There was another rumble as the weakened bridge supports groaned and shifted. The train lurched violently, throwing screaming passengers from their feet.
"Brace yourselves!" Saigid shouted.
Another support snapped. The train shuddered, veering to the right as the tracks beneath it buckled.
"Keep moving!" he shouted, pushing through a mob of bodies. "Get to the engine!" But the mass of fleeing people jammed the passageway, panic spreading like wildfire.
Suddenly, the train and the bridge began to rebuild on their own, but everything was emitting light exactly as it had when Yushai destroyed the centipede.
The train's intercom crackled, the driver's voice cutting through the roar:
"Can't you all still see what needs to be done? You have a system. Use it to get a sponsor and start defending yourselves!"
Saigid froze mid-step as golden light erupted around them — the shattered train reassembling itself, the bridge reforging like molten steel lifted by invisible hands. Even the scorpion's twitching corpse dissolved into shimmering particles, streaking toward…
Him.
A panel flashed before his eyes:
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
[Damage Repaired: 98%]
[Available Sponsor Abilities: 3]
[Select Within 00:59 or a random option will be applied]
The intercom buzzed, the driver's voice calm and eerily detached:
"Tick-tock… the game has already begun."
Saigid exhaled sharply. His own screen pulsed with three options, each offering a power in exchange for coins per day:
1. [The Rusted Crown]: Weapon mastery — 50 coins/day
2. [The Hundred-Handed]: Temporary invincibility — 100 coins/day
3. [???]: Unknown ability — cost unknown
The third option had no description. Only a symbol: Σ
Just like Yushai's.
Outside, the bridge finished reconstructing with a thunderous clang. The cracks in the sky sealed — for now.
Newly appeared above every passenger: countdowns floating over their heads.
Saigid exhaled again. He tapped the third option.
[Ability Acquired: Permanent]
[Cost: 150 coins/day]
A searing energy surged through his chest as something clicked into place inside him. His irises glowed gold, the same as Yushai's spear.
Just as abruptly, they turned back to red as they were originally.
Saigid blinked rapidly, his vision swimming as the unnatural gold faded from his eyesleaving only his usual crimson irises behind. The rush of power evaporated like mist, leaving behind an odd hollow sensation in his chest.
[Sponsor Ability: Rejected]
[Reason: Insufficient Funds]
[Current Balance: 0 coins]
A bitter laugh escaped him. Of course. Nothing came free in this twisted game.
The train's intercom crackled again, the driver's voice now laced with dark amusement:
"Ah. A gambler who can't pay his debts. How... unfortunate."
Outside, the cracks in the sky began to pulse againdeeper, angrier this time.
Saigid clenched his fists. No sponsor. No power. Just himself, a halfcrushed train, and a dozen terrified survivors.
The scorpion's carcass twitched once morethen exploded into a swarm of smaller, faster creatures.
"Then again," Saigid muttered, snatching up a jagged piece of metal from the floor, "I've always worked better with my hands anyway."
The first creature lunged. He swung.
But suddenly, as soon as this creature was close to Saigida, it hit right into the emerging systems sign.