System Activated: Rise of Liam Mercer

Chapter 5: First Major Confrontation

The night hung heavy over London, fog curling around the streetlights like smoke. Liam Mercer’s boots slapped against the slick rooftop of a derelict warehouse, rain soaking him to the bone. 

His chest still pulsed with the aftershock of the previous day’s training, veins glowing faintly blue beneath wet fabric.

Below, the Thames hissed as water hit the embankments. Shadows shifted along the docks, more than the usual drunks and stray cats. 

Liam’s instincts, sharpened by the System, told him: they were coming. He inhaled, letting the wind curl around him. 

A gust lifted a broken metal sign and hurled it toward the river. Acolytes moved beneath it, shadows fluid, coordinated, striking silently. 

“Show yourselves!” Liam yelled. “I’m not hiding anymore!”

A chill, unnatural wind answered him. Five figures emerged from the fog, levitating slightly above the wet cobblestones, sigils glowing along their robes in crimson and gold.

“Bearer of the Wind,” one intoned, voice echoing like thunder. “You’ve grown, but you’ve overstepped. The Houses demand your obedience.”

“Obedience?” Liam laughed harshly, teeth bared. “I deliver parcels, not worship you. And last I checked, I’m not your puppet.”

The Acolytes advanced, a synchronized rhythm in their stride. Liam felt the storm coil around him, pulse in time with his heartbeat. 

He could anticipate their moves before they made them, almost. “System,” he muttered under his breath. “Show me everything you’ve got.”

[Tier Two Abilities: Fully Active. Sub-routines: Air Strike, Gale Step, Cyclone Shield, Enhanced Agility.]

The nearest Acolyte summoned a blade of compressed air, striking in a diagonal arc. Liam pivoted mid-step, letting the wind carry him over the attack. 

He twisted in the air, sending a sharp gust that sliced the edge of the Acolyte’s cloak. “You’ll have to do better than that,” he muttered, landing lightly on the next rooftop. 

The gap between buildings was narrow, but the wind assisted, lifting him high enough to clear it in a single bound.

“Such arrogance,” another Acolyte hissed, forming a sigil on the rooftop ledge. The stone beneath him cracked, energy rippling outward like a shockwave.

Liam crouched low, wind whipping around his form, forming a protective cyclone. Debris and rain collided with the spinning shield, scattering harmlessly. 

He sprinted forward, striking with a flurry of air blades that tore across the leading figures. One Acolyte spun, deflecting, but another was hurled backward, landing hard against a chimney.

“Not bad,” a voice murmured from the shadows, unfamiliar, yet commanding. Liam’s pulse quickened. “Another player in this game,”

The rooftop trembled. Liam leapt, landing on the edge of a higher building. Below, the Thames reflected the flicker of sigils forming in a circle. 

A trap, he realized. The wind around him rippled, warning him just in time. “Thought you could trap me?” he growled, raising his palms. 

Cyclones erupted from each hand, shredding the barrier before it fully formed. Rain and mist twisted violently as the gusts clashed with sigils, sparks of light shooting into the foggy night.

The Acolytes hesitated, sensing his mastery had grown far beyond what they had anticipated. The System pulsed in his head, almost singing.

[Core Fragment Detection: 3/10. Combat Efficiency Increasing.]

Liam’s grin widened. “I’m just getting started.”

One Acolyte lunged, knife spinning with deadly precision. Liam sidestepped, letting the wind spiral around the figure, lifting them lightly before slamming them into a vent pipe. 

Another tried a spell, an arcane sigil of fire, but the wind diverted the flames harmlessly into the river below.

The battle spilled across the rooftops, the city around them echoing with the sound of rain, clashing energy, and Liam’s laughter. 

Each movement was a test: speed, precision, adaptability. Every strike strengthened the System, feeding his growing connection to the storm around him.

Lightning split the sky, illuminating a figure standing at the far end of the dock, a shadow taller than any human, moving independently of the wind. Its eyes glowed faint red beneath a hood. 

Liam’s pulse thundered. “This is it, the real test.”

The mentor’s voice echoed softly in his head: “Do not underestimate them, Bearer. The Houses will not forgive arrogance. This confrontation will determine how far you can climb.”

Liam exhaled sharply, letting the wind swirl around him, a living weapon in his hands. He leapt toward the figure, ready to strike, the storm answering every instinct.

And then, from the mist, a pulse of energy exploded, knocking Liam off balance. He skidded across the wet rooftop, arms outstretched, and narrowly avoided plunging into the river.

He glared at the distant figure. “So, you’re the one running the show.”

A low hum rolled across the rooftops, and the storm seemed to shift, bending toward the shadowed figure. 

The shadowed figure’s eyes burned crimson beneath the hood, reflecting the storm’s erratic lightning. 

Every gust of wind Liam summoned bent and twisted around the figure as though fighting its own will.

“Bearer of the Wind,” the figure intoned, voice deep and echoing like thunder, “you have grown, but do you understand what true power demands?”

Liam’s jaw clenched. “I don’t care what it demands. I’ll take it, and use it. Right here. Right now.”

He exhaled sharply, the wind responding to his intent. Cyclones coiled around his fists, lifting debris, raining shards of metal and wood like deadly darts. His eyes glowed brighter as the System pulsed urgently.

[Tier Three Activation: Imminent. Elemental Synchronization Required.]

“Tier Three,” Liam thought. “Let’s see what you’ve got.”

He reached deep, feeling the wind wrap around his entire body. The storm outside seemed to recognize him, bending and twisting like a living thing. 

His heart pounded, fear and excitement mingling in a surge of adrenaline. The first Acolyte lunged with a spinning blade, but Liam moved like a shadow,

Gale Step propelling him past the strike. Air spikes erupted behind him, hurling the figure into a wall with a deafening crash. 

Another tried to strike from above, Liam twisted mid-air, sending a razor-sharp gust upward, cutting off the attack before it could land.

The shadowed figure advanced slowly, almost mocking. Liam could sense the pulse of energy it exuded, dark, ancient, and immensely powerful.

“You will need more than this to best me,” it said, voice resonating with the weight of a storm.

“I will,” Liam thought. His veins glowed, wind whipping around him like electric threads. Every strike, every dodge, every movement fed the System, pushing him closer to the next stage.

He clenched both fists, calling the wind into a perfect spiral around him. The air howled, pulling in mist and debris. “Tier Three,” he whispered. “Let’s go.”

The glow on his mark flared violently, spreading across his arms and chest. The storm responded instantly, the wind ripping across rooftops, creating a vortex of power. 

His movements became sharper, faster, every step guided by instinct and System feedback.

He launched himself at the shadowed figure. The first strike collided with an invisible barrier, energy clashing in a brilliant explosion of wind and shadow. 

Liam staggered back, but the System surged inside him, enhancing every muscle, every reflex.

[Tier Three Unlocked: Advanced Wind Mastery, Area Manipulation, Reactive Defense, Precision Strikes.]

A pulse of energy radiated from Liam, throwing the Acolytes and debris back in a controlled explosion. Rain sprayed like needles. 

The shadowed figure hovered, briefly shaken, then reformed, eyes glowing brighter. “You've improved,” it said, almost impressed. “But this is only the beginning.”

Liam smirked through blood and sweat. “Good. I’m just getting started.”

He surged forward again, the wind now a living extension of his body. Every rooftop became his stage, every gust a weapon, every raindrop a blade. 

The Acolytes were swept aside, powerless against the precision and ferocity of Tier Three.

The shadowed figure retreated, keeping pace with Liam, testing him, gauging him. Lightning split the sky overhead, illuminating the rooftops like a battlefield painted in silver.

“You’ve gained much,” the figure said. “But remember, power is meaningless without purpose. The Houses are watching. And they will not forgive disobedience.”

Liam gritted his teeth. “Then let them come. I’ll make them remember my name.”

The wind around him surged in response, ripping up puddles and debris, spiraling upward into a vortex that illuminated the rooftops. 

His chest pulsed with energy, Tier Three fully awake, ready to devour the next challenge.

A sudden shadow flickered across the rooftops beyond the embankment, a massive shape, faster than any human, emanating a presence that made even the storm hesitate.

“That’s, not just an Acolyte, Liam thought, teeth clenched. That’s something else.”

He inhaled sharply, focusing every ounce of Tier Three power. The wind responded instantly, coiling, striking, shielding, and carrying him forward. “Let’s finish this,” he muttered, eyes glowing bright.

The shadowed figure’s crimson gaze met his, and for a heartbeat, London itself seemed to pause, the city holding its breath for what was coming next.

Then, with a scream of wind and a clash of power, Liam surged into the unknown.