The Safe Zone was louder than usual.
Tensions had risen after the Block Scan mission the day before. People weren't talking about the mission's success. They were focused on the constellations.
Whispers filled the corners, arguments erupted behind scavenged crates, and many stared at the sky as if waiting for something to blink back.
Now, some of them had contracts.
Aron sat on the edge of the ruined stairwell, his back against a cracked pillar. The loot from the previous day's mission was neatly organized in his inventory. His tactical belt was equipped, and the mini-map chip was synced. Still, his mind was elsewhere.
He hadn't slept.
The message played in his mind like a splinter on repeat.
*--------------------------------------------------------------------------*
[CONSTELLATION: The Masked Archivist has taken interest in Variable_07]
[Evaluating patterns… compiling echoes…]
*--------------------------------------------------------------------------*
It hadn't stopped watching him.
He opened his screen quietly:
*-------------------------------------*
[STATUS]
Name: Aron
Level: 2
EXP: 215 / 500
HP: 100 / 100
STR: 4
DEX: 3
AGI: 5
DEF: 2
PER: 7
Points Available: 1
*--------------------------------------*
He hovered over the stat point.
After a long moment, he tapped PER again. It clicked up to 7. Whatever was happening now, awareness might be the only thing keeping him alive.
[Perception has reached 7: New interaction tier unlocked.]
New tier?
He frowned. Nothing else changed… yet.
Across the lot, Greg barked orders near Terminal Node 01. Another mission had appeared.
*--------------------------------------------------*
[MAIN MISSION 3: CONTACT POINT]
Objective: Escort a Surveyor Drone to Zone 5 and establish uplink with a network terminal.
Danger Rating: High
Time Limit: 90 Minutes
Minimum Required Participants: 5
Reward: +75 EXP, Network Fragment, +2 Stat Points
Bonus Objective: Keep the Drone Intact – +25 EXP
*--------------------------------------------------*
A drone?
Aron's stomach twisted. If the system was deploying hardware, it meant it was expecting something to go wrong.
A chat window popped open on his screen. He blinked.
*-------------------------------------------------*
[PRIVATE CHAT – SYSTEM LINKED]
Sarah:
We're assigned together again. Greg's orders. You, me, Orochi, Yui, and… Ben.
Don't worry. I trust you more than most of them.
(Also—something weird's going on. Tell you after.)
*-------------------------------------------------*
He closed the message.
She trusted him, but Aron felt sick about it. He had saved Ben by accident. He distracted a monster and got it killed on terrain. If it hadn't slipped, Ben would be dead.
They gathered near the lot's exit. The Surveyor Drone buzzed, its frame a compact disk of metal and blue lights.
Yui frowned. "This thing looks… glitchy."
"I don't like it," Orochi muttered, checking his blade. "Feels like bait."
Ben stood quietly, pack loaded. He avoided Aron's gaze.
Sarah gave a slight nod. "Let's move fast. Don't stay still."
Zone 5: Contact Zone
The city was worse here.
Entire intersections were swallowed by broken asphalt. Cracked rebar jutted from the earth like metal ribs. Signs dangled from poles, flickering warnings from before the collapse.
Then came the noise.
A clicking.
No footsteps. No growls. Just a clicking.
[ENEMY DETECTED – PHANTASM WARDEN]
Type: Conjurer-Class Entity
Tier: B (Suppressed)
Behavior: Territorial. Attracted to system signals.
Note: Wields illusion-based spatial threats. Do not split formation.
Aron's blood ran cold. This wasn't a basic monster.
The drone beeped.
The clicking accelerated.
The first Warden appeared from behind a billboard. Its form was tall and robed in glitching data. Its limbs stretched too long with each step. Its face was a spinning disk of sigils, unreadable.
It didn't roar.
It just pointed at the drone.
And more appeared.
Aron ducked behind a car frame. "What do we do?!"
"Buy time!" Orochi shouted. "Yui, with me—intercept right side!"
Sarah and Ben moved to defend the drone.
Aron tried to retreat, but a Warden blocked the path back.
He reached for his sword, hesitated, then swung wildly as it lunged.
The blade glanced off.
The creature advanced anyway, unaffected.
Then, out of nowhere—
CLANG!
Ben slammed a metal pipe into its side, forcing it back. "MOVE!"
They scrambled away.
Sarah shouted, "Regroup near the relay box!"
They fought their way across the cracked street. The drone beeped a completion tone.
[Uplink 87%—Establishing contact…]
Then a screech shattered the air. One of the Warden's illusions erupted, showering static that distorted the entire street.
Aron stumbled—
—and saw something in the corner of his HUD.
[New Constellation Observing: The Hound Beneath Ice]
[New Constellation Observing: Star-Forger of Dust]
[New Constellation Observing: The Masked Archivist – Priority Flag Elevated]
He gritted his teeth. "Why now?"
One Warden lunged again.
This time, Aron pushed a downed signpost into its path. It speared itself through the gut.
[Enemy Defeated – Environmental Kill]
[+10 EXP]
[Aron: 225 / 500 EXP]
He stared at the creature as it dissolved. He still had no combat skill. He wasn't trying.
Yet he was killing again.
The drone beeped a final time.
[Uplink Complete]
[Mission Cleared: CONTACT POINT]
[+75 EXP]
[+2 Stat Points]
[Bonus Objective: Drone Intact – +25 EXP]
[Aron: 325 / 500 EXP]
[Points Available: 2]
The creatures faded. Static dispersed.
The sky glimmered faintly. A system ripple passed through the HUDs of everyone present.
[Constellation: The Masked Archivist has recorded this event.]
[Constellation: The Mirror Watcher… is laughing.]
They returned, exhausted but alive.
Back in the Safe Zone, Greg didn't ask questions.
Aron sat beside the wall again. His inventory flickered:
*----------------------------------------------*
[INVENTORY]
– Basic Sword
– Cloth Shirt
– Broken Phone
– Broken Gear Cog (Tier ???)
– Rust-Covered Tag
– Glitched Datacore
– Mini-Map Chip
– Tactical Belt
– New Item: Constellation Sigil Fragment (???)
*----------------------------------------------*
He didn't pick it up.
Sarah approached and crouched next to him.
"Hey," she said softly. "Some people are getting offers. From above."
"Contracts?"
She nodded. "Mine hasn't shown up yet. But someone's will."
And far away, beyond the flickering stars:
*------------------------------------------*
[Constellations are circling Variable_07]
[Contract Eligibility: 74%]
[Masking Protocols Holding…]
*------------------------------------------*
The stars weren't gods.
But they were watching.
And waiting.