THE SYSTEM GAVE ME EVERY VILLAIN'S POWER

The first thing Kian felt wasn’t the clinical chill of a hospital, but the phantom weight of four tons of steel crushing his ribcage. His lungs burned, desperate for oxygen that his brain insisted wasn't there anymore. With a jagged, rhythmic wheeze, he forced himself upright, his eyes snapping open to a blur of sterile white and sharp, neon blue.

"Whoa, easy there! Don't pop the seals, man!"

Kian blinked, his vision clearing. A man in a high-tech white jumpsuit was hovering over him, holding a digital tablet that flickered with data.

"Where... where is this?" Kian croaked, his throat feeling like he’d swallowed a bag of glass. "I was on the highway. There was a delivery truck—"

"Yeah, yeah, truck-kun got you good, didn’t it?" the man said, not looking up from his screen. "You’ve been in the soup for six hours. You’re lucky the cleanup crew found you before you totally bled out into the asphalt."

Kian looked down at his chest. Instead of mangled flesh, he saw a smooth, pale torso encased in a semi-transparent gelatinous film. Above him, a translucent blue screen hovered in mid-air, fixed to his line of sight.

[STATUS: RECOVERING]

[LEVEL: 0]

[POINTS: 0]

[CLASS: UNASSIGNED]

"What’s this?" Kian asked, pointing a shaky finger at the air. "Is this a projection? Some kind of smart-glass?"

"You’re funny," the medic chuckled, finally looking him in the eye. "Wait, you aren't joking? It’s your UI. Don't tell me you’re one of those 'pre-Awakening' fossils."

"I don't know what you’re talking about," Kian said, trying to swing his legs over the side of the medical pod. "I need to call my sister. Can I use your phone?"

"Phone? Man, just use your comms. Oh, wait," the medic tapped his tablet. "Zero points. Right. You don't have network access yet."

"I don't care about points," Kian grunted, his feet hitting the cold floor. "I need help. My chest... it feels tight. Can you give me a check-up?"

"Can I? Sure. Will I?" The medic gave him a flat look. "Check your point balance again."

"I just did. It says zero."

"Then we’re done here," the medic said, turning on his heel. "I’ve already spent three points worth of my shift just making sure you didn't die on my watch. If you want a full recovery scan or a Mana-Infused Ibuprofen, you gotta pay up."

"Is this a joke?" Kian stood up, his legs wobbling. "I’m a patient! I have insurance!"

A door hissed open at the far end of the room, and a woman in a deep crimson robe walked in. She wasn’t wearing a stethoscope or a lab coat; she was carrying a staff that literally hummed with amber light.

"Is he the one from the collision?" she asked, her voice bored.

"Yeah," the medic replied. "Zero points. A total non-priority."

"Hey!" Kian shouted. "I'm right here!"

The woman in the robe looked through him as if he were made of glass. "There’s a Hero incoming from the lower district. Silver rank. He took a graze from a Golem. We need this pod for his mana recharge."

"Wait, you’re kicking me out?" Kian asked, disbelief washing over him. "I can barely stand!"

"The exit is down the hall to the left," the woman said, waving her hand dismissively. "Unless you’ve got a hidden stash of Tier-1 credits, you're loitering. Loitering in a Hero-Priority Ward is an offense, you know."

"You guys are unbelievable," Kian muttered, grabbing a generic hospital gown from a nearby chair and wrapping it around himself. "Is this how doctors act now? Since when did hospitals turn into a VIP club?"

"Since the System arrived, sweetie," she replied, her eyes already glowing as she began prepping the bed for the next patient. "No contribution, no care. It’s simple math."

Kian stumbled out of the room, his hand pressed against the wall for support. The hallway was full of people, but they looked different. Some were wearing capes, others had swords strapped to their backs, and everyone seemed to be looking at their own invisible screens.

"Hey, kid!" a voice called out.

Kian looked over. An old man sat on a bench nearby, his leg wrapped in a dirty bandage.

"You got the boot too?" the old man asked.

"Yeah," Kian sighed. "They said I don't have enough... points?"

"Join the club," the old man spat on the floor. "We’re the 'un-classed.' Basically background noise in our own city. If you aren't out there killing monsters or doing quests, you’re nothing to the healers."

"This is insane," Kian said, sliding down the wall to sit next to him. "How am I supposed to get points if I can't even get medicine to feel better?"

"You don't. You just hope you die quick or find a job cleaning up after the big guys," the man said. "But look at you. You’re young. You haven't picked a class yet?"

"The screen says 'unassigned,'" Kian whispered.

"Well, better pray you get something decent. But keep your head down. Heroes don't like it when we get in their way."

Suddenly, a loud, sharp ping echoed in Kian's ears. It was so loud he winced, grabbing his temples.

[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: PROXIMITY ALERT]

"Ow... what now?"

"What's it say?" the old man asked, leaning in. "You got a quest? At level zero?"

Kian stared at the floating blue text that had just appeared.

[TARGET ACQUIRED: LESSER OFFENDER]

[LOCATION: 50 METERS - HOSPITAL SOUTH EXIT]

[CONDITION: NON-CLASSED INDIVIDUAL]

[MISSION: ELIMINATE THE TARGET]

[REWARD: 10 POINTS & FIRST KILL BONUS]

[STATUS: YOU ARE CURRENTLY DESIGNATED AS 'BAIT']

"It says... target detected?" Kian read it aloud, his voice trembling. "It’s telling me to... kill someone?"

The old man’s face went pale. He scooted away from Kian instantly. "Whoa. Wait. Look at the bottom part. What’s your status?"

"'Bait,'" Kian whispered. "What does that mean?"

"It means go!" the old man hissed. "It means the System has tagged you as the target’s lure! If you stay here, you’re dead!"

"Security to Hallway B!" a voice boomed over the intercom. "We have an unauthorized point-less presence in the transit zone. Clear the area!"

"I have to leave," Kian said, his logic finally overriding his shock. "If I stay here, they'll throw me out into whatever that thing is anyway."

"Good luck, Bait," the old man muttered, looking away.

Kian pushed himself up. His body felt lighter than before—perhaps the medical pod had done just enough to keep him from collapsing. He followed the signs for 'Exit,' his heart hammering against his ribs like a trapped bird. Every time a 'Hero' in shiny armor walked past, he flinched, expecting them to see the word 'Bait' hovering over his head.

He reached the heavy, reinforced sliding doors of the hospital. A security guard stood there, his eyes glowing behind a visor.

"ID check," the guard barked.

"I don't have one yet," Kian said honestly. "I was just told to leave."

The guard checked his screen, then looked at Kian with a weird, twisted smirk. "Oh. You’re one of those. Yeah, go on ahead. Your... 'assignment' is right outside."

"What assignment?"

"The quick kind," the guard said, tapping his baton. "Move it."

The doors hissed open.

Kian stepped out, and the first thing that hit him wasn't the fresh air, but the smell of smoke and ozone. He wasn't in the city he remembered. The tall glass skyscrapers were still there, but they were covered in shimmering hexagonal shields. Below them, the streets were a mess of cracked asphalt and neon signs advertising things like 'Mana Refills' and 'Exp Boosts.'

Directly across the street, crouched over a discarded shipping crate, was a man in tattered clothes. His eyes were wide, glowing a sickly, pulsating violet. He was gnawing on something that looked suspiciously like a piece of structural metal.

Kian froze.

[NOTIFICATION: TARGET DETECTED]

[OBJECTIVE: ENGAGE OR EVADE]

[HINT: THE VILLAIN IS HUNGRY. YOU LOOK SOFT.]

Kian looked around. Pedestrians were walking by on the other side of the street, completely ignoring the glowing-eyed man. A group of teenagers with glowing swords were laughing as they headed toward a nearby mall.

"Hey!" Kian shouted at a passing woman. "There’s a guy over there! He looks dangerous!"

The woman didn't even look up from her wrist-comm. "He's Level 1, newbie. Not worth the mana for anyone over Level 10. Just call a cleaner if he bites you."

"But he's looking at me!" Kian cried out.

The man in the tattered clothes had indeed stopped chewing on the metal. He turned his head slowly, his neck cracking audibly. His violet eyes locked onto Kian’s throat.

"Wait, wait, wait," Kian backpedaled, his hospital gown fluttering in the wind. "I’m not a hero! I’m literally zero points! I’m nobody!"

The Lesser Offender let out a low, guttural growl and stood up, his fingers elongating into jagged, dirty claws.

"I don't want this!" Kian looked back at the hospital doors, but they were locked tight. "Open up! Let me back in!"

"Shut up, Bait!" a voice yelled from an upper floor window. "Some of us are trying to sleep after a raid!"

The Lesser Offender lunged, clearing the street in a single, monstrous bound. Kian dived to the left, his hands scraping the pavement as he rolled.

"Help!" he screamed, but his voice was lost in the casual hum of the city. To everyone else, this was just another Tuesday. To Kian, this was the end of the world.

He stood up, his back against a brick wall, his eyes scanning frantically for a weapon—anything. The System screen flickered in his vision again, turning a deep, bloody crimson.

[EMERGENCY MISSION: YOUR LIFE IS AT RISK]

[UNLOCKING TEMPORARY SKILL: COWARD’S INSIGHT]

[USE IT TO FIND A WEAKNESS, OR DIE AND REMAIN ZERO.]

"Fine!" Kian yelled at the empty air. "If nobody is going to help, then fine!"