The moment Kai stepped into the tunnel, everything shifted.
The scent changed first—dust and oil giving way to sterile, metallic cold. The ground beneath his feet, which moments ago had been uneven concrete, now glowed faintly with smooth, circuit-like etchings. They pulsed with dim blue light, spreading out like veins across the walls and ceiling.
[Dungeon Initiated – Level 0: Protocol Integration Chamber][Objective: Survive. Synchronize. Ascend.]
His pulse quickened. This wasn't just an old ruin—it was alive. Or at least, it was connected to something that was alive.
What the hell have I walked into?
The entrance sealed shut behind him with a low mechanical hiss. A soft thump echoed as the door vanished completely into the wall, leaving no trace it had ever been there.
Kai spun around. "No… no, no. That's not good."
His instincts screamed to get out—but there was no way back now. All he had was forward.
Ahead, the hallway stretched into darkness, though it was a different kind of dark. It wasn't the absence of light. It was like the hallway itself didn't want to be seen, absorbing his sight as if it feared being understood.
A soft glow flared to life at his side.
A translucent interface hovered in the air beside him, like a personal assistant made of light.
[User: Kai Riven][Level: 1][System Class: Undefined][Protocol Sync: 4%][Upgrade Points Available: 1]
He stared at the floating panel. He had one point. One shot at making himself less useless.
"Alright," he whispered. "Let's see what we've got."
The interface flickered and changed.
Choose Upgrade Path:
Enhanced Reflexes – Accelerate neural response speed. Dodge faster. React instantly.
Perception Boost – Increase sensory range and precision. Hear, see, feel beyond human limits.
Physical Augmentation (Minor) – Slight increase in strength, endurance, and pain tolerance.
Core Analysis – Locked(Requires Sync ≥10%)
He had no weapons. No armor. No clue what was coming.
But he had instincts—and if there was one thing he'd learned from surviving Zone 17, it was that knowing something was coming was more useful than hitting harder.
"Perception Boost," he whispered.
[Upgrade Confirmed: Perception Boost Tier 1][Auditory Range +15%. Visual Clarity +20%. Passive Threat Alert Activated.]
Immediately, everything changed.
The air hummed differently. He could hear the slight whir of something turning behind the wall to his left. There was a hiss of steam far ahead—someone or something was moving.
And then the system whispered again:
[Threat Detected – 37 meters ahead.]
Kai froze.
[Classification: Phase Echo Construct – Stability: Low][Recommendation: Avoid direct contact. Adaptive strategy advised.]
He crept forward. Every footstep was a negotiation with gravity, every breath measured. The tunnel opened into a circular room with a domed ceiling. The walls pulsed with slow-moving patterns—glyphs in a language he didn't understand.
And in the center of the room, floating about two feet above the ground, was it.
A shape like a humanoid figure, but distorted—glitching in and out of visibility, as if reality had trouble keeping it rendered. Limbs shimmered like static, constantly rearranging. No eyes. No mouth. Just presence.
[Phase Echo Construct – Initiation Warden][Sub-Protocol Host: Trial Guardian]
He crouched behind a low metallic crate, heart pounding.
The construct didn't seem to notice him. It floated in silence, slowly rotating, its form breaking and rebuilding every second.
Then it spoke—not aloud, but directly into his mind.
"Ascendant candidate detected. Commencing Integration Trial."
The entire chamber flared. Circuits on the walls blazed with white light.
"Oh sh—"
Kai threw himself sideways as a beam of pure kinetic force obliterated the crate he'd just hidden behind. It shattered like glass. He rolled, barely avoiding a second blast, and ducked behind a pillar.
His mind raced.
No weapons. No armor. No exit. No backup.
Just Kai.
And whatever this thing was.
[Passive Threat Alert: Trajectory Projected – 0.8s Impact Imminent]
He dove again.
The beam grazed his arm, scorching fabric and skin. Pain ripped through him.
But he was alive.
He rolled behind a curved piece of wall and shouted, "Why are you attacking me?! I didn't ask for this!"
The construct paused.
"Ascension is not granted. It is earned."
A new panel flashed in front of him.
Emergency Protocol: Choose Adaptive Skill
Instinctive Reflex – Allows preemptive dodging of high-speed attacks.
Energy Redirect (Locked) – Requires Sync ≥ 10%
Null Pulse (Locked) – Requires Weapon Interface
Stealth Subroutine (Beta) – Partial invisibility to Constructs.
Kai didn't hesitate.
"Instinctive Reflex!"
[Adaptive Skill Unlocked: Instinctive Reflex Tier 1][Dodge Timing Prediction: +40% Accuracy]
The world sharpened. His breathing slowed. Everything around him became clearer—movement, pressure, angles.
The Construct charged.
Kai waited.
Waited—
Then dodged.
Cleanly. Perfectly.
The thing crashed into the pillar behind him, phasing through part of it like a ghost, then re-stabilizing.
It roared—soundless, yet deafening—and fired again.
Kai weaved.
Jumped.
Slid.
His body responded like it was reading the battlefield milliseconds ahead of time.
[Adrenaline Spiked. Protocol Sync Increased to 6.7%]
Then he saw it.
A shimmer behind the Construct—an unstable panel in the wall, blinking rapidly.
A weakness.
He sprinted toward it. The Construct gave chase.
One step. Two. He felt the beam charging behind him.
He dove, slamming his fist into the panel.
[Environmental Override: Partial Success][Initiation Warden – Stability Compromised]
The Construct flared—light bursting from every crack in its glitching frame.
It screamed, and this time, Kai heard it.
Reality itself warped around it.
Then it collapsed inward, imploding into a silent burst of static and blue light.
Silence.
Only his ragged breathing remained.
[Trial Complete.][Core Seed Fragment Acquired.][Sync Rate: 10.2%][New Protocol Branch Unlocked.]
Kai collapsed to his knees.
His arm burned. His body ached. But he was alive.
And stronger.
The Core Fragment floated before him—small, crystalline, pulsing faintly.
He reached out.
It merged into his chest, dissolving into light.
[Ascension Core Activated.][Class Unlocked: Ascension Initiator][Tier 0 Protocol: Unlimited Potential Tree Online]
New interfaces bloomed in his mind—options, trees, upgrades.
Dozens. Hundreds. Too many to process.
"Unlimited Potential… what does that even mean?"
The voice returned.
"You have no fixed path. Your evolution is yours to shape."
Kai looked around the now-silent chamber.
The sealed wall behind him split open, revealing a stairway leading upward—back to the surface.
"Was this really… just the beginning?"
He rose slowly.
He wasn't just surviving anymore.
He was leveling up.