The air was thick with dust, ash, and the faint scent of ozone. Floating fragments of buildings loomed like broken monuments, suspended in midair by the chaotic pull of the Cataclysm. Silas Renvar stepped carefully from one shard of fractured asphalt to another, staff of hybrid energy in hand. The glow of circuits and runes traced along his arms, pulsing in response to his heartbeat.
The fight with the Rift Hound and drone swarm had left him exhilarated, but exhaustion gnawed at his muscles. Every jump, every swing, every pulse of energy demanded precision. Yet the thrill of control—the sensation that the shards, the fragments, and the chaotic energy responded to his will—made the fatigue vanish.
He scanned the floating city. The rift above pulsed erratically, brighter than before, sending beams of pure energy slicing through the ruins. Somewhere in the distance, a larger shadow moved—a formation of human shapes, coordinated, deliberate.
Humans.
"Finally…" Silas muttered under his breath. He'd avoided people since the Cataclysm began. Most survivors were either scavengers, desperate to survive, or members of the System-controlled factions, eager to enforce the rules of the World System. And in either case, humans posed a far greater threat than any mutant or corrupted drone.
The group came into view. Four figures, moving in perfect formation, hovering above floating debris like a mini-army. Their weapons glowed with a faint blue aura—tech infused with mana. But more importantly, each of them had a class emblem glowing on their arms: Hunter, Mage, Engineer, and Enforcer. The System's chosen.
Silas's HUD flickered, highlighting them in red:
[ENEMY DETECTED: HUMAN FACTION] [LEVEL RANGE: 5-7] [CLASS STATUS: AUTHORIZED SYSTEM ENTITY]
He tensed. He was only Level 4. He had survived so far using instinct, his hybrid powers, and quick reflexes. Against four humans trained by the System? It would be different. Dangerous. Exciting.
One of them—a tall figure with a staff glowing violet—stepped forward. A voice echoed through the air, amplified unnaturally by some unseen tech.
"Unauthorized Entity detected. Identify yourself, or face termination."
Silas swallowed. Termination. That word carried weight. The System wasn't joking. He wasn't supposed to exist.
But the surge of energy under his skin—the pulse of mana-tech hybrid power—made him feel alive. I won't die here.
He lifted his staff, letting shards of hybrid energy orbit him. The shards hummed, sensing his intent, glowing brighter in anticipation.
"Who says I'll answer?" Silas called back.
The faction hesitated, scanning him. One mage flicked her hand, sending a volley of purple energy bolts. Silas reacted instinctively, swinging his staff. The shards formed a rotating barrier, intercepting the bolts midair. Sparks and flickers of glitch energy erupted as the collision of tech and mana created unstable arcs of power.
[DEFENSE SUCCESSFUL +10 XP]
He grinned. Not bad for a Level 4 scrapper.
The faction regrouped, attacking as one. The Hunter fired a bow, arrows glinting with tech-enhanced energy. The Enforcer wielded a heavy cannon that spat mana-charged rounds. The Engineer released a swarm of micro-drones that zipped toward him in a deadly formation. Silas moved fluidly, jumping across floating debris, redirecting shards of hybrid energy at each attack.
[COMBO +3] [LEVEL UP: 5]
The System's glitch HUD pulsed wildly. He could see patterns in the attacks—predictive lines flickered briefly, a side effect of the unauthorized hybrid protocol. Every dodge, every strike, every absorbed shard refined his control, making him faster, sharper, more dangerous.
He struck back. A focused pulse of hybrid energy shot from his staff, shattering a drone and knocking the Hunter backward. A shard of tech-energy embedded itself in the Mage's shield, destabilizing it for a moment.
[ENEMY DAMAGE: 25/80] [ITEM ACQUIRED: MANA-TECH CHIP]
The Enforcer roared, charging at him with the cannon raised. Silas leapt, swinging his staff in a wide arc. Energy shards split into multiple streams, striking the Enforcer mid-charge. Sparks, light, and fragments of tech exploded in the air. Silas landed on a floating streetlight, hovering momentarily as the HUD reported:
[LEVEL UP: 6] [NEW SKILL ACQUIRED: SHARD MANIPULATION – MULTI-PROJECTILE]
He smiled, feeling the exhilaration of power growing exponentially. Every attack, every absorbed fragment, every enemy defeated made him stronger, faster, smarter.
The Mage and Hunter regrouped, now clearly coordinating. They fired a synchronized volley: bolts of purple energy intersected with arrows infused with glowing circuits, creating an unstable cross of power. Silas's reaction was instant. He extended his staff, splitting his shards into a spinning sphere that absorbed and neutralized the intersecting attack.
[COMBO +5] [XP +75]
He realized something important: the hybrid protocol didn't just give him power—it allowed him to adapt in real time, exploiting glitches in the System that even the faction members relied on.
The battle escalated. Debris fell around them. Floating vehicles, shattered walls, remnants of skyscrapers spun in chaotic arcs. Silas dodged, struck, absorbed, and countered. Every move felt like a dance with chaos itself, and he thrived on it.
But then, the Enforcer landed a heavy strike, catching him off-guard. The staff vibrated violently as a shard disintegrated mid-strike. Silas stumbled, heart racing.
"Not enough…" he muttered. He closed his eyes for a fraction of a second, letting instinct and the Hybrid energy guide him. A pulse of cyan-gold light shot from his chest, resonating with every shard and fragment in his vicinity. Energy whirled, spiraling outward like a miniature storm.
[NEW ABILITY UNLOCKED: ENERGY SYMPHONY – HYBRID AOE]
The faction froze as the pulse expanded, knocking them backward, forcing them to retreat temporarily. Silas hovered, shards circling his body like a crown of jagged light. He had survived the first real human encounter.
But he knew this was only the beginning. The rift above pulsed, signaling more danger, more enemies, more chaos. Somewhere out there, stronger creatures and elite System enforcers were waiting. And every moment he survived made him more powerful… and more noticeable.
The voice returned, low and commanding, vibrating through his mind:
"Unauthorized… Hybrid… Ascend."
He clenched his fists, letting the energy flow freely through his body. The shards aligned, humming in anticipation. The city—or what remained of it—was a playground, a battlefield, and a testing ground all at once.
Silas grinned, eyes glowing cyan-gold. This is what I was meant for.
Above him, the Cataclysm rift swirled violently. Below him, fragments of the floating city awaited. Around him, enemies recovered from the pulse of Hybrid energy, recalculating strategies.
And Silas Renvar, the Unauthorized Entity, was ready.
Every jump, every strike, every pulse of hybrid energy was a step toward something greater. A challenge. A war. A world rewritten.
The first human faction would remember him. The System would notice him. And the world would never forget the Hybrid.
He took a deep breath, raising his staff once more.
"Come on. Let's see what you've got."