The countdown hit zero, and my vision filled with a blue interface overlay that I hadn’t seen since the System first activated. Numbers flashed, symbols spun, and progress bars filled across my field of view.
〘 TUTORIAL COMPLETE. SCUMBAG SYSTEM ENTERING PHASE TWO. 〙
〘 CONGRATULATIONS ON SURVIVING THE PRELIMINARY PHASE, HOST. 〙
"Fuck," I muttered. "Now? Really? Right before the biggest test of my life?"
People walking past gave strange looks as I apparently talked to myself in the middle of a pathway. Great. Now I looked crazy on top of everything else.
〘 THE TIMING IS INTENTIONAL. ALL SYSTEM PARATERS ARE DESIGNED FOR MAXIMUM PRESSURE APPLICATION. 〙
I kept walking, following the red line toward the secondary checkpoint. Whatever this was, I’d have to deal with it on the move.
〘 PHASE TWO REQUIRES HOST SELECTION OF PRIMARY PATH. THIS CHOICE WILL DETERMINE QUEST STRUCTURES, REWARD SCALING, AND ABILITY ACQUISITION THODS. 〙
Three glowing panels materialized in my vision, floating in the air like holographic trading cards. Each one rotated slowly, displaying different symbols and color sches.
The first was bright gold with a laurel wreath and a stylized H.
〘 PATH OF THE HERO: STANDARD PROGRESSION THROUGH HALLORAN ACADEMY. INCREASED REPUTATION GAINS. ENHANCED PUBLIC APPROVAL TRICS. ABILITY ACQUISITION THROUGH AUTHORIZED CHANNELS. REDUCED DEFIANCE PENALTIES. 〙
The second was deep crimson with a cracked skull and a stylized V.
〘 PATH OF THE VILLAIN: SUBVERSION OF HERO SYSTEMS. INTIMIDATION SCALING. ENHANCED FEAR TRICS. ABILITY ACQUISITION THROUGH DOMINATION. REDUCED CONSEQUENCES FOR VIOLENCE. 〙
The third was midnight blue with a mask silhouette and a stylized VG.
〘 PATH OF THE VIGILANTE: INDEPENDENT OPERATION OUTSIDE LEGAL FRAWORKS. BALANCED APPROVAL/FEAR TRICS. ENHANCED STEALTH CAPABILITIES. ABILITY ACQUISITION THROUGH UNREGISTERED ACTIONS. REDUCED DETECTION PROBABILITY. 〙
"Are you fucking kidding ?" I hissed under my breath. "I’m supposed to pick one of these right now? I’m about to take an entrance exam!"
〘 SELECTION IS REQUIRED FOR SYSTEM PROGRESSION. THE CHOICE SHAPES YOUR FUTURE QUEST STRUCTURES. 〙
The red line led to a small white building with a sign reading "Secondary Verification." A woman in a Halloran uniform stood at the entrance, checking badges.
I had maybe thirty seconds before I reached her.
"What happens if I don’t choose?" I asked quietly.
〘 DEFAULT SELECTION WILL BE AUTOMATICALLY APPLIED BASED ON PREDOMINANT BEHAVIORAL PATTERNS DURING TUTORIAL PHASE. 〙
"And what’s that?"
〘 BASED ON TUTORIAL ACTIONS: PATH OF THE VILLAIN WILL BE SELECTED IN 25 SECONDS. 〙
"What? No!" I nearly shouted. A nearby applicant jumped.
The system thought I was a villain? Because I’d what—slept with Diane? Manipulated Sloane’s feelings? Used the Scumbag System’s own chanics to gain power?
Sure, when put that way, it didn’t sound great. But villain? Co on.
〘 20 SECONDS REMAINING. 〙
The three panels floated insistently in my vision. Hero, Villain, Vigilante.
None of them felt right.
The Hero path ant playing by rules designed to create marketable products, not actual protectors. The Villain path ant deliberately causing harm for personal gain. The Vigilante path ant operating outside a system that, for all its flaws, at least tried to create order.
I’d been dropped into this body with no warning, no context, and a System that pushed toward increasingly questionable choices. Now it wanted to pick a lane and stay in it?
〘 15 SECONDS REMAINING. 〙
I reached the woman at the entrance. She examined my badge.
"Lukas Belmont. Follow , please."
I stepped inside the building, still frantically thinking. The woman led down a hallway lined with doors.
〘 10 SECONDS REMAINING. 〙
Hero, Villain, Vigilante.
Gold, Crimson, Blue.
Approval, Fear, Stealth.
None of them were . Or maybe all of them were parts of .
〘 5 SECONDS REMAINING. 〙
"Wait here," the woman said, stopping at a door marked "Verification 3." She knocked once, then opened it. "Your verification officer will be with you shortly."
She left standing in the hallway.
〘 3... 2... 1... 〙
"None of them," I said firmly.
The countdown froze.
〘 SELECTION REQUIRED. 〙
"I reject all three paths."
〘 INVALID SELECTION. 〙
"I’m making my own path."
〘 SYSTEM DOES NOT RECOGNIZE THIS OPTION. 〙
"Then update your fucking system," I growled. "I refuse to be locked into your predetermined categories. I’ll take what I need from each path. I’ll use hero thods when they work, villain tactics when necessary, and vigilante approaches when the system fails. I’m not playing by your rules."
The interface flickered. The three panels wavered like heat mirages, then shattered into particles of light.
〘 ERROR. ERROR. NON-STANDARD SELECTION DETECTED. 〙
〘 ANALYZING PARATER OVERRIDE... 〙
〘 ANALYZING... 〙
〘 UNEXPECTED HOST AUTONOMY DETECTED. RECALIBRATING... 〙
The interface went blank for a long mont. I stood in the empty hallway, heart pounding, wondering if I’d broken the entire System.
Then new text appeared, scrolling across my vision.
〘 CUSTOM PATH GENERATED. 〙
〘 THE SCUMBAG’S PATH: "I’LL DO MY OWN THING" 〙
〘 UNIQUE PATH PARATERS ESTABLISHED. 〙
〘 - ABILITY ACQUISITION: FLEXIBLE (ALL THODS VIABLE) 〙
〘 - TRICS: CUSTOM (SELF-DEFINED SUCCESS INDICATORS) 〙
〘 - QUEST STRUCTURE: ADAPTIVE (RESPONDS TO HOST CHOICES) 〙
〘 - SPECIAL CONDITION: INCREASED DEFIANCE POINT GENERATION 〙
〘 - SPECIAL CONDITION: UNPREDICTABLE CONSEQUENCE SCALING 〙
〘 WARNING: THIS PATH HAS NO PREDETERMINED ENDPOINTS. SUCCESS TRICS UNDEFINED. PROCEED AT OWN RISK. 〙
I couldn’t help but grin. "That’s more like it."
〘 THIS IS HIGHLY IRREGULAR. 〙
"Get used to it."
〘 THE SCUMBAG SYSTEM HAS NEVER ENCOUNTERED A HOST WHO REJECTED ALL STANDARD PATHS. 〙
"First ti for everything."
The door beside opened. A man in his fifties with salt-and-pepper hair and a Halloran staff badge stood there.
"Mr. Belmont? I’m Dr. Hayes, verification specialist. Please co in."
I stepped into a small, clinical room containing a desk, two chairs, and what looked like dical equipnt against one wall.
〘 PHASE TWO INITIALIZATION COMPLETE. NEW QUEST NOTIFICATION PENDING. 〙
"Not now," I whispered.
〘 ACKNOWLEDGED. NOTIFICATION DEFERRED UNTIL AFTER CURRENT INTERACTION. 〙
Huh. That was new. The System was actually listening to ?
Dr. Hayes gestured to a chair. "Please, sit down. This won’t take long."
I sat. The chair was surprisingly comfortable.
"So," he began, "you recently manifested a Force Manipulation Aspect at seventeen years old, after being classified as Unmarked for your entire life up to that point."
"That’s right."
"And how exactly did this manifestation occur?"
I recited the story I’d practiced with Diane. "I was training—physical conditioning, not Aspect work obviously—and I reached a breaking point. My body gave out, but I kept pushing. Sothing just... snapped into place. I felt this energy flowing through , and suddenly I could move objects with my mind."
He nodded, making notes on a tablet. "Were there any witnesses to this manifestation?"
"Sloane Fitzgerald. She was training ."
"Diane Fitzgerald’s daughter?"
"Yes."
"And you’ve been living with the Fitzgeralds since your parents died?"
"That’s right. Nine years now."
Dr. Hayes studied for a mont. "Would you mind demonstrating your Aspect? Just sothing simple."
"Sure."
I focused, extending my arm and manifesting one of the amber Spectral Reach constructs from my palm. I directed it to pick up a pen from his desk, lifting it about a foot into the air and rotating it slowly.
Dr. Hayes watched with clinical interest. "Interesting color signature. Most telekinetics present blue or white."
"So I’ve been told."
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