The ruins of the city stretched endlessly before Silas, a labyrinth of floating debris and shattered buildings suspended in defiance of gravity. The Cataclysm rift above pulsed erratically, casting the sky in harsh cyan-gold streaks. Fragments of skyscrapers rotated lazily, some tilting dangerously over the void below. Silas leapt from one shard to another, shards of hybrid energy orbiting his body like restless guardians.
His HUD flickered, indicating multiple readings:
[ENEMY DETECTED: HUMAN PATROL] [LEVEL RANGE: 6–8] [CLASS STATUS: AUTHORIZED SYSTEM ENTITY] [THREAT: HIGH]
He grinned. Level 6 now, freshly enhanced from the Colossus fight, and the System still hadn't caught up to him. He thrived on being unpredictable. The patrol was composed of three humans: a Hunter with glowing blue arrows, an Enforcer wielding a mana-tech cannon, and a Mage with violet energy streaming from her palms.
Silas crouched on a floating fragment, scanning patterns. The Hunter fired a reconnaissance drone ahead, and the Mage cast a brief detection spell. The Enforcer stomped, sending a tremor across debris.
[ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARD DETECTED: UNSTABLE PLATFORM]
He leapt. The shards around him split into a crescent formation, each deflecting the first volley of detection pulses. Sparks of light scattered across the air as hybrid energy met authorized tech.
Silas focused on the Hunter first. A quick flick of his staff launched three shards mid-air, striking the drone and the archer's platform simultaneously. The Hunter stumbled, and the arrow volley faltered.
[COMBO +4] [XP +60]
The Mage reacted instantly, sending a stream of violet energy. Silas rotated his shards, forming a spinning barrier that deflected the attack into the fractured wall behind her. The shards rebounded, leaving streaks of cyan-gold light.
[DEFENSE SUCCESSFUL +35 XP]
The Enforcer charged, firing the mana-tech cannon. Silas jumped, timing his leap perfectly to meet the blast mid-air. The shards coalesced into a blade-like formation, slicing through the volley with a crackle of energy. The cannon misfired, leaving the Enforcer momentarily exposed.
[LEVEL UP: 7] [NEW SKILL UNLOCKED: SHARD INFUSION – ELEMENTAL COMBO]
Silas landed on a half-collapsed street fragment, feeling the rush of power surging through him. He activated Shard Infusion, combining his shards into a rotating spear of tech-mana energy. It glowed with shifting colors—cyan, gold, and faint red—pulsing in rhythm with his heartbeat.
He darted toward the Mage, striking with a blur of motion. She deflected some shards, but several pierced her shield, leaving burns along her arms. The HUD reported:
[ENEMY DAMAGE: 40/80] [COMBO +7]
The Hunter tried to flank him, arrows glinting like neon daggers. Silas twisted mid-air, shards spinning around him in a protective sphere, absorbing the bolts and redirecting them toward the Enforcer. Sparks exploded, and the Enforcer staggered backward.
Silas grinned. This is too easy. Level 7 humans shouldn't be this predictable.
The Mage recovered, casting a suppression field. The shards slowed, reacting to the pulse. Silas countered instinctively, releasing a Hybrid AOE pulse that shattered the suppression field and pushed the Mage back several meters.
[COMBO +10] [XP +150]
He landed on a rotating fragment of a skyscraper, using its motion to slingshot toward the Enforcer. Shards reassembled into a jagged glaive. He struck with precision, hitting the joints of the cannon and exposing mana conduits. Sparks flew. The HUD updated:
[ENEMY DAMAGE: 60/80] [ITEM ACQUIRED: MANA-TECH CHIP]
The Hunter and Mage moved in tandem, attempting a coordinated attack. Silas observed their pattern—split-second delays, predictable rhythm, slight misalignment due to overconfidence. Perfect.
He activated Hybrid Overdrive, feeling his reflexes and energy spike. The shards spun faster, glowing brighter. He launched a multi-projectile barrage: three shards at the Hunter, two at the Mage, and one as a defensive pivot. Each hit calculated precisely, exploiting every weak point.
[LEVEL UP: 8] [COMBO +15] [ENEMY DAMAGE: HUNTER 70/70, MAGE 65/70]
Both went down, leaving only the Enforcer. The cannon roared again, but Silas had anticipated the reload. He dove, slashing through the incoming mana rounds with a shard arc. Landing behind the Enforcer, he aimed for the exposed core at the cannon's base.
[CRITICAL HIT!] [ENEMY DEFEATED: ENFORCER] [XP +300] [NEW SKILL UNLOCKED: SHARD MANIPULATION – MULTI-PROJECTILE]
Silas exhaled, feeling the surge of experience and hybrid energy fill him. He stood atop the fragment, shards orbiting like a halo. Below, the destroyed patrol lay incapacitated, their HUDs flickering with glitch signals.
He scanned the city. The Cataclysm rift pulsed violently above. More enemies would come—stronger, more organized—but he was ready. Every fight made him stronger, sharper, more unpredictable. The System's agents were learning to fear him, and the world was starting to notice.
A flicker of movement caught his eye. From the shadows of a broken skyscraper, figures emerged—more humans, elite System agents, scanning for his presence. Silas didn't flinch. He adjusted the shards around his body, ready for the next wave.
[ALERT: ELITE HUMAN PATROL APPROACHING] [LEVEL RANGE: 8–10] [THREAT: VERY HIGH]
He smirked. Good. I've been waiting for a challenge.
The fragments of the city spun beneath him. The rift pulsed. Hybrid energy thrummed in his veins. And Silas Renvar, the Unauthorized Entity, prepared to turn the next encounter into another step of ascension.