The lecture hall buzzed with quiet murmurs and the soft rustling of digital notebooks. Roy sat at the back, head propped on one hand, eyes fixed on the glowing display at the front of the room. Diagrams of monster anatomy floated mid-air, spinning slowly as the professor discussed predator types and their behavior patterns.
Roy wasn't really listening.
His System—the Mindforge—gave him the power to process information at incredible speeds, to unravel complex problems and engineer creative solutions others would never dream of. It should've made him proud. Respected, even. But to Roy, it felt like a box—a trap that told him who he was supposed to be before he ever had the chance to choose.
While others around him were born with Systems that let them lift cars or command fire, his gave him… clarity. Strategy. He was meant to be a scholar. A thinker. Maybe even a teacher.
But deep down, he wanted something more. Something real. Something that mattered in moments where thinking wasn't enough.
When the lecture ended, he left the building with his friends, Josef and Lian. The streets were alive with the buzz of early evening: food stalls steamed with strange delicacies, floating lights lit up alleyways, and street performers entertained clusters of curious students. The city was a blend of magic and steel, structure and chaos. Roy felt momentarily distracted, even peaceful.
Until the screaming started.
It was sharp and raw—dozens of voices crying out at once. A sound that cut through the noise like a blade.
People began to run.
"What the hell—?" Josef said, spinning around.
From the far end of the market street, a shadow loomed—huge, hunched, and snarling. A Rank 5 beast, massive and pulsing with raw power, crashed through the stalls. The Guardians—elite protectors trained to fight using their Systems—were already on the scene, but they weren't winning. The monster moved too fast, too violently. One of the Guardians was knocked aside like a toy, slamming into a lamp post with a sickening crunch.
Roy's friends turned to run.
"Roy!" Lian shouted. "Come on!"
But Roy didn't move. His eyes were locked on the chaos, his mind racing faster than his legs.
That's when he saw it.
A second monster, smaller but just as lethal, skulked along the rooftops. It leapt down behind Josef, unnoticed in the panic.
"Josef!" Roy screamed.
His friend barely had time to look back before the creature slammed into him, hurling him sideways into the wall of a nearby house. He crumpled with a grunt, unmoving.
Lian sprinted, eyes wild with fear, but a third monster was already charging behind him. Roy's stomach dropped.
Then, a Guardian intercepted—barely. A spear of energy blocked the attack, knocking the creature off course.
"Get to safety," the Guardian barked, standing firm between the monster and the student. But his eyes betrayed him—there was fear in them. Doubt. He wasn't sure he could win.
Roy turned and ran—not out of fear, but toward clarity. He ducked into a side street, his breathing sharp, his pulse pounding. He looked back at the battlefield. The Guardians were losing ground.
Think. Think. There has to be a way.
Then it hit him—monsters of that rank hunted not just flesh, but soul energy. That was the core of their feeding behavior. He remembered it from class. If he could use that… if he could become a decoy… maybe—
He took a deep breath, steeling himself.
And then he walked into the open.
Roy lay down on the ground, motionless, just outside the monsters' immediate reach. He let his body go limp, slowed his breathing, suppressed his soul signature the way he'd practiced in meditation classes—only this time, he pushed harder, cloaking it entirely.
The creatures noticed him.
Two of them stopped mauling the Guardians and approached him cautiously. One leaned in, teeth bared, trying to consume his soul—but nothing happened.
Their confusion made them vulnerable.
In that split second, the Guardians struck.
Energy blades, psionic hammers, elemental bursts—everything slammed into the crouching monsters at once. Roy flinched but held his ground. The creatures shrieked and fell.
Silence followed. Not total silence—sirens blared in the distance, and people still sobbed nearby—but the battlefield itself was still. The threat was gone.
One of the Guardians walked up to Roy as he sat up, brushing dust from his clothes.
"That was… reckless," the Guardian said, eyes wide. "But genius."
Roy didn't respond right away. He just looked back at the wreckage. The people. The monsters. His friend Josef, unconscious but alive.
"You've got a strange kind of bravery," the Guardian continued. "If you ever think of becoming more than a thinker… check out the Guardian Tower. We could use someone like you."
Roy looked at him, heart still pounding, mind full of noise.
He didn't answer.
But something inside him shifted.