Location: Thymus Core — New Cell Assembly Bay

  Time: 00:00:00 — System Boot Initiated

  He came online like a drop of light.

  Thoughtless. Weightless. Floating in a warm, thick fluid.

  Then—

  

  [System Online]

  Welcome, Operative. Classification: White Blood Cell – Unnamed

  Squad: Beta-9, “Seedlings”

  Primary Function: Threat Identification and Elimination

  EXP: 0 / 100 (Rank I)

  His awareness sharpened. He was lying in a vat with six others, all curled like pearls, faintly glowing with potential.

  One stirred beside him. A soft-faced cell with streaks of violet in her membrane blinked lazily. “You got booted too? Nice. I’m Voxel. Don’t worry, we’ll get names later.”

  He tried to respond, but the system intercepted the thought.

  

  [Speech Skill Unlocked: Thought Echo]

  You can now direct speech via local neuropulse. Basic level.

  XP +5

  “Yeah… just woke up.”

  

  “Hey, you already unlocked a skill?” Voxel smiled. “Overachiever.”

  A taller cell rolled his cytoplasm. “Don’t start flexing, you two. Save it for after orientation.” His ID tag read Cyte, and he carried what looked like a macrophage-scorched baton across his back.

  If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  

  
• 
  
    Voxel – Chatty, curious, specializes in chemical markers
  
    


  
• 
  
    Cyte – Blunt, experienced, frontline enforcer
  
    


  
• 
  
    Merrin – Silent, orb-shaped cell with unknown mods
  
    


  
• 
  
    Glint – Hyperactive scout, equipped with “burst flagella”
  
    


  
• 
  
    Dray – Calm strategist with a shield-like outer layer
  
    


  
• 
  
    [Aegis] – No specialization… yet
  
    


  

  The platform lifted. Warm light bathed them as they were guided into the Thymus Hall, a shining dome where cells trained, patrolled, and prepared to join the bloodstream.

  

  [Tutorial Initiated: Basic Combat]

  Objective: Eliminate Target Dummy

  Reward: +10 EXP, Basic Weapon Unlock

  “Beginner stuff,” Cyte muttered, then smashed the dummy with one hit.

  He stepped forward. Hesitated. Then—instinct took over.

  He reached for a weapon.

  

  [Weapon Unlocked: Complement Grenade – Mk I]

  A cluster of reactive protein fragments. Explodes into micro-spike shrapnel that marks invaders for digestion.

  XP +10

  He lobbed it. The dummy vaporized in a quiet pop of light.

  

  [Skill Unlocked: Precision Lob – Rank I]

  XP +5

  “Okay, okay, mystery guy’s got moves,” Voxel whispered.

  

  Name: [Aegis]

  Rank: I

  EXP: 20 / 100

  Core Traits:

  

  
• 
  
    Neural Instinct: +1
  
    


  
• 
  
    Agility: +2
  
    


  
• 
  
    Membrane Resilience: +1
  
    


  

  Skills:

  

  
• 
  
    Thought Echo (Speech, Rank I)
  
    


  
• 
  
    Precision Lob (Combat, Rank I)
  
    


  

  Weapons:

  

  
• 
  
    Complement Grenade – Mk I (1 remaining)
  
    


  

  Then came the shift.

  Just as they were about to finish drills, the lights dimmed.

  A long, slow pulse throbbed through the dome.

  

  [ALERT: Foreign Protein Signature Detected — Thymus Hall Perimeter]

  Source: Unknown. Pattern not matching standard invaders.

  Mission Priority: DEFENSIVE CONTAINMENT

  New Objective: Investigate Disturbance With Squad

  Reward: ???

  Voxel turned toward you. “Guess training’s over.”