Aron's boots dragged across the cracked pavement, his body coated in dirt, dried blood, and the stench of smoke. His uniform was torn, and his left arm hung limp by his side, wounded and swollen. His face looked gaunt — like he had returned from the dead.
Because, in a way… he had.
He was the only one who survived.
The giant steel doors of the gang hideout opened slowly as the guards inside noticed his approach. One of them gasped, recognizing him immediately.
"Aron?!"
He didn't answer. Just kept walking until he stood before Sin, who sat in the warehouse office surrounded by maps, broken tech, and a half-empty glass of whiskey.
Sin raised an eyebrow. "You're alive."
Aron nodded weakly. "Barely."
The gang leader gestured to a seat. "Talk."
Aron collapsed into the chair and took a deep breath before telling everything. From the moment they reached the bank, how the initial fight with the Level 1 aliens was manageable, how they recovered the cash, diamonds, and tech — and then….
The ambush.
"The Level 2 alien was unlike anything we'd seen," Aron said. His voice cracked. "Tentacles like blades… and we couldn't even scratch it. Guns, grenades, everything bounced off. ".
He looked up at Sin, eyes haunted.
"It slaughtered us. One by one. Like we were nothing."
Sin's expression darkened, but he remained quiet. Sin looked all cold, but deep down inside everyone knew that he cared about his men.
"I tried to fight back," Aron continued. "Tried to stall it… but I would've died if not for someone showing up. A masked man."
That got Sin's attention.
He leaned forward slightly. "Masked?"
"Yeah. Wore a long coat. Black mask, looked like the shadow itself. Moved faster than anything I've seen. He cut through the alien like it was paper."
For the first time, Sin's calm and cold cracked. His brows furrowed, eyes narrowed — not in disbelief, but recognition and panic.
"Did you see his face?"
"No. But…" Aron hesitated. "There was something… familiar about the way he moved. Like I've seen him before."
Sin's fingers tapped against his glass slowly.
He didn't speak.
Aron noticed it — the sudden tension. The shift in mood. But Sin waved a hand.
***
His body hardened. His muscles tightened. His tentacles grew sharper, more responsive.
And more than that… he felt stable. He could now hold his transformation longer without the draining effect.
But the system wasn't done.
[New Skill Unlocked: Alien Cloak]
— Blend into surroundings for short periods. Greatly enhances stealth.]
"Nice."
It wasn't just about strength anymore — he needed to outthink the aliens too.
Ejilah sat beside the ruins of an old convenience store, grabbing a cold can of expired food and tearing it open.
He wasn't just fighting to survive anymore. He was fighting for answers— his father, the system, the aliens.
He looked toward the dark sky, where strange clouds now hovered over cities, and lights blinked from alien ships.
_ _ _
He clenched his jaw.
"Let them come. I'll be ready. "
"Doesn't matter now," he said coolly. "You're alive. That's what matters."
But Aron wasn't so sure.
As he left the office and walked through the dimly lit corridors of the hideout, one thought kept haunting him.
Where was Ejilah?
He had told Ejilah not to go alone — it was suicide. But his friend had insisted, saying he needed to get stronger, to level up. And now Aron couldn't shake the feeling that Ejilah was fighting something even worse.
He clenched his fists.
"I hope you're okay, man…"
***
Far away, in a scorched battlefield littered with alien corpses and broken buildings, Ejilah stood alone.
His chest heaved as he breathed, steam rising from his body as blood dripped from his tentacles. The fight was over.
His enemies were dead.
The system glowed again before him.
[Level Up]
[Level 4]
[Race Mastery: Alien – 52%]
[Transformation Level: 2 ]
[Kill level 2: 49/100]
[Stat Points +8]
[Choose Distribution:]
He stared at the stats and let out a shaky breath.
"About damn time."
He opened the panel.
[Current Stats in the alien race]
- Strength: 21
- Agility: 21
- Endurance: 21
- Stamina: 21
- Health: 50
- Energy: 100/100
Ejilah noticed that in his previous fight with the level 3 alien, the alien could cut through his skin easily, so he needed a stronger hide and more strength to do damage to the higher levels.
He dumped 4 points into Strength and 4 into Endurance.
[Updated Stats:]
- Strength: 25
- Endurance: 25
He could feel it immediately, he was getting stronger in a fast pace.
"I wonder how I am going to win a fight against him. ", Ejilah thought.
But every time he tried picturing the fight, he always ended up dead in a few seconds.
(Note: the "him" Ejilah was thinking about is a character that I haven't talked about in the story, but Ejilah has already met. )