The rooftops stretched endlessly ahead.
From above, Velmora looked different—less chaotic, more structured. Rows of buildings formed uneven patterns, connected by narrow gaps and makeshift bridges of wood and rope. Smoke from the lower district still lingered in the air, faint but visible as thin gray trails drifting upward.
I stood still for a moment, catching my breath.
"…They're not following this route immediately," I muttered.
Below, distant voices echoed through the alleys.
"Search the perimeter!"
"He can't have gone far!"
But up here, the noise was softer. More spread out. Less direct.
They were splitting their forces.
Good.
That meant I had space to move.
I stepped forward carefully, testing the roof's stability beneath my feet. The tiles creaked slightly, but held.
"Alright…" I exhaled. "Now what?"
I didn't have a destination.
No allies.
No plan beyond survival.
Just a System that barely explained itself—and a voice inside my head that knew more than it was willing to reveal.
"…Status."
The translucent screen appeared again.
---
[STATUS WINDOW]
Name: Kael
Level: 1
Class: Unassigned
HP: 100 / 100
MP: 0 / 0
Strength: 6
Agility: 6
Intelligence: 7
Endurance: 6
---
I blinked.
"…It updated."
Even though it was only small increases, I could feel the difference.
My body felt slightly more stable. Less strained.
"…This System really grows with effort," I said quietly.
That meant one thing—
Consistency mattered more than talent.
For someone like me… that was the only advantage I had.
A faint flicker appeared at the edge of my vision.
Not the System interface.
Something else.
I turned my head slowly.
Across the rooftops—farther ahead—a small silhouette stood on a distant structure.
Not a guard.
Too still.
Too quiet.
"…Someone's there," I whispered.
The figure didn't move.
Didn't wave.
Didn't react.
Just stood… watching.
My instincts immediately tightened.
"…Hey," I called out cautiously.
No response.
The wind moved slightly between the buildings.
And then—
The figure was gone.
My eyes widened.
"…What?"
I stepped forward quickly, scanning the rooftops.
No movement.
No trace.
Nothing.
"…Did I imagine that?"
The voice inside my head responded almost immediately.
"…No."
I froze.
"You saw it too?"
"…Yes."
My expression darkened.
"…Then what was it?"
A brief pause.
Longer than usual.
"…Not human."
A chill ran down my spine.
Not human.
That aligned with what I had felt earlier—the strange presence the System warned about.
I clenched my fists.
"So I'm being watched by something… and I don't even know what it is."
"…Correct."
I let out a slow breath.
"Great. That's comforting."
Sarcasm aside, this was dangerous.
If something could observe me from a distance without being detected easily, then avoiding guards wasn't my only problem anymore.
There were bigger eyes on me now.
I started moving again, stepping carefully across the rooftop toward the next building.
Each jump required calculation.
Distance. Stability. Landing.
I leapt across the first gap—
Land.
Stable.
Second gap—
Slight stumble, but recovered.
I kept moving forward, maintaining momentum.
As I progressed, I began to notice something else.
The System remained silent.
No new quests.
No warnings.
No guidance.
Just… quiet.
"…Why is it not reacting?" I asked.
"…Because you are not in immediate danger," the voice replied.
I frowned.
"That's not entirely reassuring."
"…It means you are being observed, not engaged."
I slowed down slightly.
"…Observed," I repeated.
That word again.
"By the same thing?"
"…Unclear."
I exhaled.
"Of course."
Ahead, the rooftops began to descend slightly, leading toward a wider structure—possibly a central district edge or a transition zone between areas.
I paused at the edge of a building.
Below, guards were still moving through alleys.
Above… silence.
Then—
A faint sensation returned.
That same feeling from earlier.
Being watched.
I didn't see anything this time.
But I felt it.
"…It's still there," I murmured.
The voice responded.
"…Yes."
I narrowed my eyes.
"So it hasn't left."
"…No."
A long pause followed.
Then the voice spoke again—quieter than before.
"…It is waiting."
My grip tightened slightly.
"For what?"
No immediate answer.
Just silence.
Which, somehow, was worse.
I looked ahead at the next stretch of rooftops.
Empty.
Uncertain.
Unforgiving.
"…Then I'll keep moving," I said.
Because stopping now wasn't an option.
Not when something unknown was watching.
Not when guards were still searching.
And not when my second life was already being tested by forces I didn't understand.
I stepped forward again—
And jumped.
Behind me, somewhere in the distance, something shifted.
Not loudly.
Not visibly.
But enough to confirm one thing.
I wasn't just running from the past anymore.
I was being pulled into something much bigger—
And I had already caught the attention of something that didn't belong in this world.