Elias stands against the mutant pack — outnumbered, outgunned, and without chakra. The fight becomes raw instinct: dodge, bleed, kill, survive. Every moment pulls him closer to death. And just before it reaches him, something deep inside breaks open — and the System responds.
------
The first mutant reached him with a gurgling cry, mouth distended and lined with too many teeth.
Elias didn't think.
He ducked.
The beast's claws missed his face by inches, scraping sparks off the bulkhead behind him. Elias countered — slammed his elbow into the creature's gut, then drove the knife upward into the throat.
The mutant staggered.
Didn't fall.
So he ripped the blade out sideways.
This time, it fell.
The second didn't slow.
It had two arms — one bone, one metal — and it brought them both down like hammers.
Elias dove to the side.
Not far enough.
The metal fist caught his back, and pain exploded up his spine like a burning rod shoved through his ribs.
He hit the floor hard, lost the knife.
The air left his lungs in a grunt, and he rolled, gasping, hearing his own heartbeat over the snarling noise of pursuit.
No chakra.
No backup.
No escape.
The third one — the whispering one — was circling him now, muttering that same oily language, both of its mouths moving in opposing rhythm.
The corpse of the first mutant twitched behind it.
It was getting up.
Elias reached for his revolver.
Gone.
Lost in the fall.
His vision blurred.
The metal-fisted mutant was coming again — stomping with the speed of a predator that knew exactly when its prey stopped being a threat.
Elias dragged himself to his feet, leaning against the wall.
His legs felt wrong.
His left arm wasn't moving right.
He stared at the thing charging him.
And for the first time since arriving in this universe…
He stopped pretending.
He screamed.
Not a war cry.
Not rage.
Just everything — pain, anger, fear, frustration — compressed into a single, broken howl.
A scream at the System.
At the universe.
At the thing in him that refused to wake unless it smelled blood in the air.
"IS THIS ENOUGH YET?!"
And then —
everything cracked.
> SYSTEM OVERRIDE
> Biological Crisis State Detected
> Chakra Network Unlocked: PHASE 1
> Passive Skill Unlocked: Energy Conversion [Basic Chakra Control – Tier 1]
> Active Chakra Flow: ENABLED
> Status: Critical
> Proceed with Caution
Chakra surged through his limbs.
Not controlled.
Not precise.
Violent.
Like a dam exploding in reverse, flooding his veins with fire and purpose.
His fingers curled without him telling them to. His spine straightened. His legs moved.
He stepped forward.
Then launched.
The metal-fisted mutant reached him just in time to catch a full-force punch to the chest — chakra-enhanced, focused through his knuckles like a warhead.
The creature flew backward and slammed into a rusted pylon.
Bones broke.
It didn't rise.
The whispering mutant screamed in two voices at once and rushed him.
Elias met it halfway.
He ducked low, spun on his heel, planted a chakra-charged kick into its kneecap.
The joint popped like a bubble.
It collapsed.
Elias didn't stop.
He stepped over it, jammed two fingers into the soft spot under the jaw, and dumped chakra directly into its skull.
The head snapped back violently. The second mouth bit its own tongue in half.
Then it stopped moving.
Elias staggered.
Blood from his earlier wounds mixed with sweat, and the chakra began to fade — the burn turning into weakness.
But the fight was over.
And the System…
finally answered.
> Combat Complete
> Chakra Control Tier 1: UNLOCKED
> Passive Skill: Surface Adhesion (Basic Tree-Walking)
> Chakra Reserve: 2.5 / 2.5
> Stamina Recovery: +0.4
> Blood Loss Critical: Seek Medical Attention
> WARNING: Vital Signs Unstable
> Progress: 28%
> Achievement: "Refused to Die"
He dropped to one knee, shaking.
Not from exhaustion.
From release.
It wasn't over.
But now… he had something.
Not a technique. Not a shortcut.
A price.
And he'd just paid it.