The screen disappeared.
For a moment, Elias simply stood there.
Nothing had changed.
He looked at his hands.
Then his arms.
Then his reflection in the small window.
Still human.
Exactly as he had been before.
Mira stared at him.
"That's it?"
Elias shrugged.
"I guess."
She looked disappointed.
"At least you didn't turn into a monster."
Elias laughed.
"Thanks."
But neither of them noticed the faint tremor beneath Elias's feet.
The ground shook.
Just once.
BOOM.
The old books on the shelves rattled.
Mira immediately turned toward the window.
"What was that?"
Elias didn't answer.
He was looking at something else.
A new notification had appeared.
This time, only he could see it.
[SYSTEM]
RACE SELECTION COMPLETE.
RACE: HUMAN
RACIAL ABILITIES: NONE
RACIAL BONUSES: NONE
LIFESPAN: STANDARD
MANA AFFINITY: LOW
PHYSICAL GROWTH: LOW
EVOLUTIONARY POTENTIAL: UNKNOWN
STATUS: UNREGISTERED
Elias frowned.
"Unregistered?"
The final line changed.
[WARNING]
YOU HAVE CHOSEN TO REMAIN HUMAN.
THE WORLD DOES NOT RECOGNIZE HUMANITY AS A HIGH-RACE SPECIES.
CERTAIN SYSTEM FUNCTIONS WILL REMAIN INACCESSIBLE.
Elias's expression became serious.
"Certain functions..."
Before he could read further—
DING.
Another notification appeared.
[SYSTEM]
RACE-BASED BENEFITS HAVE BEEN REMOVED.
Elias felt something strange.
His body suddenly became heavy.
His knees buckled.
He dropped to the floor.
"Elias!"
Mira rushed toward him.
"I'm fine."
He tried standing.
His legs shook.
He couldn't understand it.
He had been perfectly healthy only moments ago.
Then another notification appeared.
[SYSTEM]
ALL HUMANS WHO REMAIN HUMAN WILL RECEIVE NO RACIAL PROTECTION.
NO ENHANCED PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES.
NO RACIAL SKILLS.
NO RACIAL RESISTANCES.
NO RACIAL EVOLUTION PATH PROVIDED.
Elias stared at the words.
Then he smiled.
"So that's the consequence."
Mira looked confused.
"What are you talking about?"
Elias looked at her.
"The others get something."
He slowly stood.
"We don't."
Later that evening...
Elias sat at the dinner table with his parents.
Nobody spoke.
His mother kept looking at him.
His father had barely touched his food.
Finally, his father placed his spoon down.
"You chose."
Elias nodded.
"Yes."
"Human?"
"Yes."
Silence.
His mother closed her eyes.
For a few seconds, she said nothing.
Then she whispered,
"Why?"
Elias looked at her.
"Because I want to know what happened to us."
His father leaned back.
"You know what happened."
"We became weak."
"No."
His father's answer came immediately.
Elias froze.
His father stared at him.
"We didn't become weak."
He looked toward the old bookshelves in the corner.
"We forgot."
Elias's eyes widened.
"You knew?"
His father didn't answer.
Instead, he stood and walked toward the wall.
He removed an old wooden picture frame.
Behind it was a small metal box.
He pulled it out.
Elias had never seen it before.
His father placed the box on the table.
"I was hoping you'd never need this."
He opened it.
Inside was a single object.
A black, ancient-looking key.
Elias stared at it.
"What is that?"
His father looked directly into his eyes.
"I don't know."
"Then why do you have it?"
"Because my father gave it to me."
"And his father?"
"He gave it to him."
Elias slowly reached toward it.
His father stopped his hand.
"There is something you need to understand."
"What?"
His father's expression hardened.
"Those books you found..."
He glanced toward the shelves.
"They are not the oldest records of humanity."
Elias's heart skipped.
"What?"
His father picked up the key.
"There are older records."
"Where?"
"I don't know."
"Then how do you know they exist?"
His father remained silent.
The room suddenly felt colder.
Finally, he said:
"Because our ancestors left instructions."
Elias stared at him.
"Instructions for what?"
His father placed the key back inside the box.
"For the day..."
He looked toward the distant tower.
"...when a human chooses to remain human."
Elias said nothing.
Then—
DING.
The System appeared again.
But this time, the notification wasn't blue.
It was black.
[HIDDEN CONDITION DETECTED.]
HUMAN BLOODLINE: CONFIRMED.
INHERITED OBJECT: DETECTED.
REQUIREMENT FOR ACTIVATION: UNKNOWN.
ACCESS: DENIED.
Elias stared at the message.
His father couldn't see it.
Neither could his mother.
Only Elias.
And for the first time since making his choice...
He wasn't smiling.
Because remaining human hadn't given him anything.
It had taken things away.
But somewhere in the depths of the System...
Something had recognized him.
Something that had been waiting.
And whatever it was...
It had been waiting for a very long time.
The next morning, nothing looked different.
The sun rose.
People opened their shops.
Children ran through the streets.
Farmers left for the fields.
Blacksmiths lit their furnaces.
The world continued as if nothing had happened.
But for Elias...
Everything was different.
He woke before sunrise.
His body felt heavier than usual.
Not painfully.
Just...
Weak.
He sat on the edge of his bed and rubbed his eyes.
His mother had left breakfast on the table.
Two pieces of bread.
A bowl of porridge.
And a small apple.
Elias ate everything.
He was still hungry.
He stared at the empty bowl.
"That should be enough."
He stood.
His legs felt slightly shaky.
It was something he had never experienced before.
He had always been an ordinary child.
But now he understood exactly what the System meant.
Humans received nothing.
At school, the difference became impossible to ignore.
The children gathered in the training yard.
Today was physical training.
Their instructor, an old human soldier named Garen, stood in front of them.
"Everyone will run ten laps."
The children groaned.
Garen smiled.
"You're ten years old. If ten laps scares you, the monsters outside the settlement will eat you for breakfast."
The children immediately began running.
Elias joined them.
At first, he kept up.
One lap.
Two.
Three.
Then the others began pulling away.
A boy with small horns on his forehead passed him.
"Come on, Elias!"
Elias pushed himself harder.
Another child passed him.
Then another.
Then another.
By the fifth lap, Elias was breathing heavily.
His chest burned.
His legs felt like stone.
He looked ahead.
The other children were still running.
Some weren't even breathing heavily.
The horned boy looked back.
"You okay?"
Elias nodded.
"Yeah."
The boy slowed down.
"You look terrible."
"I'm fine."
"You're always stubborn."
The boy grinned and ran ahead.
His name was Kael.
Before turning ten, Kael had been an ordinary human child.
Yesterday, he had chosen the Beastfolk race.
And now...
Even though it had only been one day...
His body was already changing.
His hearing was sharper.
His muscles were stronger.
His reflexes were faster.
His eyes had changed slightly.
The System had rewarded him for his choice.
Elias had received nothing.
During lunch, the children compared their new abilities.
"I can hear my mother from three houses away!"
"My eyes can see in the dark!"
"I got increased strength!"
"I can control a little fire!"
"I can heal faster!"
Excited voices filled the classroom.
Elias quietly ate his food.
Kael sat beside him.
"What did you get?"
Elias looked at him.
"Nothing."
Kael laughed.
"Seriously?"
"Seriously."
Kael's smile disappeared.
"You mean you're still completely human?"
"Yes."
A girl sitting across from them overheard.
"That's stupid."
Elias looked at her.
She continued eating.
"Why would anyone choose to stay human?"
Another child joined in.
"My brother said humans are disappearing because we're too weak."
Someone else laughed.
"My father says humans shouldn't even be called a race anymore."
Elias said nothing.
Kael looked uncomfortable.
"Leave him alone."
The girl shrugged.
"I'm just saying."
Elias continued eating.
He wasn't angry.
Not yet.
Because they weren't telling him anything he didn't already know.
The real problem came that afternoon.
Training with weapons.
Every child was given a wooden sword.
Garen stood in front of them.
"Strength doesn't matter if you don't know how to fight."
He pointed toward a training dummy.
"Three strikes."
The children stepped forward one at a time.
A Beastfolk child struck the dummy.
THUD.
The wooden sword cracked.
Garen raised an eyebrow.
"Good."
Another child swung.
THUD.
The dummy shook violently.
Then Elias's turn came.
He gripped the sword.
His palms were already sweating.
He swung.
THUD.
The dummy barely moved.
A few children laughed.
Elias struck again.
THUD.
His arms hurt.
Third strike.
THUD.
Nothing.
Garen walked over.
"Again."
Elias blinked.
"Sir?"
"Again."
Elias swung.
Again.
Again.
Again.
His palms began burning.
Eventually, the wooden sword slipped from his hand.
It hit the ground.
Garen looked at him for a long moment.
Then he picked up the sword.
"Your body isn't strong."
Elias lowered his head.
"I know."
"But..."
Garen handed the sword back.
"You're still standing."
Elias looked up.
Garen walked away.
"That's enough for today."
That evening, Elias returned home exhausted.
He opened the door.
His mother immediately noticed.
"You look tired."
"Training."
She touched his forehead.
"No fever."
"I'm fine."
"You always say that."
Elias smiled.
Then he noticed something.
His younger cousin was visiting.
The boy was only seven.
He had chosen Beastfolk the previous year.
He was playing with a wooden toy near the fireplace.
When he saw Elias, he ran toward him.
"Catch me!"
The boy suddenly sprinted.
Elias laughed and chased him.
For the first few seconds, it was fun.
Then Elias realized something.
He couldn't catch him.
Not even close.
His seven-year-old cousin was faster than him.
Much faster.
Elias stopped.
The boy turned around.
"Why did you stop?"
Elias bent over, breathing heavily.
"...Nothing."
The boy laughed and ran away.
Elias watched him.
For the first time, the decision truly sank into him.
He wasn't simply choosing to remain human.
He was choosing to live with everything humanity had lost.
Strength.
Speed.
Abilities.
Advantages.
Perhaps even a future.
That night, Elias returned to his room.
He opened the old book again.
He looked at the picture of the ancient hunters.
They weren't fast.
They weren't strong.
They didn't have magic.
Yet they stood beside a creature that dwarfed them.
Elias traced his finger across the page.
"You did it somehow."
He turned another page.
Then another.
He kept reading.
Outside the window, the moon climbed higher.
Hours passed.
Elias's eyes became heavy.
But he continued.
Because somewhere inside those ancient pages...
There had to be an answer.
Not to how he could become stronger.
But to something far more important.
How had humanity survived when it had nothing?
Elias finally closed the book.
He whispered to himself:
"I'll find out."
And tomorrow...
He would wake up and be weak again.
He would struggle again.
He would fall behind again.
But he would keep going.
Because he had made his choice.
And now...
He had to live with it.