Emotion Hunter: System Awakening.

[Riven's POV]

The first night in the Scar Zone taught Riven that silence was a luxury he could no longer afford.

He sat by the broken window of their makeshift shelter, watching the shadows move between abandoned buildings while Elena's fever finally began to break. The medical kit from his system shop had done its work, but she still needed rest before she'd be capable of serious travel.

If we live that long, he thought, tracking movement in his peripheral vision.

---

[Enhanced Emotional Detection Active]

[Multiple hostile presences detected]

[Emotional signatures: Anger, Hunger ]

[Warning: Entities showing higher intelligence than previous encounters]

---

Whatever was out there wasn't just prowling randomly.

The emotional signatures his system detected suggested deliberate reconnaissance, studying their position and looking for weaknesses.

They're learning about us, Riven realized. Testing our defenses, maybe.

Elena stirred on her makeshift bed, consciousness returning as the fever medication took effect.

"How long was I out?" she whispered, her voice still hoarse but clearer than before.

"About six hours. Your temperature's down at least, but you're still weak."

She struggled to sit up, immediately alert despite her condition. "What's moving out there?"

"There's Something bigger than those Veil Hounds we fought yesterday..... My system's picking up multiple signatures."

Elena managed to prop herself against the wall, looking out at the darkened district. "They're Night Hunters.....They used to be human."

The casual way she delivered that information hit Riven like ice water. "Used to be?"

"It's the prolonged exposure to high-concentration....Veil energy doesn't just mutate animals. Humans who get caught in dimensional storms or spend too long near unstable rifts..." Elena trailed off. "They lose their humanity piece by piece. But they retain enough intelligence to be genuinely dangerous."

Former humans turned into predators?! The thought made his stomach clench. How many people got abandoned in places like this?

"They hunt in packs, they can phase partially through solid matter, and they remember enough about human behavior to set traps." Elena's tactical knowledge was as disturbing as it was useful. "The good news is they're primarily nocturnal. The bad news is they're much more dangerous than anything we faced during daylight."

As if summoned by her words, a low howl echoed through the abandoned streets. Not quite human, but containing enough human vocal patterns to be deeply unsettling.

Other voices answered from different directions.

---

[Threat assessment updated]

[Multiple entities approaching]

[Estimated threat level: Moderate to High]

[Recommendation: Defensive positioning, prepare for sustained encounter]

---

"We need higher ground," Riven said, helping Elena to her feet.

"We an move to the fourth floor. The stairwell is partially collapsed, which should slow them down if they try to follow."

They moved carefully through the damaged building, Elena leaning on Riven for support while trying not to slow them down.

Her fire system remained completely unresponsive..... the Guild's memory extraction had done deeper damage than just psychological trauma.

She's defenseless until her abilities recover, Riven thought as they climbed the darkened stairs. Everything depends on my emotion looting and whatever basic weapons we can get.

The fourth floor had once housed office cubicles, but Veil damage had warped the space into something organic and unsettling. Walls curved like ribcages, and the ceiling undulated with a texture that suggested it was somehow alive.

But it was defensible, with clear sightlines and limited access points.

They'd barely finished barricading the stairwell entrance when the real hunting began.

The first Night Hunter appeared at the far end of the office space, emerging from shadow like it had been part of the darkness itself.

Riven's enhanced detection had warned him, but seeing one of these creatures in person was still a shock.

It retained a basically human silhouette, but everything else was wrong. Its limbs were too long, jointed in places they shouldn't be.

Its skin held a translucent quality....like he was transparent....that made it difficult to focus on directly. And its eyes... its dark eyes held an intelligence that was recognizably human but utterly alien in purpose.

It's studying us??, Riven realized as the creature tilted its head with predatory interest.

Two more Night Hunters phased through the exterior wall, their forms solidifying as they entered normal space.

They moved with fluid coordination, positioning themselves to cut off escape routes while the first one maintained visual contact.

Elena pressed herself against his back, her breathing shallow with exhaustion and fear. "They're pack hunters. The ones you can see aren't the real threat."

"What do you mean?"

"The others are positioning themselves where you're not looking. When they attack, it won't be frontal."

---

[Multiple threats detected]

[Emotional signatures: curiosity]

[Warning: Additional entities are lurking]

[Recommendation: Immediate defensive action]

---

The lead Night Hunter opened its mouth and made a sound that was almost speech, almost human language, but corrupted enough to be incomprehensible.

The others responded with similar vocalizations it was like they were communicating that retained the patterns of human speech but had devolved into something else entirely.

Riven reached for his emotion looting system, drawing on Elena's fear and his own anxiety to fuel enhanced reflexes.

The familiar surge of power flowed through him, but something felt different.... sharper, more refined.

---

[Emotion successfully looted: Fear, Anxiety, Determination]

[Enhancement active: Speed, Reflexes, Tactical awareness]

[System adaptation detected: Hostile environment bonuses applied]

[Combat effectiveness increased by 15%]

---

The system's adapting to constant threat conditions, he realized. At least my system is getting more efficient at combat enhancement.

The attack came from three directions simultaneously.

The lead Night Hunter lunged forward with inhuman speed while its companions flanked from both sides.

But Riven's enhanced tactical awareness had anticipated the coordination... his emotion looting was providing not just physical enhancement but improved pattern recognition.

He dove left, avoiding the frontal attack while positioning himself to face the flanking maneuvers.

The broken rebar he'd salvaged from yesterday's encounter felt inadequate against creatures that could phase through walls, but it was all he had.

The first Night Hunter's claws raked across his shoulder as he rolled away from its attack.

The wounds weren't deep, but the creature's touch carried an unnatural cold that suggested its phasing abilities worked both ways...

Damn it!!! They can hit me, but I might not be able to hit them back.

Elena called out a warning from behind their makeshift barricade. "There's more coming through the walls!"

Two additional Night Hunters were emerging from the exterior walls, their forms solidifying as they entered the office space.

Five total, with potentially more waiting outside.

I can't take them all

Riven used his enhanced speed to stay mobile, avoiding the coordinated attacks while looking for tactical advantages.

The warped architecture of the Veil-damaged office might provide opportunities if he could figure out how to use it.

One of the Night Hunters lunged at Elena's position.

Riven intercepted it with the rebar, but the weapon passed through the creature's partially phased torso without doing damage.

But Its claws, however, were solid enough to rake across his ribs.

They can choose what's solid and what isn't, he realized grimly.

But as he fought, Riven noticed something important.

The Night Hunters weren't completely intangible when they attacked ...they had to solidify to deliver damage, which created brief windows of vulnerability.

Timing. It's all about timing!!!

The next time one of them lunged at Elena, Riven waited until the last second before intercepting.

The creature had to become solid to deliver its attack, and in that moment, his rebar found its target.

The Night Hunter shrieked - a sound that contained too many human vocal patterns to be comfortable - and stumbled backward with dark fluid leaking from its wound.

They can be hurt. But only when they're attacking unfortunately.

The pack's coordination shifted in response to their leader's injury.

Instead of the organized assault pattern, they began circling more cautiously, testing for weaknesses without committing to full attacks.

Elena was barely conscious, the stress of the encounter pushing her exhausted system past its limits.

Riven needed to end this quickly, but five Night Hunters with tactical intelligence and phasing abilities were beyond what he could handle in direct combat.

The building itself, he realized, studying the warped architecture around them. The Veil damage might be the key.

The ceiling above them pulsed with organic rhythm, and the walls curved in ways that defied normal physics. If the dimensional distortions were active rather than static...

Riven grabbed a piece of debris and hurled it at the most distorted section of ceiling. Instead of bouncing off, the debris disappeared into the surface like it had been absorbed.

The distortions are still active.

When the next Night Hunter attacked, Riven didn't try to fight it directly.

Instead, he used his enhanced reflexes to maneuver it toward the wall with the most severe Veil damage.

The creature realized the trap too late. As it tried to phase through what looked like a normal wall, the dimensional distortions caught it.

Its form stretched and twisted as it became trapped between normal space and whatever existed on the other side of the rift.

Its screams brought the other Night Hunters rushing forward, but also created the opening Riven needed.

"Elena! We need to move higher!"

The building's upper floors were more severely damaged, which meant more dangerous, but also meant the Night Hunters would have difficulty following them through the dimensional distortions.

They climbed through architecture that became increasingly alien with each floor, until they found themselves in what might once have been a conference room but now resembled the interior of some vast organism.

Behind them, the Night Hunters' hunting calls grew frustrated and distant. The dimensional distortions that made this level dangerous for humans also made it nearly impossible for the creatures to navigate.

Elena collapsed onto what might once have been a conference table, breathing heavily. "That's some smart thinking.... Using the Veil damage against them."

Riven settled beside her, checking his own wounds. The Night Hunter claws had left deep scratches that burned with residual dimensional energy, but nothing that would be immediately dangerous.

---

[Combat encounter completed]

[Experience gained: 35 points]

[Survival Points gained: 15]

---

At least am progressing,he thought with satisfaction. But this was just one pack. Elena said there are worse things deeper in the zone.

"We can't stay here," Elena said quietly. "The dimensional distortions are getting stronger. A few more hours and this level might phase out of normal reality entirely."

"Where do we go?"

Elena pulled herself upright with obvious effort. "Deeper into the Scar Zone. The central area has stable pockets where other survivors have set up settlements. It's dangerous getting there, but less dangerous than staying on the edges where we're exposed to Guild patrols and random predators."

Other survivors. The possibility of finding allies was appealing, but Riven had learned to be suspicious of anything that seemed too convenient.

"What kind of survivors?"

"There're Mixed groups. Some are refugees from Guild operations like us. Others are people who got caught in Veil incidents and adapted instead of dying. A few are system users who went rogue and found ways to survive outside Guild authority."

"How far to the central zone?"

"On foot, with my condition? Two days if we're lucky. Longer if we run into serious obstacles."

Riven checked his system interface for available resources. The points from tonight's encounter had given them more options, but still not enough for major equipment purchases.

---

[Current Status: Stable]

[Elena Vasquez: Recovering but still vulnerable]

[Survival Points: 260]

[Available upgrades: Basic equipment, medical supplies, emergency provisions]

[Recommendation: Prioritize mobility and defense for zone crossing]

---

Two days through hostile territory with limited supplies and Elena still recovering. The odds weren't favorable, but staying put meant eventual death from environmental hazards or predator attacks.

"We leave at first light," Riven decided. "Get as much distance as possible while the worst creatures are inactive."

Elena nodded, already closing her eyes despite the alien environment around them. "Wake me if anything tries to eat us."

As she drifted off, Riven kept watch through the distorted windows of their temporary shelter. The Night Hunters were still out there, but they'd learned to respect the dimensional barriers for now.

Two days to reach other survivors, he thought, planning routes through territory that wanted to kill them. Then we find out if they're allies or just different kinds of enemies.

But for the first time since escaping the Guild facility, he felt like they might actually have a future that extended beyond simple survival.

Even if reaching it meant walking through a landscape where reality itself was hostile to human existence.