Chapter 2: When Everyone Gets Superpowers Except You
Arjun pressed himself against the burnt-out shell of what used to be Café Coffee Day, his stomach cramping with hunger he couldn't afford to acknowledge. Twenty-four hours. Twenty-four hours since the world ended and he'd become irrelevant.In the street beyond the shattered windows, Rahul Khanna—some guy from the third floor who'd always been aggressively mediocre—stood in the middle of the road and threw fire at the sky like he was conducting an orchestra.Flames spiraled from his fists in controlled arcs. Each blast incinerated a mutant rat before it could even scream. His status floated above his head where everyone could see it, glowing with achievement:[Rahul Khanna - Level 8 - Fire Mage]Three women moved like dancers around a hulking creature—something between a gorilla and a lizard that shouldn't exist outside nightmares. The first woman raised a luminescent shield. The second fired arrows made of pure light. The third stood behind them, hands glowing green, healing wounds in real-time.[Neha Patel - Level 7 - Guardian]
[Simran Kaur - Level 6 - Archer]
[Dr. Anita Roy - Level 9 - Healer]Everyone had a level. Everyone had a class. Everyone had power.Arjun looked down at his own status screen. He'd learned how to summon it through sheer desperation sometime around 3 AM, screaming mentally until the interface appeared:[Name: Arjun Malhotra]
[Class: SYSTEM HUNTER (Hidden)]
[Level: 1]
[HP: 100/100]
[Skills: None]
[Abilities: SCAN & COPY - LOCKED]Locked.His only ability was locked, and the System had the audacity to offer a description that explained nothing:"Analyze targets and replicate their abilities. Requirements: Unknown. Current Success Rate: 0%"He'd spent half the night trying to activate it. On monsters. On people. On a pigeon. Nothing happened. Zero results. Zero progress. Zero point zero percent.A fresh scream split his thoughts—human, not monster. The goblin that emerged from the sewer was massive. Level 12. Its rusted sword looked capable of cleaving cars.The fire mage's flames sputtered. Exhaustion. The goblin charged.Arjun's survival instinct screamed: Run. Hide. Live.But five years of solving impossible coding problems had taught him something different. Problems had patterns. Systems had logic. Even monsters had tells.He focused everything on the creature's label, willing his dead ability to do something—anything—For a split second, the label flickered. Text appeared:[HP: 450/450]
[Weakness: Low intelligence, predictable patterns]It vanished like smoke.But he'd seen it.His heart hammered. He tried again, harder, desperate, as the goblin nearly reached the exhausted mage—The label flickered longer this time:[Goblin Warrior Elite - Level 12]
[HP: 450/450]
[MP: 0/0]
[Skills: Power Strike (Lv 3), Regeneration (Lv 1)]
[Weakness: Overextends on power attacks. Right side vulnerable. 1.2 second window.][SCAN SUCCESSFUL!][Would you like to attempt COPY? Success rate: 2%]Two percent. Practically lottery odds."Yes," Arjun whispered. "Copy."The goblin's sword rose. The mage's eyes closed. Accepting death.[COPY FAILED]
[PARTIAL DATA EXTRACTED]
[Combat Insight Acquired - Degraded]Arjun's vision exploded with enemy movement. He could see the wind-up. The overhead swing. The exact moment the creature's right side would be exposed."RIGHT SIDE!" he shouted, not thinking, pure instinct. "Dodge left! Now!"The mage's eyes snapped open. Desperate people don't question miracles. He rolled. The goblin's sword missed by inches.In that perfect 1.2-second window, Rahul summoned one final burst of flame and drove it like a spear into exposed ribs.The creature shrieked. Stumbled. The three women finished it with brutal efficiency.[EXPERIENCE GAINED: 20 XP]
[CONTRIBUTION: TACTICAL SUPPORT - BONUS XP: 5 XP]Arjun had gained experience. Not much. But something.The fire mage turned toward the café, searching for his mysterious helper. Arjun was already slipping through the back exit, into the rubble-strewn alley, into shadow.Because he'd learned the first rule of this new world: power attracted predators, and mystery made you worth hunting.
The lobby had transformed into something from a dystopian nightmare. Armed adventurers—that's what people called System users now, like they were in some fantasy game—stood guard at checkpoints. Real guards with real weapons. Actual armor.They checked status screens at the entrance like bouncers at an exclusive club.Arjun's stomach twisted. He'd have to show them. They'd see Level 1. They'd see the redacted class. They'd see exactly how powerless he was."Next!" barked a scarred woman with a nameplate reading [Meera Singh - Level 14 - Blade Dancer].Arjun approached, trying to project confidence. Fake it until... well, you didn't make it in this world. You died."I work here. Developer. Third floor.""Status."He summoned the screen, grateful the System at least respected his need for partial secrecy. His class showed as [DATA REDACTED] to everyone but himself.The guard's eyes narrowed. "Level 1? Redacted class?" She studied him like a puzzle she couldn't solve. "What developer hides his information?""System glitch," Arjun said. It was technically true.A massive guard with a war hammer laughed. "A glitch class. What'll you do, debug monsters?"The others chuckled. Arjun felt his face burn.Meera held up a hand. She stared at him for another long moment, then shrugged. "Fine. But new policy as of this morning—everyone contributes to compound defense. If you can't fight, you work. Twelve-hour shifts. No exceptions."No exceptions. Meaning if he didn't get strong fast enough..."Understood," he said.
Priya from accounting was practicing fireballs by the windows. [Priya Verma - Level 8 - Fire Mage]. Small flames danced between her fingers like she'd been born with them.Vikram from HR had become insufferable in a new way—leather armor, glowing daggers, an air of casual cruelty. [Vikram Desai - Level 10 - Assassin].But their boss, Rajan Kapoor, was something else entirely.The man had gained six inches of height and thirty pounds of pure muscle. Blood-red aura flickered around him like flames. [Rajan Kapoor - Level 15 - Berserker Lord]"Arjun! Finally." Kapoor's voice boomed across the office. This wasn't their old boss. This was someone who'd discovered the intoxication of power. "We've been waiting."The tone sent ice through Arjun's veins."Sorry, sir. Streets were—""Everyone's had the same streets!" Kapoor's laugh was sharp as a blade. "But some of us actually fought. Priya killed a dozen rats in her building. Vikram cleared a goblin floor solo. I personally led a team through a level 10 dungeon in the basement."He stepped close. Arjun could smell blood on him—actual blood, still fresh."This company is a survival compound now. Everyone contributes based on their abilities." Kapoor's eyes were flat, empty of the humanity they'd contained yesterday. "Show me your status."Arjun pulled it up. Watched the man's expression shift. Disappointment. Disgust. Contempt."Level 1," Kapoor said slowly. "Still level 1. What's your class?""Redacted. The System—""We have sixty-three employees in this building," Kapoor interrupted. "Forty-two have actionable combat classes. Twelve are support specialists. Nine are logistics coordinators. That's everyone." He stepped even closer. "Do you know what that makes you?"Arjun couldn't speak."Dead weight." Kapoor smiled, and it was the smile of someone who'd just discovered he enjoyed hurting people. "Forty-eight hours. Get to level 5 minimum, or you're out. We can't feed the useless. The strong survive. The weak..." He gestured toward the windows where monsters prowled. "Well, there are plenty of mouths to feed out there."He walked away, leaving Arjun standing in the center of the office, humiliated and terrified. Because Kapoor hadn't threatened him. He'd just stated a fact.Priya approached after he left. Genuine concern flickered in her eyes. "Arjun, I'm sorry. He's been like this since—""I know," Arjun said quietly. "Power changes people.""It doesn't have to." She glanced at Kapoor, who was laughing with Vikram across the room. "Look, some of us are hunting tonight. Low-level zone. Partially cleared. If you want to come, we could help you level. Safety in numbers?"It was a lifeline. Dangerous, but better than the alternative."Seven PM. South exit," he said. "I'll be there."
Five people were already waiting: Priya, Suresh (healer), Aditya and Roshni (tanks), Farhan (archer). All levels 6-9. All properly equipped.Then there was Arjun. Level 1, rebar as a weapon, terror barely contained."Stay close," Priya said, taking point. "Textile mill two blocks south. Mostly level 3-5 monsters. Rats, occasional goblins. We stick together. Clear?"They moved into evening streets painted red and orange by the setting sun. Blood-stains marked doorways. Screams echoed in the distance.This is it. Level up or die trying.Three minutes to the mill.That's when everything went wrong.A shriek split the air—human. A young woman ran around the corner, maybe early twenties, clothes torn and bleeding. Behind her:[Mutant Hound - Level 9]The creature was the size of a small truck. All muscle, fangs, glowing red eyes. Hunger."Formation!" Aditya shouted. Tanks moved forward, shields raised.But the hound was fast. It leaped over the shields, jaws aimed directly at the fleeing woman's throat.Arjun didn't think. He threw himself forward and screamed: "DOWN!"The woman dropped. The hound sailed overhead. Arjun swung his rebar.Through that degraded combat insight—that fractured understanding—he knew exactly where its front leg would be. Where to strike.The rebar connected with a sickening crunch.The hound stumbled. The tanks engaged. What followed was brutal, coordinated, efficient—experienced fighters bringing down a predator.[MUTANT HOUND SLAIN]
[EXPERIENCE GAINED: 20 XP]
[CONTRIBUTION: TACTICAL SUPPORT + COMBAT PARTICIPATION - BONUS: 15 XP][LEVEL UP!][YOU ARE NOW LEVEL 2]Arjun fell to his knees gasping. His first level up. His first real—His screen flickered. New text appeared:[SCAN & COPY CONDITIONS PARTIALLY MET]
[ABILITY UPGRADING...]
[SCAN: Now usable on targets 10 levels higher]
[COPY: Conditions revised - Deal damage or witness target defeat]
[Success rate: Variable based on level difference]His ability had unlocked. Not fully. But enough.Priya helped him up. "That was brave. Stupid, but brave."The woman they'd saved was crying gratitude. Suresh healed her. The group decided to escort her back before continuing the hunt.As they walked, Arjun tested his newly upgraded scan on the group. Their full stats appeared—abilities, skills, everything. For the first time since integration, he wasn't completely powerless.This was his gift, he realized. Not overwhelming force or flashy magic.Information. Understanding. The ability to learn from every enemy, every fight.In a world where everyone had been given power, he'd been given something potentially more dangerous: the ability to steal it.The textile mill loomed ahead. Broken windows glowed with System energy. Inside, dozens of low-level monsters waited.But as Arjun stepped toward the entrance, his screen flickered one more time:[WARNING: UNAUTHORIZED CLASS DETECTED IN VICINITY]
[HUNTER STATUS COMPROMISED - RECOMMENDED ACTION: RELOCATE IMMEDIATELY]His blood froze.Someone else with a hidden class was here.And the System's tone suggested they weren't friendly.