The Raid and the Escape

"Keon!"

The urgent call jolted me out of my thoughts, snapping me back to the reality of my current world. My head turned just as the door to my room burst open, revealing a man with a frantic expression. He was panting, his face glistening with sweat, and his entire posture screamed tension and urgency.

"They found us! The police—damn it, they're raiding the hideout!" he spat, barely giving me time to process before continuing. "No time to waste! Get to the secret escape route, now!"

With that, he didn't wait for my response. He bolted out of the room, leaving me standing there, my mind still reeling from the revelation of my newfound powers and the contract I had just made in another world.

"Come on, seriously?" I muttered in frustration. It hadn't even been five minutes since I returned from the dungeon, and I was already knee-deep in another crisis.

Realizing I had no choice but to move, I grabbed my newly obtained cloak—the Disguise Cloak—and threw it over my shoulders. The material shimmered slightly before settling, making my presence feel lighter, less noticeable. I didn't have time to analyze its full effects, but I was sure it would help in some way.

Bursting out of the room, I was immediately met with the sounds of chaos. The entire hideout was under siege. Gunfire echoed through the hallways, screams of panic mixed with the sharp orders of police forces.

I wracked my brain, trying to recall the escape route, but as I reached the main hallway, my thoughts came to a halt at the sight before me.

The outside world was in utter turmoil.

Men in dark, tattered clothing—my so-called "allies"—were engaged in a full-blown battle against uniformed officers. But this wasn't just any ordinary police raid. It was an all-out war.

Some criminals were throwing fireballs from their hands, engulfing officers in flames before being taken down by precise, floating guns that fired in synchronized bursts. Others were summoning creatures—hulking golems of stone that crashed through barricades, only to be obliterated by specialized rounds. A few tried to escape, their bodies levitating into the air, but before they could fully ascend, electric-blue restraints lashed out from the police's side, dragging them down violently.

My mind flickered with realization. This isn't an ordinary world.

I had suspicions before, but seeing it firsthand confirmed it—this world had powers, supernatural abilities beyond normal human capabilities. The term for them… what was it? My memories of this body's knowledge were still fragmented, the word lingering just out of reach.

One thing was clear, though—Keon, the person whose body I now inhabited, wasn't one of them. He wasn't a gifted individual with supernatural powers. He was just physically stronger than the average person, a second-rate criminal surviving in the underbelly of society.

And right now, that wasn't enough.

I had no interest in getting caught in this madness, and I had even less interest in getting shot or burned alive. My instincts screamed at me to run.

I clenched my jaw and made a split-second decision.

"System, allocate 50 SP into Agility!"

The moment the points were distributed, I felt a shift. My body became lighter, my movements sharper. It was like I had been unshackled, freed from the limitations I never even realized I had.

Without wasting another second, I dashed into the chaos.

Everything around me blurred. The sounds of battle became muffled, fading into the background as my enhanced speed propelled me forward. My feet barely touched the ground before pushing off again, weaving through the carnage like a phantom.

A man wielding a flame-covered knife lunged at me from the side. I sidestepped effortlessly, my body reacting faster than my thoughts. Another officer fired a stun round in my direction, but I twisted mid-air, the bullet grazing past where my chest had been just a moment before.

I didn't stop. I couldn't stop.

The world was chaos, but I had one goal—escape.

Keon's breath came in sharp bursts, his muscles burning with the strain of his enhanced speed, yet his mind remained hyper-focused. He zigzagged through the battlefield, dodging bodies, debris, and incoming attacks with precision that should have been impossible for a mere street rat.

"Stop him!" one of the officers bellowed, his voice barely reaching Keon's ears over the gunfire and roaring flames.

Another officer, pinned under fallen rubble, weakly reached out, his voice trembling. "Please… help…!"

Keon's eyes flicked toward him for only a split second before he looked away. No time. If I stop, I'm done.

His priority was survival.

However, not every officer was free to join the chase. The criminals were putting up enough of a fight that most were occupied, leaving only a handful to actively pursue him.

Keon had underestimated just how much speed he had given himself. The world around him didn't freeze, but it slowed just enough for his enhanced perception to register details faster than before. The problem? He wasn't the only one fast.

Bullets still whizzed by dangerously close, and some officers weren't even using firearms.

They were running towards him!

Keon barely had time to react before two figures appeared beside him in a blur, their bodies radiating energy. One reached for his arm, the other went for a leg sweep—both moving far faster than a normal human should.

Keon twisted his body mid-step, narrowly avoiding their grasp. His foot barely touched the ground before he launched forward again, breaking away before they could recover.

Lasers cut through the air, one scorching a line right past his cheek, the heat causing his skin to sting. He didn't dare slow down.

"Box him in!" someone shouted.

Ahead, officers raised their hands, and stone walls erupted from the ground. They were trying to trap him, cutting off his escape route.

Keon's brain worked in overdrive. The walls were still forming—he had a split-second window.

He pushed his legs harder.

The instant before the barricades fully formed, he slipped through the narrow gap, the rough stone barely grazing his side before slamming shut behind him.

There was a stunned silence for half a second. Then, someone shouted in shock.

"What the hell is this kid?! Is he an Espria!?"

That word—Espria—triggered something in Keon's mind. It clicked.

That's what these powers are called.

In this world, supernatural abilities weren't just rare occurrences. Almost everyone had one. Fire manipulation, speed bursts, golem summoning—these weren't just magic tricks, they were a natural part of life here.

Except for a few unlucky bastards like Keon.

He clenched his teeth, frustration bubbling inside him. Great. So I'm the odd one out in a world where being normal is the worst disadvantage.

But now wasn't the time for self-pity.

He wasn't stopping. He couldn't stop.

If he did, he wouldn't get another chance to escape.

Keon felt his breath growing heavier, his chest rising and falling in frantic rhythm. The chase had drained more stamina than expected, but that wasn't his main concern right now.

His eyes darted to the police still searching for him, and suddenly, a thought crashed into his head.

The equipment!

He had been wearing it this whole time, so why the hell wasn't it working? Frustration bubbled over as he clenched his jaw.

"Why the hell isn't this thing activating?!" he hissed under his breath.

As if answering his cry, a system window popped into existence before his eyes.

[Equipment Activation Failed: Insufficient Mystic Affinity. Minimum Requirement: 2. Current: 1.]

Keon froze. Two?

For a moment, his thoughts short-circuited.

Then, panic set in.

"Two? ADD THREE!"

He didn't even hesitate. Instantly, an unfamiliar surge of energy flooded his body, an electrifying pulse running through his veins. It felt foreign but natural at the same time, like a dormant power finally unlocked.

The moment he focused on the equipment, the energy flowed into it, like a circuit completing.

And then—

Nothing.

Or rather, he became nothing.

The wind brushed against his skin, but he felt weightless, like his presence had been erased from the world.

Then—

WHOOSH.

A blur of motion streaked through the air as multiple police officers landed right where he had been standing just moments ago. Their Espria-fueled speed and flight abilities should've made them unstoppable hunters, yet here they were, completely lost.

"Where did he go?" One of them looked around, his sharp eyes scanning every inch of the battlefield.

"There's no way he escaped." Another officer narrowed his eyes, stepping forward. "This is a straight path. He had nowhere to hide."

The realization hit them all at once.

"Is he a dual-ability holder?" someone muttered.

"Or…" Another officer trailed off, face darkening. "Was he just holding back this entire time?"

A heavy silence fell over them.

The criminals in this hideout were low-level scum. None of them should've been capable of evading a full-force pursuit from the authorities, let alone with such incomprehensible speed.

"Does a big shot like him really exist in this place?" The disbelief in their voices was palpable.

Someone hurriedly pulled out a communicator.

"HQ, we have a situation."

More officers spread out, searching every possible direction.

But they wouldn't find him.

Because Keon was still there.

His back pressed against the wall, invisible.

The realization sent a shiver down his spine.

He was standing in plain sight, surrounded by those hunting him down, yet they saw nothing.

He swallowed a nervous laugh. Then, in the softest voice, he muttered,

"…I will excuse myself."

With slow, measured steps—like a comedian sneaking off stage after an unplanned act—he silently walked away from the chaos.

The moment he broke free from the high-tension zone, his eyes landed on the secret escape route.

Or at least, where it should have been.

His heart dropped.

Rubble.

Large chunks of concrete and broken pipes completely blocked the path.

Keon took a deep breath, stepping forward carefully. He scanned the wreckage, looking for an opening, a gap big enough to slip through.

And then, he found it.

With careful movements, he squeezed himself between the debris, ignoring the sharp edges scraping against his clothes.

Finally, after what felt like minutes of crawling, he stepped into complete darkness.

The stench of sewage filled his nose. The damp air clung to his skin.

He had no idea what waited ahead.

But one thing was certain.

This tunnel leads outside… outside of this sewer hell.