Rain pounded the dock roof like thousands of frantic fingers.
Kieran leaned against a cargo container, the metal cold against his back. His breaths were uneven, ragged. His ribs burned each time he inhaled, and dried blood pulled at the skin on his cheek.
Two assassins lay motionless on the wet concrete.
The third—the one whose knee he shattered—had scrambled away, dragging himself into the rain-soaked maze of containers, sobbing and cursing.
Kieran didn't try to chase him.
He couldn't if he wanted to. His body felt like lead.
He slid down into a crouch, gripping the spear like a lifeline.
Then—
A soft chime echoed inside his skull.
––––––––––––– SYSTEM NOTIFICATION –––––––––––––
[Side Quest Completed] — Survive the Pursuers
Result: Confrontation survived
Neutralized: 2
Incapacitated: 1
Reward Gained:
• Level Up +1
• +10 Free Stat Points
–––––––––––––
Another notification appeared immediately.
––––––––––––– [Main Quest Updated] — Identify Who Issued the Kill Order –––––––––––––
Description: Someone wants you dead.
Objective: Find out who, and why.
Progress: 0%
Failure: Future assassination attempts will increase in difficulty.
–––––––––––––
A final optional quest pulsed underneath.
Optional Subquest: Track the Crippled Assassin
He escaped. He knows something.
Reward: unknown
–––––––––––––
Kieran let his head fall back against the crate and closed his eyes.
"So it wasn't random," he whispered.
It wasn't bad luck.
It wasn't a mistake.
Someone deliberately ordered him dead.
He flexed his hand. The spear trembled faintly in his grip.
Level up.
Stat points.
He could feel it—his body wasn't the same. His heartbeat steadied, vision sharpened, pain receded just slightly. Not enough to make him strong.
Just enough to keep him alive.
A puddle near his feet reflected his face, pale and streaked with specks of blood. His clothes were torn, and his hair was pasted to his forehead by rain.
He didn't look like a hero.
He looked like someone who refused to die.
He used the spear to push himself back to his feet.
"I'm not prey," he muttered. "Not anymore."
He glanced toward the direction where the crippled assassin fled.
Part of him wanted to go after him.
Part of him wanted to collapse.
Instead, he wiped the blood off his hands, turned toward the exit, and limped into the rain. Each step left a red-stained footprint.
He didn't know who issued the kill order.
But someone had just made the worst mistake of their life.
They failed.
He survived.
And now…
He was going to find them.
One way or another.