  "I think the lightning wasn’t random."

  For the first time since he met her—

  Her emotional state skyrocketed.

  Concern.

  And something else.

  Recognition.

  Because deep beneath the mountains, ancient seals started to crack.

  The world accepted Grey.

  But something else had taken him.

  And at Level 10—

  It would respond.