Chapter 7 A-Rank Problem, Zero-Rank Solution

Forty feet of Rank A creature covered ground fast. I started moving before I even had a full plan. Motion first, figure it out while running.

"Kane, get back!" Lyra shouted. She dodged a massive limb sweep. Her feet slid in the ash. Pain twisted her face every time she moved her bad arm.

I read the ground quickly. "It tracks you because you are registered. Watch this."

I stepped right into its charge path. My heart hammered hard. The huge beast ran straight at me then curved around like I was not there. It flowed past without touching me.

"It cannot see me," I called out. "It adjusts like water around a rock. Lyra, I can touch it but it cannot touch me."

"What does that mean?" Lyra yelled back. She kept running sideways. Sweat poured down her face. "Talk while we move!"

"It means I can hit it," I shouted. "Tell me its weak points. Quick!"

She dodged another swing. Her breath came in short gasps. "I cannot read it fully. My system is suppressed from the fight."

"Best guess then," I yelled. I stayed close to its side. "Anything at all!"

"Joint connectors," she answered. She rolled under a limb and came up wincing. "Every creature has them. The spots where the plates meet."

I looked at its legs. "I need to get underneath it. This is crazy but I am going."

"You will die!" Lyra shouted. Her voice cracked. "Do not do it!"

"I am already dead once," I called back. "I am going in now."

I ran under the creature. My legs shook badly. Fear clawed at my stomach. Underneath, the air felt hotter. The joints showed dark seams.

"I see the seams," I shouted up to her. "I am stabbing one now."

The creature stumbled on that leg. It roared loud.

"You did it!" Lyra yelled. "Its movement changed. Keep hitting the joints!"

"I am on it," I shouted. I moved to the next leg. "Tell me when it opens up for you."

"Left leg next!" she called. Her good arm swung strong but her bad one hung useless. Blood ran from a new gash on her shoulder. "Its side is open now."

"Coming up," I answered. I stabbed again. My knife chipped on the hard plate. "Its pattern is breaking. Use that opening."

"You are making it crazy," she said through gritted teeth. She dodged and struck hard. "I cannot believe this is working. My arm hurts so much."

"Eight minutes of this," I yelled back. "Stay with me. We can do it."

The fight went on. I stabbed joint after joint. "Right side now. It is limping."

"Got it," Lyra shouted. She pivoted and slashed. "You created the chance. Keep going."

"My arms are burning," I said. Sweat stung my eyes. "But it is slowing down."

"Hold on," she replied. Pain showed clear on her tight face. "One more big hit."

Finally the creature went down heavily. One full leg disabled. It roared but could not stand right.

"Run!" I shouted. "Two hundred meters at least. Go now."

We sprinted away. Both of us breathed hard when we stopped. Lyra had a deep gash across her shoulder. Her bad arm looked completely done. My knife blade had a big chip.

"You ran underneath an A-rank creature," she said. She leaned against a rock and held her shoulder.

"I knew it could not register me," I replied. I wiped my hands on my shirt.

"You knew," she repeated. Her eyes stared hard at me.

"I was ninety percent sure," I said.

Lyra shook her head slowly. "That is not the same thing. You could have died."

"In my experience, ninety percent is usually good enough to act on," I told her. I gave a small tired smile.

She looked at me for a long moment. "You are either very smart or very stupid. I have not decided yet. My shoulder is killing me."

We both turned to look back at the downed Sovereign. Dark liquid oozed from the damaged joint.

"Look at that," I said. "It is like corrupted data leaking out."

"What do you see?" Lyra asked. She stepped closer but stayed careful.

"A remnant of skill," I explained. "Granite Strike or something. It is unassigned. Dissolving right now."

"You can read that?" she asked. Surprise filled her voice. "How?"

"I just can," I said. "It shows the numbers. The mechanics. It is loose. Not tied to anything."

Lyra watched me closely. "Kane, what are you thinking? Your face changed. Tell me."

I reached my hand toward the dark oozing spot. "A loose variable. What happens if I catch it?"

"Wait, do not," she started. But it was too late.

My hand closed around nothing in the air. Then something closed around my hand from inside. A new notification popped up, different from anything before.

[SYSTEM ERROR UNHANDLED EXCEPTION]

NULL ENTITY ABSORBED UNREGISTERED SKILL PROCESS

ATTEMPTING TO ASSIGN...

ASSIGNMENT FAILED

SKILL: CONTAINED IN NULL SPACE

SYSTEM DOES NOT KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH THIS

I stared at the message. Then at my hand. Then I smiled. The first real smile since waking up in the ash.

"What just happened?" Lyra asked. She moved closer. Her eyes went wide. "Kane, talk to me. Your hand is glowing a little. What is it?"

"I think I just found the exploit," I said. My voice came out quiet but excited. "This changes everything. I absorbed part of its skill."

The ground started shaking again behind us. The Sovereign roared louder than before. New cracks opened all around. Smaller creatures poured out fast.

"Kane, it is getting back up," Lyra said. She gripped her sword with her good hand. "And more are coming. What did you do exactly?"

Before I could answer, a much bigger System message forced through everything, bright red and flashing across my whole view.

[CRITICAL ERROR: NULL ABSORPTION DETECTED. ADMINISTRATOR ATTENTION REQUESTED. PURGE PROTOCOL UPGRADED TO IMMEDIATE.]

The sky above the Ashfields seemed to darken. Distant horns blew from multiple directions at once. Lyra's face went pale as she read her own panels.

"They know," she whispered. "Whatever you just took... the whole System felt it. We need to run now."

The Sovereign pushed itself up on three legs. Its eyes locked on us again. This time it looked furious. The ground kept cracking open with even more monsters climbing out. We had seconds before everything came down on us at once.

"Kane," Lyra said urgently. "If this exploit is real, use it now. Because we are not going to survive the next wave.”