The Systemic Lands

Chapter LXXVIII – Operational Time Efficiency Tracker: 352,942,984 – The Hunted

chapter lxxviii – operational time efficiency tracker: 352,942,984 – the hunted

my danger sense activated in an unusual way. i paused from killing another monster while assessing my surroundings. no hostile targets nearby. calculating probable sources of threat. long range observation most likely.

i quickly began to change my current location. the sense of being observed persisted. location could not be determined. it was a general observation, that was using the energy of the controller, but not the controller. there was hostility present, a high level of hostility. threat level could not be determined. stealth was compromised.

once i covered enough distance and reached another city, the observation stopped and i figured it out was only a temporary or local event. when it started up again a short time later, that assumption was no longer accurate.

as time continued to pass and i regained energy from monsters, and practiced drawing in energy, the hostile observation continued unabated. perhaps it was a general change to the controller and how it was observing everything. unfortunately, i could not request information on such an event.

my energy reserves were rapidly falling, and i began drawing in more energy. it would take time to recover, but i couldn’t fail my primary objective and die. the attrition damage was quickly adding up. i had no skill that would be useful to counter all the summons that were being used to constantly put pressure on me.

i couldn’t spare the energy to try and find an option while obeying my directives. my motivators saw no path forward that i would survive, which was unacceptable. any option to change my current circumstance was unacceptable.

if i could have retreated to a level 4 area, i might have been able to lose my pursuers, but those zones were not part of the areas i was allowed to act in. i was being worn down with no chance to escape.

i was hit with an acid shot, and then a second. my combat functions quickly began to degrade. i had failed my primary objective.