The world didn't slow down.
It sharpened.
The way Lex had always imagined it might—if shit ever got real.
He saw the flick of Rico's wrist first. Not the full motion—just the shift, the twitch of a tendon in his forearm. Lex wasn't trained, but some ancient instinct inside him snapped awake. It told him Rico's punch would come from the left.
The next second, Rico's whole body turned with it, weight shifting fast. A right cross. Wide. Angry.
Lex slipped it.
He didn't plan to. His body just dipped like it had rehearsed the move a thousand times, though it hadn't—not even once.
The punch missed. Rico stumbled past him.
And then—Lex moved.
His right hand came up from his hoodie pocket, and with a whisper of steel and plastic, the box cutter slid into his palm. He barely even felt himself press the slider, but the blade snapped open with a soft, hungry click.
One quick motion. He slashed across Rico's forearm as the older boy lunged past.
Bright red bloomed across Rico's skin, vivid even in the half-lit street.
"What the—?!" Rico shrieked, jumping back. "You fuckin' cut me?!"
His voice cracked. Lex could hear it under the bark—the panic.
Jaye and Mouse froze mid-step.
Bones stood wide-eyed, halfway through raising his fists.
And Lex? Lex just stood there, crouched low like a coiled spring, blade down by his thigh. Silent. Watching.
His heart should've been pounding—but it wasn't. Not yet. Not even close.
Everything felt sharp.
Too sharp.
The sidewalk beneath his sneakers. The sweat rolling down the side of his neck. The rusty streetlamp above them, buzzing like a dying bug.
And then—a window popped. Again. Floating in front of him, translucent and clean, like a heads-up display in a sci-fi movie.
[COMBAT MODE: ACTIVE]
Enemy: Rico "Clips" Varela – Level 2
HP: 28/35
Status: Bleeding (Minor)
Threat Rating: Moderate
Lex's eyes flicked across the screen. The words shimmered, real as the blood now running down Rico's wrist.
Rico clutched his arm, teeth bared. "Aight, fuck this—yo, Mouse! Gimme the pole!"
Mouse hesitated, hand hovering near his waistband.
Bones saw it too. "Aw hell no—y'all bringin' pipes now?! Over some damn chargers?!"
Jaye stepped in then, face twisted, nostrils flaring. "Nah, that's blood now. Ain't about chargers no more."
Lex's fingers tightened around the box cutter. Not from fear. From readiness. His stance shifted on its own—right foot angled back, weight balanced. He didn't know how he knew to do that. But he knew.
[Skill Unlocked: Combat Awareness I]
[Movement becomes more efficient during hostile engagements.+5% to dodge, +5% to counter.]
Mouse drew something long from his jacket sleeve—metal, maybe an old curtain rod. It clanged softly as he gripped it.
Lex blinked. Not from nerves. From calculation.
He glanced sideways.
Bones was breathing hard, chest puffed. But his eyes were darting—left, right, down the street.
He was stalling.
Looking for an exit.
Looking for—
Sirens.
Far off. But close enough to be real.
Lex didn't take his eyes off Rico.
The other boy's mouth curled into a mean grin. "You shook now, huh? Thought you was a killer?"
Lex tilted his head. Just slightly.
He thought—Use skill: Intimidation I.
[Skill Activated: Intimidation I]
Enemy morale drops by 10%.Chance of hesitation: 60%
"Step forward," the System whispered in the back of his mind.
Lex obeyed.
One step. No blade raised. Just one slow stride forward.
Rico flinched. Just slightly. Enough for the others to notice.
Lex spoke, low and even: "You sure you wanna do this, Rico?"
He let the silence stretch.
Then: "You already bleeding."
Mouse stopped moving.
Jaye bit his lip.
Rico's grip on his arm tightened.
"You... you dead, you hear me?" he spat. "This ain't over. Not even close."
But he didn't move.
He didn't swing.
He didn't do shit.
They ran.
All three.
Rico last—backpedaling, muttering threats, one hand still pressed to the blood stripe Lex had painted on his arm.
When they were gone, silence dropped hard. No traffic. No more sirens. Just the buzz of the busted streetlamp and Lex's own pulse finally starting to race.
Bones exhaled loud.
"Yo. YOOOOO."
He turned to Lex, wide-eyed, breathless.
"You see me, right?! I had that Jaye fool crying in the gutter!"
Lex said nothing. He was staring straight ahead.
Not at the street. Not at Rico's vanishing silhouette.
At the screen that now glowed in front of him.
[COMBAT COMPLETE]
Victory: Survived hostile gang encounter
XP Gained: 45
Level Up! – Level 2+2 Stat Points
New Traits Unlocked: – [Pain Resistance I]: Reduce non-lethal injury effects by 15%– [Close Quarters I]: +5% accuracy with handheld melee weapons
Bones was still talking. Still buzzing with post-fight hype.
"You stabbed him, Lex! Deadass! You moved like—like Jason Bourne or some shit!"
Lex blinked the screen away.
The System faded into transparency—still there if he wanted it. But quiet now.
He looked down.
His hands were shaking. Not from fear.
From clarity.
He felt alive. Too alive.
A voice called across the street.
"You dumbasses done now?"
Mona walked back from the alley she'd ducked into. She didn't run. She never ran.
She looked them both over—Lex with his bloody box cutter, Bones with his ripped sleeve—and smirked.
"Look at y'all. Whole-ass action movie. For what? Some fake-ass Nokias and a bag of busted chargers?"
She lifted the Ziploc bag like a prize.
Lex actually smiled. Barely.
Bones wiped his mouth and sat down hard on the stoop.
Mona stood over them both.
"You know Rico's gonna come back, right? That fool don't know how to take an L."
Lex looked up at her.
"Let him."
And the moment hung there—quiet, defiant.
Something in Mona's face shifted. Her smirk faded just a little.
She didn't say anything else.
The city kept moving.
A cop car passed three blocks away without slowing down. A baby cried from a third-story window. Somebody screamed laughter in Spanish from an open doorway.
But on that corner—under that broken-ass streetlight—a line had been drawn.
And Lex had crossed it.
[NEW TITLE UNLOCKED: Street-Level]
You've taken your first steps in claiming territory.+5% rep gain from local interactions The System is watching.