MULTIVERSE FIGHTERS — Episode 3: "Flesh, Blood, and Secrets"
The Hunt ended, but the city never rested. By the time the system warped them back, the streets were already alive with the stink of booze and sweat, bodies moving against each other like sin was the only currency. Music pounded through walls, lights flickered, fights erupted in every corner.
Asia lit a smoke with blood still crusted on her knuckles. She sat on the bar counter, legs crossed, smirking at every man or woman who dared to look too long. Cody had his shirt off already, body scarred and bleeding, but laughing, drinking straight from a bottle while arm-wrestling two fighters at once.
X stayed in the shadows of the booth. His hood was low, his fists still clenched from the Hunt. The screen blinked at him, taunting, whispering.
X — L152 → L154 (After-Dark EXP gain)
Energy cost: 12% → 11%
He shut it off before Cody noticed.
⸻
The After-Dark
Asia leaned over him, smoke curling from her lips. Her tattoos caught the low light, crawling up her arms like stories he'd never read. "You're too quiet, X," she said. "We survived. That means you drink. That means you fuck. That means you live."
Cody roared from across the room, slamming a man's arm through the table. "Yeah, brother, come on! No ghosts tonight!"
X forced a half-smile, but it didn't touch his eyes. He slid a glass across the table to Asia instead. She tilted her head, sharp grin cutting across her face. "Always the saint. Saints don't last here." She downed it, wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, and pulled some stranger into her lap without looking twice.
The room turned hotter, dirtier. Couples disappeared behind curtains, grunts and moans mixing with laughter and fists hitting flesh. Every act fed the system.
Asia — EXP +
Cody — EXP +
The system rewarded everything: pleasure, pain, survival. It didn't care which side of the coin you chose.
X clenched his jaw, ignoring the temptations around him. His body didn't need it. His system was different. It hungered only for the fight.
⸻
A Stranger's Eyes
From the balcony above, a man watched him. Old coat, calm stance, eyes sharp enough to cut glass. Prestige 100,000. He sipped from a cracked cup like the world bored him. When X glanced up, their gazes met. The man raised his glass in a mock toast.
X looked away.
X — EXP +50 (Observation resistance logged)
⸻
The Next Hunt
Morning bled into the streets, bringing silence like the eye of a storm. Fighters stumbled out of bars, bloodied, kissed raw, barely alive. The system beeped in all of them at once.
NEXT TRIAL AVAILABLE
Options:
1) 50-PLAYER HUNT
2) 100-PLAYER HUNT
Cody groaned, clutching his head. "My hangover needs a 50. Just this once."
Asia blew smoke in his face. "Don't be a bitch. Big hunts are where the real EXP is."
X said nothing. His finger tapped 100. The world folded.
⸻
The Arena
They dropped into a canyon of ruined highways. Overpasses cracked and leaned on each other like broken ribs. Fires burned in the distance, smoke curling high. The air stank of rust and dried blood.
Bodies rained down with them. Fighters screaming, fists already swinging.
The voice thundered:
HUNT COMMENCE. BARE HANDS ONLY. NO MERCY.
⸻
Carnage in Concrete
Cody charged like a bull, smashing a man's head into the asphalt until it cracked. He laughed through the blood.
Asia flowed between enemies, sharp and cruel. She took a punch to the face, grinned with blood on her teeth, and snapped the attacker's wrist before breaking his nose with her knee.
X moved like a ghost, never wasting energy. A choke here, a body slam there, fists sinking into ribs and jaws. Every move precise, brutal, final.
X — L154 → L163 → L172
Energy cost: 11% → 9%
Asia — L6 → L7
Cody — L6 → L7
The canyon walls echoed with screams, curses, and bones snapping. Blood streaked the cracked highways.
⸻
The Monster
Halfway through, the ground shook. A fighter dropped heavier than the rest. Taller than all of them, shoulders like stone, fists scarred raw. His badge glowed faint: Prestige 12.
He pointed at X. "You. I watched you last hunt. You don't fight like the rest. You hide. I'll peel you open."
Asia swore under her breath. Cody cracked his neck. "We'll handle him together."
"No," X said. "Stay back."
The giant came at him, fists like wrecking balls. X blocked, ribs rattling, forearms burning. The hits would've broken anyone else in half. X absorbed them, breathing steady, eyes calm.
He countered with a body shot, short and sharp. Another to the jaw. Another to the liver. The giant laughed, spitting blood. "Better. But not enough."
He grabbed X by the throat, lifted him, slammed him against a tilted guardrail. X's vision blurred, but his body burned hotter. His system hummed, demanding release.
He let go—just a fraction. His fists blurred, ribs cracking, jaw breaking, until the giant fell to his knees. X finished it with a hammer fist to the temple.
Silence. Then the crowd roared.
Asia's eyes widened. Cody's grin faltered.
X pulled his hood low.
X — L172 → L196
Energy cost: 9% → 7%
Asia — L7 → L8
Cody — L7 → L8
After-Dark Again
When it ended, only their squad stood. The system dragged them back to the undercity, louder than ever. Fighters danced half-naked on bar tops, bodies tangled in corners, drugs passed hand to hand. Every scream, every kiss, every punch added EXP.
Asia wiped blood from her lips and laughed at nothing. Cody arm-wrestled until his knuckles bled, then kissed a stranger hard enough to draw blood.
X sat in silence, fists bruised, screen glowing faint.
X — L196 → L210 (After-Dark EXP gain)
Energy cost: 7% → 6%
A message blinked across his display.
UNKNOWN: Secrets rot from the inside out.
X closed it. He raised his eyes to the balcony. The Prestige 100,000 man was still there, smiling like a wolf.