The world ended during my lunch break.
1, Kael Ardent, was hunched over a lukewarm burger in a grimy cybercafe, scrolling job listings for the third hour straight. My life was a sad loop of ramen, coding gigs, and avoiding my landlord.
Then the screen froze.
A blue [SYSTEM ALERT] box popped up, pixelated like a '90s virus.
[EARTH HAS BEEN INTEGRATED INTO THE UNIVERSAL LADDER. ]
[CLASS ASSIGNED: SOUL LINKER (LEGENDARY) .]
[PLEASE STAND BY FOR STAT ALLOCATION...]
I smacked the monitor. "What kind of malware-"
Pain.
Fireworks of data exploded behind my eyes. My bones vibrated like guitar strings. When the agony faded, a translucent screen hovered in my vision:
[KAEL ARDENT - LEVEL 1]
[CLASS: SOUL LINKER]
[STATS:
- STR: 8 (Pathetic)
- INT: 14 (You're Smarter Than This)
- CHA: 6 (Wow. Really?)]
[ABILITIES:
- BOND SYNERGY: Gain +2% stats per bonded ally.
- EMPATHIC PULSE: Sense bonded targets' emotions.]
I choked. "What the actual hell?"
Across the café, a barista screamed. Flames erupted from her hands, igniting the espresso machine. A college kid phase-shifted through a wall. Outside, car horns blared as a dude in a business suit summoned a goddamn warhammer.
The System was real.
And my class sounded like a bad anime trope.
I stumbled into an alley, my pulse jackhammering. That's when I heard the sword strikes.
Clang. Clang. Squelch.
A woman fought two thugs, her blade leaving afterimages in the air. She moved like a hurricane-precise, lethal. Blood streaked her face, but her golden eyes burned.
[VALERIA CORTEZ - LEVEL 3]
[CLASS: BLADE TEMPEST]
One thug lunged. She pirouetted, her sword carving his arm off. The other guy activated [BERSERKER RAGE], muscles swelling grotesquely.
Valeria's health bar dipped to 30%.
I did something stupid.
I hurled a trash can at the berserker's head.
He roared, turning on me. Valeria's gaze snapped to mine-and a notification blared:
[BOND FORMED: VALERIA CORTEZI
[COMPATIBILITY: 25% (WARY ALLY)]
[BONUSES:
- VALERIA: +5% STR
- KAEL: +3% AGI]
Valeria faltered. "What did you—?"
The berserker punched my ribs. -12 HP. I crumpled, tasting copper.
Then Valeria moved.
Her sword became a silver blur, empowered by my buff. She beheaded the berserker in one stroke.
Silence.
She hauled me up by my collar. "Explain. Now."
I wheezed. "I think... I'm your support character?"
Her glare could've melted steel. But then her eyes flicked to something behind me.
"Run."
We sprinted through streets gone mad. A cop fired [LAW ENFORCEMENT STUN BOLTS] at looters. A teen rode a floating skateboard screaming, "I'm a [SPEED DEMON] now, Mom!"
Valeria dragged me into a parking garage. "Your class. What is it?"
I pulled up my screen.
[SOUL LINKER - LEGENDARY CLASS]
[DESCRIPTION: FORM BONDS TO AMPLIFY STATS.
WARNING: 0.001% OCCURRENCE RATE.]
She scoffed. "So you're a harem protagonist."
"Excuse me?!"
"Don't flatter yourself." She wiped her blade. "I need your buffs to find my brother. The Corporate Legion took him."
Before I could ask, a drone buzzed overhead.
[WARNING: CORPORATE LEGION SCAN DETECTED.]
[UNREGISTERED CLASS HOLDERS WILL BE TERMINATED. ]
Valeria crushed the drone with a kick. "We need to move."
Then-the sky tore open.
A figure descended on wings of static, its body glitching between forms. The notification turned blood-red:
[CRITICAL ERROR: ADMINISTRATOR DETECTED.]
[THREAT LEVEL: OMEGA. ]
Valeria grabbed my wrist. "If you get us killed, I'll haunt you."
The entity looked at us.
The world went white.