Everyone Thinks I'm the Strongest

Chapter 3: The General's Misconception

The sensation of falling didn't end with a splat. Instead, it felt like being shoved through a straw. Rian hit solid, vibrating asphalt with a bone-jarring thud. Beside him, Elias and the girl—her name was Sarah, he remembered—sprawled out, gasping for air that tasted like burnt rubber and artillery fire.

They were in the middle of a war zone. The sky above was no longer red; it was a patchwork quilt of glitching static and burning clouds.

"Where the hell are we?" Elias coughed, scrambling to his feet. "This isn’t the alleyway."

"We’re outside," Rian muttered, his head spinning. He looked up. Massive, metallic structures—mechs—were tearing through the street. "Look at those things. They’re military."

"Hey! You! Civilians! Get behind the barricade!" A soldier in charcoal-grey tactical armor sprinted toward them, his rifle glowing with a strange, humming energy.

"Is that a tank?" Sarah pointed, her voice trembling. "It’s… it’s glowing purple."

"Stay down!" Rian shoved them behind a concrete slab.

"Get your heads down, you idiots!" the soldier shouted, dragging them toward a makeshift bunker of crates. "Do you have any idea how much XP you’re worth to those monsters?"

"We’re trying to survive, man!" Rian shouted back. "We just fell out of a building!"

"Building? There are no buildings left in this sector! It’s all level three data-rot!" The soldier pushed them into the command post.

Inside, the air was thick with the scent of ozone. A man stood at the center, barking orders into a floating holographic radio. He was built like a vault, his armor etched with silver insignias.

"That's General Kael," someone whispered.

"General, we’ve got three survivors from the inner collapse," the soldier announced.

Kael turned. He looked at them with eyes that had seen too many system-wipe events. He focused specifically on Rian, who was still clutching his side, his breath hitching.

"You," Kael said, his voice like gravel. "You’re trembling. Why are you trembling?"

"I’m human, man," Rian shot back, his nerves fraying. "Is that against the law now?"

"Fear is a luxury for those who don’t understand the math," Kael replied, stepping closer. "Why haven't you run? You've been standing in the kill zone for three minutes."

"My legs don't work that well when the ground is deleting itself," Rian retorted.

"Stupidity or survival instinct?" Kael mused. "You don't have a weapon, yet you don't look like a scavenger."

"I’m just trying to find a bathroom, alright? Everything is exploding, and I’m literally about to lose it."

Kael arched an eyebrow. A smirk touched his scarred lips. "A bathroom. In the middle of an integration purge."

"Hey, when you gotta go, you gotta go," Elias muttered, trying to blend into the scenery.

"General, the perimeter is failing," a lieutenant shouted from the back. "The void-beasts are flanking from the sewers!"

"Move the heavy fire to the East wall!" Kael commanded. He looked back at Rian. "You, civilian. Stay put. Don't touch the gear. If you do, I’ll have you recycled."

"Recycled?" Rian blinked. "Like a soda can?"

"Like data," Kael growled.

Rian felt a pull in his gut—not fear, but a strange, magnetic tugging. He needed to move. He needed to get away from the static. He stood up, ignored the general’s glare, and started walking toward the back of the camp.

"I said stay put!" Kael barked.

"I really, really need a bathroom!" Rian shouted over his shoulder.

He ducked behind a stack of energy cells. He didn't know where he was going, but his vision was painting a neon purple line on the floor. It led straight through a reinforced door. He kicked it open, expecting a latrine, but found himself staring directly into the teeth of the enemy line—a massive, undulating mass of shadow-creatures assembling for a charge.

"Oh, crap," Rian whispered.

Suddenly, a massive boom rocked the bunker behind him. A stray beam of plasma tore through the air, obliterating the command station’s communications relay. The blast wave threw Rian forward, right into the center of the enemy scouts.

"General!" someone screamed.

Rian hit the ground, sliding through the mud. Behind him, the bunker was a flaming wreck. He looked up and saw General Kael staggering out of the smoke, his arm dangling uselessly. The enemy scouts hissed, ready to pounce on the wounded commander.

Rian didn't think. He grabbed a discarded fusion-grenade from a dead soldier’s vest.

"Hey! Over here!" Rian roared, waving his arms.

The creatures turned their heads. Rian pulled the pin and tossed the device with all his might. It didn't hit the floor; it curved in the air, glowing with that same sickly purple light his interface favored.

BOOM.

The blast wiped out the entire front row of shadow-beasts. The remaining ones shrieked and retreated into the darkness.

Silence fell, broken only by the crackle of burning debris.

General Kael limped toward Rian, his eyes wide. He looked at the smoking crater, then at Rian, who was currently trying to wipe grime off his shirt.

"You," Kael breathed, his voice hollow with shock. "You walked straight into their formation. You provoked the charge… and you wiped them out."

"I just wanted to find the facilities, man," Rian said, his hands shaking violently.

"You didn't show fear," Kael said, clutching his wounded arm. "You showed the most tactical, insane, and effective maneuver I’ve seen since the integration started."

"It was an accident!" Rian insisted.

Kael grabbed his collar, pulling him close. "I don't care what you call it. The commander is dead. You’re the only one who didn't blink when the world ended."

"Wait, what are you doing?" Rian’s heart stopped.

"You’re the new squad lead, kid," Kael snarled. "And if you want to survive the next ten minutes, you better start acting like you meant to do that."

Rian looked down at his interface. The purple text wasn't just flickering anymore. It was burning into his retina:

‘QUEST UPDATED: SURVIVE THE INTEGRATION. REWARD: ASCENSION. WARNING: IF YOU DIE, YOUR DATA WILL BE WIPED PERMANENTLY.’

"I really just wanted a bathroom," Rian whispered.

"Too bad," Kael said, pointing toward the encroaching darkness. "They’re coming back. Lead them."