system:Reborn

Chapter 11: The Unmeasurable

The battlefield went silent.

Thousands of Celestial Hunters hovered motionless above the ruined streets.

Then, one after another, they descended to the ground.

And bowed.

Kai stared at them.

Even Commander Ren looked confused.

"What the hell is happening?"

Mira didn't answer.

She was staring at the figure emerging from the spacecraft.

It looked human.

At least, at first glance.

Tall.

Covered in dark armor that seemed to absorb the surrounding light.

A silver symbol rested at the center of its chest.

Unlike the Hunters, it carried no weapons.

It didn't need any.

The moment its feet touched the ground, every electronic device in the city shut down.

Cars stopped.

Drones fell from the sky.

Emergency lights disappeared.

Even the holographic advertisements went black.

Kai's System flickered.

[CONNECTION LOST]

Kai's eyes widened.

"What?"

His interface had never failed before.

Mira grabbed his arm.

"Kai..."

Her voice trembled.

"My System is gone."

Kai looked at her.

For the first time, he couldn't see her status.

He couldn't see the System.

He couldn't see anything.

The figure looked directly at them.

Then it spoke.

"You shouldn't be here."

Kai's stomach tightened.

The voice wasn't distorted like the Observer Drone.

It was calm.

Almost human.

Commander Ren stepped forward.

"Identify yourself."

The figure ignored him.

Its eyes remained fixed on Kai.

"You."

Kai pointed at himself.

"Me?"

The figure nodded.

"You were not supposed to awaken."

Kai felt a chill run through him.

"Who are you?"

A faint smile appeared on the stranger's face.

"My name is Veyr."

Kai waited.

"That's it?"

Veyr looked toward the sky.

"I am the first representative of the civilization currently evaluating your planet."

Ren stepped forward again.

"This is Earth. You don't get to evaluate us."

Veyr finally looked at him.

Ren's body suddenly froze.

He couldn't move.

Kai watched in disbelief.

No attack.

No visible energy.

Veyr had simply stopped him.

[WARNING]

[SYSTEM CONNECTION RESTORED]

Kai's interface suddenly returned.

But the information terrified him.

[VEYR]

Rank: ???

Level: ???

Species: ???

Power: ???

Threat: UNMEASURABLE

Kai swallowed.

This wasn't a monster.

It wasn't a superhero.

It was something far beyond the System's ranking system.

Veyr looked at Kai.

"You have accessed unauthorized System functions."

Kai said nothing.

"You have also synchronized with another anomaly."

His eyes shifted toward Mira.

"Two anomalies."

Mira stepped closer to Kai.

"What do you want?"

Veyr smiled.

"Nothing."

Kai frowned.

"Then why are you here?"

Veyr raised one hand.

The Core above Earth suddenly changed.

Its enormous surface opened.

A gigantic countdown appeared across the sky.

[STAGE ONE EVALUATION]

TIME REMAINING: 99 YEARS

The number began ticking.

98 YEARS, 364 DAYS, 23 HOURS, 59 MINUTES...

Veyr looked at Kai.

"Humanity has been given a choice."

Kai stared at the countdown.

"What choice?"

"Become strong enough to survive."

Veyr paused.

"Or be erased."

The Hunters began rising into the sky.

Kai clenched his fists.

"You're leaving?"

Veyr turned away.

"We have seen enough."

Kai stepped forward.

"Wait."

Veyr stopped.

Kai activated System Vision.

A single hidden line appeared beneath Veyr's status.

[SYSTEM AUTHORITY: 7%]

Kai's eyes widened.

Veyr noticed.

For the first time, his expression changed.

He looked genuinely surprised.

"You can see that?"

Kai smiled.

"Looks like I can."

Veyr stared at him for several seconds.

Then he said something that made Kai's blood run cold.

"Then you should know what happens when you reach one hundred percent."

He disappeared.

The fleet vanished with him.

The remaining Hunters disappeared into the clouds.

Silence returned to Neo-Tokyo.

Kai looked at Mira.

"Did you hear that?"

Mira nodded.

"Yeah."

Kai opened his System.

A new function had appeared.

[SYSTEM AUTHORITY]

Current Authority: 0.7%

Next Unlock: 1%

Requirement: Unknown

Kai stared at the number.

Then another message appeared.

[MAIN QUEST UPDATED]

BECOME STRONG ENOUGH TO CHALLENGE THE SYSTEM.

Time Limit: 99 years

Reward: Freedom

Failure: EXTINCTION

Kai closed his fist.

The invasion was over.

But now he understood.

The real battle had only just begun.