The quiet hum of the classroom was pierced by an unfamiliar tension.
Zane Voss sat alone near the back of the room, posture relaxed but mind deep within Root Access's terminal interface. From the outside, he looked like just another bored student. But behind the veil of his half-closed eyes, countless lines of code flowed like rivers down a command prompt—ghost pings tracing unauthorized activity, scanning nearby connected systems, probing firewall defenses.
His fingers moved subtly, barely tapping the edge of his desk. Not a keyboard. Not a device. Just air. Because Root Access was integrated directly into his neural link—an illegal system, a prototype never meant to exist. But it did. And Zane had mastered it.
System vulnerability logs scrolled endlessly. Every student in class had a footprint—login metadata, packet latency, signature decay. They were walking scripts, and Zane had already dissected them. Most were mundane. Recycled education-grade systems.
Then the door opened.
It wasn't loud, but the shift in atmosphere was undeniable. Like a predator stepping into a room full of prey.
Zane's gaze lifted.
The figure who entered was tall, sharp-eyed, dressed in an elite combat uniform—jet black with golden trim that shimmered subtly with reactive code threads. But what truly marked him was the glowing crest on the back of his hand, pulsing with high-frequency energy.
A tier-S system mark.
Name: Nero Kyros.
System: Chimera Drive.
Rank: S-Class.
Affiliation: Academy Enforcement Unit.
The room fell into a hush as he stepped forward, boots clicking with measured rhythm. No hesitation. No wasted movement.
Zane's pulse didn't rise. But his interest did.
The Academy had its elites. Not just strong students—but those backed by megacorps, government cybercells, or secret weaponization programs. Enforcers like Nero weren't just soldiers. They were assassins with clearance.
Root Access pulsed.
[Proximity Alert: Threat Signature Detected.]
[System Type: Unauthorized Class-S. Warning: Possible Authority Link.]
Nero's eyes scanned the room, locking onto Zane in seconds.
"Zane Voss."
His voice wasn't loud, but it carried. Commanding. Final.
Zane stood, calm, collecting his thoughts in microseconds.
"That's me."
"You're being summoned. Immediate compliance. Refusal will trigger forced override."
Gasps echoed. Even the teacher said nothing. A silent understanding passed between them all—this wasn't a request.
Zane tilted his head. "A duel?"
Nero nodded once. "By order of Tier Authority Level 2. Your activity has triggered surveillance anomalies."
Zane smirked. "So they're finally paying attention."
He stepped forward. His classmates parted, some in awe, others in fear.
Location: Duel Arena 3 – Restricted Tier.
The floor shimmered with reactive tech. Resonance panels activated beneath every step, tuned to absorb shockwaves and suppress energy overflow. Surrounding the arena were anti-hack null fields and mana-blocking barriers. It was designed to ensure purity—no outside interference. No cheating.
But Zane had already bypassed those systems minutes ago.
Root Access had tunneled into the Arena's base code. Firewalls were jokes. The anti-hack protocols? Decorative.
This was his domain.
Nero entered across from him, rotating his shoulders, exhaling slowly. From his back, system nodes lit up, glowing like molten circuitry across his spine.
Zane rolled his neck, cracked his knuckles.
"You've been flagged," Nero said. "Multiple unauthorized terminal jumps. Phantom signals. Signature masking."
"You forgot 'bored genius,'" Zane said dryly.
"This isn't a game."
"No. It's a takeover."
[Root Access: Initiate Subsystem Infiltration.]
[Target: Chimera Drive. Scanning Behavioral Patterns... Parsing Mutation Tree...]
BEGIN DUEL.
Nero moved first—blitzing forward with cybernetic speed, a roar of energy trailing his limbs. His right arm transformed mid-charge, skin giving way to gleaming hybrid metal—claws resembling a lion's paw fused with avian talons.
A beast forged in code.
Zane activated Ghost Code. His figure blurred, system-tracked vision flickering. He slid to the left, just missing the impact, then rebounded off the wall, landing with feline grace.
But Nero wasn't just fast—he was adaptive. His next strike came from below, claws bursting up through the floor, redirecting the system panel into a shrapnel trap.
[Warning: Kill Threshold Breached.]
Zane flicked his fingers.
[Activating: Logic Breaker v1.7]
Reality distorted. The code-based panel reinterpreted Zane's presence as non-collidable. The claw swept harmlessly through him.
"Impossible," Nero hissed.
"I told you," Zane said, eyes glowing. "You're still reading the manual. I'm rewriting the universe."
Dozens of glowing threads burst from his hands, linking with Nero's system signature. A storm of invasive code launched like vipers.
[Hijack Initiated. 19%... 36%... 44%...]
Nero roared, activating Chimera Shift Level 2. Wings made of raw light exploded from his back. His body bulked up, armored scales wrapping his chest and legs, claws elongating.
He released a shockwave of raw power.
Zane was slammed backward. His HUD glitched. He hit the wall hard enough to dent it.
Blood leaked from his mouth.
Root Access shrieked.
[System Integrity: 62%. Neural Feedback Detected.]
But Zane... laughed.
Because he'd seen it. Hidden within Nero's transformation code—an overlooked subroutine. A dev-tag left behind. An exploit.
He reached into the Root.
[Injecting Corruption Payload: Blackout_Virus.v2]
It surged forward like a parasite.
Nero charged again—blazing with Chimera energy.
Then his system glitched. Wings spasmed. Claws retracted. His muscles pulsed with conflicting data.
"What—what did you do?!"
Zane stood, blood on his lips, eyes glowing brighter than ever.
"I didn't beat you," he said. "Your own system did."
[Hijack: 100%]
[Temporary Mastery Achieved – Chimera Protocol Slaved to Root Access.]
Zane raised one hand, pulling Nero's own code into a twisted spiral.
A roar echoed—but it wasn't Nero.
It was the Chimera Drive fighting itself.
Zane lunged, infused with Nero's stolen enhancements. His punch was a comet of force, crashing into Nero's chest.
The elite enforcer flew across the arena, slamming into the wall with bone-breaking velocity.
Unconscious.
Defeated.
The arena fell silent.
A system voice echoed.
Duel Complete. Winner: Zane Voss.
But Zane wasn't listening. He was watching his interface.
[Root Access Protocol Level-Up Achieved.]
[New Skill Acquired: Phantom Rewrite]
Description: Allows temporary assimilation and duplication of any defeated system's key protocols. Duration limited. Stackable with further system dissection.
Zane wiped his mouth.
He'd taken Chimera Drive.
Not permanently.
Yet.
But it had begun. His arsenal was growing.
Then came the final alert.
[WARNING: Tier 2 Authority Has Flagged Your Presence. Surveillance Satellites Activated.]
[Initiating Counter-Measures? Y/N]
Zane looked up at the flickering lights, as if seeing the satellites through steel and sky.
He smiled.
"Let them come."