Jace Varn was nobody—just another face in the crowd—until a mysterious neural chip grafted itself to his brain, unlocking the System. Now, life is a game with stats, skills, and quests, layered over reality. A quick-witted drifter, Jace exploits the System’s rules to climb its ranks, turning mundane jobs into high-stakes missions. But as his power grows, so do the enemies—rival players and hidden architects who’ll kill to control the System. Jace must hack the game or be deleted.