The river's stink of iron and fish clung to the morning air. Barges drifted heavy and slow, ropes creaking, sails sagging. Dockhands shouted in rough cadence as they worked, but Evan Sharp's focus wasn't on them.
It was on the figure crouched across the pier.
The man's coat was too fine for a dockworker—long, gray, edges lined with silver thread that caught the light. His boots gleamed, his posture was loose but deliberate. Most telling were his eyes. Cold. Measuring.
And when Evan's system pulsed, he didn't need to guess.
[DING] Hazard Advisory: Registered Ability-User detected.Rank: Bronze.Threat: Extreme.
Bronze. Evan's chest tightened. Hook Street gangs were trash, unranked vermin playing tough. A registered Bronze could wipe them out before breakfast.
"Not bad for a stray," the man said. His voice was smooth, not loud, but it cut across the dock noise anyway. "First day with a system, and you've already outpaced rats who've run alleys for years."
Evan didn't reply. His pulse hammered, but his body hummed with energy, ready to move.
The man tilted his head. "Don't worry. I'm not here to kill you. Orders are orders, though. They don't like unregistered systems running loose."
Orders. Unregistered. Evan's breath caught.
The system chimed as if in agreement.
Title — [Uncatchable I] active.Registered tracking suppressed.
The man frowned faintly. "...Interesting."
Evan's jaw tightened. If he stood here frozen, he'd be chained and dragged somewhere he'd never see daylight again. But the system had given him a choice already.
Move.
He didn't think. He stepped.
Burst Step snapped the world apart. Air boomed. Evan blurred left, off the dock, boots slamming into the nearest rooftop shingle with a crunch.
Shouts rose behind him. Dockhands cursed as their ropes slipped. The ability-user's coat snapped as he turned to follow—
But Evan was already gone.
The rooftops of Lowwater sprawled like broken teeth. Tar and tile, laundry lines sagging, chimneys coughing black smoke. Evan leapt them in long strides, lungs full, legs burning. The burn didn't feel like weakness.
It felt like growth.
Overflow (1%) active.Motion converting… +1 Speed.Speed: 90 → 91.
His eyes widened. Just running was making him stronger.
He pushed harder, weaving between chimney stacks. Another panel flickered.
Daily Overflow Counter: 1%Maintain streak for compound growth.
"Good," Evan muttered, breath sharp. "Then I'll never stop moving."
A gust swept across the rooftops. Slate clattered. Evan's body twitched, instincts screaming. He cut right—
A streak of flame split the roof where he'd been standing. Tar hissed, shingles exploded outward.
The Bronze stood two rooftops back, palm smoldering with embers.
"Fast," the man admitted. "But raw."
Evan's teeth clenched. Another panel blinked.
Quest: Prove Your Speed.Objective: Evade a registered ability-user for 60 seconds.Reward: +25 Speed, Skill: Momentum Shift.Failure: Capture.
"Sixty seconds," Evan whispered.
The Bronze lifted his arm again. Fire coiled.
Evan's body moved first. Quickstep doubled his stride, Burst Step compressed momentum—he ricocheted off one roof, vaulted another, and slid beneath a line of hanging laundry. Sparks roared overhead.
The Bronze tracked him with cold precision, hurling fire like spears. Each strike hammered the tiles, tearing holes into rooftops. Smoke curled upward in choking plumes.
To Evan, the strikes weren't random chaos. They were arcs. Trajectories. White ghost-lines painted by his system. He slid between them, feet never breaking rhythm.
Thirty seconds. His lungs ached. His ribs burned where old bruises pressed. But each stride made him faster.
Overflow (1%) → (2%).+2 Speed.
Forty-five seconds.
The Bronze snarled, finally shedding composure. He gathered fire into both hands, condensed it into a swirling orb that roared like a furnace.
"This ends now!"
Evan's breath caught—but his system surged with a new prompt.
Micro-Objective: Close distance on the target.Reward: Title progress +20%.
Close… the distance? Against that?
The Bronze launched the orb.
Evan Burst Stepped forward.
The world tore sideways. Fire rushed past his ear. Heat seared the hairs on his cheek, but he was already inside the Bronze's guard. The man's eyes widened. Evan's fist, wrapped in cloth, met the man's chest with a crack.
The Bronze staggered, coat smoking.
Quest complete.+25 Speed.Skill acquired: Momentum Shift (F).Description: Convert an enemy's attack momentum into propulsion. Usable once per confrontation.
Panels rained light across Evan's vision. He didn't linger. He spun, sprinted, and Burst Stepped off the next roof, the city blurring into streaks.
Behind him, the Bronze steadied, coughing smoke. "...Unregistered with a growth hack." His smile was sharp now. "The Guild will want him alive."
Evan didn't hear. His world was speed, and speed alone.
Status — Evan SharpLevel: 3Speed: 117 (↑↑)Skills: Quickstep (F), Burst Step (F), Momentum Shift (F)Title: [Uncatchable I]Path: Velocity — Tier 0 (Overflow 2%)
Evan tore across the rooftops until the Bronze's fire faded from view. His chest burned, legs shook—but his lips curved into a grin anyway.
Speed was more than survival now.
It was victory.