The rumble of the highway hummed beneath Jack’s tires as the rock and roll strains of Kansas filled the car. The song was one of his favorites, a nostalgic anthem that seemed to match the rhythm of his life -a constant push forward, even when the destination was unclear. The dashboard lights glowed softly, and the phone mount held his device steady as a faint notification pulse caught his eye. He’d repeated it regularly during his time in the Otherworld. And when he heard it again, he hadn’t realized how many of the lyrics he’d not quite remembered accurately.

Jack’s lips twitched as he read the World’s First Achievement announcement again, his fingers tapping idly to the beat against the steering wheel.

“The dungeon energy must have finally dissipated,” he murmured, recognizing the telltale signs, his voice barely audible over the music. The timing made sense. Rewards like this didn’t just drop in the chaos of a dungeon clear; they waited until everything had settled, until the echoes of magic and violence had truly faded. That much hadn’t changed between worlds.

The World’s First Achievement was a surprise, though. During his time in the Otherworld, he’d racked up achievements like some people collected parking tickets. But this? A literal World’s First? That was uncharted territory. As he processed the announcement, several of his theories began to crystallize.

Firstly, the system was new to this world. That was the only explanation that made sense. Dungeons and the system had either appeared together, or one had summoned the other. Either way, the timing wasn’t a coincidence. And then there was the fact that the announcement had been global. Anyone with even the faintest spark of system access would have seen it. He imagined people all over the world seeing the same notification, blinking in confusion or wonder -or both.

But how many would even know what they were looking at? If Earth’s system worked anything like the one in the Otherworld, most wouldn’t even be aware they had access until it was unlocked. And for some, it might never happen.

His gaze returned to the title he’d earned. Scion of the Forgotten Phoenix. The name carried weight, as did the bonuses it provided. He couldn’t help but analyze it again, his fingers drumming against the steering wheel.

Title: Scion of the Unchained Phoenix

Granted For: Embodying the spirit of the phoenix through resilience, renewal, and the forging of a new destiny, while carrying remnants of a forsaken legacy.

Bonuses (Unclassed): Meta-Classed status detected – Dungeon Master (Dungeon Corp – Tier 5 – Class: S). Attain Primary Class in order to unlock full bonuses of Titles and Achievements.

* Primary Attributes:

* +2 to Body

* +1 to Mind

* +3 to Spirit

* +5% to Primary Attributes while in proximity to a dungeon.

* Skill Buffs:

* Phoenix’s Resilience: Passive ability that reduces the duration of status effects (stun, fear, poison, etc.) by 2% (20% locked).

Gain a burst of + 0.5% (10% locked) speed and stamina recovery when below 30% health.

+0.5% (10% locked) health regeneration outside combat, 5% increased resistance to elemental damage.

* Rebirth’s Grace: Once per encounter, recover 10% (50% locked) health and energy after being critically wounded. Leaves a “Phoenix Feather” buff, granting +0.1% (2% locked) health regeneration for 10 minutes.

* Wings of Renewal: All party members within 10 meters gain a +0.5% (5% locked) boost to stamina recovery and movement speed when you are actively engaged in combat.

Gain a one-time-use active ability to recover 2.5% (50% locked) of lost health and mana when critically injured. Resets every 7 days. Resets reduced while in proximity to a dungeon.

* Legacy - Ashborne Resonance: +5% (15% locked) experience gain in dungeons.

Title Effect:

Phoenix’s Dominion: When leading a party, all party members gain +0.5% (3% locked) resistance to mental and physical fatigue. Party morale improves in dire situations, reducing fear and panic effects by 1% (15% locked).

Special Unlock:

Phoenix’s Ascension: Gain a passive 1% (10% locked) increase to energy-based abilities and resistances. Upon death or incapacitation, trigger a rebirth effect, restoring 2.5% (30% locked) health and energy (usable once every 10 days).

Aegis of the Phoenix: Once per day, create a protective aura for 15 seconds that absorbs 5% (20% locked) of incoming damage for all party members within range. During this time, your actions inspire allies, granting 0.5% (+5% locked) critical hit chance and 1% (10% locked) stamina recovery.

Other Perks:

* Achievement Aura: Others can sense the aura of your achievement, leading to a boost in reputation and charisma-based interactions.

* Achievement Tracker: Gain access to a special system tracker for monitoring future achievements and unlocked titles.

The bonuses were undeniably slanted toward a survivor-type build. Durable. Resilient. Adaptable. It was almost funny how well it fit his current circumstances.

“Man, how I would have loved to have those bonuses back when I was first running dungeons solo,” he mused aloud, a dry chuckle escaping as he checked his rearview. His thoughts drifted to those early days -scraping by on pure grit and luck, with no team to watch his back and zero margin for error.

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He changed lanes, letting a parade of vehicles with flashing emergency lights roar past. Ambulances. Fire trucks. Police cruisers. Their lights slicing through the night like streaks of neon. It was the kind of convoy that screamed -Something bad is happening.

The sight made him tense, the last time he’d seen such a spectacle, it had been caused by the birth of a newly risen dungeon. His shoulders tensed instinctively, but his dungeon sense remained silent. No tingle. No creeping unease. No voices. He let out a breath, though whether it was relief or regret, he couldn’t quite decide. His grip on the wheel relaxed slightly, and he exhaled, the breath carrying a hint of both.

“Not this time,” he muttered, watching the lights fade into the distance. Then his thoughts turned inward again.

As the highway opened up ahead, Jack tapped the phone’s interface. The lack of recent texts didn’t surprise him. Jacob, his “brother,” had yet to respond. He thumbed through the message log, unsurprisingly finding nothing but the echo of his own unanswered comm’. Not exactly shocking.

He activated the steering wheel controls, “Call Jacob,” he commanded, his voice directing the system. The phone rang once. Twice. Then the call dropped to voicemail.

“Hey, Jacob. This is your brother. Call me,” Jack said, his tone flat as he ended the call. He stared at the phone for a moment, his lips pressing into a thin line.

His fingers hovered over the contact list, and his eyes landed on another name: Jessica. Or Little Red, as her crew called her. The thought of calling her lingered, temptation curling at the edges of his mind. He smiled faintly, imagining her reaction. It wasn’t hard to picture -her fiery temper, her sharp wit.

The temptation was there, but he hesitated.

“She’d think I was a creep,” he muttered, his grin fading. He had her number, sure, but she hadn’t given it to him. That was a line he wasn’t willing to cross. Yet. Not unless she needed him, of course.

His brother’s tech had been invaluable when Jack first returned to Earth. And the internet -oh, the glorious internet- had been a crash course in all the things he’d missed. But Jessica’s number hadn’t come from a search engine or a lucky guess.

It had come from Sys.

His system had wasted no time reintegrating itself into his life, starting with his phone. The integration with his tech was seamless, and it began the moment it had access.

The first time he’d entered a dungeon, a subtle notification popped up as Sys had pinged him. The interface had been startlingly familiar -almost identical to the Bluetooth pairing prompts found in most modern cars. He’d accepted on instinct.

And just like that, his phone became more than smart. It became System-enhanced. And when Sys had detected nearby devices, she had taken it upon herself to scan and access every available one.

When Sys had scanned nearby devices, Jack hadn’t fully grasped what was happening. By the time he figured it out, it was too late. Sys had discreetly combed through everything it could find, assuring him it was entirely undetectable.

Jack hadn’t protested when he realized what she had done. The morality of Sys’s invasiveness was questionable. But he trusted her, and he needed to know what he was dealing with, and who. Sys had assured him she was circumspect, undetectable. A quiet infiltrator. And, honestly, her results were hard to argue with.

That was how he’d ended up with Jessica’s number -and the contact information for most of her crew. Even their benefactor, cryptically listed in both Jessica’s and her brother’s phones as Boss.

His fingers drummed against the steering wheel. The number wasn’t just data; it was a door. And he’d learned that such doors had to be opened carefully. He shifted his thoughts back to Jacob. When he finally got ahold of his brother, a background check on the Red’s team was priority number one. Especially their Boss.

Jack’s gut told him the man was more than he seemed. An Avatar for a dungeon, perhaps? The idea wasn’t far-fetched. Too many coincidences lined up too neatly.

His gaze returned to the notification, his thoughts lingering on the locked bonuses tied to his title. The restrictions gnawed at him.

There was something monk-esque about it, though not in the traditional sense. It wasn’t about fists of fury -it was about resilience. Renewal. The ability to rise again, no matter how many times the world tried to crush you.

“Scion of the Phoenix,” he mused, his voice low, almost a growl as it blended with the hum of the engine. “Renewal. Rebirth. Right. More like chain-breaker.”

He let the words linger, rolling them over in his mind like a stone he couldn’t quite put down. Renewal and rebirth? Sure, those were part of it. But it wasn’t just about starting over -it was about breaking the cycle. About forging something stronger from the wreckage.

Jack considered his options for several long moments, the highway lights casting fleeting shadows across his face. The decision wasn’t hard, but the weight of it pressed down all the same. Slowly, deliberately, he allowed his dungeon sense -that quiet, persistent pull always lingering at the back of his mind- to come into sharp focus. It wasn’t intrusive, but it was undeniable. Like a compass that always pointed true, it tugged him toward the nearest incursion, a silent directive that he’d long since learned to trust.

A faint ping sounded from his phone, the system overlay flickering to life. Coordinates flashed across the screen, precise and unrelenting. Latitude: 36.1408° N, Longitude: 112.1381° W. The system pinned the location with a cold, mechanical efficiency, leaving no room for hesitation.

“Well, that’s convenient,” Jack muttered, his lips curving into a faint smirk. His grip tightened on the wheel as he took the next exit, veering onto a highway heading East. “Thanks, Sys. Guess I know where I’m going.”

The smirk widened slightly, though it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Time for a solo-run. For old times’ sake.”

The tires hummed against the asphalt as the highway stretched ahead, an endless ribbon of possibility. The notification from his World’s First Achievement hovered in the corner of his vision, a persistent reminder of how much had changed -and how much hadn’t. Jack wasn’t new to this game, even if the rules had shifted. The paths ahead might look different, but the instincts, the challenges, the stakes -they were all too familiar.

As the final strains of the Kansas song faded into the night, Jack allowed himself a fleeting moment of nostalgia. The open road, the weight of purpose in his chest -it was as close to home as he’d ever felt. The miles rolled away beneath his tires, and with them, the pieces of a world that no longer fit.

Ahead lay the unknown, but for Jack, it was simply another hunt, another chance to rise again.

The darkness welcomed him, the faint glimmer of the system’s guidance lighting his way as he drove deeper into the night.