Emotion Hunter: System Awakening.

The Gray Veil had opened in the strangest place yet...between two university buildings, right next to the engineering library.

"This feels wrong," Marcus said, crouched behind a maintenance shed as they watched the dimensional rift pulse with familiar gray light. "There are students walking by every few minutes."

"That's why we're doing this at two AM," Riven replied, checking his watch. The campus was mostly empty except for a few late-night studiers and security patrols, but the Veil's location still made him nervous.

They'd been watching for twenty minutes, timing the security rounds and student traffic.

The rift was stable, about the same size as their first Veil experience, but something felt different about this one. The air around it shimmered more intensely, and occasionally he caught glimpses of movement on the other side.

"Is there any Motion sensors around?" Marcus asked, pointing to the campus security cameras.

"Veils don't show up on normal surveillance. To the cameras, we're just two students hanging around the library plaza." Riven hoped that was still true. "Ready?"

Marcus checked his tactical vest and the enhanced combat knife from the system shop. "Let's make this quick. Maya will kill us if we're not back in time for her equipment inventory tomorrow."

They approached the Veil carefully, enhanced senses scanning for any signs of danger. The familiar tingle of dimensional energy washed over them as they stepped through the threshold.

The world on the other side was unlike anything they'd encountered before.

Instead of rocky wastelands or alien landscapes, they found themselves in what looked like the ruins of a massive building that seems to be a library.

Towering shelves stretched impossibly high, filled with books that glowed faintly with their own inner light. The air smelled of old paper and something else....something organic and unpleasant.

---------

**[Gray Veil Entered: The Forsaken Archive]**

**[Threat Level: Low to Moderate]**

**[Dominant Species: Ink Wraiths, Paper Golems, Corrupted Librarians]**

**[Environmental Hazard: Knowledge Drain - Prolonged exposure may cause memory loss]**

--------

"Knowledge Drain?" Marcus read the warning over Riven's shoulder. "That's new."

"And disturbing." Riven pulled out the Resonance Blade, letting it shift into spear form. The weapon's metal seemed to absorb some of the eerie light from the glowing books. "We can't stay here longer than necessary."

They moved deeper into the archive,their boots were silent on floors covered in scattered pages that rustled like dry leaves. The shelves created a maze of corridors and blind corners, perfect for ambush predators.

Marcus's enhanced senses kicked in first. "Something's watching us. Multiple somethings, actually. They're staying just out of sight."

Riven felt it too through their connection...a sense of being observed.

It must've been the Ink Wraiths, whatever they were, seemed more intelligent than the goblins and spiders they'd fought before.

"There," Marcus whispered, pointing to a shadow that moved independently of any light source.

The Ink Wraith materialized slowly, like black liquid taking humanoid shape.

It stood about seven feet tall, with long arms that ended in clawed fingers dripping with dark substance. Its face was a void except for two points of silver light that might have been eyes.

------

**[Threat Detected: Ink Wraith - E Rank]**

**[High mobility, drain attacks, vulnerable to focused emotions]**

------

E Rank. A step up from their previous encounters, but still manageable.

Riven focused on determination, letting the emotion flow through him and into the spear's form. The weapon hummed with increased precision as he thrust toward the wraith's center mass.

But....

The spear passed through the creature like it was made of smoke.

"Shit!" Riven rolled sideways as the wraith's claws swept through the space where his head had been. "It's incorporeal!"

The wraith pursued him with fluid grace, its form shifting and flowing to avoid his attacks. Each missed strike left him more frustrated and off-balance.

"Riven!" Marcus called out. "The system said it's vulnerable to focused emotions. Maybe you need to loot something more intense than determination!"

That made sense. If the creature fed on knowledge and memories, it might be susceptible to raw emotional energy.

Riven switched tactics.....

-------

**[Emotion Detected: Rage (Self)]**

**[Do you wish to Loot this Emotion?]**

-------

"Yes."

The rage flowed out of him, but instead of converting to strength, it seemed to gather around the Resonance Blade like visible energy.

The spear's point blazed with golden light that made the Ink Wraith recoil.

This time when he struck, the weapon connected. The wraith let out a sound like tearing paper and began to dissipate.

-------

**[Ink Wraith Slain]**

**[8 Survival Points Gained]**

-------

"Eight points for one creature," Marcus observed. "These E Rank monsters are definitely worth more than the goblins."

They pressed deeper into the archive, hunting for more wraiths while being careful not to spend too much time in any one area.

The Knowledge Drain warning made Riven nervous.....he couldn't afford to lose memories, especially ones related to his family.

Twenty minutes into their exploration, they encountered their first Paper Golem.

The thing stood twelve feet tall, made entirely of bound books and scrolls held together by some kind of supernatural force. Its arms were thick volumes that looked heavy enough to crush bones, and its face was a constantly shifting collage of text and illustrations.

-------

**[Threat Detected: Paper Golem - E+ Rank]**

[Stats]

**[High durability, area attacks, vulnerable to fire and piercing damage]**

-------

"E+ Rank," Riven muttered. "This is getting serious."

The golem moved with surprising speed for something made of books, swinging its massive arms in wide arcs that would have pulverized anyone caught in their path.

Riven switched his weapon to twin daggers, using speed to stay ahead of its attacks while looking for weak points.

Marcus proved how good he is as a spotter, calling out the golem's attack patterns and identifying structural vulnerabilities in its book-based construction.

"The book binding on its left shoulder!" Marcus shouted. "There's a gap in the book!"

Riven darted in, driving both daggers into the weak point Marcus had identified. The golem's left arm separated from its body with a sound like tearing cardboard, but the creature kept fighting with its remaining limb.

It took several more precise strikes before the Paper Golem finally collapsed into a pile of loose books and scattered pages.

-------

**[Paper Golem Slain]**

**[12 Survival Points Gained]**

-------

"Twenty points total," Riven said, checking their balance. "We need twenty more to afford the Emergency Recall Tokens."

They found their third target deeper in the archive, where the shelves gave way to what looked like a reading area with massive desks and high-backed chairs. Sitting at one of the desks was something that had once been human.

The Corrupted Librarian wore the tattered remains of a tweed jacket and wire-rimmed glasses, but its skin had taken on the yellowish color of old parchment.

Instead of hair, thin streams of text flowed from its scalp like liquid words that somewhat looks like hair.

When it looked up from the glowing book it had been reading, its eyes were pools of black ink.

-------

**[Threat Detected: Corrupted Librarian - E+ Rank]**

[Stats]

**[Spell casting, knowledge attacks, creates Paper Golem minions]**

-------

"That thing used to be a person," Marcus said quietly.

"Probably a scholar or researcher who spent too much time in this place," Riven replied. "The Knowledge Drain warning wasn't a joke."

The Corrupted Librarian stood slowly, raising one hand toward them. The air around its fingers began to shimmer with the same light that emanated from the books.

Riven didn't wait to see what kind of attack it was preparing. He charged forward, spear extended, hoping to end the fight quickly.

The librarian spoke a single word in a language that hurt to hear. The sound hit Riven like a physical blow, sending him stumbling backward as his vision blurred and his thoughts became confused.

--------

**[Knowledge Drain Attack: Resisted]**

**[Emotional Anchor Effect: Mental stability maintained]**

--------

The emotional anchor connection with Marcus had protected him from the worst of the attack, but he could still feel the edges of his memory becoming fuzzy.

"Riven! Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, but we need to finish this fast." He switched weapons again, letting his rage flow into the battle axe form. "That thing is trying to eat my memories."....now he has both strength and a battle axe.

The Corrupted Librarian was already preparing another attack, but this time Riven was ready.

He threw himself forward in a desperate charge, bringing the massive axe down in an overhead strike that would have split a normal person in half.

The librarian's form exploded in a shower of ink and paper fragments, leaving behind only the faint smell of old books and something that might have been relief.

------

**[Corrupted Librarian Slain]**

**[15 Survival Points Gained]**

------

It couldn't survive the strike....

"We got Thirty-five points total in today's adventure huh," Marcus said, helping Riven steady himself as the aftereffects of the knowledge attack faded. "That's More than enough for the recall tokens."

"Good. Let's get out of here before I forget my own name."

They made their way back through the archive, moving more quickly now that their objective was complete....there wasn't a need to search for monsters anymore.

The glowing books seemed to watch them go, and Riven couldn't shake the feeling that the library itself was somehow disappointed to see them leave.

The return journey to normal reality felt like waking up from a dream.

One moment they were surrounded by impossible architecture and supernatural threats, the next they were standing between two perfectly ordinary university buildings under a star-filled sky.

"Different kind of Veil," Marcus observed as they walked back toward campus. "It's less physically dangerous but psychologically threatening."

"I could feel it trying to pull memories out of my head," Riven said. "If we'd stayed much longer, I might have forgotten why we were there in the first place."

"The anchor connection helped?"

"Definitely. Your mental stability kept me grounded when the knowledge drain hit." Riven checked his watch....they'd been gone for less than two hours, but it felt much longer. "Maya was right about needing better preparation for different types of Veils."

As they reached Riven's apartment, both felt a sense of accomplishment that went beyond just earning survival points.

They'd adapted to a new environment, dealt with unfamiliar threats, and proven that their partnership could handle escalating challenges.

"So tomorrow we get the recall tokens and start planning the four-person mission?" Marcus asked.

"Tomorrow we become a real team," Riven confirmed. "With proper equipment, defined roles, and emergency protocols."

"Think Maya and Jake are ready for this?"

Riven thought about his friends' determination to help. "I think they're ready for whatever we can throw at them. The question is whether we're ready to be responsible for their safety."

"We'll figure it out. We always do."

As Marcus headed back to his own dorm, Riven felt the weight of leadership settling more firmly on his shoulders.

Tomorrow they would purchase the emergency recall tokens, finalize their equipment loadout, and begin planning their first group mission.