The Last King System

Chapter 4: The Predator's Trial

The city trembled.

A deep, rhythmic thud rolled through the ruins—slow, deliberate, and heavy enough to shake the ground. Dust drifted from the fractured ceilings. Metal beams creaked.

Leon Vale crouched behind a collapsed wall, eyes locked on the horizon. Every thud made the puddles tremble.

[Quest Active: Predator’s Trial]

[Objective: Eliminate the Titan-Class Candidate approaching Zone 07.]

He muttered under his breath. “Eliminate it? Sure. Why not ask me to kill the moon while we’re at it.”

The faint silver glow in his eyes flickered. The System pulsed softly in the corner of his vision.

[User: LEON VALE]

[Level: 2 → 3]

[Abilities:]

• Predator Protocol (Unique)

• Rapid Regeneration

• Thermal Rounds

• Magnetic Pulse (Minor)

• Electro Surge (Minor)

• Adaptive Skin (Minor)

His body felt stronger—bones denser, muscles faster, nerves sharper. But whatever was coming… he could feel its presence in his gut.

Then he saw it.

A silhouette, massive and malformed, lumbering between ruined towers. The rain hissed as it hit its skin—metal fused with flesh, glowing veins running down its frame. The creature was once human. Now it was something else.

[SYSTEM: Titan-Class Host — Rank B-]

[Status: Unstable / Merging Systems: 4 Active]

Leon exhaled slowly. “Four Systems in one body. Great.”

The Titan roared, a sound that tore through concrete and sent a murder of metal birds scattering into the storm.

Leon’s grip tightened on the shotgun. “Alright, big guy. Let’s dance.”

He sprinted out from cover just as the Titan’s massive arm slammed down where he had been standing. The ground split like glass, debris flying everywhere. Leon rolled, came up on one knee, and fired.

The Thermal Round hit the Titan’s chest—exploded—and did absolutely nothing.

“Okay, that’s new.”

The creature turned toward him. Its jaw split open in a mechanical scream, molten light spilling out.

Then it charged.

Leon barely had time to move. The Titan’s fist hit a truck, sending it flying like a toy. Leon ducked, sparks raining down.

[Health: 88%. Rapid Regeneration active.]

He dashed behind a pillar, breathing hard. The Titan’s footsteps boomed closer.

“Think, Vale. You can’t kill it head-on.” His eyes darted to a crumbling fuel line nearby. An idea sparked.

He raised his left hand, activating Magnetic Pulse. The broken steel around him trembled, lifting into the air. At the same time, he charged Electro Surge, the energy crackling blue around his fingers.

“Let’s see if science still works.”

When the Titan swung again, Leon jumped aside and fired—not at the monster, but at the exposed pipe.

The blast ruptured it. Gasoline sprayed out, coating the Titan’s legs.

Leon grinned. “Now glow for me.”

He slammed his electrified hand into the ground. The current raced along the metal debris—straight into the Titan.

The explosion lit the night sky. Fire erupted upward, engulfing the creature in a pillar of flame.

Leon hit the ground, covering his face from the heat.

[Target Integrity: 67%.]

He looked up, panting. The Titan was still standing—but now its armor was cracked, molten light leaking from the seams.

“Alright,” Leon said, reloading. “Now we’re getting somewhere.”

The Titan let out another bellow, its eyes glowing red. It tore a steel beam from a building and hurled it.

Leon ducked too late. The beam clipped his shoulder, sending him crashing into a wall.

[Health: 42%. Warning—Structural Damage to Left Shoulder.]

He groaned, forcing himself up. His left arm hung loosely, but regeneration had already begun, tendons reattaching beneath glowing skin.

The Titan stomped toward him, each step leaving cracks in the earth.

Leon’s voice came out rough. “Come on, big guy. You’re not the only one who can hit hard.”

He triggered Adaptive Skin. His entire body shimmered, metallic threads crawling up his arms and neck, forming a flexible armor layer.

Then he ran.

The Titan swung again, but this time Leon met it head-on, sliding under the blow and driving a magnetic-charged punch into its abdomen. The shockwave sent both of them skidding back.

[Target Integrity: 59%.]

The monster howled and struck again. Leon ducked, parried, countered with another blast of Electro Surge.

He could feel it—the rhythm of battle syncing with the System. His instincts sharpened, movements faster, smoother.

But the Titan wasn’t slowing. Its systems were mutating, merging, repairing damage on the fly.

[Warning: Target entering Berserk Phase.]

The Titan slammed both fists into the ground, unleashing a pulse of kinetic force that tore through the factory remains. Leon was thrown through the air, crashing into a pile of rubble.

His head rang. Vision blurred.

He could feel blood trickling down his face—but under it, something else pulsed. A darker energy.

[Predator Instability: 22%.]

[System Prompt: Instinct Mode available. Activate?]

Leon hesitated for only a second. “Do it.”

[Instinct Mode Activated.]

The world slowed.

Every sound deepened, every movement stretched. He could see the Titan’s next strike before it happened—the microshift of its weight, the flicker in its systems.

Leon moved faster than thought. He slid under the Titan’s arm, slammed his shotgun against its ribs, and fired point-blank.

The explosion tore a hole clean through its side.

He wasn’t done. He used Magnetic Pulse to yank the metal shards from the air and send them flying into the wound. Then another Electro Surge to ignite them.

The Titan howled, stumbling backward.

[Target Integrity: 29%.]

Leon didn’t let up. He jumped, grabbing a hanging cable from the ceiling, and swung himself onto the creature’s back. He jammed the shotgun into the exposed circuitry at the base of its skull.

“Eat this.”

Boom.

The Titan convulsed violently, red light bursting from its eyes and mouth. It staggered, collapsing to one knee.

Leon leapt off as it fell, landing hard on the ground. The Titan slammed into the dirt beside him, sending a shockwave through the street.

For a moment, everything was silent—except the storm.

Then the System chimed softly.

[Quest Complete: Predator’s Trial.]

[Core Absorption Successful.]

[System Acquired: Titan Core (Rank B-).]

[Ability Unlocked: Kinetic Burst.]

[Level Up: 3 → 4.]

Leon stood there, chest rising and falling, rain hissing off his armor.

He looked at his hands, watching as faint silver lines etched themselves deeper into his skin.

The power felt… heavier. Denser. Dangerous.

[Predator Instability: 31%. Caution—Corruption Threshold Approaching.]

He exhaled slowly. “Yeah… I can feel it.”

But instead of fear, a smile ghosted across his face.

He picked up a fragment of the Titan’s glowing core from the ground—pulsing faintly like a heart.

[Item: Sovereign Fragment x2.]

“Two fragments,” he said softly. “Getting closer.”

A faint voice echoed behind him.

“Closer to what?”

Leon turned sharply, shotgun raised.

A figure stood in the rain—slim, dark coat fluttering, a rifle slung over their back. The stranger’s eyes glowed faint gold.

[System: Huntress Protocol (Rank C+).]

She smirked. “You’re Leon Vale. The slum mechanic turned Predator.”

Leon frowned. “You’ve been following me.”

“Watching,” she corrected. “And cleaning up your messes. You’re noisy.”

“Who the hell are you?”

“Call me Nova,” she said. “And you just failed your first real test.”

Leon lowered his weapon slightly. “I killed the Titan.”

She shook her head. “You barely killed it. You triggered Instinct Mode too early. The more you use that, the faster you lose yourself.”

Leon’s jaw tightened. “I’m still here.”

“For now.”

The Huntress stepped closer, her gaze sharp. “You’re not the only Candidate after the crown. You’re strong, but there are stronger—and smarter.”

She glanced at the burning Titan. “If you keep fighting like this, you won’t last the week.”

Leon met her eyes. “Then teach me.”

Nova smiled faintly. “We’ll see if you survive long enough to be worth teaching.”

She turned and walked off into the storm, vanishing into the ruins.

Leon stood there for a long moment, rain washing the blood and ash from his face.

The System flickered.

[New Quest Unlocked: The Huntress Pact.]

[Objective: Locate and ally with Nova before the next King Candidate arrives.]

He sighed. “So that’s the next trial, huh?”

Lightning tore across the sky again, painting the world in silver and fire.

Leon loaded another round into his shotgun and started walking.

The Predator’s Trial was over.

But the hunt was only beginning.