Damian stood over the remains of the aberrant, chest rising and falling like a piston. The blade in his hand shimmered faintly—residue from the creature's corrupted form. His new ability, Predictive Counter, was still sinking in. It hadn't just given him an edge—it had saved him.
System Notification:Directive Alteration - Tier 1 UnlockedFunction Available: Anchor Rewrite Slot (1)
He blinked, and a new screen unfolded before his eyes:
Available Directives:
Echo Memory Integration (Passive)Combat Adaptation Buffer (Cooldown: 10s)Anchor Slot: Empty
Slot One - Rewrite Template: Choose an acquired Function to Anchor. Anchored abilities may evolve through repeated use.
He hovered over Predictive Counter and locked it in. The UI shimmered, then flashed.
Predictive Counter anchored. Evolution path unlocked.
"Okay... that's something," he murmured, gripping the crowbar tighter. He hadn't even reached the Signal Tower yet.
Damian picked up the pace.
The Signal Tower loomed like a skeletal hand over the horizon, nested in a crumbling utility station. Chain-link fence surrounded it, bent open in one corner. Warning signs hung by a thread. No guards. No life.
Location: Tier-0 Relay Station Status: Dormant Reactivation Available: Manual Override Required
Inside, the air was thick with ozone and decay. Vines crept through shattered windows. Terminals lined the walls, blank and cold.
Then a flicker.
A single screen pulsed blue.
INITIATE UPLINK? Y/N
Damian tapped Y.
The station trembled. Lights sparked. Consoles flared to life one by one.
Manual Override In Progress...Signal Ping DetectedEstablishing Player Network...
His eyes widened as a globe appeared in mid-air. A spinning wireframe Earth, dotted with blinking red and green markers.
Players Online: 31,274Continent Network: IsolatedLocal Scan Radius: 25 kmPlayers Nearby: 0Aberrant Activity: 3 High-Risk Zones Detected
More information poured in—resource caches, old emergency shelters, satellite pings. Even a flickering dot labeled:
Core Fluctuation: UNKNOWN ENTITY - MOVING
"I'm not alone. Something else is awake."
Then another prompt:
New Area Discovered: Forgotten Relay Node Reward: Blueprint - Signal Beacon (Deployable)
A translucent model appeared, showing a short-range beacon.
Use Case: Temporary safe zone. Repels Class I-II Aberrants within 50 meters for 15 minutes. Required Materials: Metal x12, Core Dust x1, Circuit Fragment x3
He downloaded the blueprint to his Seed Menu. It auto-catalogued the required parts.
Quest Chain Updated: Survival Phase I - Foundation Objective: Establish Safe Zone, Unlock Tier-1 Map Overlay
Just as he started breathing steady, the station lights dimmed.
Warning: Threat Detected
A screech split the air. Windows rattled. Damian turned—and the wall behind him exploded inward.
The creature was bigger than the last. Armored hide, red-lit gullet, claws like obsidian.
Class: Aberrant Brute Threat Level: Moderate
It roared, and the world narrowed to a heartbeat.
Predictive Counter - Passive Triggered
He ducked under the lunge, slammed the crowbar into a weak joint at its knee, then rolled.
Combat Adaptation Buffer - Charged
Energy pulsed through his limbs—speed, clarity, balance. He drew the machete and carved a line across the creature's side.
It screamed, turned—and froze.
Status Effect: Lag Spike (3s)
Three seconds was enough.
He drove the machete up under its jaw. The blade lodged, and the creature dissolved in flickering particles.
Echo Absorbed: Brute Memory Core - Instinctive Resilience (Locked)
Anchor Slot Evolution Progress: 12%
Damian dropped to one knee, blood pounding in his ears. But he was alive. More than that—he was adapting.
He uploaded the beacon blueprint to his Archive, then stepped outside.
In the distance, he saw a second tower light up.
Someone else had just come online.
His hands clenched.
Not all players would be allies.
But for now, he had direction. He had power.
And he had something even more valuable:
Momentum.
[8:01:45 UNTIL CYCLE ONE]