Eric felt like he was dying.
He didn't know if it was from the repeated blows, the punch that still made his jaw throb, or the crushing pain in his chest caused by the System itself.
The line between physical and supernatural had disappeared.
His heart skipped in irregular beats.
Every breath felt like something inside him was tearing apart.
He didn't understand what was happening.
The Midas System had never appeared in his dreams before.
It had never invaded that fragile space between consciousness and unconsciousness.
It always appeared when he was awake—
In control.
Calculating.
Now—
It was there.
Floating inside his mind while his human instincts were completely paralyzed.
And that—
Was what terrified him the most.
His body wasn't reacting.
Fear existed—
But it didn't become fight or flight.
It was frozen.
Primal.
Like an animal that realizes it's about to be devoured—
And simply accepts it.
In seconds, thoughts raced through his mind.
He had never threatened to expose the System.
Never tried to reveal its name.
Never been in a situation like this.
Maybe this was a self-protection mechanism.
Maybe the System had invisible limits.
Maybe something was watching.
Or maybe—
He was just hallucinating as he died.
Men rushed toward him, cutting the ropes from his wrists.
Not out of mercy.
Out of interest.
"Check his vitals!" someone ordered.
They didn't care about his life.
They cared about the information.
If he died—
The secret of the gold would die with him.
Eric felt his body being lifted roughly.
The world felt distant.
Sounds echoed as if underwater.
Then—
Something changed.
A strange sensation took over.
Lightness.
As if the weight of months had been ripped off his shoulders.
The blue interface appeared again.
Hero Mode — 1 gold coin per minute
Do you wish to execute purchase?
The world slowed.
Eric reached into the empty space of his mind—
And pulled coins from the vault.
He didn't count.
Didn't think.
He just threw them forward.
Inside the darkness—
Golden coins spun like fragments of sunlight.
The response came instantly:
Congratulations. 30 coins have been processed.
You have acquired 30 minutes of Hero Mode.
Still in a trance, Eric barely understood what was happening around him.
Emir grabbed his face and shook him violently.
"You're not dying before you tell me where the money is!"
At the exact moment Hero Mode activated—
Something invisible exploded from Eric's body.
A violent electrical surge tore through the warehouse.
Emir was thrown backward—
As if he had touched a live high-voltage wire.
His body locked for a second before collapsing to his knees.
"What was that?!" he shouted.
The men turned toward Eric.
He was standing.
His wounds still visible—
But diminished.
The swelling remained—
But his eyes had changed.
There was no pain in them.
Only focus.
Cold.
Sharp.
Eric kept his head lowered, as if still unconscious.
One of the men approached cautiously.
"Eric?"
The touch never came.
Before his fingers could reach him—
The man was struck by a blow so violent his body was launched through the air, crashing into a metal shelf.
The impact left a streak of blood on the concrete.
Silence.
Shock.
The mercenaries stepped back instinctively.
"What the hell is happening?" one of them muttered.
Eric slowly lifted his head.
His eyes—
Were red.
Not from blood.
From intensity.
In a movement impossible to track—
He disappeared.
A jump.
A blur.
An impact.
The second man dropped before he could even raise his weapon.
Gunfire exploded through the warehouse.
Bullets cut through the air.
But Eric was already gone.
He moved between the shelves like a predator.
No hesitation.
No fear.
Every movement was precise.
Brutal.
Final.
The men outside heard the gunshots and smiled at first—
Thinking their boss had finally broken him.
Then—
The screams came.
Not controlled screams.
Not pain.
Terror.
They rushed inside with weapons raised.
What they found—
Was chaos.
Bodies.
Deep impact marks in the walls.
Weapons scattered.
Blood.
A lot of blood.
Eric couldn't explain what he felt.
It was as if his human instincts had been replaced—
By something older.
More efficient.
He didn't think.
He executed.
Every armed man who had threatened him moments ago now seemed slow.
Fragile.
Predictable.
He struck before they even realized he was there.
The sound of bones breaking echoed through the structure.
One by one—
They fell.
Emir tried to stand, dazed, reaching for his weapon.
Eric appeared in front of him—
Like a shadow given form.
The next impact was too fast for Emir to even understand.
The leader collapsed.
Eric barely registered the moment he eliminated him.
The last man ran toward the exit—
Tripping over his own fear.
Eric caught him before he reached the door.
Grabbed him by the collar.
Lifted him off the ground.
"Where is the Chinese girl?" Eric asked, his voice low—
And inhuman.
"In the car!" the man shouted immediately. "She's still in the car! We didn't decide what to do with her yet!"
Eric released him—
Or rather, threw him hard enough to send him crashing through a stack of boxes.
Silence returned.
The adrenaline began to fade.
But his body still vibrated.
He looked at his hands.
Covered in blood.
Some his.
Most not.
His fingers trembled slightly.
Not from fear.
From excess energy.
He stepped outside.
Found the car.
Opened the door.
Elena was there.
Reclined.
Breathing steadily.
Still sedated.
Eric examined her face carefully.
Looking for signs of harm.
There were none.
He let out a breath that felt trapped for hours.
He thought about using the car.
Rejected the idea instantly.
Traceable.
Evidence.
He picked her up.
Her body felt light.
Fragile.
He began to walk.
Then something inside him demanded more.
Speed.
Movement.
Release.
Eric started running.
He didn't know how fast.
Only that the wind cut across his face.
It felt like flying.
Elena opened her eyes briefly—
Disturbed by the motion.
The wind.
His eyes—
Red like blood.
The world felt unreal.
Too unreal.
She thought it had to be a dream.
And slipped back into darkness.
Eric kept running.
The first minute of Hero Mode—
Was far from over.
And now—
He understood.
Power had a price.
But this time…
He was willing to pay it.