Ethan didn't think.
He couldn't.
The power flooding his veins was too bright, too sharp, too overwhelming—like pure lightning had replaced his blood.
His body moved before his mind caught up.
He sprinted straight toward the monster.
The molten-skinned beast reared back, six-bladed legs clanging against the pavement like metal on stone. Flames burned between its cracked jaws, ready to turn him into ash.
Ethan threw himself low, sliding beneath a sweeping claw. The beast's talons carved long gouges in the ground where his head had been an instant earlier.
The world blurred—vision sharper, colors brighter, sounds deeper.
Adrenal Surge didn't just make him stronger. It made him more alive.
He grabbed the edge of the shattered fountain and swung his body upward, using the momentum to vault onto the beast's back.
The heat nearly blistered his skin instantly.
"SHIT—!"
His hands sizzled, but he clung tight, forcing himself not to let go. The creature snarled, bucking wildly, trying to throw him off.
[Adrenal Surge: 07 seconds remaining.]
Seven seconds.
Not long.
Ethan scrambled, fingers finding the ridges between plates of volcanic armor. He reached the base of the creature's neck and lifted a fist.
Hit it.
Do something—anything—before this power runs out.
He drove his fist downward with all the strength the system had injected into him.
A thunderous crack rippled through the courtyard.
The beast screeched, molten light spraying from the wound. Its hind legs buckled, but it didn't fall. Instead, it reared up violently, nearly sending Ethan tumbling off.
He slammed his other fist down.
Crack.
This time, the armor splintered enough to reveal pulsing orange flesh beneath.
[Adrenal Surge: 05 seconds remaining.]
"No—no no no—just hold still!" Ethan shouted, gripping the exposed seam of flesh and pulling himself closer.
The beast didn't listen. Instead, it whipped its head around and blasted fire across its own shoulder, trying to burn him off.
Ethan shielded his face with an arm. Heat scorched his skin—raw, blistering—but he didn't let go.
Not because of courage.
Not because of bravery.
Because something deeper, older, primal was clawing inside him—
the instinct to survive, no matter what.
He drew back a fist and slammed it into the exposed spot again.
This time, something gave way.
The beast shrieked, staggering forward. Ethan felt a bone crack and soft tissue tear beneath his knuckles.
[Adrenal Surge: 02 seconds remaining.]
He didn't have time to think.
Didn't have time to retreat.
Either he killed it now—
Or he died.
He pulled his arm back and unleashed one final, desperate punch—every bit of borrowed power straining his muscles to the edge of tearing.
His fist plunged into the molten wound.
The monster froze.
A deep, rumbling sound pulsed from within its chest, like a volcano choking. The creature swayed, legs trembling. Ethan yanked his arm free with a wet, sickening pull—
And the beast collapsed.
A shower of fractured stone and ripping metal accompanied its fall. The monster hit the ground hard enough to crack the pavement.
Silence.
The world held its breath.
Then—
[QUEST COMPLETE.]
The message rang in Ethan's vision like a bell.
[Reward Granted: EVOLUTION UNLOCKED.]
[Analyzing combat behavior…]
[Evolution Chosen: OVERDRIVE REFLEX]
You have evolved to survive rapid, deadly attacks.
Your nervous system temporarily accelerates under threat.
Ethan stared at the glowing text, panting, body shaking.
"What… what did I just do?"
His fist throbbed. His arm dripped with molten-blood residue. His skin was blistered and peeling in places. His lungs burned.
But the monster wasn't moving.
He'd killed it.
Him.
A guy who struggled to pass morning classes and lived off cheap instant noodles.
A nobody.
He had killed a creature straight out of a nightmare.
He stepped back unsteadily, breath coming in harsh gasps.
People gathered at the edges of the courtyard—students, professors, bystanders. All staring.
Whispers spread like wildfire.
"Did he just—"
"He killed that thing—barehanded?"
"Is he some kind of hidden S-rank?"
"No one else's abilities activated… only his."
Ethan felt dozens of eyes drilling into his bloodied form.
Panic surged through him. The last thing he wanted was attention. People were scared, desperate. Anyone with power right now looked like either a savior… or a threat.
He backed away from the fallen beast.
Then he noticed someone kneeling beside a girl crushed under debris. She was blonde, wearing a torn lab coat—she must've been a bio-science major. Her leg was pinned beneath a slab of concrete, blood pooling around her.
The kneeling figure was Lena.
Ethan knew her only vaguely—same lectures sometimes, same library table occasionally. Smart, usually quiet, always polite.
She looked up when she saw him approaching—and froze at the sight.
"E-Ethan?" she stammered.
He blinked. "You… remember me?"
"You look—" Her eyes flicked to his burned arms, then to the dead monster. "Are you… okay?"
"No." He coughed weakly. "Not really."
She swallowed, heart racing visibly. "I—don't know how you did that, but—can you help me lift this? Just enough so I can pull her out?"
He nodded, stepping forward—then a message interrupted.
[WARNING.]
[COSMIC FLAG SET.]
[ANOMALOUS PLAYER DETECTED.]
Ethan's blood went cold.
"What the hell—?" he whispered.
The next lines flickered.
[ADMINISTRATOR SIGNAL INBOUND.]
[LOCATION: EARTH — SECTOR 19G]
Lena noticed his trembling. "Ethan? What's wrong?"
He didn't answer.
He couldn't.
Because behind her, high above the cracked sky, a pinpoint of light expanded like an opening iris.
A presence—colder than space itself—began to seep through the cracks.
Something was coming.
And it was coming for him.
He clenched his jaw and lifted the concrete slab with trembling arms, adrenaline fading but desperation fueling him.
Lena pulled the injured girl free, dragging her away to safety.
Ethan stepped back, panting, arms shaking, burns stinging like fire ants crawling under his skin.
The sky flickered with growing light.
Something—someone—had noticed him.
Someone powerful.
Someone not from Earth.
And Ethan had no idea how to stop whatever was about to arrive.