The cavernous hush of the Viper's Den was broken by a sharp, metallic chime in Jack's head.
[ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ]
Strong Opponent Detected.
Target: Zane the Viper.
Quest: Defeat Zane the Viper.
Reward: Instant Level Up, +1000 EXP, +10 Stat Points, +10,000 Credits.
Warning: Be careful, Jack. This is the strongest opponent you have ever faced.
Jack stood in the half light of the hideouts heart, a warehouse hollowed from the abandoned mine, walls seeping moisture and the air tainted with rust, rot, and venom. Broken cages and chains hung from the ceiling like crude trophies, and scattered across the stone floor were the skeletal remains of Zane's cruelty: bottles of poison, broken weapons, shredded cloth stained black green.
Across the chamber, seated on a battered throne of welded pipes and jagged iron, was Zane the Viper.
His reputation didn't do him justice. Zane wasn't just dangerous.He looked like the embodiment of a nightmare. His frame was wiry but corded with muscle, skin inked in scales of venom green tattoos. His eyes glowed faintly, a sickly reptilian yellow, and his hands .God, his hands were wrapped in claw like gauntlets pulsing with toxin. Veins of black light crawled across them, whispering power.
Jack tightened his mask. The thin cloth pressed against his face, an anchor against the storm brewing in his chest. He couldn't let his identity slip. Not here. Not tonight.
Zane hissed, dragging his claws along the armrest, sparks spitting. "I've heard of the pest poking at my boys. Thought you'd stay in the shadows forever. Brave or stupid ; you've still decided to come to me."
Jack's voice didn't waver, though his heart hammered. "You've hurt enough people. This ends here, Zane."
The Viper grinned, baring sharpened teeth. "Ends? Boy, I haven't even started."
He rose in one fluid, serpentine motion. Poison dripped from his claws, sizzling where it struck stone, eating pits into the ground.
Jack's system pinged again, but he muted it. No distractions. His body hummed with adrenaline. Every stat point he'd earned, every skill he'd unlocked. It all came down to this.
Zane struck first. His hand blurred into a rake of claws, venom slashing the air. Jack blinked out of existence, Blink Step pulling him a yard to the left. Stone exploded where he'd been standing. The cavern reeked of acid smoke.
Jack countered, swinging his umbrella in its walking stick form, cracking it against Zane's ribs. The impact landed, but Zane didn't even flinch.He laughed, twisting his claw toward Jack's gut.
Another teleport saved him, this time behind Zane. Jack swung again, but Zane's reflexes were monstrous. He spun, claws intercepting the umbrella, sparks shrieking off metal.
Jack's arms shook from the force.
"Fast," Zane said, eyes gleaming. "But not faster than venom."
His claws pulsed, venom spraying in a mist. Jack leapt back, but droplets landed on his sleeve, burning holes through the fabric.
One touch could kill him.
Jack circled, umbrella raised like a blade. His mind raced. Zane was relentless, but predictable. Each attack overconfident, dripping with arrogance. If Jack could exploit that…
He darted forward, feinting low with the umbrella, then teleporting mid swing to Zane's cheek. For a heartbeat, the strike connected clean to Zane's jaw. His head snapped sideways.
But when Jack blinked back, Zane was already moving, claws slicing in an arc that tore a line across Jack's chest.
His HP bar screamed in red: HP: 95 / 125.
Jack staggered, pain biting deep. The poison hadn't entered, but the cut was raw, burning.
"First blood," Zane grinned. "Yours."
They clashed again, harder now. Zane's claws gouged deep scars into stone pillars, each strike narrowly missing Jack's head. Jack used Object Teleport, swapping a big chair from the side of the room into Zane's path, buying himself seconds. Zane tore through it like paper.
Jack hurled a broken bottle at Zane, then teleported it mid air behind him. It shattered on Zane's back, spraying glass and burning alcohol. Zane snarled but only grew angrier.
"Tricks," Zane spat. "That's all you are."
Jack's breath came ragged. He'd landed blows, but Zane was barely slowing. Every teleport drained his stamina, every dodge cost him breath. His mask clung to his sweaty skin, suffocating.
Zane lunged, claws raised high. Jack blinked away, but too late.Venom grazed his thigh. Fire lanced through him.
HP: 70 / 125.
He collapsed to one knee, gasping. The venom sizzled, his muscles locking.
Zane loomed above him, venom dripping. "This city bows to me, boy. You? You're just meat."
Jack clenched his fist around the umbrella, vision swimming. Memories of Maya Cross flickered in his head.Her betrayal, the weakness he'd sworn never to feel again. Lila's face followed, her smile, her absence like a knife. He couldn't let it end here. Not on his knees.
"I…" Jack forced himself upright, blood dripping. "…don't go down that easily."
He activated Blink Step, not away but forward. In a flash, he was chest to chest with Zane. The umbrella smashed into Zane's chin, snapping his head back.
Jack teleported again, this time above him, slamming the umbrella down like a hammer. Zane roared, stumbling, venom splattering the floor.
Jack didn't give him space. He teleported objects into Zane's path: shards of metal, broken chains;forcing him off balance. Then Jack lunged, using the umbrella like a club jabbing into Zane's ribs.
Zane snarled, claws sweeping but Jack had anticipated it. He teleported mid strike, reappearing at Zane's back. The umbrella hooked around his neck. Jack yanked with all his strength, the mask pressing against his sweat-slick face.
"Fall!" Jack shouted.
Zane thrashed, poison claws raking at air. His movements grew frantic, weaker, until finally, with a guttural roar, his legs buckled.
Jack twisted, slammed Zane's head against the iron throne. The impact echoed through the cavern.
Zane collapsed, sprawling on the stone floor, unconscious.
Jack staggered back, chest heaving, umbrella slick with venom and sweat. His body screamed in pain, but his eyes burned with triumph.
The Viper was down.
He stood over the fallen gang leader, the caverns silence ringing in his ears. The faint glow of Zane's poison claws flickered and died.
At last, the system chimed—
[ Quest Complete ] Target: Zane the Viper — Defeated.
The rest of the message began to scroll rewards, credits, EXP but before Jack could read it, his vision blurred. His body trembled.
He let the umbrella clatter to the floor, staring at the unconscious body of the man who had terrorized Neon City's underbelly.
Jack whispered through cracked lips: "You under estimated me Zane and that was your main undoing."
And then the cavern drowned in silence.