After my burst of excitement, I calmed down enough to think things through. Going from one end of the spectrum of emotions to the other felt wrong, but whatever.

"I received some skills during the initialization; something about summoning a wolf? And another listed under passive. Is that not magic?" I asked.

"Not exactly the same thing, but sure. You should have access to mana now that you've been inducted into the system. If you think about it, the knowledge of how your skills work should come to you. But if you can, please wait till Astra can explain better."

I must have hit my limit of allowed questions because Devon refused to speak for the rest of the walk.

We turned down a dark tunnel and stopped before a room sealed behind an iron door. Thicker than my arm, the thing had no visible locks or keyholes I could see.

Instead of pushing the door open or knocking, he placed his palm on the middle of the door and waited.

The door reacted quickly, and the thick metal lit up with previously invisible runes and glyphs. There were so many runes that it was hard to see the metal between the glowing black lines.

The door swung open, revealing a room dimly lit with purple light.

Devon stepped across the raised threshold and held the door open for me. I entered next, and he shut the door. I watched the runes turn bright yellow before fading away.

That was cool. I wonder if all the doors in this place run off magic.

I didn't have long to dwell on the magical doorway when menacing growls reverberated around the room.

Devon raised his head. "Astra, calm down. It's me. I brought the new pup."

Suddenly, the room's light lit up, and the purple turned into a happier pink. I didn't notice it at first, but there were no torches lining the walls, and I couldn't figure out where the light was coming from.

"Devon? New pup? Oh. Ooooh!" came a female voice from behind some bookshelves.

Now that my eyes had adjusted, I saw bookshelves lining the room—some packed with thick tomes, others with slimmer, more delicate volumes. The air carried a scent of dried parchment, tinged with lavender.

Beside the bookshelves, tables displayed stacks of scrolls, each bound with strings of varying colors. Some appeared so fragile they might disintegrate upon touch, with their strings faded. Others seemed brand-new, with parchment stark white and bound by vibrant, clean threads.

There wasn't much space to move in the room. The silence continued till Devon cleared his throat, and he stared straight ahead.

I turned and observed a tall lady placing a stack of scrolls on the table and dusting herself off. She was stunning. Her strapless black dress contrasted with her pale skin. Around her waist and over the long black sleeves covering her arms were thin silver chains that sparkled under the pink light.

As she walked, she made surprisingly little sound. The chains moved but did not clink, and the fabric of her dress swayed with each step, yet I heard nothing in her approach.

No cloak, not wearing it, or not a hunter?

"Astra, this is Cain; you remember him from last night. I saw your spider on Wyatt's shoulder."

Astra swept up the hems of her dress and lifted it to curtsy. "Hello, Cain. Welcome to the Grimms! I know it's been a rather unexpected and unwanted night, but you're here now, so you might as well make the most of it!"

She was… not what I was expecting. With her dress and outfit, I expected someone more reserved, even gloomy. But I'd take the friendliness if that's what I got. It certainly helped me relax more.

I placed my right hand over my heart and bowed. "Pleasure to meet you, Astra."

Devon yawned, cutting through the polite atmosphere and knocking stray strands of hair out of his face. "Astra, I need you to help explain his skills to him. I'll be back in a few hours after I get some rest."

Astra turned to Devon, the happy smile washing away. In its place, a grim look settled, and her eyebrows furrowed. "Why are you rushing for him to learn his skills? It hasn't even been a full day."

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Devon met her glare and sighed. "You know why, Astra. That raid cost us an experienced hunter, and now we'll have to pick up the slack."

The lights in the room turned purple again, and strange energy made the hairs on my arms stand up.

Astra's eyes shifted to amber, and she raised her chin, shoulders stiff. "You plan on sending him out on a hunt. He's a pup, Devon. Are you insane?"

"Yes. If I don't prepare him, he won't stand a chance for what's coming. You know that as well as I do."

The sparks were in the air; you could have cut the tension with a knife. Neither growled nor showed their teeth but looked ready to fight.

Astra closed her eyes and forcefully lowered her shoulders, her movements strained and unnatural. "Fine. But if you're more worried about Elias' sister than Cain's safety, I'll make it hurt, Devon. I mean it."

Devon flexed his fingers but remained silent. Eventually, he looked to the ceiling and exhaled before meeting Astra's eyes. "You know I would never. Now, please, I need some rest, or I might bite someone's head off."

He patted my shoulder and left the room. With him gone, I could leave the cramped corner and relax.

Astra stared at the metal door before shaking her head and smiling at me. "Sorry about that. He's usually easier to get along with, but he's under a ton of stress right now."

I blinked a few times, unsure what to say. "Oh, uh, it's fine. He's been nice so far and even got me some breakfast. I'm sure... he has a lot to handle."

"More than you know." Her smile dropped a little, but she forced it back up. "Let's get out of the book room, and I'll show you something cool."

She led me between the maze of bookshelves and brought me to a widened alcove with a table and three chairs. She gestured to the chair opposite of hers after moving the folds of her dress to the side so she could sit.

That looks uncomfortable to sit in, especially with those silver chains pushing into you.

If the dress bothered her, she didn't let it show. She maintained a soft smile and placed her hands on the table, palms up. Unsure of what she wanted, I slid my hands forward and put them over hers.

"Ah, good, good! Trust is important if an instructor is to instruct properly!"

I smiled and waited to see what she would do. She looked like the type to do palm readings, but with magic being real, I hoped it was more than a parlor trick.

"Soft hands, but warm. Good. Not too delicate and has nice flexibility to the fingers. Great."

She caressed my palms and flipped my hands over, examining them with slow, tracing fingers. Curling my fingers into a fist, she pushed my hands back to my side of the table. "Well, I'm sure you have many questions. Any you want to ask before we begin our lesson?"

"Yes!" I nearly shouted before realizing my voice became a yell in the secluded room. "Sorry, but the idea of magic is so fascinating. Uh, let's see, first question… I think I have a skill; I'm not sure, but how do I use it?"

"Ah, so you've undergone your first kill initiation then? Good. What is the skill called."

I closed my eyes to recall that notification, but it eluded me. I could remember everything else: the smell of blood and rot mixing with fresh dirt and grass.

A hand on my arm made me open my eyes. Astra gave a smile full of pity.

"Stop. It's okay. It's best not to relive trauma until you're ready. For now, imagine the rainbow of colours that is the system notification. Focus on it. Make the dot expand into your status sheet."

I tried as she asked, picturing the prismatic dot shifting through shades and colours in an ever-spinning wave. The image expanded, slowly growing till it stretched across my eyes.

The status sheet she talked about appeared.

Name: Cain Veldman

Title: Crimson Hunter

Level: 1 +

Stats:

* STR: 12

* AGI: 12

* CON: 14

* INT: 13

* WIS: 12

* LUK: 13

Skills Unlocked:

* Summon Shadow Wolf

Passive Skills:

* Ember Soul

The game-like screen felt disjointed with the harsh reality around me. Golden text written in the air describing my stats, the me personified in numbers–it felt wrong.

My eyes scanned the text, and I roamed from each bullet point. The stats meant nothing, but the skills sounded exciting.

"I take it you've managed to pull up your status sheet," Astra said.

I looked away from the glowing letters and found her resting her head on her hands. "How did you know?"

"Most people try not to stare at the air randomly. And your eyes were moving side to side like you were reading something. It's a very pup thing to do, so don't fret over it." She giggled and raised a finger. "But remember to work on that. Others will judge you as inexperienced otherwise, and a few years down the line, with dozens of hunts under your belt, that's a social death sentence."

I immediately tried to do as she instructed, forcing the text to adjust to where I looked rather than moving my eyes.

That's surprisingly difficult to do.

I didn't know how to close the status sheet, so I thought of the reverse process, where the sheet slowly shrank back into the prismatic dot in the corner. To my surprise, it worked.