In the Code Kael trudged north, the glowing arrow his only guide. The Ashen Wastes lived up to their name—endless stretches of cracked stone, dotted with skeletal trees and pools of black sludge that bubbled ominously. The air burned his throat, and every shadow made him grip the obsidian dagger tighter. That wolf hadn't been a fluke. This place wanted him dead.His stats floated in his mind's eye when he focused, like a HUD he could summon at will. Strength 8 was pitiful—he'd been scrawny back on Earth, bullied for it—but Intelligence 12 felt promising. Maybe he could outsmart whatever came next. The Iron Soul perk nagged at him, though. Unique, locked, no description. A bug? A reward for later?The pouch at his belt jingled with 13 copper shards now, plus the wolf pelt, which the System labeled "tradeable." No clue what it was worth, but it felt like progress. He'd looted the wolf's corpse after the fight, half-expecting a gamey inventory screen. Instead, the body had dissolved into light, leaving the pelt and coins. Weird, but he wasn't complaining.A new sound broke his thoughts—a rhythmic clank, like metal on stone. Kael crouched behind a boulder, peering out. Ahead, a figure moved through the ruins: humanoid, clad in patchwork armor, swinging a pickaxe at a glowing vein of ore embedded in a wall. A miner? An NPC?Kael hesitated. The quest said reach the Outpost, not "make friends." But he needed info—about this world, the System, everything. He stood, hands raised, and called, "Hey! You friendly?"The figure spun, pickaxe raised. It was a woman, maybe mid-twenties, with cropped black hair and scars crisscrossing her arms. Her eyes narrowed, scanning him. "You're new," she said, voice rough. "Level 1, huh? Brave or stupid, wandering alone.""Bit of both," Kael said, forcing a smile. "Name's Kael. Just trying to get to the Outpost."She lowered the pickaxe but didn't relax. "Mira. Scavenger, like you. Outpost's that way, but you won't make it looking like fresh meat." She nodded at his tunic, then his dagger. "Nice shard. First kill?""Yeah. Ashfang Wolf. Nearly ate me."Mira snorted. "Lucky. Most newbies don't last an hour." She turned back to the ore, swinging her pickaxe. Sparks flew, and a chunk of blue crystal clinked free. System: +1 Azure Ore, her own HUD flashed, visible to Kael for a split second.He stepped closer, curious. "What's the deal here? This System, the Wastes—am I stuck in a game?"Mira paused, glancing at him. "Not a game. A world. The System runs it—levels, quests, all that. You die, you're done. No respawns." She tapped her temple. "You got a status screen, right? Means you're a Player. Like me. Like everyone who matters.""Players?" Kael frowned. "So what's Iron Soul? My perk's locked, no info."Mira's pickaxe froze mid-swing. She turned, eyes sharp. "Iron Soul? You sure?""That's what it says."She muttered something under her breath, then shook her head. "Don't flash that around. Unique perks are rare—trouble, too. Keep it quiet till you know what it does." She pointed north. "Outpost has a Nexus. Scan your status there. Might unlock it."Before Kael could press, a screech split the air. Three shapes burst from a nearby ruin—birds, but warped, with metallic feathers and beaks like knives. Iron Raptors, Level 2, the System tagged them."Down!" Mira tackled Kael as a beak snapped inches from his face. They hit the ground, rolling behind the boulder. Mira drew a short blade, cursing. "Bad timing, newbie. Fight or run—your call."Kael gripped his dagger, adrenaline surging. Run, and he'd be alone again. Fight, and he might learn something. "Fight," he said, voice steady.Mira grinned. "Maybe you're not hopeless."
