system:Reborn

Chapter 4: The Observer

Kai hit the pavement hard.

Pain shot through his body as the energy blast tore through the concrete wall behind him. Dust and fragments filled the alley, forcing him to cover his face.

For several seconds, everything went silent.

Then his System returned.

[CRITICAL DAMAGE DETECTED]

[HP: 23/100]

[LEFT ARM: 41% FUNCTIONALITY]

[ENERGY: 7%]

Kai stared at the numbers.

"Seven percent?"

He tried to stand.

His legs nearly gave out.

The mechanical creature emerged from the smoke.

Kai immediately realized it wasn't a Shadowling.

Its body was covered in dark metallic armor, but beneath the armor he could see strange biological material moving like muscle. Four mechanical limbs extended from its back, each ending in a different weapon.

Most disturbing of all was the symbol glowing on its chest.

Kai's System attempted to identify it.

[SCANNING...]

A few seconds passed.

[ERROR]

[ENTITY NOT REGISTERED]

Kai's eyes widened.

Everything had a classification.

Humans had ranks.

Monsters had ranks.

Even objects could be analyzed.

So why couldn't the System identify this thing?

The creature raised its weapon.

"Human."

Its voice sounded distorted.

Kai tightened his grip on the broken hydrant.

"You talk?"

The creature tilted its head.

"Interesting."

The weapon began charging.

Kai's interface appeared.

[SYSTEM HACK]

Target: Unknown Entity

Success Probability: 3%

Kai almost laughed.

"Three percent?"

The creature fired.

Kai jumped behind a concrete pillar.

The energy blast destroyed it instantly.

Kai rolled across the ground and looked at the creature's weapon.

Then an idea formed.

He didn't need to hack the creature.

He could hack its weapon.

Kai focused.

[TARGET LOCKED]

Target: Energy Weapon

Success Probability: 47%

"Good enough."

He activated System Hack.

The weapon suddenly flickered.

The creature looked down.

"What have you—"

BOOM!

Energy exploded backward.

The mechanical creature was thrown against a building.

Kai stared in disbelief.

It had worked.

He smiled.

"Got you."

But the creature slowly stood.

Its weapon was destroyed.

Yet it wasn't angry.

It looked afraid.

"You possess unauthorized access."

Kai's smile disappeared.

"What?"

The creature looked directly at him.

"You are not supposed to exist."

Before Kai could respond, the symbol on the creature's chest began glowing.

His System suddenly flickered.

[SYSTEM OVERRIDE DETECTED]

[EMERGENCY PROTOCOL ACTIVATED]

The creature smiled.

"Now it knows where you are."

Then it vanished.

Kai froze.

His interface went completely black.

Three seconds passed.

A new notification appeared.

[HIDDEN QUEST UPDATED]

SURVIVE THE FIRST WAVE

Additional Objective: Discover who sent the Observer.

Reward: Unknown.

Failure: Unknown.

Kai stared at the message.

"Observer?"

A massive roar suddenly shook the city.

Kai looked toward the street.

Every Shadowling had stopped moving.

Then they all turned toward him.

Hundreds of glowing red eyes stared through the darkness.

Behind them stood something enormous.

The System finally identified it.

[ELITE MONSTER DETECTED]

[SHADOWLING ALPHA]

Rank: D

Recommended Combatants: 20+

Kai looked at his remaining energy.

7%.

Then he looked at the Alpha.

He was alone.

But another notification appeared.

[HIDDEN FUNCTION UNLOCKED]

[EVOLUTION]

Kai's eyes widened.

A strange energy began building inside him.

He smiled despite himself.

"Okay."

The Alpha charged.

Kai raised his hand.

"Let's see what this System can really do."

[EMERGENCY EVOLUTION INITIATED]

And somewhere high above Earth, inside the mysterious Core, something opened its eyes.

[ANOMALOUS SUBJECT DETECTED.]

[KAI REN HAS EXCEEDED EXPECTED PARAMETERS.]

To be continued...