The city collapsed faster than Ethan expected.
Not physically.
Not completely.
But socially.
ntally.
Structurally.
Fear spread quicker than destruction ever could.
Sirens echoed endlessly through the streets as Ethan Carter stepped out of the convenience store into a world that no longer felt stable. People crowded intersections in confusion, staring at their phones, screaming at loved ones, trying desperately to understand what was happening.
But ordinary people couldn’t see the full truth.
Only fragnts.
System users saw everything.
Distortions.
Signals.
Markers.
Assignnts.
And now—
Targets.
Rain poured steadily from the gray sky above as Ethan walked through the growing panic with controlled breathing.
Focused State remained fully active.
His senses stretched outward carefully.
Every movent mattered now.
Every decision carried weight.
Because the mont the system assigned him Hunted Status, everything changed.
The interface remained visible in the corner of his vision.
FIRST JUDGNT TASK
SURVIVE FOR 72 HOURS
SPECIAL CONDITION: HUNTED STATUS
TI REMAINING: 71:42:13
Ethan narrowed his eyes slightly.
"...Seventy-two hours."
Three days.
That was all.
Three days to survive whatever the system planned.
And sothing told him the danger wouldn’t co from only monsters.
The cashier exited the store behind him quietly.
Gone was the relaxed employee act from earlier.
Now he looked like a completely different person.
Alert.
Sharp.
Prepared.
He lit a cigarette calmly despite the rain.
"You should leave crowded areas."
Ethan glanced at him.
"...Because of panic?"
The man shook his head once.
"Because of users."
That answer was worse.
Ethan looked around carefully again.
At first glance, the crowd appeared normal.
But once Focused State deepened—
He saw them.
Several individuals scattered throughout the street weren’t panicking.
They were observing.
Watching.
Calculating.
So already staring directly at him.
Ethan imdiately understood.
"...They can identify ."
The cashier exhaled smoke slowly.
"Not all hunted users are marked visibly."
A pause.
"But strong users can sense abnormal signals."
Ethan’s eyes sharpened slightly.
"...And I’m abnormal."
The man gave a faint humorless smile.
"Very."
The system suddenly pulsed softly.
WARNING:
HOSTILE USER INTENT DETECTED
Ethan reacted instantly.
He turned sharply—
A figure sprinted through the crowd toward him.
Fast.
Too fast for a normal human.
People scread as the man shoved civilians aside violently.
His eyes were locked entirely onto Ethan.
Not anger.
Not hatred.
Hunger.
Focused State activated further.
Predictive Analysis aligned automatically.
The attacker reached him within seconds.
CRACK!
Ethan sidestepped instantly as a fist smashed into a tal street sign behind him, bending it unnaturally.
The crowd exploded into panic.
People scattered in every direction.
Cars slamd brakes.
Screams echoed across the street.
The attacker smiled wildly.
"Found one."
Ethan stepped backward calmly.
Analyzing.
Male.
Mid-twenties.
Enhanced strength.
Unstable emotional state.
Dangerous—
But reckless.
The cashier sighed quietly behind Ethan.
"First-stage predators."
Ethan didn’t look away from the attacker.
"...Predators?"
The man answered calmly.
"Users who hunt others early to grow faster."
That confird Ethan’s suspicion imdiately.
The system rewarded elimination.
Or at least survival through conflict.
The attacker lunged again.
Faster this ti.
Wild.
Aggressive.
But Ethan saw the pattern instantly.
Too direct.
Too emotional.
He shifted sideways smoothly.
The attack missed.
Counter.
CRACK!
Ethan’s elbow struck the attacker’s ribs precisely.
A clean hit.
Efficient.
The man staggered backward with a snarl.
But instead of caution—
He beca excited.
"Good."
His smile widened unnaturally.
"That ans killing you matters."
Ethan’s expression remained calm.
But internally—
Everything sharpened.
This was different from previous fights.
Before, encounters happened naturally.
Randomly.
Now?
Users would actively hunt each other.
The Judgnt Phase wasn’t testing growth anymore.
It was accelerating conflict.
The attacker rushed forward again.
This ti pulling a knife from his jacket.
The crowd scread louder.
Several civilians ran directly into traffic trying to escape.
Ethan adjusted his breathing carefully.
Focused State slowed his perception slightly.
Not ti itself.
Just processing.
The attacker slashed violently—
Ethan leaned back narrowly.
Blade passing inches from his throat.
Counter movent.
Precise.
He grabbed the attacker’s wrist—
Redirected—
Knee strike—
CRACK!
The attacker lost balance instantly.
Ethan twisted the knife away smoothly.
Predictive Analysis activated deeper.
He saw it.
A hesitation.
A flaw in movent.
Enough.
Ethan moved first.
Fast.
Controlled.
CRACK!
The knife handle slamd against the attacker’s temple.
Hard.
Precise.
The man collapsed onto the wet pavent unconscious.
Silence spread briefly.
Heavy silence.
The civilians nearby stared in shock.
Terrified.
Confused.
Because what they had just witnessed—
Wasn’t normal human combat anymore.
Ethan stepped backward slowly.
Breathing steady.
No wasted movent.
The system pulsed imdiately.
HOSTILE USER DEFEATED
ADAPTATION RATE INCREASED
No rewards.
No celebration.
Just acknowledgnt.
The cashier studied Ethan carefully now.
More seriously than before.
"...You adjusted mid-fight again."
Ethan glanced toward him.
"...I had to."
The man shook his head slightly.
"No."
A pause.
"You evolve instinctively."
That statent lingered heavily.
Because Ethan was beginning to realize it too.
His growth no longer felt entirely deliberate.
The system was changing how he processed conflict itself.
Another pulse spread across the city suddenly.
This one stronger.
Both n imdiately looked upward.
Distortions appeared in the sky again.
Far larger than before.
And then—
Sothing descended.
Not human.
Not stable.
Not natural.
Several massive shadow-like forms erged high above the city skyline, partially concealed within distorted space itself.
People below began screaming imdiately.
Cars crashed.
Crowds scattered everywhere.
Ethan’s heartbeat slowed.
Not from calmness.
From focus.
The system reacted violently.
JUDGNT ENTITY DESCENT DETECTED
The cashier’s expression darkened imdiately.
"...They’re early."
Ethan looked toward him.
"...What are those?"
The answer ca quietly.
Too quietly.
"Cleanup units."
That phrase sent imdiate tension through Ethan’s body.
One of the giant distorted figures moved suddenly.
Fast despite its size.
Then—
A section of the street several blocks away exploded.
BOOM.
Concrete shattered upward violently.
People scread.
Buildings trembled.
Ethan’s eyes sharpened instantly.
That wasn’t random destruction.
It targeted sothing.
Or soone.
The cashier imdiately started walking away.
Fast.
Purposeful.
"If you want to survive your seventy-two hours..."
He glanced back briefly.
"...stop thinking like a human."
Then he disappeared into the chaos.
Ethan stood still for a mont as panic spread across the city.
Rain poured harder now.
The Judgnt Event was escalating rapidly.
And sowhere above—
Those massive entities continued descending slowly toward the city.
Focused State deepened automatically.
Ethan analyzed everything.
Escape routes.
Movent patterns.
Crowd density.
Possible attack zones.
Then—
The system pulsed again.
SPECIAL NOTICE:
HUNTED USERS HAVE INCREASED ENTITY AGGRESSION
Ethan froze slightly.
"...What?"
Too late.
One of the distant shadow entities suddenly stopped moving.
Then slowly turned—
Directly toward him.
The pressure that followed was overwhelming.
Even from blocks away.
People nearby collapsed instinctively from fear.
Car alarms exploded across the street.
Windows cracked.
And Ethan understood imdiately.
It had noticed him.
The giant distorted figure began moving.
Straight toward his location.
Fast.
Far too fast.
Ethan’s eyes sharpened completely.
No panic.
No hesitation.
Only one clear thought remained.
Run.
He turned instantly and sprinted into the collapsing city as the first true hunt of the Judgnt Phase began behind him.
User Comments
0 comments from readers