The Man Who Refused to Level Up
Dawn broke over the eastern hills like it was nervous about what it might reveal.
Sam walked along the dirt road with his hands in his sleeves, expression neutral, posture relaxed. Behind him, Darius stumbled over a rock, nearly impaling himself with his own cracked spear.
"Senior— I mean— Sam! Wait up!"
"I am walking at normal human speed."
"You don't walk like a normal human."
Sam paused mid-step.
Behind him, the air where he had just been standing compressed slightly and released with a soft pop, like reality correcting itself.
He frowned and deliberately shuffled his feet for the next few steps.
"There. Slower."
Darius blinked. "…That's worse."
Ahead of them, smoke curled upward from a small village nestled against the hills. The scent of burning wood carried faintly on the wind.
Darius's grip tightened on his spear.
"Monsters."
"Yes."
"You felt them?"
"I feel… disturbances."
That was the simplest way to explain it.
Everywhere else, the world felt like a calm lake.
Where the monsters gathered, it rippled.
Not chaotic ripples
Structured ones.
As if someone were dragging careful fingers across the surface.
Darius swallowed. "There are at least fifty signatures."
Sam tilted his head slightly.
"One hundred and twelve."
Darius stared at him.
"…Of course there are."
They crested the hill.
Below, armored beasts surrounded the village in concentric rings. Smaller creatures stood guard while larger ones directed civilians into the square.
Directed.
Not slaughtering.
Not rampaging.
Organizing.
A tall, insectoid monster with a crested skull barked sharp clicking noises. The others responded instantly, repositioning with military precision.
Darius whispered, "They're taking prisoners."
Sam's eyes narrowed, "That is new."
One of the creatures raised a crude banner — a black spiral etched onto bone.
Sam felt something stir faintly inside his mind.
Recognition.
He did not like that.
***
A moment later, Darius exploded forward before Sam could say anything.
"For Riverfall!"
He leapt down the hill, spear glowing with faint azure light. The first monster barely had time to turn before Darius's weapon pierced through its throat.
Two more lunged.
Darius spun, deflecting claws, striking joints. His movements were sharp — trained, disciplined, undeniably talented.
Normal.
Very normal.
Five monsters converged at once.
Sam sighed.
He stepped down the hill. The ground flattened itself slightly beneath his foot.
A beast swung a spiked tail toward Darius's blind spot.
Sam reached out lazily.
The tail froze mid-air.
Not stopped.
Paused.
As if time had politely decided to wait. Sam flicked a finger and the monster unraveled like thread pulled from fabric. Darius stabbed another creature and glanced back.
"…Thank you?"
"I tripped," Sam replied.
Another wave of beasts formed a shield wall.
Shields.
They had shields.
Darius skidded to a halt.
"They're adapting!"
The insectoid commander screeched a command. Archers in the backline raised bone bows in perfect unison. Sam felt the trajectory of every arrow before they were loosed.
He exhaled.
The arrows turned to dust mid-flight.
Darius froze.
"…What realm blocks a hundred demon-forged arrows simultaneously?"
"I told you," Sam said patiently. "I don't cultivate."
The shield wall advanced.
Sam squinted at it.
The world… shifted.
He didn't push.
He didn't channel qi.
He simply acknowledged something.
The monsters' shields suddenly weighed as much as mountains. They collapsed flat into the dirt, pinned under invisible pressure.
Darius blinked.
"…Did you increase gravity?"
"No."
"Then what—"
"I reminded them," Sam said vaguely.
"Reminded them of what?!"
"That they are small."
Darius opened his mouth but closed it again.
"Right. Of course."
***
The insectoid creature leapt from a rooftop, landing before them with surprising elegance. Its eyes glowed a deep violet.
It spoke.
Not screeching.
Speaking.
"Human anomaly."
Darius staggered back. "It talks?!"
Sam tilted his head, "Yes. Most things can."
The commander's gaze locked onto him.
"You are outside calculation."
"Good."
"State allegiance."
"I have none."
The commander's mandibles clicked thoughtfully.
"Join Sovereign."
"No."
Darius whispered urgently, "You're negotiating with it?!"
The commander raised one claw.
The remaining monsters shifted instantly into a triangular assault formation. Sam looked mildly impressed.
"Efficient."
Then the formation moved blindingly fast.
Darius braced himself—and everything stopped.
Not frozen.
Stopped.
Sound vanished.
Motion ceased.
Even dust hung suspended in the air. Darius found he could still move.
"…Why am I not frozen?"
Sam considered, "because I forgot to include you."
"You FORGOT—"
Sam walked casually through the immobilized battlefield, examining the monsters like a scholar in a library.
"Hm. External coordination. Not instinctual."
He placed a hand gently on the insectoid commander's forehead, violet light pulsed. Sam's eyes flickered faintly silver.
He saw it then.
Threads.
Countless threads stretching beyond the horizon, connecting every monster like a web, and at the center— something vast.
Observing.
The same presence from last night.
The world trembled faintly in response to Sam's awareness.The presence trembled back. Sam withdrew his hand and time resumed.
The monsters collapsed simultaneously, lifeless. The commander fell last.
Darius stared at the sudden silence.
"…You didn't even move."
"I walked."
"I didn't see you walk."
"That's concerning."
"For me or you?!"
Sam ignored him.
He looked east.
The threads had snapped the moment he noticed them. Whoever controlled them had cut the connection instantly.
"They're learning," Sam murmured.
Darius wiped monster ichor from his cheek.
"They?"
"Yes."
"You mean there's more than one commander?"
"Worse."
Sam began walking again, "Someone is playing a board game."
Darius hurried after him, "And we're the pieces?"
"No."
Sam glanced at the rising sun, "We're the interruption."
***
The villagers emerged cautiously from hiding. One elderly woman grabbed Sam's sleeve.
"Are you from the Celestial Iron Sect?"
"No."
"The Golden Dawn Pavilion?"
"No."
"The Royal—"
"I'm unemployed."
Darius coughed loudly to hide a laugh.The village head bowed deeply.
"Great senior, please accept our gratitude. We will spread your name throughout the province!"
Sam paled, "No."
Everyone froze, "No?"
"No spreading."
"But—"
"I tripped.
Darius nodded solemnly. "He trips catastrophically."
The villagers looked confused. Sam leaned closer to Darius and whispered, "If they make statues, I'm leaving."
"Understood."
They began to depart.
Behind them, whispers had already started.
"Did you see how the sky dimmed?"
"He didn't even circulate qi!"
"Could he be—"
Sam raised a finger without turning around then the whispers stopped.
Darius stared, "…Did you just silence gossip?"
"I nudged probability."
"That's not better!"
***
That night....
They camped beneath a twisted pine tree.
Darius practiced spear forms tirelessly, sweat pouring down his face.
"You should cultivate," Darius insisted between thrusts. "Even hidden masters cultivate."
"I tried once."
"And?"
"I blinked and three realms passed."
Darius froze mid-thrust, "…That's not how realms work."
"I know."
Sam lay back, staring at the stars. He could feel it clearly now. The distant presence had shifted closer.
Cautious.
Curious.
Testing.
For the first time, Sam felt something unfamiliar.
Annoyance.
"I don't want to be involved," he muttered.
Darius collapsed beside him, "You saved that village."
"Accident."
"You erased a commander."
"Clumsy."
"You froze time."
Sam thought about that, "…Briefly misplaced it."
Darius laughed helplessly, "You're unbelievable."
"Yes," Sam agreed quietly.
***
Far beyond the hills, deep within shadowed mountains, violet eyes opened once more.
"Adjust parameters," a cold voice commanded.
"Escalate observation."
***
Back beneath the pine tree, Sam closed his eyes. He did not cultivate. He did not seek power. He did not want fame. Unfortunately for him— the world had already noticed.
And it was adjusting.