He ducked into a collapsed alley, lungs burning. His heart felt like it was being slammed against his ribs, ready to burst out and flee on its own. Every step throbbed with pain, but adrenaline drove him forward, barely outrunning the chaos chasing him down.
[You have taken damage. Passive skill unlocked: Pain Conversion Lv.1]
[Redirect 10% of physical damage into Strength for 60 seconds.]
"What the hell is this..." Kael muttered, gripping his side. His shirt was soaked with blood, not enough to kill him—but enough to scare him.
His system dinged again.
[You are being hunted. Activating Survival Growth Protocol.]
[Condition met: Escaped first pursuit attempt. EXP +50]
[New Skill Acquired: Sprint Lv.1]
Pain pulsed in throughout him, but Kael felt something shift inside him. His legs felt lighter, breath smoother. The Sprint skill wasn't just a word on a screen—it was working. His feet almost felt magnetized to the path forward, following instincts he hadn't known he had.
He stumbled into an abandoned convenience store. The sound of broken glass crunched beneath his shoes. Flickering fluorescent lights buzzed above, casting shadows across the ruined shelves. He grabbed a shard of a shattered display and held it like a dagger.
His reflection stared back from a cracked piece of glass.
Dark hair clung to his forehead in wet strands. Cuts ran along his cheek and neck, dried blood mingling with fresh. His eyes—normally a dull gray—seemed almost feral under the flickering lights.
Sweaty. Bleeding. Terrified. But alive.
[Title Unlocked: First Prey]
[You have become the hunted. But you survived.
Bonuses: +2 Agility when fleeing, +5% EXP gain when targeted.]
Kael swallowed hard. The system wasn't giving him a break—it was pushing him. Testing him. And worst of all, he felt like it was enjoying this.
A deep rumble sounded from outside. Not thunder, but footsteps. Heavy boots. Clanging metal. He barely had time to duck behind the checkout counter before the door behind him exploded inward.
A spear-wielding girl stepped in, her white armor cracked and scorched from earlier fights. She looked barely older than him. Her eyes were cold. Calculating. "You're the Worlds Enemy."
Kael raised the glass shard. "I didn't choose this."
"Doesn't matter. You're the quest."
She lunged.
Kael's mind raced.
[Activating Passive: Adaptive Counter Lv.1]
First exposure to Spear Technique detected.
Calculating evasion pattern...
He ducked.
Barely.
The spear whistled past his ear. kael threw a glass shard. The shard slashed her arm.
Blood sprayed. A crimson arc across broken shelves.
[You have landed your first hit. EXP +20]
[New Passive: Blood Instinct Lv.1 - Increases reflexes for 3 seconds after drawing blood.]
Something clicked. A spark lit behind his eyes. Kael moved not with fear, but with precision. His limbs reacted before his thoughts could catch up. He rammed her with his shoulder. She crashed into a shelf, rattling metal and broken snacks raining down.
She looked up, stunned.
"You're... adapting? Already?"
Kael didn't wait. He sprinted for the back door, vaulting over debris like he'd trained for it. Another ding.
[Skill Progress: Sprint Lv.1 → Lv.2]
The night was alive with sirens and distant screams. Fires glowed in nearby buildings, smoke curling into the sky. Across rooftops and streets, digital markers glowed, red icons hovering over his head in others' vision.
[Bounty Updated: 200 Gold | +Drop Rate Bonus]
He skidded behind a dumpster and collapsed, gasping. His hands were shaking again. From fear this time. The warm buzz of the system's interface flickered at the edge of his vision, but his attention was fixed on surviving.
[Condition met: Survived Second Pursuit Attempt. EXP +100]
[New Trait Unlocked: Predator's Edge Lv.1]
When being hunted, gain +1% Strength and Perception every minute you remain alive.
Kael stared up at the sky. "You really want me to become a monster, don't you?"
The system didn't answer.
But it didn't have to.
It had already marked him.
And everyone else would come to collect.
He didn't stay behind the dumpster long. The chill of fear became the heat of desperation. Kael forced himself up, wiping blood from his face. His muscles felt stronger, ready, like his body was catching up to his situation faster than his mind could.
He found a maintenance ladder and climbed, two rungs at a time, onto a rooftop littered with broken antennas and pigeon nests. The city stretched out before him—a twisted maze of crumbling towers, neon signs, and gridlocked roads choked with abandoned vehicles.
And in every direction, red icons glowed.
[Proximity Alert: Hunters closing in. Estimated ETA: 3 minutes.]
"Three minutes to die," Kael muttered.
Or three minutes to change everything.
He needed weapons. Allies. Or maybe just a chance to breathe. He sprinted across rooftops, barely landing each jump, momentum his only guide. His vision blurred from exhaustion, but the system kept feeding him data.
[Sprint Lv.2 → Lv.3]
[Stamina Efficiency Improved. Movement Speed +3%]
He crashed through a rooftop hatch and dropped into a dusty apartment. Whoever had lived here was long gone—photos on the wall covered in ash, a cold meal still sitting on a table.
Kael grabbed a kitchen knife and some bandages, wrapping his side as best he could. His fingers were clumsy, dirtied with blood, but he managed.
[Minor First Aid: Wound stabilization successful. Bleeding reduced.]
The interface popped again. New message.
[Incoming Transmission: Unknown Sender] [Encrypted Message: "RUN EAST. Do NOT stop. They're not the worst ones coming."]
Kael stared.
"Who the hell was that?"
No time to think. The hunter were almost here.
He slipped out a window, climbed down a fire escape, and hit the pavement running. Neon lights painted the street in vibrant chaos, but nothing masked the sound of boots closing in behind him.
A bolt of energy scorched the pavement next to him. Another hunter. Robed this time, hooded and silent, launching spells with terrifying precision.
Kael dove through a broken café window. Another system prompt hit.
[Skill Unlocked: Urban Evasion Lv.1] [Blend into complex environments. +5% Evasion in urban terrain.]
He crawled behind the counter, heart pounding. Bottles clinked on shelves behind him. The hunter stepped inside, cautious, scanning.
[Threat Level Analysis: Opponent Rank D | Recommended Action: Avoid]
"You don't belong here," the hunter said softly, voice like a whisper across glass. "You'll break this world."
Kael threw a coffee mug. A cheap distraction. It worked. The hunter turned, and Kael bolted, knocking over a shelf in his path.
[Urban Evasion Lv.1 → Lv.2] [Evasion Bonus Increased. Noise Penalty Reduced.]
He vanished into the alley again. Broken fences. Stray cats. Rusted doors. Every corner a new escape route. Every step a gamble.
The city was a cage.
And he was the rat they'd let loose.
But Kael had something new now.
Skills.
Instincts.
And the growing suspicion that maybe, just maybe, this system didn't want him dead.
Maybe it wanted him to become something far worse.