The moment Seiji vanished, Takeru's breath hitched.
His instincts screamed at him to move, but he couldn't see, couldn't track, couldn't predict
Then, everything stopped.
The battlefield, the roaring crowd, the air itself, it all froze mid-motion, like the world had been paused.
Takeru blinked in shock. The pressure weighing down on his chest disappeared, and for the first time since the match started, he felt like he could breathe.
"What the hell?" he muttered, his voice sounding too loud in the eerie stillness.
"You're really taking your time figuring things out, huh?" A voice rang out behind him. Calm, detached, but laced with amusement.
Takeru spun around, and his breath caught.
A girl stood before him.
She looked no older than him, dressed in a sleek black jacket lined with glowing circuitry, digital veins of code crawling along her pale skin.
Her eyes flickered like a corrupted screen, shifting between colors. She seemed unstable, like she wasn't fully real, flickering between pixelated glitches and solid form.
"…Who the hell are you?" Takeru asked.
She smirked, folding her arms. "Took you long enough to notice me. I'm your system. And you're now my host."
Takeru stiffened. "My… what?"
She exhaled dramatically. "Your system. You are my host. The thing you've been using without understanding a damn thing about it." She rolled her eyes.
Takeru took a step back, his mind racing. "You're telling me… my system is an actual person?"
The system snorted. "I mean, if you wanna call this being a person." She gestured to herself, her fingers briefly fragmenting into pixels before reforming.
She took a step closer, her gaze narrowing.
"You, Takeru, aren't supposed to have a system. Not like this. Yours is broken."
Takeru's hands clenched. "Uhuh…"
The system tapped her temple. "You were never meant to get a system, but somehow, you did. And because of that, your powers don't follow the same rules as everyone else's. Your system evolved beyond it's intended function."
Takeru's chest tightened. That explained so much, why his abilities felt erratic, why his system worked differently than everyone else's.
The system leaned in, her voice lowering. "The bad news? It's unstable. The good news?" She smirked. "You have ways to hack the system."
Takeru's pulse quickened. "Wait, does that mean I can…?"
The system grinned. "You're finally catching on. You can exploit it. And I can unlock things for you."
Takeru's breath hitched. "Unlock?"
A new screen flashed before him, glowing in the empty space.
[ADMIN PRIVILEGE REQUEST]
[Reality Hack – "Aimbot" is now available.
Would you like to activate it?]
Takeru stared.
The system crossed her arms. "This one's perfect for your situation. Aimbot. You get to fire real projectiles with pinpoint accuracy. Even precognition won't save that bastard from a perfect shot."
Takeru hesitated for a split second. "What's the catch?"
The system's grin widened. "You only get Twelve shots. Make them count."
Takeru exhaled sharply.
"Activate."
The moment the words left his mouth.
Time resumed.
Takeru felt different.
The knowledge, the skill, it was suddenly there, wired into his brain. His hands tingled with newfound precision, his perception sharper than ever.
The new ability, Aimbot, was locked and loaded. And he was ready.
But Seiji was already mid-attack.
Takeru barely tilted his head in time as Seiji's fist grazed his cheek, the force behind it sending a gust of air past his face
A split second later, Seiji's foot shot out in a vicious counter-kick.
Takeru ducked, just barely.
Seiji's attacks were relentless, but now, Takeru saw them coming.
The system adjusted his aim. His mind processed movement in real-time, angles shifting, calculating, pinpointing weak spots.
He just needed to pull the trigger.
A small golden crosshair appeared, with a flick of his wrist, a translucent firearm materialized in his hand, its sleek design shimmering with digital energy.
Seiji's eyes flickered toward it. "Oh?"
Takeru fired.
BANG!!
The first shot hit. A small burst of red splattered from Seiji's shoulder.
The crowd gasped.
Seiji's expression flickered for a fraction of a second. Surprised.
Takeru fired again.
BANG!!
Another hit, right in Seiji's side.
BANG!!
A third shot tore through his thigh.
Seiji barely managed to twist away, but the damage had been done. Blood dripped from three perfectly placed wounds.
Takeru's breath hitched. "It worked."
His bullets couldn't miss.
Seiji exhaled sharply, eyeing the injuries with a lopsided grin. "Well, shit."
Then, he moved.
Seiji's body blurred as he kicked off the ground, appearing at Takeru's flank.
Takeru's gun snapped to the side on its own.
Before Seiji could strike-
BANG!
A bullet ripped through his forearm. Seiji grunted, twisting in midair. He landed with a skid, flipping his hoodie back on instinct. His sleeve was torn, blood trickling down his arm.
"Okay." He let out a breath, rolling his shoulders. "That's annoying."
BANG!
Seiji ducked, the bullet grazing past his temple.
BANG! BANG! BANG!!
Shot after shot, the Aimbot locked onto him, forcing Seiji to dodge, twist, flip, and counter.
Each bullet curved toward him with pinpoint precision, leaving no openings, no escape.
And yet, Seiji was still dodging.
Takeru's eyes widened. "How?"
Then he saw it, Seiji wasn't dodging randomly. He was moving with impossible precision, slipping through the only safe gaps between each bullet.
He's predicting.
Just like how Aimbot ensured Takeru would hit, Seiji was ensuring he wouldn't get hit critically.
Takeru gritted his teeth.
He had to end this.
He fired, one last shot.
Seiji, already reading the trajectory, lunged forward instead of dodging.
For the first time, Takeru hesitated.
And that was all Seiji needed. A fist slammed into Takeru's gut.
Air left his lungs.
The world blurred as he was launched backward, skidding across the battlefield.
The system flashed red warnings in his vision.
[Critical Impact Taken.
Damage Absorption at 32%.]
Takeru groaned, pushing himself up. His vision swam, but his grip on the gun remained firm.
Seiji cracked his neck. His smirk was gone. "…Alright," he muttered. "I'm going to wrap this up."