Kyle's eyes fluttered open to the harsh fluorescent lights of a hospital room. His throat felt raw, like he'd been screaming, and his entire body ached with a dull, persistent pain. The steady beeping of machines surrounded him, and the antiseptic smell made his stomach churn.
"Ah, you're awake," a voice said from beside his bed. Kyle turned his head slowly to see a middle-aged doctor with graying hair and tired eyes. The man's white coat was pristine, and Kyle could see the soft blue glow of an AI interface around his temples. "I'm Dr. Harrison. How are you feeling?"
"Like I got hit by a truck," Kyle croaked, his voice barely above a whisper.
Dr. Harrison made a note on his holographic tablet. "That's... understandable, given what you've been through. Kyle, I have to tell you—you're incredibly lucky to be alive. The toxin levels in your system should have killed you within minutes."
Kyle tried to sit up, but his body protested. "What happened to me?"
"That's what we're trying to figure out." Dr. Harrison pulled up a chair beside the bed. "Your body should be completely ash right now, Kyle. The energy readings from that containment breach were off the charts. But somehow, you survived. More than that—you're now able to harness energy."
"What?" Kyle's eyes widened. "That's impossible. I'm not compatible with the AI system. I never was."
"That's just it," Dr. Harrison said, his expression puzzled. "You can harness energy, but you don't seem to have an AI system. There's no interface, no neural pathways that we can detect. And your records show no previous compatibility. It's... unprecedented."
Kyle stared at the ceiling, trying to process what he was hearing. "So what does that mean?"
"It means we need to run some tests," Dr. Harrison said, standing up. "Extensive ones. We need to understand what happened to you, how you survived, and what this means for—"
"What kind of tests?" Kyle interrupted, a chill running down his spine.
Dr. Harrison waved dismissively. "Nothing you need to worry about. Standard procedures for anomalous cases."
"I'd prefer not to have any tests done to me," Kyle said firmly, trying to keep the fear out of his voice.
Dr. Harrison's expression hardened. "I'm afraid that's not your decision to make. Your parents have already agreed to it. And Kyle, if you refuse to cooperate, you might find yourself facing jail time for the damage caused in Lab Seven."
"But it wasn't my fault!" Kyle protested. "There was someone else there, a man in a dark coat. He's the one who—"
"You were the only one found at the scene," Dr. Harrison cut him off. "The security footage was corrupted by the energy surge. As far as anyone knows, you were alone when the containment unit was breached."
Kyle felt his heart sink. Of course no one would believe him. He was just another incompatible nobody, and now he was apparently a dangerous anomaly.
"I'll be back tomorrow morning to begin the preliminary tests," Dr. Harrison said, heading for the door. "I suggest you get some rest. You're going to need it."
As the door closed behind the doctor, Kyle slumped back against his pillow. Everything was falling apart. He was trapped, with no way out and no one to help him.
That's when it appeared.
A translucent blue screen materialized in front of him, floating in the air just like the AI interfaces he'd seen his whole life. But this one was different—simpler, more direct.
SYSTEM ACTIVATED
WELCOME, KYLE MORGAN
CURRENT STATS:
- STRENGTH: 12
- SPEED: 10
- STEALTH: 8
- ENDURANCE: 11
- INTELLIGENCE: 15
HEALTH: 45/100
ENERGY: 20/50
Kyle stared at the screen in shock. The numbers were pathetically low compared to what he'd seen from people with real AI systems, but they were there. He had stats.
"What... what are you?" he whispered.
I AM THE GENESIS OVERRIDE SYSTEM. UNLIKE STANDARD AI INTERFACES, I OPERATE INDEPENDENTLY OF THE CENTRAL NETWORK. I EXIST ONLY FOR YOU, KYLE MORGAN.
Before Kyle could respond, the door opened and a nurse walked in. Kyle tensed, expecting her to react to the floating screen, but she moved around the room normally, checking his IV and making notes on her tablet.
"Can she see you?" Kyle asked quietly.
NEGATIVE. ONLY YOU CAN SEE AND INTERACT WITH MY INTERFACE. I AM INVISIBLE TO ALL SCANNING DEVICES AND CANNOT BE DETECTED BY CONVENTIONAL MEANS.
The nurse finished her checks and left without seeming to notice Kyle talking to thin air.
KYLE, YOU ARE IN IMMEDIATE DANGER. THE TESTS THEY PLAN TO CONDUCT WILL EVENTUALLY KILL YOU. THEY WILL DISSECT YOUR BODY TO UNDERSTAND HOW YOU SURVIVED.
Kyle's blood ran cold. "What should I do?"
FIRST MISSION: ESCAPE THE HOSPITAL. COMPLETE WITHIN 24 HOURS OR FACE TERMINATION.
"How am I supposed to escape? I can barely stand!"
YOUR BODY IS HEALING RAPIDLY DUE TO THE ENERGY EXPOSURE. BY NIGHTFALL, YOU WILL BE MOBILE ENOUGH TO MOVE.
Kyle waited until the hospital settled into its quiet night rhythm. His strength had indeed returned, just as the system had predicted. The pain was still there, but it was manageable now.
He quietly disconnected his IV and monitoring equipment, wincing as alarms would surely sound at the nurses' station. Moving quickly, he went to the window and looked down. Three stories—not impossible, but definitely dangerous.
CALCULATING OPTIMAL ESCAPE ROUTE...
WINDOW RECOMMENDED. LANDING ZONE IDENTIFIED: DUMPSTER BELOW WILL CUSHION IMPACT.
Kyle took a deep breath and opened the window. The cool night air hit his face as he climbed onto the ledge. For a moment, he hesitated, looking down at the dumpster that seemed impossibly small from this height.
"Here goes nothing," he muttered, and jumped.
The landing was rough but survivable. Kyle rolled off the pile of garbage bags and hit the ground running. His legs felt stronger than they ever had before, carrying him through the empty streets at a pace that would have been impossible just days ago.
He didn't stop running until he reached his apartment building.
"Kyle!" Maya looked up from the couch as he burst through the door. "Where have you been? You didn't show up for work yesterday, and Johnson was furious."
"I... I had to pick up an extra shift," Kyle lied, still breathing hard. "Different location."
His other roommates looked up from their various activities—Tom was reading on his tablet, Sarah was mending clothes, and Marcus was cooking something that smelled like instant noodles.
"You look terrible," Sarah observed. "Are you sick?"
"Just tired," Kyle said quickly. "I'm going to get some sleep."
MISSION COMPLETE. REWARD: +2 STEALTH, +1 SPEED, 50 EXPERIENCE POINTS.
Kyle felt a strange tingling sensation as the stats updated. He actually felt a little faster, more aware of his surroundings.
The next morning, Kyle woke to a new message from the system.
NEW MISSION: FIND A NEW APARTMENT. TIME LIMIT: 72 HOURS.
"I can't do that," Kyle said quietly, glancing around to make sure his roommates weren't listening. "I don't have money. It was already hard before, but if I look for a new apartment, my finances will be even worse."
YOU ARE NOW A FUGITIVE, KYLE. STAYING HERE PUTS YOU AND YOUR ROOMMATES AT RISK. FAILURE TO COMPLETE THIS MISSION WILL RESULT IN CAPTURE AND TERMINATION.
Kyle's stomach dropped. He was already struggling to make rent here, and now he had to find somewhere else? It seemed impossible.
He spent the day searching the worst parts of the city, looking for anything he could afford. Most places wouldn't even talk to him once they saw his employment history. Finally, in a run-down building that looked like it might collapse at any moment, he found a landlord desperate enough to take his money.
The apartment was even worse than his previous one—a single room with a broken window, peeling paint, and a suspicious stain on the floor that Kyle decided not to investigate. But it was cheap, and the landlord didn't ask too many questions.
When Kyle returned to pack his things, his roommates were waiting for him.
"The cops were looking for you," Tom said without preamble. "They seemed pretty serious about it."
Kyle's heart pounded. "What did you tell them?"
"That we hadn't seen you," Maya said, worry evident in her voice. "Kyle, what's going on?"
"I have to move out," Kyle said, avoiding her eyes. "It's complicated."
"This is just great," Marcus said bitterly. "With you gone, we'll have to cover more of the rent. Do you have any idea how hard it is to find someone else willing to live like this?"
"I'm sorry," Kyle said, grabbing his few belongings. "I really am."
"Sorry doesn't pay the bills," Marcus muttered.
Kyle left quickly, not trusting himself to say anything else. He couldn't tell them the truth—that he was now some kind of anomaly, a fugitive from the very system that governed their world.
His new apartment was even more depressing than he'd remembered. The single bulb hanging from the ceiling cast harsh shadows on the cracked walls, and the mattress on the floor looked like it had seen better decades.
MISSION COMPLETE. REWARD: +1 ENDURANCE, +1 INTELLIGENCE, 25 EXPERIENCE POINTS.
NEW MISSION: FIND EMPLOYMENT. TIME LIMIT: 48 HOURS.
"I'm a fugitive," Kyle pointed out. "How am I supposed to get a job?"
YOU NOW HAVE ACCESS TO THE CAMOUFLAGE SKILL. THIS ALLOWS YOU TO ALTER YOUR APPEARANCE FOR 10 HOURS PER DAY. COOLDOWN TIME: 10 HOURS.
Kyle stared at the notification. "You mean I can change how I look?"
CORRECT. THE SKILL WILL ALLOW YOU TO MODIFY YOUR FACIAL FEATURES, HAIR COLOR, AND GENERAL APPEARANCE WITHIN REASONABLE LIMITS.
The next day, Kyle activated the camouflage skill and watched in amazement as his reflection shifted in the broken mirror. His hair darkened, his facial structure subtly changed, and even his height seemed slightly different. It wasn't a complete transformation, but it was enough to make him unrecognizable.
He spent the day searching for work, avoiding the types of jobs that would require extensive background checks. Finally, he found a posting at a small company that handled crystal mining in the lower-tier dungeons—dangerous work that most people with AI systems considered beneath them.
The supervisor, a gruff man named Rodriguez, barely looked at Kyle's forged paperwork. "You ever work in a dungeon before?"
"No, sir, but I'm a hard worker," Kyle said, keeping his voice steady.
"The pay is terrible, the hours are long, and there's a decent chance you'll die down there," Rodriguez said bluntly. "Crystals don't mine themselves, and the monsters don't take breaks. You still interested?"
Kyle thought about his empty apartment, his dwindling savings, and the system that seemed to be his only hope for survival. "Yes, sir. I'm interested."
"Good. You start tomorrow. Don't be late."
As Kyle left the building, he felt a mixture of relief and dread. He had a job, a place to live, and a mysterious system that was apparently keeping him alive. But he was also a fugitive, completely alone, and about to descend into dungeons filled with monsters.
MISSION COMPLETE. REWARD: +2 STRENGTH, +1 ENDURANCE, SKILL UNLOCK: BASIC COMBAT AWARENESS.
The system's notification appeared as Kyle walked through the darkening streets. Whatever this new life was going to be, there was no going back now.