The neon lights of the Slums didn't glow; they bled. In Sector 7, the high-tier Hunters lived in glass towers that touched the clouds. But down here, in the "Under-City,"
The air was thick with the smell of ozone, cheap synthetic noodles, and the copper tang of blood.
This was the place where the System's laws were suggestions, and where "Nulls" went to disappear.
Han stumbled through a narrow alley, his shoulder leaning heavily against a wall covered in flickering digital graffiti. Every step felt like walking through broken glass.
[WARNING: SYSTEM REJECTION IN PROGRESS.]
[STOLEN STATS HAVE DECAYED TO 0%.]
[HOST BODY IS EXPERIENCING "MANA-FRICTION".]
The golden screen in front of his eyes was glitching. The edges were turning a dark, bruised crimson.
"Stupid... system,"
Han wheezed. He looked at his hand.
The skin was trembling. When he had stolen the Agility from that Assassin in the warehouse, it felt like a drug.
He felt fast, light, and invincible.
But now, the "crash" was hitting him ten times harder.
His muscles felt like they were being pulled off his bones by invisible wires.
This was the realization Han hadn't expected: The Sovereign System didn't just give power; it borrowed it from the world, and Han's human body was the interest rate.
"I need a Fixer," he muttered to himself.
In the Under-City, a "Fixer" was a doctor who operated without a System License.
They didn't use [Heal] spells from the Church of Light; they used illegal tech, rusted needles, and raw mana-shards.
Han turned a corner and saw a sign hanging from a rusted pipe. It was a flickering neon eye with a line through it.
The Blind Spot.
He pushed open the heavy iron door. Inside, the air was cold and smelled of antiseptic. The walls were lined with jars of glowing organs—monsters' hearts, eyes, and lungs preserved in blue fluid. Behind a counter sat a woman with mechanical arms that moved with a soft whirr-click. She was wearing goggles that had five different lenses.
"We don't serve Nulls,"
She said without looking up from a circuit board she was soldering.
"Go die in the gutter. It's cheaper.
"Han didn't move.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out the 500 Credits he had received from his first quest.
He slammed the digital chip onto the counter. The woman stopped. She pushed her goggles up. Her eyes were artificial—bright orange sensors that scanned Han from head to toe.
"That's a lot of money for a stray dog," she whispered.
Her sensors turned red.
"Wait... your internal temperature is 108 degrees. Your mana veins are glowing.
You aren't a Null.
You're a... what the hell are you?"
"Fix me," Han growled,
His vision starting to tunnel.
"Or I'll die on your floor and the Enforcers will come to clean up the mess."
The woman sighed, her mechanical hand grabbing Han by the collar.
"Fine. Into the back. Room Four."
The Price of the Sovereign Room Four was a metal table with leather straps. The woman, who called herself "Doc Zero," didn't use anesthesia.
She hooked Han up to a machine that looked like an old car battery. "
You've been eating things you shouldn't," Doc Zero said.
Her mechanical fingers dancing over a holographic screen.
"You have 'Mana-Friction.' It happens when a low-level body tries to hold high-level energy. It's like trying to put jet fuel into a lawnmower. You're lucky your heart didn't explode."
"I had... no choice," Han grunted as she pushed a needle into his neck.
"Everyone has a choice, kid. Most choose to stay weak. You chose to be a freak."
She leaned in close, her orange eyes whirring.
"I've seen every System in this city. Warriors, Mages, even the Secret Police 'Wraith' systems. But your energy... it's old. It's dusty. It smells like the Great Reset."
Han froze.
There was that word again. The Great Reset.
"What do you know about it?" Han asked.
Trying to ignore the searing heat in his veins. Doc Zero went quiet.
She turned away to calibrate a glowing blue liquid.
"My grandmother was a 'System Architect' before the world turned into a video game.
She used to say that the first Version of the System—Version 1.0—wasn't a gift.
It was a cage. And the Sovereign was the only one with the key to the lock.
"Han felt the [First Key] in his pocket grow warm."
"But the Sovereign was deleted, Zero continued."
The 'Architects' didn't like a player who could change the rules. So they replaced him with the Blue Systems. Controlled. Measured. Safe.
"She turned back and injected the blue liquid into Han's arm.
[SOVEREIGN SYSTEM DETECTED EXTERNAL INTERFERENCE.]
[NEUTRALIZING TOXINS...]
[HEALTH RESTORED TO 60%.]
Han felt a wave of cold relief wash over him.
The fire in his muscles died down to a dull ache.
He sat up, his shirt soaked in sweat.
"Listen to me, kid," Zero said, her voice dropping to a whisper.
"You have something they want. Not just the Hunters. They want it. The ones in the clouds.
If you keep 'Stealing' stats, you are sending a signal straight to their satellites.
Every time you use [Sovereign's Touch], a bell rings in the Architect's office.
"The "Signal" Han sends is why the final boss will find him.)
"Then how do I get stronger?" Han asked.
"If I don't steal, I'm just a Null again."
Zero smiled, and it wasn't a nice smile.
She reached under the counter and pulled out a heavy, black metal gauntlet. It was covered in ancient runes and wires.
"You don't steal from people," she said."
You steal from the source. There is a 'Mana-Well' underneath the old Sector 7 Library. It's guarded by Level 20 Automatons. If you can tap into that, you can level up your body without killing anyone. But..."
"But what?"
"But that library doesn't exist on any map. It was 'deleted' forty years ago."
Han's heart skipped a beat.
The Library that was never written. That was the description of the key he had in his pocket. The First Encounter Han left the Blind Spot an hour later.
The rain had started again, washing the blood off the pavement.
He felt better, but he felt watched.
He walked quickly, keeping his head down.
He was passing an abandoned subway entrance when his [Sovereign's Vision] suddenly flared.
[WARNING: HOSTILE INTENT DETECTED.]
[DISTANCE: 50 METERS. HEIGHT: 10 METERS.]
Han didn't stop. He turned into a dark alley, his hand gripping the iron pipe he had kept from the warehouse.
Clack. Clack. Clack.
The sound of footsteps on the metal fire escape above him.
"You're hard to find, Null,"
A voice called out. It wasn't the cold voice of an Assassin. It was a girl's voice. It sounded young, almost bored.
Han looked up.
Sitting on the railing of the third floor was a girl with short, neon-pink hair. She was wearing an oversized tech-jacket and held a glowing blue lollipop in her mouth. Beside her sat a small, mechanical drone that looked like an owl.
"Who are you?" Han asked. his body tensing.
"My name is Rin," she said.
jumping down. She landed with an impossible lightness—no sound at all.
"I'm a [Data-Thief]. And my System is currently screaming at me that you are a walking mountain of gold."
She walked toward him, her drone hovering over her shoulder.
"The Silver Wing Guild put a 1,000,000 Credit bounty on your head, Han. Do you know how many noodles I can buy with that?"
Han raised the pipe. "Are you going to try and collect?"
Rin laughed, taking the lollipop out of her mouth.
"Nah"
I hate the Silver Wing. they deleted my brother's account last year for 'cheating.'
I'm just curious. I've been tracking your energy signature since the warehouse explosion. It's... beautiful. It looks like a glitch in the Matrix.
"She leaned in close, her eyes flashing with data-streams.
"You're looking for the Library, aren't you? The one that isn't on the map?
"Han narrowed his eyes.How do you know that?"
"I'm a Data-Thief, dummy. I see everything that's been deleted."
She tapped her temple.
"I can get you in. But in exchange, I want one thing."
"What?"
"When you find the Sovereign's core... I want you to let me see the code. I want to know why they are so afraid of you."
Han looked at the pink-haired girl.
He knew he shouldn't trust anyone. In this world, everyone was a player, and players only cared about their own stats. But he was Level 2, and he had a city full of Level 20 Assassins hunting him. he needed a guide.
"Fine," Han said.
"But if you betray me, I'll steal every single point of Agility you have."
Rin grinned, her white teeth flashing in the dark.
"Deal. Now move! The Enforcer drones are two blocks away, and they've upgraded to 'Level 2 Thermal Scanning."
"As they ran through the rain, Han looked at Rin's back. For a second, her pink hair seemed to turn silver in the moonlight.
He rubbed his eyes, and the image was gone.
Another glitch? Han thought. Or am I finally losing my mind?