The Hook Street market had a rhythm. Stalls opened, shutters clattered, steam rose from dumpling baskets and broth pots. Dogs prowled at the edges, their grins promising protection only they could sell. People looked down when they walked by. That was the rhythm.
Evan had broken it.
Now the rhythm stumbled.
Pike stood in the center of the street, jaw tight, eyes cutting at every face like he expected someone to hand him the thief wrapped up in a bow. His knife twirled in angry little jerks, no longer smooth. His boys prowled, snapping at merchants who flinched but no longer quite cowered.
Because the sack was gone. Because coins had rained back into hands that hadn't expected to hold them again.
And because in every corner of the market, people had seen something they couldn't name: a shadow, a blur, an echo that didn't stay still.
Quest — Make a Statement (active). Time remaining: 22:47. Condition: Hold claim without capture. Reward: +1 Level, Title [Swift Claimant], +15 Speed.
Evan crouched on the roof above the main lane, unseen, the sack of chits tucked safely where Pike would never find it. His system hummed. His body thrummed. The Dogs' shouts rose, but the fear in their voices soured their threats.
"FIND HIM!" Pike snapped again. "The Guild'll skin us if we lose a collection!"
One of his boys shifted uneasily. "Boss, what if it's—"
"It's not a system brat!" Pike cut him off. "Nobody like that's unregistered in Lowwater!"
Evan smiled without teeth. His system answered with a new prompt.
Micro-Objective: Confront Pike directly without injury. Reward: +10 Speed.
He stepped off the roof.
The world blurred. When motion stopped, he stood in the street not five paces from Pike. Echo Step left a smear of himself still crouched above, a ghost-image for anyone staring too slow.
Gasps snapped through the market. Pike's boys froze. Pike himself turned with a grin too sharp to be stable.
"You've got guts, rat," he hissed. "Or you're too dumb to know you're already dead."
He lunged.
The knife flashed silver arcs. To anyone else it was fast. To Evan, it was predictable lines already sketched across the world. He leaned right, took a half-step, and Pike's slash brushed nothing but air.
"IMPOSSIBLE!" Pike spat, furious. He slashed again, again, a storm of steel that touched only ghosts.
Evan let him try. Every miss frayed Pike's grin into desperation. Every dodge made the crowd whisper louder. "He's—he's faster than my eyes—"
Evan let the rhythm of misses build until Pike was wild with it, then he answered with one clean Burst Step forward. The distance vanished. His fist tapped Pike's chest with a sound like knuckles on a door. Pike staggered back three full paces, knife dipping.
[DING] Micro-Objective complete.+10 Speed. Speed: 154 → 164.
The Dogs' faces drained. Pike's lip curled. "He's just a brat—hit him!"
Three of his boys surged forward at once, weapons raised.
Evan's system chimed with perfect timing.
New Skill Available: Echo Step (F).Description: Leave behind a 1-second afterimage when accelerating. Cooldown: None.
He moved.
The first thug swung a club. It met Evan's ghost and whistled through air. The real Evan slid past and clipped his ankle with a low kick. The boy tumbled into crates with a crash.
The second thrust a spearhead. Evan Quickstepped; the spear skewered his echo and the boy screamed as if stabbed by his own confusion. Evan's palm met his chest and folded him over.
The third tried to circle wide. Evan Burst Stepped, blur to blur, and met him head-on with a straight punch that sent him spinning.
The street was quiet except for groans.
Overflow (4%) → (5%).+1 Speed. Speed: 164 → 165.
The market crowd broke its silence in a ripple. Whispers turned into open talk. "He's—he's beating them—" "Not even scratched—" "Too fast—"
Pike's face twisted. He stabbed the air wildly. "DON'T JUST STAND THERE! KILL HIM!"
But the order didn't land. His Dogs shifted, uncertain, caught between fear of Pike's knife and fear of the blur in front of them.
Evan straightened, the wraps on his hands bright against the shadow of his coat. He spoke calmly, not loud, but the market carried his words anyway.
"This street doesn't belong to you anymore."
Pike's eyes bulged. "You—trash—you think—"
He lunged, knife stabbing. Evan's system pulsed.
Skill prompt: Momentum Shift (F).Available: 1/1.
He let Pike's thrust come, let the white arc sketch its fatal promise—and then he turned it into speed. His heel caught the ground, his hips rolled, and Pike's momentum became Evan's propulsion. The Burst Step that followed was cleaner than any before. He vanished from Pike's sight and reappeared behind him.
Evan tapped Pike's shoulder. The gang leader spun, eyes wide, and Evan's fist met his jaw. Pike hit the dirt hard, knife flying from his hand.
The Dogs stared. None moved to help him.
[DING] Quest complete: Make a Statement. Reward: +1 Level, +15 Speed, Title — [Swift Claimant]. **Level: 4 → 5.Speed: 165 → 181.
The panel's glow was soft, but the gasp of the crowd was louder.
The merchants, the aunties, the hawkers—they were all staring. Not at Pike, not at the Dogs. At him.
Title — [Swift Claimant]: You have claimed Hook Street by right of undeniable speed. All hostile claims contested in this domain suffer suppression. Reputation increased among common folk.
Pike groaned and tried to rise. Evan looked down at him, voice cold. "You can crawl, or you can run. Either way, you don't own this street anymore."
The Dogs broke. Some grabbed Pike, some just fled, fear twisting their faces. Merchants began to laugh, not cruelly but with the relief of people who had forgotten what it felt like. Coins clinked back into counters. For once, the Dogs' shadows didn't linger.
Evan turned away, panels humming around him.
Status — Evan Sharp Level: 5 Speed: 181Skills: Quickstep (F), Burst Step (F), Momentum Shift (F), Echo Step (F)Titles: [Uncatchable I], [Swift Claimant] Path: Velocity — Tier 0 (Overflow 5%)
The market whispered his name.
But not everyone whispered.
At the edge of the lane, two Registry wardens in blue coats stood with their slate between them, brows furrowed. One tapped it, frustrated. The other looked at Evan directly and frowned when the lines on the slate stayed blank.
"Unregistered," one muttered. "But strong. Too strong."
Their eyes followed him as he walked calmly into the alleys, Echo Step leaving faint afterimages behind.
Evan smiled to himself. Speed wasn't just survival anymore. It was power. It was ownership.
And it had only just begun.