NOVEL WEB Chapter 1: Chapter 1
Carter Hayes adjusted the strap of his fraying backpack, his gaze flickering between the crackling red light of the portal ahead and the dusty concrete beneath his feet. The alleyway stank of burnt ozone and rotting meat—the unmistakable stench of a freshly breached portal. He grimaced, covering his nose with his sleeve, and took a cautious step forward.
"Level 2 area," he muttered to himself, glancing at his battered wristwatch. The watch wasn't for telling time; the cracked screen displayed his stats in faint, flickering text:
Name: Carter Hayes
Level: 3
HP: 150/150
Strength: 4
Agility: 6
Intelligence: 9
Skills: None
Pathetic, even by civilian standards. The average untrained person had at least 5s across the board, and the lowest-level Hunters started with double that. Carter's only saving grace was his intelligence score, and even that felt more like a consolation prize than an actual advantage.
But he didn't come here to fight. He wasn't stupid enough to think he could handle even a low-level monster with his laughable stats. No, Carter was here to scavenge—to pick through the aftermath of other Hunters' battles and find anything worth selling.
The portal shimmered ominously, a pulsating tear in the fabric of reality. It hovered ten feet above the ground, swirling with blood-red energy that radiated heat and malice. Around it, the carcasses of low-level monsters lay sprawled in heaps: sinewy hounds with serrated teeth, insectoid creatures with twitching legs, and a few humanoid figures whose faces were locked in eternal screams. The Hunters who'd cleared the area were long gone, having taken anything valuable and left the rest to rot.
Perfect. Exactly what Carter was looking for.
He crouched beside a dead hound, careful not to touch its jagged claws. The creature's body was still warm, its ichor pooling beneath it in a steaming black puddle. Carter's gloved hands worked quickly, prying loose a shard of red crystal embedded in the hound's skull. It was small, no bigger than a marble, but it would fetch enough to cover a week's worth of meals.
"Not bad," he muttered, dropping the shard into his backpack. "Could've been worse."
A distant rumble interrupted his thoughts, followed by a faint vibration beneath his feet. Carter froze, his heart pounding. He'd heard that sound before—the telltale sign of a portal break.
"No, no, no…" he whispered, scrambling to his feet. His eyes darted to the portal. It was still intact, but its glow had intensified, the swirling energy within it becoming more chaotic. Cracks of black lightning arced across its surface, and the air around it grew hotter by the second.
Carter's instincts screamed at him to run, but his legs felt like lead. He backed away slowly, his gaze fixed on the portal as if breaking eye contact would somehow make things worse.
The portal exploded.
A shockwave rippled through the alley, slamming Carter into a wall. His head cracked against the concrete, and his vision blurred as pain shot through his skull. He tasted blood in his mouth. When he managed to look up, he saw the portal had expanded, its crimson light now bathing the entire alley in an eerie glow.
And from its depths, the monsters began to emerge.
The first was a hulking brute, easily ten feet tall, with skin like molten rock and eyes that burned like coals. It let out a guttural roar, the sound reverberating through Carter's chest. Behind it came a swarm of smaller creatures, their chittering cries blending into a cacophony of chaos.
Carter scrambled to his feet, ignoring the dizziness that threatened to topple him. He didn't have a weapon. He didn't have any skills. He didn't even have a plan.
All he had was the overwhelming urge to survive.
He bolted down the alley, his boots slapping against the pavement. The monsters gave chase, their inhuman cries echoing behind him. He didn't dare look back. His only thought was to get as far away from the portal as possible.
The alley opened into a wider street, but it offered no solace. The chaos of the portal break had spread, and the once-bustling thoroughfare was now a battlefield. Hunters clashed with monsters, their weapons flashing in the crimson light. Fireballs and bolts of energy streaked through the air, illuminating the carnage in brief, terrifying bursts.
Carter darted into another alley, his lungs burning as he pushed himself to keep running. He turned a corner and skidded to a halt, his heart sinking as he saw what lay ahead.
A dead end.
He spun around, but it was too late. The chittering swarm had caught up to him, their glowing eyes locking onto their prey. Carter backed against the wall, his chest heaving as he searched for a way out. There was none.
One of the creatures lunged at him, its razor-sharp claws glinting in the dim light. Carter raised his arms to shield himself, knowing it wouldn't make a difference.
And then, something strange happened.
The creature stopped mid-air, its claws mere inches from Carter's face. It let out a confused screech, its body trembling as if fighting against an unseen force. The other monsters hesitated, their glowing eyes narrowing as they studied him.
Carter lowered his arms, his own confusion mirroring theirs.
"What the hell…?" he whispered.
A soft chime echoed in his ears, followed by a voice that was both mechanical and otherworldly:
"System Error Detected. Reassigning User Role."
A new screen appeared before him, its text glowing brighter than anything he'd ever seen:
Name: Carter Hayes
Level: Unranked
Status: Exempt
Abilities Unlocked: Unique System Override
The monsters screeched in unison, their cries filled with rage and fear. One by one, they backed away, their bodies trembling. Within moments, they scattered, disappearing into the shadows of the alley.
Carter stared at the screen, his mind racing.
"What the hell does 'Unranked' mean?"
The voice returned, its tone calm and emotionless:
"Congratulations. You are now outside the system."
Before Carter could process what that meant, a new notification appeared:
Warning: Abyssal Portal Detected. Survival Probability: 0.1%.
Carter looked up and saw the crimson light growing brighter, the portal's chaotic energy spilling further into the city. The voice spoke again, but this time, it carried a hint of urgency:
"Run."