Emotion Hunter: System Awakening.

[Riven's POV]

The drainage tunnels beneath Silver Town stretched like concrete arteries through the city's underbelly, carrying them away from the Guild facility and deeper into the urban maze.

Riven moved as quickly as he could while supporting Elena's weight. She'd been getting progressively worse since their escape, the memory extraction leaving her drained in ways that went beyond simple exhaustion.

She needs medical attention, he thought, feeling her stumble against him as they navigated the slick concrete passages.

Behind them, the sound of pursuit echoed through the tunnels.

He could hear boots on metal.

"They're in the tunnels!!" He heard a shout behind him.

The Guild wasn't giving up easily.

"How much further?" Elena whispered, her voice hoarse.

Riven checked the maintenance map they'd found posted near one of the access points. "Maybe half a mile to the next surface exit. Can you make it?"

Elena nodded, but he could feel her trembling through the thin medical gown.

Whatever they'd done to her during the memory extraction had left lasting damage.

As they moved deeper into the tunnel system, Riven noticed something that made his pulse quicken.

His system was coming back online.

The dampeners, he realized with relief. They can't reach this far underground??

---

[System Interface Activating...]

[Dimensional suppression field weakening...]

[System Status: Active]

[Welcome back, Host]

---

The familiar emerald text materialized in his peripheral vision, and Riven had to suppress a surge of emotion at seeing it again.

After days of feeling cut off from his abilities, having his system interface return felt like regaining a lost sense of his.

---

[Analyzing recent experiences...]

[Significant emotional stress detected]

[Combat scenarios completed under duress]

[Survival instincts heightened]

[Experience threshold exceeded]

[Level Up!]

[Current Level: 4 → 5]

[New abilities unlocked]

[Survival Points gained: 245]

---

Level 5?!, Riven thought with satisfaction. The Guild's "training" had pushed him harder than any Veil encounter, forcing growth through systematic psychological pressure.

---

[New Ability Unlocked: Enhanced Emotional Range Detection]

[Description: Detect emotional states of multiple targets within extended range]

[Range: 50 meters → 100 meters]

[Precision: Basic emotional categories → Complex emotional layering]

[Warning: Physical strain detected from recent system suppression]

[Recommendation: Rest period of 48 hours for optimal performance]

---

Elena stumbled, and Riven caught her before she could fall.

Her fever was getting worse, and the system's recommendation for rest felt like mockery given their circumstances.

"There," Elena pointed ahead with a shaking hand. "There's an emergency ladder to the old subway station."

They climbed through darkness toward a circle of dim light above.

The emergency exit opened into what had once been a working subway platform, but years of abandonment had turned it into something from a post-apocalyptic nightmare.

There was concrete cracked and twisted into impossible angles.

Even the metal support beams bent like they were made of soft clay. The air itself seemed to shimmer with residual dimensional energy.

"Veil damage," Elena explained, noticing his expression. "There have been multiple breaches in this district over the past five years. The Guild evacuated everyone and sealed it off as too dangerous for regular patrols."

Just the perfect place to hide, Riven thought, though the twisted reality around them suggested hiding here came with its own risks.

They emerged from the subway stairs onto the street level and found themselves in an industrial wasteland.

There was empty factories and abandoned warehouses stretched in all directions, their windows were dark and many of their structures warped by dimensional instability.

But it was the silence that struck Riven most powerfully. After days of constant surveillance and mechanical humming from the Guild facility, the absence of human activity felt alien.

"We need a shelter," Elena said, swaying on her feet. "And water. And..." She trailed off, the practical needs too overwhelming to list.

Riven's enhanced emotional detection picked up her despair.....even her exhaustion.

But underneath it all was determination.....Elena was pushing herself past her limits because giving up meant death.

First things first, he decided....We need shelter and then resources.

They made their way toward what looked like a partially intact office building. The lower floors showed signs of Veil damage....there was signs of reality distortions that had twisted the architecture into organic curves...but the upper levels appeared structurally sound.

As they approached the building's entrance, Riven's system interface chimed with a warning.

---

[Multiple life signatures detected]

[Distance: 200 meters, approaching]

[Emotional states: Anger, Anxiety....]

[Warning: Non-human entities]

---

"We're not alone out here," Riven said, his hand instinctively moving to where his weapon should be.

But the Guild had confiscated everything when they'd captured him.

Elena managed a weak smile. "I guess this is the place I've heard so much....Welcome to the Scar Zone. It's a place abandoned by humans but it doesn't mean it's uninhabited."

The creatures emerged from the shadows between buildings like nightmares given form.

They might have been dogs once, given the way they looked....but prolonged exposure to Veil energy had changed them.

Their fur was patchy and discolored, their eyes glowed with unnatural light, and the way they growl is also different....it's more deeper...

There's three of them, Riven counted, his enhanced detection picking up their predatory focus.

"Can you run?" he asked Elena.

"I can't run far....and am sure I can't run fast too." Her honesty was brutal but necessary.

The lead creature padded closer, its head tilted as it studied them with intelligence that seemed too human for comfort. It was deciding whether they were prey or threat.

Riven made the decision for it.

---

[Emotion detected: Fear]

[Loot emotion? Y/N]

---

Yes.

The familiar surge of power flowed through him as his system converted Elena's fear and his own anxiety into enhanced speed and reflexes. After days of suppression, the sensation was almost overwhelming.

The lead creature lunged just as Riven's enhancement kicked in.

Time seemed to slow as he sidestepped its attack.

Damn....is this the power of a level 5??...I feel faster.

Grabbing a piece of rod from the ground in the same motion.

This is not a proper weapon, but it'll have to do.

The creature's momentum carried it past him, but the other two were already moving to flank them.

Without Elena's fire abilities, she was completely defenseless.

Riven swung the rod....but he doesn't have much strength with strength...he didn't extract any rage after all...but his level 5 strength might do the trick, catching the second creature across the side of its head.

The impact sent it tumbling, but also sent vibrations up his arm that reminded him these things were built for violence.

The third creature circled behind Elena, who could barely stand let alone defend herself.

Riven spun to intercept it, but the first creature had recovered and was coming at him again.

Now I have Two beast to face, even a limited weapon.....and a civilian to protect....well she isn't a civilian but still. The tactical situation was grim.

But his emotion looting was still active, drawing power from the stress of combat.

Riven let the enhancement guide his movements, using speed rather than trying to overpower creatures that had been shaped by dimensional energy.

The lead creature or whatever it was,seems to have recover from their previous bout...but he won't give in since he has a chance...but he can't extract it's rage cause of how weak he is...and plus even his system isn't fully operational right now...he needed to rest.

He feinted left, then dove right as the lead creature lunged.

The rod found its target on its head, and the creature collapsed with a final whimper.

The remaining two creatures backed away, reassessing what happened.

Their pack leader was down, their prey was more dangerous than expected, and their territorial instincts were warring with self-preservation.

After a tense moment, they melted back into the shadows between buildings.

---

[Combat encounter completed]

[Experience gained: 15 points]

[Emotional energy successfully converted to physical enhancement]

[System strain: Minimal]

---

Riven helped Elena toward the office building, both of them breathing heavily from the encounter.

"That was just the welcome committee," Elena said with dark humor. "The real dangers come out at night."

They found shelter on the third floor of the building, in what had once been a break room.

The Veil damage here was minimal....just enough to make the walls slightly curved and give the ceiling an organic texture.

Elena collapsed onto a makeshift bed of cushions from damaged office chairs. Her fever was clearly worsening, and without medical supplies, Riven could only make her as comfortable as possible.

We need Water first, he decided, checking his system interface for options. Then I can figure out what else this place might offer.

---

[Survival Points: 245]

[Available items in System Shop:]

[Basic Medical Kit: 150 points]

[Water Purification Tablets: 25 points]

[Emergency Rations: 50 points]

[Basic Camping Gear: 75 points]

---

The medical kit would help Elena, but it would use most of their points. The water tablets were essential, and food was a necessity they couldn't ignore much longer.

I will have to prioritize her health, Riven decided.

He purchased the medical kit and water tablets, leaving them with minimal points but at least some hope of treating Elena's condition.

As he administered basic medical care like fever reducers, antibiotics, IV fluid replacement while Elena drifted in and out of consciousness.

Her condition was starting to look stable but fragile.

Outside their makeshift shelter, the sounds of the abandoned district grew more active as darkness fell.

Distant howls, the scrape of claws on concrete, and other noises that defied easy identification.

This is what freedom looks like I guess, Riven thought, settling in to keep watch through the night. Trading one kind of danger for another.

But at least here, the dangers were honest. No psychological manipulation, no systematic conditioning, no pretense of help while they broke down everything human about their victims.

He checked his system interface one more time before the long night ahead.

---

[Current Status: Alert]

[Environment: Hostile, multiple threats detected]

[Objectives: Survive and recover strength]

[Warning: Long-term survival requires additional resources and allies]

---

"Sigh....One problem at a time please", Riven told himself as Elena's breathing gradually steadied.

But as he listened to the nocturnal sounds of predators moving through the abandoned district, he couldn't shake the feeling that their real challenges were just beginning.

The Guild had taught him what institutional power could do to break human beings. Now he needed to learn if there was a way to build something strong enough to fight back.

Starting with keeping himself and Elena alive through the night.