I was on my knees, hands pressed into the grass,breathing like a broken bellows.
My heart was racing so hardit hammered the most sensitive spot in my chest.The edges of my vision kept trembling,like the frame rate couldn't keep up.
"…Damn. That one was way too hard."
This was the cost of pushing the Source point to its limit.Even for just a fraction of a second,my body made sure I understood the price.
Honestly, when I left the room,I just wanted to confirm one thing.
Had I actually gotten stronger…or were yesterday's sensations just luck?
I wasn't some chosen hero.Back in that little grid-like life in Taiwan,I was at best the ERP system workhorse of the company.And now I'd been thrown into a placewhere space twisted and monsters showed up in supermarkets.
Want to survive the next Abyssal outbreak…?
If I didn't squeeze every bit of effort,if I didn't push myself to the edge of collapse,it would be a joke to even talk about living.
Fail to hold the line…and I'd just be food.
I wasn't special.I could only grind.
I pressed my hand over my chest.
The invisible thread was still there.Extending out from metoward some indescribable direction.Still trembling a little… but not broken.
The good news:I hadn't blacked out this time.
The bad news:I still really wanted to lie down and stop existing.
That last attempt was just me going"harder than usual" on the nearest Source point.From suppressing for 0.1 secondsto dragging it close to 0.2.
Space felt like I was pinning it downwhile it tried to pull away.
For that one instant,I really felt the Source point shrink back.I couldn't see anything…but I knew that area was behaving.
No idea how long it would stay obedient,but my gut said it wasn't going to be forever.
A few hours, if I was lucky.Right now,a few hours of quiet…was already luxury.
The pressure in my chest slowly eased,and I pushed myself up.
My shadow wobbled at my feet,but this time, it didn't lag behindand didn't trail any broken afterimages.
Compared to the first few days in this city…
Yeah.I had improvedat least a little.
"All right.Let's call that barely acceptable."
I muttered under my breath.
The grass rustled.Patch strolled out,moving a little lighter than usual.There was a faint, shiny dust clinging to his mouth—not dirt, not ash.
"What did you eat this time?"
I crouched down, trying to see.
Patch turned his head away,flicked his tail at me,very clearly saying: None of your business.
I scooped him up.
He felt a bit more solid than before.His fur was smoother,heavier.
"You've been growing pretty seriously, huh."
His ears twitched,neither agreeing nor denying.He just kneaded my palm twice,as if confirming his seat.
I set him down.He hopped onto the nearby railing in a few quick steps—no sign of the slight clumsiness he had before.
Looked like I wasn't the only one leveling up.
My phone buzzed in my pocket.
It was a message from Emilia.
[We detected a brief anomaly in that area. Are you okay?]
Short, clean,clinical.
She wasn't talking like a friend.More like she was checking on the status of an "observation point."
It just so happened that the observation point was a person.
Me.
I replied:[Still alive. Just out of breath.]
After a moment, I added:[Thanks.]
Another notification came soon after.She sent a screenshot.
The image was blurry.I couldn't tell which system or interface it came from,but I recognized the region in the middle instantly.
It was the area I'd been moving around in recently,marked with a tiny label:
+4%
I stared at that number for several seconds.
"…You've got to be kidding me."
The meaning was obvious.
Since I arrived in this zone,within a short period of time…the appearance rate of Source pointshad increased by four percent.
If nobody had pulled the data and compared it,no one would've noticed.
Patch looked up at me.
His eyes said:
So you finally realized you're a walking problem generator.
"Yeah, yeah. I know."
I rubbed his head.
"But right now, I need to pretend I didn't see that…and focus on staying alive."
I put my phone awayand walked a slow circle along the park's outer path.
This time, I didn't try to suppress anything.I just lowered my breathingand listened.
Some parts of the path were quiet.Other spots swelled slightly,like someone exhaling under the ground.
If you weren't paying attention,you'd write it off as imagination.But I could now tellwhat was just wind and leaves…and what was the rhythm of a Source point.
"At this rate, this city is going to end upfeeling like bugged software."
I said quietly.
Patch walked ahead,his tail swaying steadily.Sometimes he would stop at a spot,sniff the air,then move on like nothing happened.
Watching his back,I felt something strange.
It wasn't just me being pulled along.He was too.Emilia as well.And people I didn't even know about…
All being tugged by some unseen web.
I had no idea what was at the other end.Only that Bratislava todaywas even stranger than yesterday.
And I was walking step by stepalong this invisible line.
**
At the same time,in a room that never saw sunlight—
Walls covered in monitors,each screen showing different regions,lines, numbers, simplified maps.
A man in a simple shirt stood in the center,tablet in hand,eyes fixed on one particular zone.
A small marker hovered there:
+4%
He pushed his glasses up, expression flat,like he was reading the weather.
"Four percent."
He murmured.
"Not a lot…but not natural."
He zoomed the zone in and out.His finger hovered for a second,as if quietly filing a certain nameinto his personal memory.
**
Somewhere else,Nantou, Taiwan.
Night clung to old concrete walls.The wind rattled a hanging sign.
Inside, one wall had been smashed open.A broken Abyssal was half-embedded in it,limbs twisted,like someone had ripped them off and reassembled them wrong.The light in its eyes was gone.
Debris littered the floor—splintered wood, tiles, blood.
A girl half-knelt in the rubble,breathing hard,a deep gash carved across her shoulder.Her blade was still buried in the creature.Heavy, painful.
She gritted her teeth and pulled it out.Blood slid down the steel.
Her phone screen glowed on the floor nearby,stopped on a page of flight information.
She looked at it—pain in her eyes slowly covered by something else.
"Ten days."
She pressed her hand over her shoulderand forced herself to stand.
"Ten days to heal…then I'm coming for you."
Wind rushed through the broken window,tangling sweat-damp bangs.
She raised her head and stared into the dark sky.
"Jeff…you'd better wait for me."