Chapter 3 A Dangerous Opportunity

• Aria Bennett sat on a cold stone bench inside the central transit station. Crowds of busy commuters rushed past her, but her eyes remained fixed on her phone.
• She searched every online job board and emergency assistance forum she could find. None of them offered anything close to fifty thousand Credits in three days.
• Standard fast cash jobs paid twenty Credits an hour. Even if she worked without sleeping, she would barely earn a fraction of the required amount.
• A loud chime echoed through the station concourse as a news broadcast updated on a massive overhead display.
• "System Zone Seven clearance operation completed," the news anchor announced. "Local hunters harvested twelve high tier monster cores, generating over three million Credits in market revenue."
• Aria looked up at the screen, watching footage of armored System users carrying glowing crystal cores toward secure transport vehicles.
• A young man sitting on the nearby bench noticed her staring at the broadcast. He wore a scuffed leather jacket and held a cold drink.
• "Thinking about becoming a hunter?" the young man asked with a slight grin.
• Aria turned toward him, adjusting her phone in her grip. "Is it true that System missions pay that much money?"
• "It is true," he replied, taking a sip. "If you survive the missions, the cash payout is real and immediate."
• "What do you mean, if you survive?" Aria asked, her pulse quickening.
• "System Zones are not a game," he said, his smile fading. "Monsters inside those zones do not care if you are inexperienced. Death inside a zone is permanent."
• "Are the casualty rates really that high for beginners?" Aria asked softly.
• "For unregistered people with zero combat training?" he said, shaking his head. "More than half do not make it past their first month."
• Aria swallowed hard, thinking of her mother lying helpless in the hospital bed. "Where do people go to register for System missions?"
• "There is an official System registration facility downtown on Fifth Street," the man answered, pointing toward the city center. "They run basic evaluations for prospective users."
• "Do they charge a fee for the evaluation?" Aria asked.
• "No, registration is completely free," he said. "The System itself handles activation if you meet the baseline requirements."
• "Why doesn't everyone register if the rewards are so large?" Aria asked, searching his face.
• "Because fear is powerful," he replied simply. "Most people prefer working safe jobs for small pay rather than risking their lives against monsters."
• "I do not have the luxury of choosing a safe job," Aria said quietly.
• "If you are that desperate, go to Fifth Street," he advised, standing up from the bench. "Just remember that nobody comes to save you inside a zone."
• "Thank you for the advice," Aria said as he walked away into the crowd.
• She pulled up an online map on her phone and typed in the address for the registration facility.
• A pop up warning immediately appeared on her screen, highlighted in bright yellow text.
• The official warning listed mortality statistics, injury reports, and legal liability waivers required for new applicants.
• Every statistic warned that System missions carried extreme physical danger, severe trauma risks, and irreversible consequences.
• Yet, below the warnings, a live feed displayed recent mission payouts. A single successful beginner mission could reward thousands of Credits.
• Aria stared at the figures, her mind racing as she calculated the possibilities.
• Fifty thousand Credits was an impossible target through ordinary labor. The System was her only realistic option left to save her mother's life.
• She stood up from the bench, pulled her jacket tight against the cold wind, and walked toward the station exit.
• As she stepped out onto the sidewalk, she passed a street vendor selling basic supplies.
• "Heading down to the registration center, kid?" the vendor asked, noticing her determined expression.
• "Is it that obvious?" Aria asked, stopping near his display counter.
• "You have the same look everyone gets right before they sign up," the vendor said quietly. "A mixture of terror and desperation."
• "Does anyone ever turn back once they get there?" Aria asked.
• "Plenty do," the vendor replied, pointing down Fifth Street. "Most turn back the moment they see the injury transport vans parked outside."
• "I cannot turn back," Aria said firmly, clutching her jacket. "My mother is counting on me."
• "Then watch your back down there," the vendor said, nodding toward the end of the street. "The System gives opportunities, but it takes just as much."
• Aria nodded in thanks and continued walking toward the large concrete building at the end of Fifth Street.
• She had two days remaining, and she would not let her mother die.