The apartment walls felt thinner than usual, the distant screams of the city pressing in like a suffocating weight. Luis sat on the floor, counting his Soul Essence for the third time—300. Still not enough.
Zyx floated upside-down near the ceiling, twirling a phantom coin between his fingers. "You know," he mused, "there's a faster way."
Luis didn't look up. "If you're about to suggest killing other Hosts again—"
"Not any Hosts," Zyx corrected, flipping upright. "Just the weak ones. The ones who'll die anyway. Think of it as… mercy with benefits."
Luis's grip tightened around his wrench. "No."
"Oh, come on—"
"I'm not a murderer." The words came out harsher than he intended. Luis exhaled, forcing his voice steady. "I'll kill if it's life or death. But not for crafting materials."
Zyx studied him for a long moment—then sighed. "Fine. Enjoy your moral high ground while farming bunnies for the next week."
Dawn painted the forest in pale gold as Luis returned, his muscles still aching from yesterday's fights. The Rustfang Hares had grown cautious, the Bramble Crawlers more aggressive.
"You're getting predictable," Zyx noted as Luis baited another Shade Stalker into a sunlight-dappled clearing. "They're adapting."
Luis wiped sweat from his brow. "Then I'll adapt too."
As the Stalker lunged, something shifted in his chest—a cold, prickling sensation, like static crawling under his skin. His vision tinted violet.
[NEW ABILITY UNLOCKED: MISFORTUNE'S TOUCH]
Inflicts random debuffs on target for 10 seconds:
Damage Vulnerability (10-100% increased damage taken)
Movement Impairment (10-100% speed reduction)
Critical Failure (5-50% chance for attacks to backfire)
Perception Glitch (10-100% accuracy loss)
Stagger Magnet (Next hit guarantees knockdown)
Cannot be reapplied to same target for 1 hour
The Stalker's claws should have torn open Luis's shoulder—but at the last second, its foot caught on an exposed root. The monster face-planted, its own momentum driving its throat onto Luis's wrench.
[SHADE STALKER DEFEATED]
[SOUL ESSENCE GAINED: 25]
[MISFORTUNE'S TOUCH EFFECT: CRITICAL FAILURE (34%)]
Zyx whistled. "Okay, that's handy."
Luis stared at his hands. "Why now?"
"Some God abilities unlock under stress," Zyx said. "And you, my friend, are very stressed."
Nine Hours Later
The sun had long since set when Luis finally collapsed against a tree, his body screaming in protest. His Soul Essence counter glowed triumphantly:
[TOTAL SOUL ESSENCE: 2,017]
[LEVEL-1 (45%)>2]
"Finally," he rasped, grinning through split lips.
Zyx, uncharacteristically quiet, nodded toward the city. "Let's go before something smells the blood on your shirt."
They'd nearly reached the apartment when the air turned thick—wrong. Luis's breath hitched as a gust of wind carried the stench of wet fur and iron.
Around the corner, a Silver Wolf King (Lv. 11) stood atop a crushed car, its silvered fur bristling with storm-static. Five Hosts surrounded it:
A woman with molten gauntlets.
A man wielding twin electrified katanas.
A teenager whose shadow lashed like whips.
A sniper perched on a fire escape.
And their leader—a figure in black tactical gear, his fists crackling with gravity distortions.
The fight was brutal. The Wolf King moved like liquid lightning, its claws shearing through concrete. The gravity-user punched the air, and the beast's ribs visibly dented inward. The sniper's round took its eye. The shadow-user's tendrils pinned it just long enough for the molten-gauntlet woman to punch through its skull.
[SILVER WOLF KING DEFEATED]
The gravity-user turned—directly toward Luis's hiding spot.
Luis didn't breathe.
A second passed. Then the man smirked and turned away, gathering his team.
"Ohhh, that's bad," Zyx whispered as they slipped into the night. "That was Krathos' crew. And they saw you."
Luis clutched his Soul Essence like a lifeline.
"Then I'd better craft something good."