Ren didn't move for a full minute.
He stayed frozen in the alley, rain dripping from the rusted fire escape above, neon light flickering against the wet pavement. His chest rose and fell rapidly, breath shallow, ears straining for sounds that didn't belong.
Nothing attacked him.
That made it worse.
[Reward Distribution Complete.]
Blue text appeared again—cleaner this time. Sharper.
[You have received a scaled reward based on current value.]
[Physical Adjustment: Applied.]
[Cognitive Load Reduction: Applied.]
Ren blinked.
"…What does that even mean?"
He clenched his fist.
And froze.
It felt different.
Not bigger. Not swollen with power like in cheap fantasy stories. Just… right. His fingers closed smoothly, no stiffness, no hesitation. His body responded instantly, like a machine that had finally been calibrated properly.
He took a step forward.
Too fast.
Ren stumbled, barely catching himself against the wall.
"…Okay."
His heart started pounding again, but this time not from panic.
From awareness.
The world felt clearer. Sounds separated instead of blending together. He could distinguish the hum of electricity from the neon sign, the distant sirens, the soft splash of rain hitting metal three floors above him.
His thoughts lined up cleanly, without that constant background noise he'd lived with his entire life.
"So that's the reward," he muttered. "Not power. Efficiency."
Useful.
Dangerously useful.
A scream echoed from the street.
Ren tensed instantly and moved—moved—out of the alley without thinking.
The city was already breaking.
The Gate still hung in the sky, wider now, its edges writhing like something alive. Military helicopters circled at a distance, firing useless bursts that vanished into the darkness beyond the裂.
Creatures fell.
More came.
People ran.
Same as before.
Different outcome.
Ren weaved through the chaos with frightening ease. His body reacted before fear could slow him down. When debris fell, he dodged. When someone tripped in front of him, he vaulted cleanly over.
I couldn't do this before, he realized.
Not even close.
He ducked into a convenience store as glass shattered across the street. Inside, five people huddled behind the counter, faces pale, eyes wide.
"Lock it," Ren said sharply.
They stared at him.
"Now," he repeated, voice cold.
Something in his tone cut through their shock. One of them scrambled to pull the metal shutter halfway down just as something slammed into the storefront.
The impact rattled the shelves.
A low, wet sound followed.
Ren peeked through the narrow gap.
The creature outside was different from the subway one.
Taller. Leaner. Its limbs bent the wrong way, joints rotating smoothly like ball bearings. Its head was smooth, featureless—until a vertical slit opened, revealing a glowing inner membrane.
It sniffed the air.
And stopped.
Ren felt it then.
That pressure.
The same sensation as the text earlier.
You feel watched.
The creature's head tilted—directly toward him.
"…It can sense me?"
The thing outside let out a sound—not a roar, not a screech. A pulse. Low-frequency. The glass vibrated.
One of the people behind Ren whimpered.
"Please," a woman whispered. "Don't let it in…"
Ren didn't answer.
He was busy realizing something terrifying.
In the first timeline, monsters attacked randomly.
This one wasn't.
It was searching.
For him.
[Warning.]
[Your value has exceeded baseline human threshold.]
[Low-tier entities may exhibit attraction behavior.]
Ren swallowed.
"So I'm bait now."
The creature slammed into the shutter again. Metal bent inward.
No more time.
Ren scanned the store—then his eyes locked onto the emergency exit behind the counter.
"Listen," he said quickly, grabbing the nearest guy by the shoulder. "When I move, you all run out the back and don't stop. Don't follow me."
"What about you?" someone shouted.
Ren didn't respond.
He kicked over a shelf.
Cans exploded across the floor, rolling, clattering—noise everywhere.
The creature outside reacted instantly, slamming its full weight into the shutter.
It tore open.
Ren sprinted straight toward it.
The people screamed.
The monster lunged.
Ren slid under its strike, feeling wind shear past his face, and bolted out the front door into the street.
The creature followed.
Good.
He ran.
Not blindly.
Toward a construction zone two blocks away—rebar, scaffolding, narrow paths. Terrain advantage. Something he wouldn't have even thought about before.
His lungs burned.
But his body held.
The creature gained on him, claws tearing chunks out of the asphalt.
Ren grabbed a loose steel rod mid-run, spun, and jammed it into a rotating joint as the monster lunged again.
The resistance shocked him.
The rod pierced.
The creature shrieked, movement stuttering.
Ren didn't wait.
He ran.
Behind him, gunfire erupted. Soldiers finally engaging.
The monster turned—
And Ren escaped.
He collapsed behind a concrete barrier minutes later, chest heaving, hands shaking.
Alive.
This time.
Blue text shimmered faintly.
[Survival without reset detected.]
[No value increase applied.]
Ren laughed under his breath.
"So I only get paid if I die."
The laughter faded quickly.
Because another message appeared.
[Observation logged.]
[Higher entities may now take interest.]
Ren slowly looked up at the fractured sky.
The Gate pulsed.
And for a split second, something vast shifted behind it—too big to emerge, but very much aware.
Ren clenched his fists.
Dying made him stronger.
Living made him invisible.
"…This is messed up."
If he wanted power fast, the answer was obvious.
Die. Reset. Collect rewards.
But if every death raised his value—
Then one day, something would come not to kill him…
…but to claim him.
Ren took a slow breath.
"Next death," he whispered, eyes hardening, "better be worth the price."
END OF CHAPTER 2