Four minutes felt like four hours.
Gam stood in the middle of his ruined apartment, the broken door hanging loosely from one hinge. Cool night air drifted in from outside. His heart was beating fast, but his mind was strangely clear. The system screen floated quietly in front of him, the red warning still flashing.
[Estimated arrival: 1 minute 47 seconds]
He clenched his fists. The new strength in his arms felt real. His senses were sharper than ever — he could hear distant car engines, the faint sound of a dog barking three streets away, and even the soft hum of electricity in the walls.
[Host, I recommend preparing Lightning Domain. The incoming Ranker is at least Diamond Rank.]
"Diamond Rank…" Gam muttered. "That's higher than me."
[Correct. However, your recent upgrade has given you unusually high stats for a Gold Rank player. You are not completely helpless.]
Gam took a deep breath and stepped outside into the narrow hallway of the apartment building. The lights were dim. Most of his neighbors had already locked their doors after the earlier police visit. He walked down the stairs and stopped in the small open courtyard behind the building. It was the only place with enough space to fight without destroying too many homes.
The night was quiet.
Then the air changed.
A heavy pressure suddenly pressed down on the entire area, like the sky itself had grown heavier. The leaves on the nearby trees stopped moving. Even the insects went silent.
Gam looked up.
A figure was floating in the air above the courtyard, slowly descending.
The Ranker was a young man who looked around twenty years old. He had sharp, cold eyes and long silver hair tied loosely behind his head. His skin was pale, almost white, and his expression was completely calm, as if he had done this many times before. He wore a long black coat with deep purple patterns that looked like moving shadows. Under the coat was a fitted dark shirt and black trousers. On his right hand he wore a silver glove that glowed with a faint purple light.
When his feet finally touched the ground, the concrete under him cracked slightly from the pressure of his presence.
The Ranker looked at Gam with mild interest.
"So you're the one who released that energy spike," he said in a smooth, emotionless voice. "Level 15… Gold Rank. Jumping so many levels at once. How reckless."
Gam stood his ground, even though every instinct told him to run.
"Who are you?" he asked.
The Ranker gave a small smile that didn't reach his eyes.
"My name is Kael. Diamond Rank. I've been hunting unusual energy signatures in this city for the past week. Yours was the strongest I've felt so far." He tilted his head slightly. "Tell me… how did a brand-new player reach Gold Rank so quickly?"
[Host, do not reveal information about the Evolutionary System.]
Gam kept his face calm. "I just got lucky with some matches."
Kael chuckled softly. "Lucky? No. The system doesn't give that kind of growth for free. You have something special, don't you?"
Without waiting for an answer, Kael raised his gloved hand.
Dark purple energy gathered around his fingers and formed into a long spear made of pure shadow.
"I'll just take it from you."
He vanished.
Gam's eyes widened. One second Kael was standing ten meters away — the next second he was already in front of him, the shadow spear thrusting straight toward Gam's chest.
[Warning: Lethal attack detected.]
Gam activated Game Dust at the last possible moment.
His body turned into a cloud of blue particles and reappeared three meters to the side. The shadow spear stabbed into the empty air where he had been standing and left a deep hole in the concrete.
Kael raised an eyebrow. "Teleportation? Interesting. But slow."
He attacked again, this time faster. Three shadow spears formed at once and shot toward Gam from different angles.
Gam gritted his teeth and raised both hands.
"Lightning Domain!"
A bright orange circle of electricity exploded outward from his body, covering a ten-meter radius. Lightning bolts danced wildly inside the domain, striking the incoming shadow spears and destroying two of them. The third spear managed to break through and cut across Gam's left shoulder, leaving a burning wound.
Pain flared, but Gam didn't fall.
Kael stepped into the Lightning Domain without hesitation. The lightning bolts hit his black coat but only left small scorch marks. His defense was clearly much higher.
"Not bad for a Gold Rank," Kael said calmly. "But still far from enough."
He swung his hand and a wave of pure shadow energy blasted toward Gam. The force of it was so strong that Gam was thrown backward, crashing into the brick wall of the apartment building. The wall cracked from the impact.
Gam coughed, tasting blood. His HP bar dropped sharply.
[HP: 3120/4800]
[Host, your Lightning Domain is not strong enough to stop a Diamond Rank opponent for long. Recommendation: stall for time. Your teammates are approaching.]
Gam forced himself back to his feet. His shoulder was still bleeding, but the system was already slowly healing the wound.
Kael walked toward him slowly, almost lazily.
"You're tougher than you look. Most Gold Rank players would have already surrendered… or died."
Suddenly, three new energy signatures appeared at the edge of the courtyard.
David, Emma, and Jane had arrived.
David was breathing heavily, his red top glowing with fire energy. Emma's yellow clothes shone with bright sunlight, and Jane's blue outfit radiated a cold, watery aura. All three of them looked shocked when they saw the silver-haired Ranker.
"Gam!" David shouted. "Who the hell is that?!"
Kael turned his head slightly and looked at the three new arrivals with mild annoyance.
"More insects," he said. "Fine. I'll deal with all of you together."
Gam wiped the blood from his mouth and stood beside his teammates.
"His name is Kael," Gam said quickly. "Diamond Rank. He's strong. Really strong."
David's expression turned serious. "Then we fight together."
Emma raised both hands and bright sunlight began gathering above her. Jane created several spinning water blades around her body. David's fists became covered in red flames.
Kael smiled coldly.
"Four against one. How cute."
He raised both hands this time. Dozens of shadow spears formed in the air above him, all pointing downward at the group.
Gam's eyes narrowed.
"Everyone, stay close to me!" he shouted.
He activated Lightning Domain once more, expanding it as far as he could. At the same time, David released a wave of fire, Emma dropped a beam of concentrated sunlight, and Jane launched her water blades.
The two forces collided in the middle of the courtyard.
A massive explosion of light, fire, water, lightning, and shadow erupted, shaking the entire apartment building. Windows shattered. The ground cracked open. Smoke and dust filled the air.
When the dust began to settle, Kael was still standing in the same place, his black coat only slightly damaged. A thin cut had appeared on his cheek, and a single drop of blood slid down his face.
He touched the blood with one finger and looked at it with genuine surprise.
"You actually managed to injure me…"
His cold eyes locked onto Gam.
"Interesting. Very interesting. It seems I underestimated you."
Kael's body began to fade into purple shadows.
"I'll remember this night, Gamerboy. Next time, I won't play around."
In less than two seconds, he completely disappeared.
The courtyard fell silent again, broken only by the sound of distant car alarms and the heavy breathing of the four teenagers.
David dropped to one knee, exhausted. "What… the hell was that guy?"
Emma looked at Gam with wide eyes. "Are you okay? You're bleeding."
Jane stared at the cracked ground where Kael had stood, her expression complicated.
Gam looked up at the night sky, still feeling the heavy pressure that Kael had left behind.
"He's not done with us," Gam said quietly. "That was only a test."
[Host is correct. The Ranker Kael has marked you. He will return.]
Gam clenched his fists tightly.
"Then next time… we'll be ready."