The sky above Duskvale Forest was dark and starless, lit only by the pale light of the moon that slipped through the clouds.
Raindrops fell slowly, wetting the leaves, the ground, and a teenager who was running as hard as he could through the trees.
His breathing was heavy. His knees were shaking. But his steps did not stop.
"GRRRRAAAHHH!"
The first undead scream broke the silence. A half-rotten figure with empty black eyes jumped from the bushes, reaching out a gruesome hand. Behind him, shuffling footsteps and broken branches accompanied the rhythm of death.
Six... no, seven undead figures were chasing him. Their eyes were empty, their bodies rotting, but they continued to chase with one goal... to kill.
Kai glanced back. One of the corpses leaped toward him.
He fell, his shoulder hit the wet ground, his face smashed into a tree root.
Shit...!
With difficulty, he rose to his feet, grabbing a broken wooden stick as a weapon.
No magic. No status. No skills.
Just his body, his sweat, and his determination.
In Kai's chest, adrenaline and anxiety collided. He grabbed the broken wooden stick, the only weapon he had and held it with both hands. There was no Status Board, no skills, no classes, just a strong will to survive.
I'm sure i would be death...
If I fall now, this is the end...
Three days ago, Kai Ardent was an orphan from Crestfall village who had just left his hometown. He wanted to be an adventurer. But unlike everyone else, he never awakened.
[Level: 0]
[XP: 0/100]
[Skill: None]
[Blank Point: ?]
People called it a "system flaw." The village priest even refused to give him a status activation ritual. But Kai did not give up. He believed that something lurked behind his blank.
And now, in the middle of this hellish night, his faith was being tested.
"If I fall now… it's over," Kai thought, gritting his teeth.
One of the corpses leaped toward him, opening its black mouth and growling like a starving beast. Kai slammed his staff into the skull.
CRACK!
The sound of bones cracking echoed, and the corpse stumbled backward.
Without waiting, he twisted and blocked the second blow, which instantly shattered his left arm. Pain exploded, but Kai refused to fall. He pressed himself against a tree, adjusting his position.
"No skills?" he hissed to himself.
"I'll make my own!"
Kai fell again, his back hitting the rocks. He nearly lost consciousness.
A dirty hand reached out, grabbing his collar.
Kai stared up at the sky. The rain was getting heavier. His face was covered in dirt and blood. His heart screamed.
As his breath was about to run out, a thin screen shimmered in the air, something that had never happened to him before.
***
[Notification Appears]
As Kai's eyes were about to close, a transparent screen that had never appeared in his life… now lit up:
[ERROR SYSTEM DETECTED]
[OVERRIDE MODE: BLANK POINT INITIATED]
New Trait Unlocked: ABSOLUTE NOTHING
Blank Point: +1
A silvery light enveloped his body. The bodies that gripped him burned in the silent light. They groaned… then crumbled to dust.
Kai sat up, in disbelief. His hands shook, but they also felt lighter… stronger.
"Blank Point…" he muttered.
"I didn't level up… but I can… choose?"
Another screen appeared, offering three options.
Allocate 1 Blank Point:
[ ] Combat Tree – Unlock Skill: Bone Breaker
[ ] Arcane Tree – Unlock Skill: Ethereal Flash
[ ] Support Tree – Unlock Skill: Instinct Dodge
Kai stared at the screen with bated breath. Other adventurers had to level up to choose. But him? He could choose now.
His hand moved.
[✓] Combat Tree – Unlock Skill: Bone Breaker
A silent boom echoed as he focused new power into his small wooden staff. Seven more corpses charged. Kai held his breath, then leapt forward with a single blow.
Kai jumped.
CRACK!
The first corpse's head split open, falling in silence. Two more tried to attack at once, but he spun around, knocking them both down with a single, powerful swing.
The remaining three were cornered; he opted for an upward strike, breaking the pelvis of the fourth, before toppling the other two with a roundhouse kick. Once again, only silence and the patter of rain remained in the air.
His wooden staff slammed into the first corpse's head, making an ear-splitting crack. The skill, Bone Breaker, was a raw, non-magical attack, but powerful enough to shatter bone.
He attacked the second.
He dodged the third.
He stood among the still bodies, his breath ragged.
As Kai put down his staff, sweat and rain mixed on his cheeks. His breathing was heavy, but a feeling he had never felt before bubbled up in his chest: victory.
From behind the trees, a group of armed figures, the dark green uniforms of the Ashen Wings Guild, appeared with the flash of swords and magical lanterns. Before them stood a silver-haired girl with a shocked expression.
"Who… are you?" she murmured. "And how…?"
Kai stared at the group, ducking his head briefly to catch his breath.
"The name is… Kai Ardent," his voice cracked.
"I am… Level 0."
A middle-aged man, the leader of the expedition, approached. He lit a large lantern, illuminating the figures of the undead that had vanished into dust.
"Level 0? Just a country bumpkin' story… but I just witnessed you kill seven undead, all by yourself." He looked at Kai with appraising eyes.
"You deserve… our evaluation. Come with us."
Kai nodded, his body sagging slightly with exhaustion. He was lifted onto a mud-frozen horse, then turned one last glance toward the forest that had so recently denied him his life.
---
A Moment at the Ashen Wings Headquarters
In the treatment room, Kai's wounds were being cleaned by Maia the healer, while Rowan the Archer prepared eye drops. The silver-haired girl, who later introduced herself as Luna Selene, stared at him with a mixture of curiosity and skepticism.
"I've heard stories about Blank Point," she said quietly.
"But I've never seen it work… until tonight."
Kai pulled at the bandages, his hands still shaking. "I didn't even know what Blank Point was… until tonight."
Ragnar Blackthorn, the mentor and evaluator, walked into the room with calm steps.
The sturdy man with silvery-blond hair stared at Kai with a sharp gaze, then nodded slowly.
"You have something that other adventurers don't have," he said.
"Courage. That's the most important skill. And you managed to activate Blank Point at Level 0, something that is extremely rare. Starting this morning, you are officially registered as a Level 0 member of Ashen Wings. Look forward to tomorrow's training."
Kai lay on a wooden bed, staring up at the simple wooden ceiling.
The sound of the rain had stopped, replaced by the crackle of torches and the soft conversation of adventurers.
Beside his bed, a small static screen appeared.
Kai Ardent.
[Level: 0]
[XP: 10/100]
[Blank Points: 0/1]
[Skill Learned: Bone Breaker]
He stared at the numbers, clutching the edge of his blanket. Bone Breaker, his first skill, would be a starting point. But more than that, this night had proven one thing: emptiness could be a force.
Outside, dawn was breaking. The first light seeped through the small window, illuminating Kai's torn clothes and the scars of the best tact he had ever felt. He took a deep breath, then closed his eyes for a moment, preparing himself for the challenge that lay ahead.
Because tomorrow was the first day of official training. And for a Pure Level 0, the world of Nihilon had just changed, especially for Kai Ardent.