The alley was narrow, suffocating, the stench of rotting food and blood mixing into a foul haze. Moonlight struggled to reach the ground, blocked by the leaning, broken buildings that towered like skeletal remains.
Kairen's breath caught in his throat as the hooded figures emerged, their boots crunching against gravel. Five of them in total, each armed—rusted daggers, bent iron pipes, even a chipped short sword that gleamed faintly in the dark. Their hoods shadowed their faces, but hunger and malice radiated from them like heat.
The leader stepped forward. His hood was torn, revealing a thin face carved by scars, his grin exposing yellowed teeth.
"There he is," he rasped. "The boy who fell from the stars."
Kairen's blood ran cold. How do they already know?
Behind him, Garron shifted slightly, but he didn't draw his blade. Instead, he crossed his arms, watching silently.
The gang members circled closer.
Rumors Made Flesh
The leader's gaze swept over Kairen. "A light in the filth… thought it was just gutter talk. But look at you. Skin still clean, eyes too bright for a rat. You don't belong here."
Kairen clenched his fists, his body trembling. He had no weapon, no training—only the faint support of his system.
The man licked his lips. "Word is, you're special. Power fell into your lap, eh? Lucky for us, power feeds hungry bellies."
He raised his rusted dagger, its edge catching the moonlight. "So hand it over, boy. Or we'll carve it out of you."
Kairen's pulse thundered. He wanted to scream that he had nothing to give, but he knew words wouldn't save him.
The system pulsed in his vision.
[ Emergency Quest: Survive the Ambush. ][ Conditions: Outlast or eliminate attackers. ][ Reward: Skill Adaptation. ][ Failure: Death. ]
Garron's Test
Kairen risked a glance at Garron. The mercenary still stood with his arms folded, his expression unreadable.
"You're just going to watch?!" Kairen hissed.
Garron's smirk was wolfish. "Lesson three, boy. No one's coming to save you. You want to live? Prove you can."
Kairen's throat tightened. "I'll die!"
"Then you weren't worth saving in the first place."
The words cut deeper than any blade.
The gang members laughed, mistaking Garron's indifference as abandonment.
"Look at that," one jeered. "His daddy's not gonna help."
"Easier for us," another snickered, twirling his pipe.
The leader's grin widened. "Kill him slow. If he's hiding something, I want to see it."
They moved in.
First Blood
The first thug lunged with his dagger. Kairen jerked backward, the blade grazing his arm and drawing a hot line of pain. He stumbled, almost falling, as laughter echoed around him.
[ -2 HP ]
His chest heaved. His body screamed at him to run, but there was nowhere to go—they had boxed him in.
The thug lunged again, faster this time. Kairen's instincts screamed. He dropped low, barely avoiding the stab, and swung his fist upward in desperation.
His knuckles cracked against the man's jaw. The thug reeled, spitting blood.
The laughter turned to snarls.
"You little shit!"
The pipe-wielder swung next, a wide arc aimed at Kairen's skull.
The system pulsed.
[ Adaptive Protocol Engaged. Host under siege. ][ Temporary Boost: Reaction Speed +15% (120 seconds). ]
The world sharpened again. Kairen ducked instinctively, the pipe whistling past his ear. He countered with another punch, this one connecting with the thug's ribs.
The man grunted, staggering back.
Kairen's chest heaved. He could feel something in his body—energy gathering, guiding his strikes, sharper than anything he'd felt before.
The Pack Closes
But there were too many.
Two more surged forward. One slashed with a broken bottle, the other thrust with a sharpened stick. Kairen twisted, barely dodging one, but the other cut into his shoulder.
[ -3 HP ]
Pain flared, but it only fueled the fire rising in him. He snarled, driving his fist into the bottle-wielder's stomach. The thug doubled over with a wheeze.
But the sharpened stick came again, thrusting straight toward his chest.
I can't stop it!
Garron's Silence
"Move your feet!" Garron's voice cut through the chaos like a whip. "Don't just swing—control the ground under you!"
Kairen stumbled back, barely avoiding the fatal strike. His legs shook, but he forced himself to shift his weight, circling the thug instead of standing still.
The man sneered, lunging again. This time, Kairen sidestepped, his fist snapping out almost on its own.
[ Skill Triggered: Forceful Blow (Lv. 1). ]
The punch connected with brutal force. Bone cracked. The thug collapsed, clutching his jaw, howling in agony.
The others hesitated, their confidence shaken.
The leader's smile faded into a thin line. "So the rat bites."
No Mercy in the Slums
The leader's grin twisted into a sneer. "Interesting. But you're bleeding out, boy. You'll fall soon enough."
Kairen staggered, blood dripping from his side and arm. His entire body screamed in agony, but a fire burned in his chest.
"I… won't… fall."
The leader lunged, faster than the rest, his dagger flashing toward Kairen's heart.
Kairen dodged late—the blade tore across his shoulder.
[ -6 HP ]
His vision blurred. His body trembled.
But in that instant, something inside him snapped.
The system blazed.
[ Skill Fusion Detected. ][ Forceful Blow + Counterstrike → Fused Skill: Crushing Reversal (Lv. 1). ]
Energy surged into his fist, hot and overwhelming. When the leader's dagger pulled free, Kairen struck.
His punch collided with the man's chest. A shockwave rippled through the air, hurling the leader back several feet. He hit the ground hard, coughing blood.
The other gang members froze, eyes wide.
"What the hell is he?!" one whispered.
Garron Moves
The leader snarled, forcing himself up despite the blood on his lips. His eyes burned with fury. "Kill him! Now!"
The last two lunged together.
Kairen staggered back. His vision swam. He couldn't—
Steel sang.
Garron moved at last.
In a blur, his blade flashed once, twice. The two thugs froze mid-stride. A heartbeat later, their weapons clattered to the ground, and they collapsed, bleeding out onto the dirt.
Kairen's breath caught. Garron's movements had been too fast to follow.
The mercenary lowered his blade, his scarred face calm, as though he hadn't just ended two lives.
"That," Garron said coldly, "is how you kill with purpose."
The Weight of Blood
Kairen stared at the bodies. Their faces twisted in agony, their blood steaming faintly in the cold night. His stomach churned.
He had killed men.
Not beasts, not monsters, but men with voices, laughter, fear.
His hands trembled violently. The sensation of bone cracking beneath his fists wouldn't leave him.
"I… killed them…" His voice was hollow. "I killed people."
Garron's gaze hardened. "And if you hadn't, you'd be cooling on the ground beside them. Remember that. Mercy has its place, but not here. Not when they're coming for your throat."
Kairen bit his lip until it bled. His chest felt tight, his heart heavy. The fire of survival warred with the crushing weight of guilt.
The system pulsed again.
[ Emotional Conflict Detected. Host approaching threshold. ][ Notice: Unique Trait Awakening Possible. ]
But the notice faded before he could read more, as though locked until a choice was made.
A World Against Him
The wind shifted. Somewhere beyond the alley, shouts echoed. The sound of running feet.
Kairen's head snapped toward the noise, panic flaring. "They're coming back—!"
"No." Garron's voice was grim. "Not them. Worse."
He jerked his chin toward the rooftops. Kairen followed his gaze—and his stomach dropped.
Shadows moved above, swift and silent, their outlines barely visible against the night sky. Cloaked figures, watching.
One of them paused, and Kairen felt a pressure crash down on him. It wasn't physical, but suffocating, like an ocean pressing against his chest. His vision blurred under the weight of it.
What is that…?
The figure vanished just as quickly, leaping away into the dark.
The mercenary's jaw tightened. "Too late. The Watchers saw."
"Watchers?" Kairen's voice cracked.
"Spies. Enforcers. Vultures who pick at anything unusual in the slums. And you, boy—" Garron's single eye glinted. "—you burned too bright tonight. They'll come sniffing soon."
A Flicker of Resolve
Kairen's heart pounded with dread. His body still shook from exhaustion, but his fear twisted into something sharper.
"I don't want to die here," he whispered.
"Then don't," Garron said simply.
Kairen looked up at him, searching for mockery, but the mercenary's face was dead serious.
"You've got a spark, boy. I saw it when you stood bleeding, fists raised against men twice your size. That spark can grow into fire. But fire left unguarded burns out fast."
The words lodged deep inside Kairen's chest.
For the first time since his reincarnation, his fear wasn't just fear. It was fuel.
"I'll grow stronger," Kairen said, his voice trembling but firm. "Stronger than them. Strong enough that no one can ever cage me."
The system pulsed.
[ Unique Trait Awakened: Indomitable Resolve. ][ Effect: Host gains +10% resistance to fear and suppression effects. ]
Kairen gasped as warmth surged through him, steadier than before. The crushing pressure from earlier felt lighter in memory, like chains breaking.
Garron smirked faintly. "Good. That's the right answer."
Cliffhanger
The distant shouts grew louder. The slums were stirring—the gang's disappearance had not gone unnoticed.
"We have to move," Garron said, standing tall. "The bodies will draw more than flies. And the Watchers won't be the only ones sniffing for you."
Kairen struggled to his feet, every wound aching. But he forced himself upright. He couldn't collapse now.
As they slipped into the shadows, leaving the alley of blood behind, the system's voice echoed one last time:
[ New Quest Unlocked: Survive the Coming Hunt. ][ Objective: Endure until strength matches exposure. ][ Reward: Evolution Path unlocked. ]
Kairen's eyes hardened. For the first time, he felt the gravity of the path ahead.
The world wasn't just waiting for him. It was already reaching to crush him.