SWNOVELXO Chapter 7: Chapter 7 – The System Awakens
4:35 AM – Safehouse, Seoul
The Hollow Imitator was dead.
Its burned husk lay motionless on the concrete floor, the scent of charred flesh and acrid smoke filling the room. But no one celebrated.
Joon-hyuk was dead.
His corpse sat slumped in the corner, eyes vacant, the blood beneath him already drying into a dark stain. The first casualty.
The survivors gathered in a rough circle, exhausted, wounded, and shaken. No one spoke.
Then—
[System Notice: Milestone Reached – The First Hunt Completed]
"You have slain multiple monsters as a party. The System has now been fully unlocked."
A chime rang out.
And then—a flood of blue light washed over them.
4:36 AM – The First System Update
Kyung-min gritted his teeth as information poured into his mind. It wasn't painful—just overwhelming, like being forcibly awakened from a deep sleep.
A new notification appeared in front of everyone.
[System Expansion Unlocked]
1. Status System – Fully Available
2. Experience, Levels, and Gold – Activated
3. Skills & Progression Paths – Available
4. Party System – Introduced
5. Shop System – Available
6. Inventory System – Available
7. Professions – Now Accessible
8. Titles & Achievements – Available
9. Monster Loot Drops – Now Active
More pop-ups followed.
[System Notice: You Have Leveled Up!]
[You Have Gained +5 Stat Points & 1 Free Skill Point]
[You Have Received 250G As A First-Time System Unlock Bonus]
Kyung-min exhaled sharply. His body felt lighter. Stronger.
They had leveled up.
For the first time, he wasn't just surviving.
He was growing.
4:38 AM – The Status Window
The others murmured, checking their status screens.
No one could see anyone else's unless it was shown willingly.
But Kyung-min only cared about his own.
He focused, and his personal screen appeared before him.
[STATUS SCREEN – HAN KYUNG-MIN]
🔹 [Level]: 2 (EXP: 0%)
🔹 [Class]: Soul Archivist (E-Rank, Support)
🔹 [Profession]: None
🔹 [Title]: None
🔹 [HP]: 110/110 | [MP]: 140/140 | [Fatigue]: 3/100
🔹 [Gold]: 250G
[Attributes]
✔ Strength: 5 → 7
✔ Agility: 8 → 10
✔ Stamina: 6 → 8
✔ Intelligence: 12 → 16
✔ Perception: 10 → 14
Stat Points Available: 5
[Skills]
🔹 Spectral Insight (E-Rank, Passive/Active) [Lv. 1]
"The eyes of the dead whisper secrets unseen."
Effect: Grants the ability to see faint echoes of past events imprinted on objects and areas. These spectral visions are fragmented and unclear, requiring focus to interpret correctly.
Active Use: Allows Kyung-min to scan a recently deceased corpse (within 24 hours) to receive a brief flash of its last memories before death.
Limitations: Stronger souls may resist revealing memories. Requires direct contact.
🔹 Basic Dagger Mastery (E-Rank, Passive) [Lv. 1]
Grants minor proficiency with small blades. Slightly increases attack speed and precision when wielding daggers.
🔹 Soul Archive (E-Rank, Unique) [Lv. 1]
"The Archivist does not forget—every death is a page in the Archive."
🔸 Effect: Records the essence of a creature that dies within 10 meters, storing its weaknesses, instincts, and combat traits. Can hold up to 5 recorded souls before overwriting.
🔸 Sub-Skill – Death Echo (Active, One-Time Use per Soul)
Extracts one skill from a recorded soul for a single-use before the essence is erased.
🔸 Limitations:
Cannot extract complex or multi-step skills. Recorded Souls (1/5 Slots Used)
[Hollow Imitator] (C-Rank, Deceiver-Type Monster)
A mimic capable of impersonating humans. Infiltrated a survivor's safehouse by imitating a lost family member.
🔸 Weaknesses: Silver weapons, fire disrupts transformation.
🔸 Instincts: Prefers deception, struggles with complex dialogue.
🔸 Death Echo Skill: [False Visage] (C-Rank, Illusion) – Alters facial features to mimic a recently seen person for 30 seconds (Single-use).
[Inventory]
🔹 [Beginner Archivist's Quill] (E-Rank Starter Item)
A mysterious quill that glows faintly when recording the death of a creature.
🔹 [Dull Iron Dagger] (E-Rank, Common Weapon)
A simple dagger, slightly chipped. +1 Attack Power.
🔹 [50x Gold Coins] (Common Currency)
🔹 [Basic Health Potion x1] (Common Consumable)
Heals 50 HP over 10 seconds.
🔹 [Basic Mana Potion x1] (Common Consumable)
Restores 50 MP over 10 seconds.
Kyung-min stared.
This… was power.
It wasn't just about skills anymore. He had gold. Inventory. A shop.
And most importantly…
"Whenever Kyung-min witnesses a creature die within 10 meters, a fragment of its essence is recorded into his Soul Archive"
He had a way to learn.
A way to become more than just a survivor.
4:40 AM – The Party System
[System Notice: The Party System Has Been Unlocked]
"A party allows members to share experience, loot, and system benefits."
Tae-sik was the first to react. "So we can officially party up?"
Ji-hye nodded. "Looks like it. We should do it—fighting together means faster levels."
Seok-hoon frowned. "But doesn't that mean we also share rewards?"
The group fell silent.
If they partied up, weaker members would still gain EXP.
But if they didn't… the strong would get stronger, and the weak would be left behind.
A choice had to be made.
Tae-sik sighed. "We need to stick together. We don't even know how bad things are going to get yet."
One by one, the survivors agreed.
[Party Created – 12 Members]
The silver-haired girl was the only one who didn't join.
She sat on a crate, watching the group, her expression unreadable.
Kyung-min met her gaze.
She was still watching him.
Still waiting.
She's not trusting anyone.
Not even me.
And maybe…
She was right to do so.
4:45 AM – The Path Forward
For now, the group was united.
But as Kyung-min stared at his status screen, he realized something.
Everyone was focused on getting stronger. On leveling up, on fighting monsters.
But no one was thinking ahead.
No one was asking—
What happens when the next reset comes?
And Kyung-min had a feeling…
That when the time came, only those who were truly prepared would survive.
And he would be one of them.