This was some of the most uncomfortable sleep Rūkasu had ever gotten in his life. Even as a street rat he felt more cozy next to the river than he had on this night. His eye had itched and ached to the point that sleep was almost impossible.

  He said it needed to adjust to my body but I still have no idea what he means. There is nothing there but a hole where my eye had been.

  Rūkasu had been pondering these thoughts all night after the old man, whom he now referred to as “Master” despite being told not to call him that, had told him not to touch it. Maybe if I don’t take the bandages off I can just feel whatever this is.

  Finally his curiosity got the better of him as he felt around where his eye had been. “Wh-What the hell?!” As he felt around over top the bandages it felt like…like a new eye… No, that is not possible. Not even the best healer in the city could do that, so what is this then?

  Rūkasu had touched a little too firmly and screamed out in pain and fell unconscious. He drifted into more uncomfortable sleep as this “eye” slowly started to acclimate to its new host.

  It was just a faint whisper, a wisp of forgotten words trailing on the wind. A woman's voice. “Do…not…forget…” It seemed there was more to the statement but he could not make out what he had heard, almost like a different language. “...stay… on…” Then the voice faded from his mind.

  What a strange dream this is. Rūkasu had never heard the voice before and was not exactly sure what it was trying to tell him. Deciding not to take stock in voices in dreams he promptly rolled over and went back to sleep.

  The following morning Rūkasu was awoken by the old man splashing water on his face. “Get up!” Rūkasu was on his feet almost instantly.

  Upon getting his bearings he started to wobble and fell back to the mat he had slept on. Putting his hand to his eye he struggled to understand what was happening.

  “My vision, everything is so distorted. I can’t seem to focus.” Rūkasu looked at the man through fuzzy vision and… he was grinning almost ear to ear. “It worked! It really worked! Truthfully I did not expect it to acclimate to your body so well!”

  Rūkasu tried to focus his one good eye on the figure standing in front of him.

  A short, wrinkly old man with skin that had been kissed by the sun far too much. The man was balding but still sported a top knot with what little hair he had left.

  Getting a look at his face, he looked like an ordinary old man except his face was scarred everywhere and he had an eye patch over his right eye. The robes he wore suggested that it was the only one he owned. Tattered and dirty. To top it all off the man was only wearing a single sandal.

  “I never thought I would find one to conform to it so fast and effortlessly.”

  The confusion was clear as day on Rūkasu’s face.

  “Let me explain. To save your eye I had to give you something. Something to make you truly see this world for what it is.”

  See the world for what it is? This guy has to be putting some heavy herbs in that pipe. Rūkasu slowly took what the man was saying in and started to think he was kidnapped by some Opium crazed homeless man who wanted to eat his skin as a snack.

  “Listen, what I implanted was a relic. Not just any relic. One so ancient, so powerful that not any ordinary person could use it. It takes someone with a great potential for power to wield this, The Ashen Eye!”

  At this point Rūkasu would have ran if he could but his vision wouldn’t allow him to even take a step further. His perception was just too out of sync with his body.

  “Potential for power? I-I am nothing. Just a street rat. I have no power, no land, no concubines. Nothing but the clothes I have and now that I think about it I have to get them remade.”

  The old man frowned at him and started another rant. “What makes you think you do not have that potential? “Street rat” means nothing in the greater world! I see greatness within you and so did the man who hired those goons to kill you.”

  “My father?” he questioned. “He has not thought of me as anything but a waste. He probably hired them so I would not disgrace his lineage any further.”

  Now the old man was laughing at Rūkasu, full on hysterically laughing at him. “You think he hired them just for a petty reason like that? No my boy, he wanted you gone so that you would not awaken. He did not want his forgotten son to awaken the very power that would tip the scales from his favor. He did not want you to awaken the god’s creation. The Combatant Operating System.”

  Rūkasu paused, soaking in the information he had just heard. What the hell was a combatant operating system?

  “Say I believe you, say this isn’t some BS and this IS a relic. What good is some relic in my head if I can’t see?” then as if on command his vision shifted.

  Slowly, the tent had come into focus but it was…. Off. Everything Rūkasu had seen looked like it had been covered in a grayish, grainy film of soot. “What is this?”

  Everything he saw may have been covered in soot but in the bottom center of his vision he saw three lines. The top being a crimson red, the middle a bright green and the bottom being an azure blue.

  A message had popped into his vision that startled him. *ba-da-dum* “Welcome to the Combatant Operating System (C.O.S. for short)! A newly awakened contender has been born! Check stats now? Y/N.”

  Bewildered, Rūkasu stood up and exclaimed “What the hell is this?!”

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  Smirking, the old man stood up to pour a drink. “That must be the initial welcome message. Do not fear it is quite simple. I can still remember when I first saw it.” “Wait…. You have seen this before?”

  The man seemed somber now. “I have. I walked away from the system long ago though.. I once was a great warrior. My way was the way of the sword until one day… it was no longer MY way."

  “Ok this is just getting insa-"*BA-DA-DUM* "CHECK STATS NOW?! Y/N.” The system started almost shouting in his mind.

  “Hey Master, is this system really that impatient or can I just ignore it?”

  The master had guffawed at the statement. “You can ignore it but it will only get louder and if that doesn’t get your attention just wait until the flashing lights in your vision start. Notifications are VERY persistant.”

  With that being said, Rūkasu naturally “clicked” the Y.

  Upon clicking a slew of scripts appeared in Rūkasu’s vision.

  Name- Rūkasu Kazesuji

  Level-0

  Class- Newcomer

  Heart Points (HP)- 100/100

  Magick Points (MP)- 100/100

  Stamina Points (SP)- 100/100

  Strength(STR)-10

  Agility(AGI)- 10

  Hidden Traits (HT)- 37

  Battle Power (BP)- 57

  Skills-

  Distinguish (newcomer)- Allows the Combatant to identify items, enemies and allies. Shows the name, level, class of enemies and rarity of items.

  Auto Translate (newcomer)- Grants the Combatant the ability to translate different languages they hear while also translating their own voice for others to understand (passive ability)

  Knowledge of Combat (newcomer)- Grants knowledge on weapons such as daggers, one handed swords, spears, staffs, greatswords and axes. Does NOT provide knowledge on ranged combat weapons.

  “With your knowledge you know how to hold a weapon but are unrefined. Further understanding of specific weapons can unlock proficiency skills along with new skill branches.” ~B

  “Okay, so there are stats, skills and possibly rarity? What else do I have as skills? Also, who or what the hell is B? Too many damn questions right now.” Rūkasu started to feel a bit overwhelmed but was excited to see what else the system had to offer.

  Kijimuna(newcomer)- Grants a Kijimuna to help aid you in navigating the Combatant Operating System. Can answer any questions the Combatant may have. CANNOT assist in battle.

  “New to the Combatant Operating System, The Combatant known as Rūkasu Kazesuji has been granted a kijimuna to help him in his journey through the new experience that is the Combatant Operating System. Though small and somewhat disturbing with its sunken eyes, they are cute in their own helpful way.” ~B

  “There it is again. “~B” Could that be the creator of this “System”?”

  -ERROR- Combat Tree (-ERROR- skill tree-) Grants knowledge that touches upon the -Error- Combat style. Unlocked through unknown means.

  “New to the system The Combatant known as Rūkasu Kazesuji has unlocked- ERROR. ?}{#~`/:[<.>] “:}{{_+_$#^*()&*%&*$%^@^?

  Only time will tell how your tree will grow.” ~B

  “Okay what the actual fuck is this? I have a skill but it just shows errors?” Rūkasu had been seriously stumped. Why would this system give him a skill with no description? Did the system have no knowledge? Was the skill broken? “Just keep going. We can talk about it after I get back.” His master rushed outside undoing his sash in a hurry. “Too much wine!” “Ohhhkaaaayyy, well lets see what else I have to use.”

  ERROR Armaments-(newcomer skill of the ERROR combat tree)-Grants the new Combatant Rūkasu Kazesuji the basic skill to control the -ERROR- “:>?<{P)+_(@#% @$#3n 3y3 manifest weapons and finishers. Unlocked through unknown means.

  “The winds guide you in battle as you conduct them to do your bidding and blanket the world in -ERROR- @$#3$. Through the wind your power may grow, walk in the -ERROR- @$#3$ and claim what is yours.” ~B

  “I just do not get it…. What could it be? Great, now I am talking aloud to myself.” Rūkasu just really didn’t know how to feel about this. It all felt like a fever dream to him. There was no way this could be real. A system? Skills, HP, Magicks. It all sounded like a spirit had slipped into his dreams and created some hectic world for him to live in while it fed on his lifeforce.

  “Those errors you are seeing are not heard of in the system. That is because you have a power that goes further beyond the Combat System and it cannot comprehend what it is.” Rūkasu found it strange. If he was to believe the man that he had also dealt with this “C.O.S” then fine, but why was it that it felt as if he was seeing what Rūkasu himself was seeing?

  “I still haven’t a clue what my power is. Surviving in harsh conditions? Catching fish, rats and birds with my bare hands so I can eat? I just don’t see it.” Rūkasu had convinced himself that he was nothing but slime after he was left to the streets by his father and his new family. He had broken himself down so much he did not even consider himself a cog in a machine. Just a worthless waste of space.

  “Your power comes from something only you can wield. Something that was not created in your time but was created for YOUR time. The Ashen Eye. You cannot see the skills because the system does not recognize the ashen eye. Not yet, as the eye acclimates to your body and achieves harmony with your body, soul and the system itself will it then recognize the skills more and more.”

  “I still have no idea how I even am able to be a part of this combatant system to begin with. I still have so many questions and you speak in riddles and this seems like complete and total bullsh-.”

  The old man huffed, sat down cross legged and frowned. “Ya know, you haven’t even asked me my name. Quite rude if you ask me. I almost think I should have just let them give you more of a beatdown.” “Oh…. well better now than never. What do I call you if not Master?” “Just call me Amon. Master is fine too I guess since I will be training you to use the eye from now on. Before I go further I will explain how you unlocked the system. To unlock the system three things must happen in succession. First, you have to be 18 and only the day of your 18th birthday can the system be unlocked. A day later it is gone forever. Second you have to have the lineage for it. Meaning one of your parents or an ancestor in one of your family trees has already been a part of the system. Finally third… You have to lose something to gain access… This is…” Amon let the words hang in the air before he continued. “...the hardest and most cruel part of the system.” Looking back, Rūkasu tried to piece together the information he had been given. His birthday had been the day beforehand so that was the obvious one. The lineage seemed like a mystery. His mother’s clan had been wiped out long ago with only a few surviving members and his fathers clan had been boot lickers to the royal family. Finally the third condition. Rūkasu had lost the use of his eye yes but pondering more he had come to realize he had lost more than that throughout his life. He had lost his mother, lost his home, lost an entire family and lost his childhood. A memory surfaced in his mind. A young boy the age of three sitting in his mother’s lap. “ Never forget these words my sweet Rūkasu. Our clan may be gone but our creed still stands strong. In your darkest hours always remember that there is a bright outcome to…” his memory faded but not before Rūkasu spoke the words, “Something lost, something gained…” Rūkasu muttered. “That was the creed of my mothers clan before she had married into my father’s. She taught it to me when I was a small boy. Maybe that is the lineage part?”

  Amon looked up in shock. “What clan was your mother from?”

  “She was from a clan that was wiped out not long before I had been born. Her name was Shiori (She-Or-E) Kazesuji.”

  Master Amon sat there pondering for quite some time before he spoke

  ”The pieces are falling into place.. Come, I will explain to you the System and its purpose in this world.”