Chapter 3 Unauthorised
The injured man leaned heavily against the alley wall, his face pale. Leon crouched beside him, glancing at the deep gash on his leg.
“Can you walk?” Leon asked.
The man shook his head. “Maybe… not fast.”
The world above them groaned — a deep, metallic sound as if the sky itself were straining. Through the cracks, Leon saw strange shapes swimming in the darkness beyond. He didn’t know if they were looking down at them, but his gut told him they were.
> [Warning: Presence detected — Tier 2 Predator.]
The words hung in front of him like ice.
“Alright,” Leon muttered, grabbing the man’s arm. “We move. Now.”
Every step through the alley felt heavier. The shadows stretched unnaturally, swallowing light. Leon tightened his grip on the chipped knife, mana humming at his fingertips.
The predator came into view.
It was taller than the buildings flanking them, its body thin and segmented like an insect’s but with a skull-shaped head that tilted unnaturally far. Its hollow eyes fixed on Leon — and for a moment, he swore it recognized him.
> [Target marked: Unauthorized Entity.]
“Unauthorized?” Leon whispered.
The thing lunged.
Instinct took over. He shoved the man behind him and let mana pour into his legs, launching himself sideways as the monster’s claws carved a trench into the pavement.
It shrieked — not with rage, but with purpose, as if it had orders to fulfill. Leon darted forward, slashing at one of its limbs. Blue light burned across the blade, cutting deeper than steel should.
> [Mana Used: 5.]
[Arcane Overflow triggered — Mana restored: 10.]
The limb dropped, but instead of retreating, the creature’s movements became sharper, faster. It was adapting.
“Of course you are,” Leon muttered, backing away.
Something thudded against the ground beside him. A staff — plain wood, its surface etched with faint runes — rolled to a stop at his feet.
“Use it!” a voice shouted from above.
Leon snatched it up just in time to block another swipe. The staff absorbed the impact, a shockwave of mana rippling from the runes into his arms.
For a moment, time slowed. He felt the world around him — the street, the walls, the monster’s movement — as if all of it were part of one flowing current.
He swung.
The staff erupted in a burst of blue flame, slamming into the predator’s chest. The impact sent it crashing through the wall of a nearby building.
> [Tier 2 Predator defeated.]
[XP gained.]
[Level Up.]
The glow faded, leaving Leon panting in the middle of the alley. The man he’d saved stared at him like he was seeing a ghost.
“Who are you?” the man asked again, his voice trembling.
Leon didn’t answer. Instead, he looked up to where the staff had come from.
On a rooftop, a woman in a long black coat watched him, her eyes sharp.
“You’re not supposed to exist,” she called down. “And that means we need to talk before the rest of them find you.”
The panel in front of Leon flickered.
> [New Quest: Meet the Raven.]
[Failure: System Purge.]
