I cross a street meant for indeterminate traffic and scale one of the taller buildings around. With my new vantage point, I get a new view.

  There was glory here once. And life. Now all that remains is the corpse of a civilization. Rotting. Scoured. Nothing but the bones.

  An urban sprawl touches the horizon in all directions. Dull, blocky buildings repeat themselves, minor variations in size between each one. Same as their design, their color is also uniform. Streets split and carve, trying to frame districts and neighborhoods, but only a vague hint of what was. Green spaces repurposed into more of the same, a metropolis devoid of vegetation. Combined together, it all resembles a choppy ocean of concrete. I watch the static waves, imagining the motion, swaying to it, letting my mind bob up and down with this world.

  Up so high, distant sounds are carried by the winds. Sounds of battle. The crackles of bullets and flames.

  After giving myself a few seconds more, to pretend I am floating in empty waters, I climb back down and head to my destination.

  Walking down the barren street, wind picks up between buildings, nothing else there to stop its advance. Susurrations form and shift, slithering behind me. I turn to see but movements of air. A silent whisper beckons from ahead again, gales ever-swirling. Words unknown form underneath mewling howls, their meaning lost, yet I know they taunt me still. The blocky buildings loom and lean overhead. They touch roofs, forming an arch, a tunnel, buried beneath concrete. The sky lost. Susurrations turn from whispering to mumbling. Shadows contoured in the darkness are always outside my vision, mocking me with obscene gestures and depraved motions. Mumbling turns to a disjointed racket. Unseen shadows brush against my form. I turn to see but darkness yet again. Ramblings lose all semblance of structure, turning to furious screeching, vocal cords shredding from the fervor, lost voices replaced by others. Shapes slam into my body, each step steady, but my mind pushed and battered around.

  Identify eagerly leaps for an opportunity I am only instinctively aware of. The new impulse itself seemingly a bonus feature of the Skill.

  [Supersession Enforcer (Lv. 10)]

  I am in the middle of an empty street again, blocky buildings on each side, and a white sun shining overhead. A robotic humanoid is walking toward me, releasing regular pulses, scanning for anything that might be out of place. It resembles the organic humanoids in shape, but instead of plastic armor, it comes equipped with metal, rounded and harmless-looking. Optical sensors are hidden and protected within slight depressions and thin seams along its surface, allowing for a three-sixty-degree sight. No visible weapons.

  ...If I had any pants, they would be down right about now. Hasn’t noticed me yet, but I better not push my luck and move. The Enforcer continues on its patrol route, which is right by.

  As it comes to around ten meters from me, the robot turns its body directly toward me and breaks into a full sprint.

  Camouflage ripples, following my instructions as if reading my thoughts. Just as the Enforcer prepares to strike, electricity arcing between spiky electrodes that protruded from both fists, a bright flash momentarily turns the section of the city white.

  My mana hits zero.

  The Enforcer’s electrified attack misses.

  A sequence of quick stabs riddles the technological monster with wounds. One immediately finds something important, causing it to momentarily seize. Another punctures a battery, bright flames spewing out. A third bleeds what appears to be oil. The rest don’t matter, this one frailer than my biological encounters.

  [You have defeated: Supersession Enforcer (Lv. 10).]

  [You have received: Supersession Scrap (Basic). Please claim or discard.]

  Before the disabled enemy has hit the ground, I am already running, long bounds carrying me forward. My mana regeneration is enough to sustain my Camouflage and shift it to the invisible configuration again.

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  Buzzing sounds can be heard approaching, tasked to converge on the fallen’s location and investigate.

  I look at the sunny sky. Identify looks too.

  [Supersession Reconnaissance Drone (Lv. 5)]

  Why do I get the feeling it’s looking back?

  One of the buzzing drones is passing right above me. I don’t stop. And neither does it, continuing on its path.

  Propellers spin up. From between two buildings, a hidden drone streaks for me. I make a sharp turn and dive through the nearest door. Relatively thin sheet metal gives. Tearing through, I also tear off a chunk. The improvised projectile is chucked at the drone still hot on my tail. As I hit the ground and roll, the drone explodes outside. Shrapnel peppers the ground floor of the building I unceremoniously entered, littering the concrete with small holes, letting solid rays of light pierce through the dim interior. The few pieces of metal that hit me leave only shallow scratches. Wisps of dust flutter in the air.

  [You have defeated: Supersession One-way Attack Drone (Lv. 1).]

  Generous definition of what just happened, but I’ll take it.

  I should be invisible to conventional detection methods. Could mean that they are using esoteric technology I’m not equipped to detect myself. Or, the more likely explanation, Skills. Which I also can’t feel. ...That’s a microsecond I’m not getting back.

  Now, what did I break into? Long ago, it was probably a residential building. Lobby, row of elevators, and a staircase. No furniture or decorations, though elaborate molding still remains, the final breath of a culture long gone.

  My plan to take the stairs and hide is prematurely thwarted. More of the same explosive drones hit the building and detonate. Having targeted structurally important elements, thousands of tons of concrete is in the very slow—for me—process of collapsing on top of me. The care given to the restoration of this city does not mean my enemy will pull any punches in hopes of preserving their work.

  I’ll assume my adversary possesses plans for each structure and is aware there’s a basement. Getting myself trapped there, even if not permanently, sounds like a bad idea.

  Could let the building bury me and hide under the rubble, but there is a very real possibility that whatever tracking I am subjected to won’t be so easily fooled.

  A dash and a jump, and I am out of a window, bursting through the metal shutters, like an unexpected and quite unwelcome surprise. While still airborne, I adjust my Camouflage to act more as a jammer. I might be a brightly burning torch now, but I can at least hide within the fire. In theory.

  As I land in the alley between the collapsing building and another, two of the explodey drones attack and detonate prematurely, missing their mark. No defeat notification.

  ‘Unfair. I contributed, even if indirectly.’

  [Don’t push it.]

  No convenient ground-level windows for me to dive through this time. Debris rains down as the demolition progresses, kicking up dust. Before I get smacked by something, I start running.

  A drone slams into the ground ahead of me, producing an explosion. Shrapnel momentarily wounds my Camouflage. A second awaiting drone knows exactly where to strike.

  Left arm comes up to block. The blast flings the appendage away, a little banged up, but there is no deeper damage.

  I prepare to throw my knife at a third, but the buzzing machine just hangs there.

  The demolished building finally hits the ground, kicking up a thick cloud. Unmoving, I let it wash over me.

  Ever-jabbering signals, like thick sludge filling most frequencies, begin to quiet down, a single one pushed to the forefront. Patterns emerge, tugging at my language Skill.

  [You have (1) General Skill upgrade available. Please accept or decline.]

  [Language Comprehension (Common): Comprehend all languages registered by the System. -> Polyglot (Uncommon): Comprehend all means of communication registered by the System.]

  What I thought was a mountain of knowledge was nothing but a knoll, barely disturbing the landscape. The same sticky feeling returns, accompanied by crushing weight, but the sensation is not as overpowering. I can see why this General Skill is tiered in such a manner. Someone with an organic brain would be seeing it spill out of their face holes if they got this one right away.

  Air a few meters in front of me shimmers and turns into a figure.

  [Supersession Soldier (Lv. 20)]

  The smooth appearance of the Enforcer is replaced by sharp edges. No question about the weapon situation of this thing. A rifle is magnetically locked to its back and a sidearm to its hip. Looks almost as intimidating as me. Almost. Though it too is waiting. What for? My reply.

  Skills and Skill together make sense of the signal broadcast specifically for me.

  “Do you understand me? Reply.”

  “I do.”

  “Ah, how sublime. Apologies for assaulting you with such barbarity. I’ve been dealing with an annoying pest and nearly extended the same treatment to a fellow enlightened.”

  “Apology accepted.”

  “I’ve forgotten how long it’s been... Oh, yes. I do appreciate the understanding, but I’m afraid I’ll have to beg forgiveness for another unpleasantry.”

  My knife appears in my hand as I leap for the Soldier, a bright flash draining my mana to zero. The monster grabs my wrist and redirects my momentum with a throw, smashing me into the ground. My knife changes hands. I bury the blade under its armpit and pull down. Flames bloom out of the opening, releasing the Soldier’s stored potential.

  A window is accompanied by words heard without my conscious effort.

  [You have defeated: Supersession Soldier (Lv. 20).]

  “Won’t you join me?”

  Darkness consumes the world.