The night air, a welcome contrast to the stifling atmosphere of the convenience store, filled May's lungs. She glanced back, her heart a frantic drum solo against her ribs. The thugs were still inside, their silhouettes illuminated by the store's harsh fluorescent lights—menacing, imposing figures shrouded in shadow.
She had to put distance between herself and those thugs. The three figures, oblivious to her presence, remained focused on the trembling old man at the counter. The scene felt like a still frame from a horror movie, frozen in time, waiting for the inevitable eruption of violence.
May moved with a newfound confidence, a quiet determination that surprised even herself. Her heart pounded a rapid beat—fear and resolve intertwined. She wasn't prepared for this, she didn't know how to fight, but the system had given her a purpose.
She glanced at the holographic screen, the countdown timer ticking with cold, relentless precision. The system's message, stark and unyielding, flashed before her:
[ "Time Remaining: 30 Minutes." ]
[ "Protect the Target." ]
[ "Failure Penalty: Status Degradation." ]
[ "Additional: Quist Failure will result in the death of your dearest kin." ]
Status Degradation? The chilling thought sent a jolt of adrenaline through her. A wave of nausea rolled over her, a bitter taste coating her tongue. Her breath hitched in her throat, her hands clammy. She wasn't sure what it meant, but she knew it was something terrible.
Her brother. The last part of the message punched her in the gut. She couldn't let him die. Not after all this time.
A sudden surge of defiance, a fierce determination to defy the odds, to defy the system, to defy her own fears, washed over her. Her muscles tensed, her body humming with a newfound energy.
She took a deep breath, her lungs filling with the heavy, stale air of the convenience store—microwaved popcorn, hot dogs, and the cloying sweetness of spilled soda. She reached out, her hand hovering over the holographic screen. She felt the system's presence, a cold, calculating force that was both terrifying and exhilarating. She had to act.
She stared at the figures in the shadows, their forms taking shape in the flickering light. The man at the counter, his face ashen, his eyes wide with terror, seemed frozen in time—a victim caught in the crosshairs of a terrifying game. His shallow breaths were audible, each gasp a testament to his fear. His trembling hands clutched the phone, his knuckles white.
The largest thug, a hulking brute with a shaved head and a menacing scowl, stepped forward, his baseball bat gleaming under the harsh fluorescent lights. He raised it high, ready to strike. The man at the counter cowered, his eyes wide with terror, his shallow breaths audible in the sudden silence.
May felt a jolt, like static electricity, shooting up her arm, making her muscles twitch. Her skin tingled, a wave of heat spreading through her body. The holographic screen shifted:
[ "Quist Activated. Energy Transfer Initiated." ]
The energy surged through her, raw and chaotic, unfamiliar and slightly overwhelming. Her vision sharpened, but her body felt strangely heavy, her movements clumsy. This wasn't invincibility; it was a surge of power she had to learn to control. A wave of nausea rolled over her, a bitter taste coating her tongue.
The system's message shifted, displaying the options:
- ["QUIST TEMPORARY OPTIONS AVAILABLE: "] -
[ "Option 1: Enhanced Strength." ]
[ "Option 2: Enhanced Speed." ]
[ "Option 3: Enhanced Agility." ]
[ "Option 4: Enhanced Endurance." ]
[ "Option 5: Enhanced Perception." ]
She chose Enhanced Perception, but even with heightened senses, the situation felt chaotic and overwhelming. The brute swung the bat. May reacted instinctively, but her movements were slower than she'd hoped. She dodged the blow, but only just. The bat whistled past her ear, the wind of its passage ruffling her hair. The smell of ozone filled her nostrils, sharp and metallic.
She snatched a stack of glossy magazines, but her grip wasn't as strong as she'd expected. She hurled them at the thug, but they fell short, hitting his chest with a pathetic thud. He barely flinched.
The brute roared, his eyes burning with rage. He swung again, aiming for her head. May felt a surge of panic, a cold wave of fear threatening to overwhelm her.
She chose Enhanced Speed. The world seemed to blur around her as she dodged the blow, but the enhanced speed felt disorienting, her body feeling independent of her mind. She felt a sharp pain in her side as the bat grazed her arm, leaving a burning sensation and a trail of blood. The sticky warmth of the blood against her skin sent a fresh wave of nausea through her.
She snatched a bag of chips, aiming for his legs, but her aim was off. The bag hit his shoulder, doing little to impede his advance.
The other two thugs lunged forward, their eyes narrowed with predatory glee. One drew a knife, the blade glinting menacingly. The other charged at her, his fists clenched tight.
May felt her enhanced speed fading, but her instincts took over. She grabbed a large box of cereal, using it as a makeshift shield. The knife tore through the cardboard, the sound a harsh counterpoint to the silent fury of the thugs. She used the momentum to spin away, but her movements were clumsy.
The stocky thug was upon her, his fist aimed at her face. She chose Enhanced Agility, but her movements were jerky, her body struggling to keep up with her mind's commands. She dodged the punch, but barely. The force of the blow sent tremors through her body.
Suddenly, a shelf of canned goods, weakened by previous impacts, collapsed, creating a cascade of metal and glass that blocked her path. The sound of shattering glass and the clatter of metal created a deafening cacophony that momentarily disoriented her. The smell of crushed tomatoes and spilled soda filled the air.
The store became a chaotic battlefield—a blur of motion and sound. May, fueled by a primal instinct to protect, fought back, but her body was struggling to keep up. She used every object within reach as a weapon, but her movements were clumsy, her attacks less precise than she'd hoped. The system continued to offer options, but selecting one felt like a gamble, a desperate attempt to regain control in the face of overwhelming odds.
[ "Quist Option Available: Enhanced Strength." ]
[ "Quist Option Available: Enhanced Agility." ]
[ "Quist Option Available: Enhanced Endurance." ]
May, her body aching, her breath ragged, chose Enhanced Strength. A wave of power surged through her, making her muscles bulge. She felt the pain in her arm lessen, the fatigue fading.
With renewed strength, she fought back with ferocity. She smashed the stocky thug's face with a powerful punch, sending him reeling backward. She used her enhanced strength to hurl a heavy box of cereal at the wiry thug, knocking him off balance. But he quickly recovered, his knife flashing dangerously close to her face.
The hulking brute was now upon her, his eyes burning with rage. She chose Enhanced Endurance, bracing herself for his attack. He swung the bat, but May, fueled by adrenaline and fierce determination, withstood the blow. The impact sent tremors through her body, but she remained standing.
Just as she was about to strike back, the lights flickered and died, plunging the store into darkness. The only light came from the emergency exit signs, casting long, distorted shadows that danced on the walls.
The sudden darkness hit May like a physical blow. Her enhanced perception, her lifeline in this chaos, was useless. She stumbled, her hands reaching out blindly, her heart pounding in her chest. The rough texture of the fallen canned goods scraped against her skin as she fell to her knees. The smell of crushed metal and spilled soda filled her nostrils, a suffocating wave of metallic tang and sweetness. She felt a cold wave of fear wash over her, a primal terror that transcended her training. Her enhanced senses were useless in the darkness, replaced by a heightened awareness of her vulnerability.
In the darkness, she heard the brute's enraged snarl, felt his hand brush against her arm. She reacted instinctively, using her enhanced strength to throw him off balance. She felt the rough texture of the floor against her knees as she fell, the impact jarring her body. The darkness amplified her other senses: she heard the thugs' ragged breathing, felt the vibrations of their footsteps on the floor, smelled the metallic tang of blood mingling with the sweetness of spilled soda.
she heard the sounds of the thugs closing in, their movements muffled but menacing. She felt a hand grasp her arm, pulling her back. She reacted instinctively, using her enhanced agility to twist free, her body a blur of motion in the darkness. She heard the thugs cursing, their movements hampered by the darkness and the clutter of the store.
May, fueled by adrenaline and a growing sense of mastery over her powers, found a new strategy. Using her enhanced perception, she navigated the darkness, using the sounds to guide her movements. She used the darkness to her advantage, her attacks becoming more precise, more effective.
She heard the wiry thug's panicked gasp as she slammed her fist into his jaw. She felt the crunch of bone under her fist. She heard the stocky thug's grunt of pain as she tripped him with a well-placed kick. She heard the hulking brute's roar of frustration as she used a shopping cart to block his attack, sending him sprawling into a display of chips. The sound of the chips crunching under his weight was oddly satisfying.
The lights flickered back on, revealing the scene of chaos. The thugs were injured, disoriented, and defeated.
The system's timer ticked down to 10 seconds. She had won, but it was a hard-fought victory.
The silence that followed the fight was deafening. The only sounds were May's ragged gasps, the low hum of the refrigerator, and the distant wail of a siren, growing closer. Her body ached, every muscle screaming in protest. Her arms and legs were bruised and scraped, the sticky warmth of blood clinging to her skin. The smell of ozone, metallic and sharp, still clung to the air, mingling with the cloying sweetness of spilled soda and the lingering scent of fear.
The man at the counter, his face still pale with fear, watched her with a mixture of awe and disbelief. His eyes, wide and unblinking, followed her every movement as she stumbled towards him, her legs shaky, her body heavy with exhaustion. He opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came out. His lips trembled, his breath coming in short, shallow gasps.
Just as May reached him, the holographic screen flickered back to life, its digital characters glowing with an eerie luminescence. This time, instead of a simple message, the screen displayed a detailed status update, presented with a sleek, futuristic design. The background was a deep, shimmering blue, reminiscent of a night sky filled with stars. The text was crisp and clear, a stark white against the dark background. Each stat was displayed not just as a number, but as a dynamic bar graph that pulsed gently with a soft, ethereal glow. The bars for her increased Strength and Dexterity pulsed more brightly than the others, pulsing with a warm, golden light.
[ "Quist Complete. "]
[ "Previous Stats:" ]
[ "HP: 95/100" ] (The HP bar was almost full, but not quite, represented by a slightly shorter, less bright bar than the others.)
[ "MP: 10/100" ] (The MP bar was very short, a thin, barely visible sliver of blue.)
[ "STR: 5" ] (The Strength bar was short and thin.)
[ "DEX: 5" ] (The Dexterity bar was similarly short and thin.)
[ "CON: 5" ] (The Constitution bar was also short and thin.)
[ "INT: 8" ] (The Intelligence bar was longer and brighter than the others, reflecting her high intelligence.)
[ "WIS: 7" ] (The Wisdom bar was also longer and brighter than the Strength and Dexterity bars but shorter than the Intelligence bar.)
[ "LUK: 3" ] (The Luck bar was the shortest and dimmest of all the bars.)
[ "Updated Stats:" ]
[ "HP: 100/100" ] (The HP bar was now full, bright and vibrant, a solid block of blue.)
[ "MP: 20/100" ] (The MP bar had significantly increased, now a noticeably longer bar of blue.)
[ "STR: 8" ] (The Strength bar had dramatically increased, now a much longer and brighter bar of golden light.)
[ "DEX: 8" ] (The Dexterity bar had also dramatically increased, matching the length and brightness of the Strength bar.)
[ "CON: 7" ] (The Constitution bar had also increased, now a longer and brighter bar of blue.)
[ "INT: 10" ] (The Intelligence bar remained long and bright, but now even more so, pulsing with a subtle, intelligent glow.)
[ "WIS: 9" ] (The Wisdom bar had increased, now almost as long and bright as the Intelligence bar.)
[ "LUK: 5" ] (The Luck bar had doubled, now a noticeably longer and brighter bar of blue.)
Below the updated stats, a new message appeared:
[ "Reward: Enhanced Strength and Agility (Permanent)" ]
[ "Additional Reward: Hidden Item (Unlock in 24 hours)" ]
[ "System Deactivating in: 10 seconds..." ]
[ "9... 8... 7..." ]
May stared at the display, her eyes wide with a mixture of disbelief and awe. The numbers didn't just represent abstract values; they felt real, tangible, a reflection of the power she had unleashed. The dramatic increase in her Strength and Dexterity was particularly striking—a visual representation of her newfound physical capabilities. The way the bars pulsed with light, the way the numbers shifted and settled—it all felt strangely beautiful, almost magical. A small smile touched her lips, a flicker of triumph amidst the exhaustion. She had not only survived, but she had been fundamentally changed. She was stronger, faster, more resilient. She was no longer the timid, introverted girl who hid in the shadows.
As the countdown reached zero, the holographic display vanished, leaving behind only the silence and the distant wail of sirens. The system had deactivated.
The sound of a siren, growing louder in the distance, reached her ears. It was a distant sound, a sound of hope, a sound that signaled the arrival of help.
She saw the man at the counter, his face filled with a mixture of fear and gratitude, heading towards the phone. He was calling the police.
But May knew she couldn't stay. She couldn't be caught.
The adrenaline was fading, and her enhanced abilities were waning. She had to get out of there.
She stumbled to her feet, her legs shaky, her body aching. She knew she wasn't herself anymore. The experience had changed her, had opened her eyes to a world she had never known existed.
The siren's wail echoed in her ears, a growing symphony of hope.
Each step was agony, but her senses remained sharp, her heart a frantic drum against her ribs.
The city lights, once a terrifying backdrop, now shimmered with untold potential.
The girl who'd cowered in the shadows was gone, replaced by a woman hardened by fire, stronger, ready for whatever the future held.
And she was going to keep fighting.