Topher cries out as shards of glass spray him and he falls to the floor.

Je-won is on top of Nara. He reacted before he knew what he was doing, the injury that had ended his first career not enough to slow his reflexes.

He doesn’t have time to ask if she is hurt, as only a few paces away are the feet of… something.

He flicks his eyes up, not moving any other muscle.

It’s a monster.

This is the only description that fits.

It is at least seven feet tall and covered in what looks like dirty oil. It has two legs that end in clawed feet like a bird’s, but so much larger and more menacing. The talons are as long as his hand and half as thick.

Its face looks like the skull of some deep-sea horror, and its arms, of which there are three, appear boneless yet heavily muscled, tipped with two articulating claws that flick frantically at the air like an out-of-control firehose.

“Don’t move,” he whispers to Nara. Her eyes are wide and he can feel her short rapid breaths on his neck; the chaotic, stuttering rise and fall of her chest and abdomen.

His phone digs painfully into his thigh, but he doesn’t dare move.

A few feet away Topher is sitting on the floor, bloody, covered in cuts, but smart enough to stay silent as he stares in horror at the monster. His half-drunk boba tea is in a puddle on the floor beside him, the little tapioca balls mixed with shards of glass.

The monster moves, glass crunching under its feet. Its head stays fixed in place, but it moves its three arms slowly about, the three pairs of claws making jittery motions in the air.

It has no eyes Je-won can see, nor any nose. It does have a mouth.

Despite seeming to be covered in oil, the only footprints it leaves are disturbances in the shattered glass. Glass which bothers it not at all.

Je-won feels himself sweating, feels the memories coming back. It’s been nearly a decade since he left that life behind, and now he feels like he’s right back in it.

The monster knocks over a table with one of its arms and it crashes to the ground.

The arm snaps toward the noise and the table is severed cleanly in two.

They need to stay far away from those claws.

Can it not see? he wonders.

But if it can hear, that’s worse. If they move at all, the glass will make noise, and they will end up like that table.

But how good is its hearing? Nara’s breaths aren’t quiet, and when he whispered for her not to move, the monster didn’t notice.

He leans down and puts his mouth by her ear, eyes staying fixed on the creature. “Whatever happens, don’t move, stay quiet.”

He leans away, glares into her eyes.

She gives the faintest of nods, but he can see her reluctance. She knows he was in the military, but not what he did there. He’s told only one civilian, Dexter, and only then because he saw the boy was spiraling after the death of first one parent, then the other.

He moves slowly, the creature nearing the entrance to the kitchen, where the ovens will be faintly ticking as they cool down. With the door closed, it likely isn’t able to hear this.

His foot slips slightly, a tinkle of glass, and he freezes.

The monster doesn’t seem to have heard, its arms swiping the air in front of it. Searching.

Je-won continues pushing himself up until he’s on his knees. Nara grimaces and he sees one of her legs is bent awkwardly. He hopes it’s not broken.

He looks at Topher, waves his hand to get his attention, then puts his finger to his lips and indicates to stay where he is.

The boy, wide-eyed, nods slowly.

Je-won gets to his feet, looking at the monster, which is now behind the checkout counter, arms waving. It bumps into the cash register with one of them, and both of its others slash at the device, destroying it.

The front of the restaurant is open to the outside now, but the bulk of the broken glass litters the ground in front of it. Exiting that way would be noisy.

The door to the kitchen is shut. He wishes they left it open, then maybe it would go to investigate the sound of the ovens cooling. Perhaps it still will. Break down the door like it did to the front of the restaurant, leaving the three of them free to escape.

But he can’t count on that.

The message still floats in front of him, visible, but, like Nara said, not getting in the way.

Enter name to begin analysis:

He isn’t sure what will happen if he does, but one line from that first message sticks in his mind: I will aid you as much as I am able. He has no reason to believe it’s true, but he is willing to risk it to protect Nara. At the very worst, he can distract the monster while she and Topher escape.

If he can get her to leave him behind.

Slowly, he raises his arm, worried of making the slightest noise. He still isn’t convinced the creature can’t see, but right now it’s facing away from him.

He takes the opportunity to enter his name.

Out of habit, he writes it in Korean. The system doesn’t have a problem recognizing it.

Processing…

Application accepted.

Initiating…

System activated.

You have been awarded a starting ability.

Welcome to the system, 윤제원.

Je-won waits several tense seconds, but nothing more happens. He tries touching the message, and it disappears, leaving his vision unobscured.

He swipes at the air where the message had been. New text slides out from the side of his vision, this one with a mist behind it like frosted glass.

윤제원

Leaderboard Rank: 99,602

Score: 0

Level: None

Class: None

Attributes

∴ Agility (Novice 9)

∴ Endurance (Novice 9)

∴ Strength (Novice 9)

∴ Durability (Novice 8)

∴ Intelligence (Novice 8)

∴ Vision (Novice 8)

∴ Hearing (Novice 5)

∴ Smell (Novice 4)

∴ Taste (Novice 4)

∴ Touch (Novice 2)

Abilities

∴ Controlled Shot

Skills

∴ Control (Novice 10)

∴ Firearms (Novice 7)

∴ First-aid (Novice 4)

∴ Hand-to-hand Combat (Novice 7)

∴ Knives (Novice 8)

∴ Perception (Novice 9)

∴ Piloting (Novice 5)

Titles

∴ None

He touches the Controlled Shot ability.

Controlled Shot

Unity Drain: Very Low

Description: Control projectiles after they are launched. Does not increase processing speed nor enhance vision nor reflexes to accommodate fast-moving projectiles.

So much for aid. He hasn’t fired a weapon in years, and he certainly doesn’t have any at the restaurant. It might work on thrown objects, but that wouldn’t help. They will have to do this on their own.

He looks at Nara, points at her leg. Can you walk? he mouths, and mimics the action with his fingers.

She moves her leg ever-so-slightly, grimaces, but then nods.

Good. He points at Topher, then the door, then himself and the monster.

Nara stares, uncomprehending.

Go, he mouths, gesturing at the door.

Nara shakes her head. Subtly, but firmly.

Je-won scowls at her and points harshly at her then the door, then glares at her.

She withers under that look, and it nearly breaks his heart. He never wanted to show his sister this side of him.

Meekly, she nods, and this does break him. Nara is a lot of things, but meek is not among them.

If it’s what it takes to keep her safe, he’ll do it. He’ll do whatever’s necessary.

When he turns back to the monster, he finds it utterly still.

And facing him.

It does have eyes, it turns out. Three of them. Tiny slits with silver glinting eyeballs.

And they’re staring right at him.

“Go!” he yells to Nara, and charges the monster.