Chapter 5: Hunter in the Smoke
The jungle had grown quiet again.
Zayn Arif crouched behind a thick tree trunk, one hand on the grip of his shotgun, the other steadying himself against the damp bark. Max was a few meters ahead, crouching low in the underbrush, eyes locked on the open trail ahead.
The wind carried the faint scent of gunpowder and smoke.
Something had happened here.
They were heading back from the Cartographers' outpost, taking a detour through an area marked on Ludo's map as "Zone 9-B." It wasn't marked on the in-game map Zayn was used to. In fact, when he opened the mini-map, it glitched slightly.
[Warning: Unstable Terrain Detected]
[Player Location: Unknown Subzone - "9-B"]
[Chance of Encounter: Elevated]
Zayn let the mini-map flicker shut.
"This place doesn't exist," he whispered.
Max didn't look back. "That's because it isn't supposed to."
Zayn scanned the area. Trees stood like silent watchers, and between them, patches of terrain flickered ever so slightly—like TV static frozen in place. In one such patch, a bush shifted oddly, though there was no wind.
Max raised a fist.
Zayn froze.
Then Max pointed—two fingers to the side, then drew a short arc in the air. Someone was moving. Circling them.
Zayn shifted his stance, lowering his body behind the cover of a rock. His heart pounded.
[Adrenaline Level: Elevated]
[Reflex Boost: +5%]
[Respawn Cooldown: 41 hours, 38 minutes]
The rustling came closer.
Then—silence.
Zayn's breath caught.
A shadow stepped into the clearing ahead. It wasn't a standard player.
It moved wrong.
Too fluid.
Too precise.
Its head tilted as if sniffing the air.
Then its body shimmered.
[Unknown Entity Detected]
[Designation: "Hunter-Class: Mirage"]
[Combat Rating: Variable]
[Behavior Pattern: Adaptive Tracking]
Zayn blinked. "What the hell…"
Max whispered, "Don't move."
The creature's head turned. Its eyes glowed faintly blue.
And then it vanished.
Literally—its form dissolved like smoke, leaving only the faintest trace in the air.
"Run," Max hissed.
They bolted.
Branches whipped past. Leaves crackled underfoot. Zayn didn't look back, didn't need to—he could feel it chasing them. It moved without sound, but its presence was a pressure behind his ribs.
"This thing isn't a player!" Zayn gasped as they broke into a small clearing.
"It's not," Max said. "They're system defenses. Designed to eliminate irregulars."
Zayn's stomach dropped.
"I'm an irregular?"
Max didn't answer.
Instead, he skidded to a stop and turned, raising his weapon.
"Behind you!" Zayn shouted.
The Hunter reappeared—no footsteps, no warning—and lunged.
Max fired.
A burst of energy lit the air, but the creature flickered again, reappearing behind them.
Zayn reacted.
He pulled the trigger.
The shotgun blast ripped into the Hunter's chest.
It staggered, momentarily destabilized, its form flickering with heavy distortion.
[Direct Hit: Vital Interruption]
[Hunter Stability: 73%]
[System Response: Escalating]
The sky above shifted. Clouds moved unnaturally fast. Lightning crackled across the sky.
Then the Hunter released a pulse.
Zayn was thrown back, landing hard on his side. His vision blurred. His head rang like a bell.
[Vital Sync: 82%]
[Temporary Paralysis: 0:06]
He couldn't move.
The creature began to advance on him.
Then—Max stepped between them, holding up a black cube.
"Eat this," he growled.
The cube exploded in a flash of pure white.
The world went silent.
When Zayn's vision returned, the Hunter was gone.
[Threat Evaded: Hunter-Class "Mirage" Retreated]
[System Stability: Restored (Partial)]
[Note: Player anomaly status heightened]
Zayn sat up, gasping for air.
"What was that thing?"
Max helped him up. "A boundary enforcer. They show up when someone goes where they're not meant to. Usually when the system loses track of a player's origin."
Zayn wiped sweat from his face. "It was going to kill me."
"It will try again," Max said. "Now that it's tagged you."
Zayn leaned against a tree, trying to steady his breath. His heart still thundered in his chest. He checked the system notifications again.
[Respawn Cooldown: 41 hours, 25 minutes]
[Vital Sync: 82%]
[Progression: 4%]
He stared at the percentage.
It had increased.
Just surviving the encounter pushed him forward.
"Then I was right," Zayn said. "Progression isn't about time. It's about how much I endure."
Max nodded. "You're being tested. Step by step. Push too fast, and the system breaks. Too slow, and you stagnate."
Zayn looked out across the mist-covered woods. "Why me?"
"You already know," Max said. "Because your death matched an anomaly."
Zayn clenched his jaw.
He didn't know what the anomaly was.
Not yet.
But he'd find out.
He wasn't going to let this world break him.
He had already died once.
He had one more life.
And he intended to make it count.
—
They didn't return to the safe zone that night.
Instead, they camped beneath a fallen satellite dish, its metal surface warped and half-buried in vines.
Zayn sat beside the quiet fire Max had built. He stared at the flames, remembering the Hunter's eyes.
"They feel pain," he said quietly.
Max raised an eyebrow.
"That creature," Zayn explained. "When I shot it… I felt it shudder. Not just data loss. Pain. Like it remembered being human."
Max was silent for a long time.
Then he said, "Some believe these Hunters were once players."
Zayn looked up sharply.
"Players who failed the test. Who lost their progression, or their sense of self. The system reclaims them. Rewrites them."
Zayn swallowed hard. "That could happen to me?"
Max didn't answer.
He didn't need to.
Zayn already knew.
The Respawn System wasn't a blessing.
It was a countdown.
A second chance with a razor edge.
And he would either ascend—
Or be turned into something else entirely.