Remembering Xander's instructions, she then found her name was carved neatly into its side. Taking a deep breath, Dawn pricked her finger on a sharp splinter from the wood of the crate and let a single, crimson drop fall onto her carved name. The etched letters glowed blue for a second, a soft, otherworldly pulse, before fading back to normal. That must have been Cosmo accepting her claim.

  Just as the glow subsided, Agent X returned from the village, his presence as silent and imposing as ever, the Summoner Elf trailing nervously behind him.

  "The water flows," Agent X stated, his voice flat, gesturing towards the new channel. "She guided it herself. We have made it possible for water to reach your village. Now it should be easy to expand this channel and create a spot for the water to collect."

  The Summoner Elf's eyes widened, then filled with overwhelming relief and joy. He rushed forward, peering at the flowing water. "Incredible! I'm truly grateful! Thank you, hero, thank you!" He clasped his hands, bowing repeatedly to Dawn, then cautiously bowing to Agent X.

  Agent X, with a swift motion, retrieved the recall crystal from his stash. It now pulsed with a soft, steady glow. He held it up for Dawn to see. "The crystal is now glowing," he stated, his voice monotone, "which means the situation is considered successful. Never leave before it starts to glow; otherwise, you'll lose any and all rewards from that situation. Not to mention any gear you didn't put back into your stash. Only recall before it's considered cleared if it's an emergency. Or the situation is a lost cause. Even then, I would still avoid it if possible; death here means little for us outside of losing the reward."

  The Summoner Elf gasped, recoiling as Agent X spoke of death so casually. He looked utterly shocked and confused by the hero's chilling words. How could he speak of death as if it's nothing? Dawn, however, nodded, a grim understanding settling over her. These lives in these situations truly didn't matter to him. Not even his own. Dawn began to wonder just what Agent X had been through to be like this.

  Agent X closed his hand, crushing the glowing crystal to dust. The vibrant glade around them shimmered, blurred, and then dissolved, sending them back.

  The familiar, stark white room materialized around them for only a moment before it too dissolved. Dawn blinked, when she opened her eyes, she was back in Xander's living room. The scent of fine leather and a little scented candle replaces the damp forest air. Xander stood beside her, now once again in his tailored suit, his jet-black hair neat.

  "Here," he said, offering a sleek, unfamiliar smartphone to her. "This is yours now. It has an app provided by Cosmo once an Incarnate bonds to the system. That app is very important, it lets you look at your stats, view your Stash, and most importantly start situations."

  Dawn took the phone, her hands still trembling slightly, and immediately opened the app. She scrolled through a series of unfamiliar metrics, her eyes widening. Most stats were simply black numbers, indicating no change. She saw vigor: 3, Stamina: 3, and realized most were 5 or lower. But her eyes snapped to Defense, strength, and Speed. Next to them, a small green plus number glowed brightly – Defense: 5 (+3), and Speed: 5 (+2). "My stats..." she murmured, a flicker of awe replacing some of the doubt she felt.

  "I only got monsters to boost your strength, defense, and speed," Xander confirmed, his voice flat. "This gives you a slight boost, but it's only a small boost. If in each situation you make sure to boost your stats some, your stats will grow quickly."

  Dawn's brow furrowed. "That helps with stats, but how does one rank up?"

  Xander gave a small, almost imperceptible grin. "There are a lot of numbers involved, but for now, you need to aim for 100 successfully completed situations. That will get you promoted to D-rank and unlock the first universal loadout. Successful clears and ranking up is also how you unlock new features from Cosmo, he's quite efficient at managing our needs." Xander paused, then continued, "Pretty much everything is based on your successful completion count. The most complex is after you hit rank A, which you need to complete five thousand total missions to achieve. Then once rank A, you need to complete one thousand S-ranked situations, to be promoted to S-Rank. When you achieve S-rank, you will receive a very special reward from Cosmo." Xander pauses with a grin. "After that, it's just boosting attributes and doing whatever you desire."

  Dawn then thought about the small change Xander said was in the pack. She navigated to her banking app. Her breath hitched. The balance showed nearly fifty thousand dollars. "Wait," she stammered, her gaze snapping to Xander. "Won't the government ask how I came into this much money?" A wave of genuine panic washed over her.

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  Xander let out a dry, almost amused laugh, "You have a Cosmic Operating System backing you now. Do you really think he can't bypass the government?"

  A profound wave of relief washed over Dawn, mixed with a chilling realization of the sheer, unimaginable power of Cosmo.

  "There's an extension of the house closest to the garage," Xander said, pointing vaguely towards a hallway. "You can set up your stay in that room for now." He offered no help, merely the instruction before turning to head off to his own room.

  Dawn nodded, still slightly overwhelmed. She clutched the phone, her new lifeline, and made her way to the designated room. It was simple but functional: a comfortable bed, a small nightstand, and a modest closet. It was clean, minimalist, and a bit unwelcoming, much like the rest of the house, but it was infinitely better than her cramped apartment. She began to unpack what little she packed, the simple fabric of her clothes feeling alien in the luxurious space. Each item was a stark reminder of the low-wage life she had just escaped. The money was real, a tangible future that had once been impossible.

  Her mind replayed the events of the last day. Xander’s elven form, the casual way he'd "eliminated" the other elves, his chilling logic that "no bloodshed" simply meant no blood was spilt. He was kinda terrifying, a force beyond her comprehension. She was scared of what he was capable of, and of what he represented. Yet, a powerful wave of gratitude washed over her. He had saved her from a horrific fate and was now offering her a path to a life she could only dream of. His methods were unsettling, but his aid was undeniable. He is cold and unforgiving to others but for now seems to be helping me.

  Dawn reached into her pocket, pulling out her old, beat-up smartphone. Its screen was a spiderweb of cracks, and she knew the service was about to be shut off anyway. With a sigh, she set it on the nightstand, a relic of a life she was rapidly leaving behind. Then, her gaze fell on the sleek, new phone Xander had given her. It felt impossibly smooth and light in her hand.

  She saw an app icon, a swirling galaxy background of black and deep purple, emblazoned with a stark white letter C in the center. Knowing instantly what it must be, she tapped it.

  The screen flared to life, a minimalist interface bathed in soft, ethereal light. The home screen greeted her with simple text: "Welcome, Incarnate Dawn." Below her name, it displayed her current status: "Incarnate Rank F." Next to that, a simpler, starker truth: "Total Successful Completed Situations: 2."

  Along the bottom of the screen, four illuminated tabs beckoned. From left to right, they read: Home, Attributes, Stash, Find Work.

  Wanting to understand herself better, Dawn tapped the Attributes tab. The page loaded, presenting a list of stats in clean, single lines, each with a brief description beside it. Most stats were black showing no new additions. But three stats were green with a little plus next to the number.

  The first on the list was vigor at a low three. The description for vigor states, This stat raises the amount of damage you can receive before death. Next on the list was Strength. It showed a green five with a plus three next to it. The description states, this stat affects the physical power and Stash space of the user.

  Just after strength was stamina. Another stat at three, its description says this stat affects the amount of physical exertion before fatigue. The next stat was another one to get a small boost. That stat was defense it showed a green five with a plus 3 next to it. Its description was simple. This stat affects the user's physical damage reduction. Next was the arcane stat, her lowest stat at only one. Its description states that this stat affects the strength and control over abilities. Nearing the bottom of the list was the endurance stat. This sat at a four, its description is simple. This stat affects how much the user can use their ability before feeling fatigue. Resistances stat was up next at a two. Its description states that this stat affects elemental and poison resistance. The higher the stat, the more resistance the user will have. Lastly was the speed stat in green. It had a green five with a plus two next to it. Its description states, ?speed stat affects all aspects of your avatar, from how quickly you move and attack to your reaction time.

  Dawn stared at the numbers. Most were depressingly low, at 5 or fewer. Her inherent abilities were meager. But the green numbers next to strength, defense, and speed. These green numbers were the tangible proof of her first mission’s rewards. This small boost offered a faint spark of hope. The crate had truly done its work.

  Slightly depressed by her overall low base stats, Dawn decided to click on the next tab: Stash. The page loaded instantly, displaying only one word prominent at the top: "Empty." Dawn mentally kicked herself. Of course. Xander had explained that the Stash was where you store items to take to other realms. She hadn't opened the crate or used her stash; Cosmo had converted its contents, so her Stash would naturally be clear.

  With a sigh, she clicked the next tab: Find Work. This page presents five prominent buttons. Each was labeled with a different situational type. The top option glowed softly: Restoration. Below it was Containment, Intervention, and Calamity. A fifth button, labeled "Urgent," was grayed out, clearly unavailable. Dawn thought to herself what could be so awful it would be labeled as urgent.

  A wave of anxiety washed over Dawn as she looked at the daunting options. Each name carried a weight of either desperate need or immense destruction. She had so many questions—about the grayed-out "Urgent" button, about how all this really works, how situations get assigned to Incarnates, about how she was ever supposed to tackle anything beyond F-rank. She decided she had no choice but to wait until morning. She had questions for Xander and much to process.

  A part of her, a newly awakened ambition, stirred as she looked at the smartphone in her hand, the screen displaying her boosted stats. The power was real. Could she really rise to a power that matched Xander's? The thought was daunting, almost impossible. It meant embracing a world of impossible magic and brutal choices. She had witnessed firsthand what it took, the ruthlessness and the willingness to redefine life and death. Her stomach still churned at the memory of the screaming elves. Her own morals were still intact, screaming in protest at his casual brutality. And if she could achieve that power... what would she have to do? Could she do what needed to be done to achieve it without losing herself completely? The questions hung in the air, unanswered, as she stared at her new life, a life purchased with blood money and guided by a ruthless instructor, yet also fueled by the promise of control and escape from a world of suffering.