Ren didn't die right away.
That was the first mistake.
He spent the next six hours moving through the city, avoiding major clashes, watching the pattern unfold. Gates opening in predictable clusters. Monsters sorting themselves into loose hierarchies. Humans reacting the same way they always did—panic first, organization later.
Same world.
Same collapse.
Different him.
Every step confirmed it: his reactions were sharper, his stamina higher, his fear… muted. Not gone, but contained, boxed neatly in the back of his mind where it couldn't interfere.
Cognitive Load Reduction.
He finally understood what it meant.
Ren wasn't braver.
He was just less distracted.
That scared him more than the monsters.
By nightfall, the city was burning.
Ren stood on the rooftop of a mid-rise office building, watching flames crawl through the streets below. Emergency lights painted everything in red and blue. The Gate above pulsed slowly, like a giant, malignant heart.
He checked his surroundings one last time.
Clear.
Isolated.
High probability of death.
"Alright," Ren muttered. "Let's test the theory."
He pulled a knife from a fallen soldier's gear. Standard issue. Sharp enough.
This wasn't desperation.
This was strategy.
First death: accidental.
Second death: situational.
Third death?
Intentional.
"If the system isn't lying," Ren said quietly, "this should hurt."
He didn't hesitate.
The blade slid across his throat.
Pain exploded—white, blinding, immediate. His hands spasmed, knife clattering to the concrete as blood poured freely. Ren collapsed, choking, vision tunneling rapidly.
It was ugly.
Messy.
Undignified.
Good.
[Death confirmed.]
Darkness swallowed him whole.
Ren woke up screaming.
Same alley.
Same rain.
But not the same feeling.
[Reset Confirmed.]
[Death Count: 3]
This time, the blue text didn't stop.
It layered.
Stacked.
[Value Increased: Significant.]
[Reward Tier: Elevated.]
[Physical Adjustment: Major Applied.]
[Perception Expansion: Partial Unlock.]
Ren rolled onto his side, gasping, muscles spasming violently.
"Oh—shit—"
Pain coursed through him, not injury pain, but reconstruction. His bones felt denser, heavier. His muscles tightened, fibers knitting together with brutal efficiency.
Then his vision—
expanded.
Ren screamed again as the world split into layers.
He could see heat bleeding off metal. Feel vibrations through the pavement. Sense movement three alleys away like faint pressure against his skin.
Too much.
Way too much.
[Warning: Neurological strain detected.]
[Stabilization in progress.]
The sensations snapped back, collapsing into something barely manageable.
Ren lay there, shaking, sweat-soaked, heart hammering.
"…Worth it," he croaked.
He forced himself upright.
The alley no longer felt wrong.
It felt small.
Ren took one step—
And cracked the concrete beneath his foot.
He froze.
"…That's new."
A slow grin spread across his face before he could stop it.
Power.
Real power.
Not enough to fight what was coming—but enough to matter.
Then the grin faded.
Because another message appeared.
[Notice.]
[Your value has reached a non-negligible tier.]
[Passive concealment disabled.]
Ren's blood ran cold.
"Disabled?"
[Reason: Concealment cost exceeds current system allowance.]
[You may now be detected by mid-tier entities.]
The rain stopped.
Not naturally.
It just… froze in midair for a fraction of a second.
Ren slowly looked up.
At the end of the alley, space folded inward.
Not a Gate.
Something else.
A figure stepped through.
Humanoid. Tall. Cloaked in something that bent light around it. Where its face should've been, there was only a smooth, reflective surface—like polished obsidian.
It looked at Ren.
And smiled.
[Mid-Tier Observer: "Collector"]
[Assessment: Asset confirmed.]
Ren took a step back.
"So," he said hoarsely, "this is the part where dying stops being my choice."
The Collector tilted its head.
"Your value," it spoke, voice layered and wrong, "is rising too quickly."
Ren clenched his fists, muscles coiling instinctively.
"And if I die again?"
The Collector's smile widened.
"Then," it said softly, "you may belong to us."
The air thickened.
Ren felt pressure crash down on him from every direction.
For the first time since resetting—
Running wasn't an option.
And dying?
Might be the worst move he could make.
END OF CHAPTER 3