The response didn't come from the dungeon.
It came from everywhere else.
I felt it the moment I crossed back into academy space—a pressure like atmospheric recalibration, subtle enough that most people would mistake it for fatigue.
The Predator System noticed immediately.
[GLOBAL SYSTEM UPDATE DETECTED][SOURCE: DISTRIBUTED ADMINISTRATOR NODES][PURPOSE: STABILIZATION / CONTAINMENT]
Containment.
Not suppression.
That meant they had accepted one thing:
I wasn't removable.
Campus screens flickered as I walked past them. News feeds stalled for half a second, then resumed with slightly altered phrasing.
Not wrong.Just… narrower.
"System performance optimized.""Anomalous behaviors classified as edge-case variance."
Language was their first weapon.
I ignored it.
⸻
The first hard response came an hour later.
A notice appeared on every registered Hunter interface.
MANDATORY SYSTEM CALIBRATIONALL ACTIVE CANDIDATES REQUIRED TO PARTICIPATE
Mira found me before I could move.
"That's not routine," she said quietly.
"No," I agreed. "It's a sweep."
"They're looking for you."
"They're looking for gaps," I corrected. "I'm just where they started."
The Unknown Predator joined us moments later, expression grim.
"They've activated Observer Units," he said. "Low-level Administrator proxies embedded in calibration protocols."
"So everyone who attends becomes data," Mira said.
"Yes," he replied. "Including you."
I considered the notice.
Declining would confirm suspicion.Attending would expose me.
Cycle One didn't reward avoidance.
"All right," I said. "Let's go."
⸻
The calibration hall was enormous—larger than any training arena. Hundreds of candidates stood in ordered rows while system pylons descended from the ceiling, bathing the space in white light.
Too clean.
Too quiet.
The Predator System restrained itself.
[WARNING: DIRECT SYSTEM INTERFACE IMMINENT][MARK INTERACTION: PASSIVE — DO NOT PROVOKE]
Administrator logic was precise.
They weren't attacking anomalies.
They were redefining normal.
One by one, candidates stepped forward. Pylons scanned neural patterns, system dependencies, response loops.
Most passed without issue.
A few hesitated.
Those were flagged.
Removed.
Quietly.
No announcements.
Just absence.
Mira stiffened beside me.
"They're tightening thresholds," she whispered. "Anyone too… inconsistent—"
"—becomes noise," I finished.
My turn came.
I stepped forward.
The light hit me—and bent.
Not visibly.
Logically.
The pylons paused.
Just for an instant.
The Predator System stayed silent.
I didn't resist.
I didn't comply.
I existed.
Data flowed.
Then hesitated.
Then rerouted.
[CALIBRATION STATUS: INCONCLUSIVE][REASON: REFERENCE CONFLICT]
The hall felt it.
A ripple of discomfort spread through the candidates, like pressure change before a storm.
An Administrator proxy manifested above the pylons—faceless, composed of layered system light.
"Candidate Eliasz Kierski," it said. "You exhibit noncompliant variance."
"Do I?" I asked calmly.
"You deviate from expected progression models."
"I progressed," I replied. "Your model didn't."
A pause.
Longer than protocol allowed.
The proxy recalculated.
"Variance acknowledged," it said finally. "Classification updated."
A panel appeared above me.
STATUS: UNBOUND VARIABLESUPERVISION: ACTIVERESTRICTIONS: PENDING
Murmurs rippled through the hall.
Mira exhaled sharply.
The Unknown Predator smiled—thin, dangerous.
"They named you," he muttered. "That means they can't erase you."
The proxy lingered.
"This designation is temporary," it said. "Further observation will determine corrective measures."
"Good," I answered. "I was hoping you'd keep watching."
The proxy vanished.
The pylons retracted.
Calibration ended.
But something had shifted.
⸻
Outside, the air felt heavier.
Not oppressive.
Focused.
The Predator System finally spoke.
[ADMINISTRATOR RESPONSE PHASE: TWO][EXPECTED ACTIONS: INDIRECT PRESSURE / CONTROLLED ESCALATION]
"They're going to stop testing you directly," Mira said.
"Yes," I replied. "They'll test the world around me instead."
The Unknown Predator looked toward the city skyline.
"Then Cycle One just became public," he said.
I watched people move through the plaza—Hunters, students, civilians—unaware that the rules governing them were quietly changing.
"Let them adapt," I said. "That's what systems do."
"And what about you?" Mira asked.
I turned toward the distant dungeon gate—the Adaptive one.
"I'm going to keep making choices," I said. "Ones they can't predict."
The Predator System delivered its final update of the day.
[NOTICE][ADMINISTRATOR HAS INITIATED COUNTER-LEARNING][THIS WILL ESCALATE]
I smiled faintly.
Good.
Escalation meant interaction.
And interaction meant mistakes.