His optimized brain processed the threat in a fraction of a second. He saw the Guardian’s finger tightening on the trigger. He saw the exact trajectory the plasma would take.

Sebastian simply leaned his torso two inches to the left.

BOOM!

A massive wave of blue plasma tore through the air exactly where Sebastian’s chest had been a moment prior. The heat singed the edge of his black armor, but the attack completely missed.

The Guardian’s eyes widened in shock behind his visor. He pumped the shotgun to

fire again.

He was far too slow.

Sebastian brought his kinetic rifle up. He didn’t aim down the sights. He didn’tneed to. His physical synchronization allowed him to calculate the exact recoil perfectly.

He squeezed the trigger.

TAT-TAT-TAT!

A precise three-round burst of slugs erupted from the barrel.

Sebastian didn’t aim for the heavy chest plate. He aimed for the weak points in the digital mesh.

The first bullet shattered the Guardian’s right kneecap, dropping the massive tank down to a forced crouch. The second bullet hit the exact center of the player’s wrist, causing him to drop the plasma shotgun.

The third bullet punched cleanly through the thin armor seal at the base of the Guardian’s neck.

SQUELCH.

The Guardian went rigid, his health bar instantly zeroing out from the critical hit. His body slumped forward into the dirt.

[Target Eliminated. Players Remaining: 99]

Sebastian didn’t even stop walking. He stepped over the dissolving corpse, his eyes constantly scanning the upper walkways and the narrow gaps between the containers.

"This isn’t a magical duel," Sebastian murmured. A cold smile touched his lips.

"This is just a shooter. And I never miss."

He ducked into the shadow of a container just as a sniper bullet ricocheted off the wall behind him. He glanced up. A Level 50 Rogue was perched on a catwalk fifty yards away, aiming a long-barreled rifle down at him.

Sebastian didn’t try to close the distance. He just raised his standard-issue rifle, calculated the wind resistance from the arena’s artificial climate controls, and fired a single shot.

BANG!

The Rogue tumbled off the catwalk, a clean hole punched straight through the center of his optic lens.

[Target Eliminated. Players Remaining: 98]

Sebastian pushed deeper into the maze. The Crucible was designed to be a chaotic bloodbath, but for him, it was just target practice. He was going to shoot his way into the Inner Ring, one bullet at a time.

—-

The Vanguard Arena was an absolute madhouse. It was a massive concrete maze

filled with rusted shipping containers, neon corporate billboards, and exactly ninety eight heavily armed lunatics trying to murder each other.

Sebastian stood near the edge of the map, casually leaning his shoulder against a cold steel pillar. He had just swatted a sniper off a catwalk with a single bullet, but the rest of the arena had not even noticed. They were too busy dying.

BANG! RAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!

The roar of kinetic assault rifles and the heavy thuds of plasma shotguns echoed off the high reinforced walls. Players were screaming. Blood was spraying across the dirt. It looked less like a tactical tournament and more like a riot in a prison yard.

Sebastian let out a long exhausted sigh. He reached up and scratched the back of his neck beneath his sleek featureless black helmet.

"I really hate battle royales," Sebastian muttered to himself. His voice was

muffled by the internal comms filter of his tactical suit. "Everyone just runs around like headless chickens. Zero strategy. Zero spacing. It is just a massive waste of ammunition."

He did not move toward the center of the arena. The center was where the high tier weapon caches were located, which meant it was currently a death trap.

Bodies were piling up around the supply crates as Vanguard grunts fought tooth

and nail for slightly better plasma rifles.

Sebastian did not need a better rifle. The standard issue kinetic gun he held in his hands was a piece of junk, but in his hands, it was basically a weapon of mass destruction. He just needed to apply the right math to it.

He checked his spoofed UI. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

[ADMIN SUSPICION: 0%] [Players Remaining: 73]

The numbers were dropping fast. The frantic slaughter was doing his job for him. He figured he could just stand here, take a nap, and wait for the last couple of guys to tire themselves out.

Unfortunately, he was not the only one hanging out on the perimeter.

"Hey! Look at this guy!" a harsh voice yelled from the right.

Sebastian did not flinch. He slowly turned his head.

A squad of five Vanguard soldiers had just rounded the corner of a rusted shipping container. They were breathing heavily, and their grey and blue armor was covered in the fresh blood of other competitors. They had clearly formed an illegal alliance to survive the initial bloodbath.

The leader of the group was a heavy set guy wielding a massive kinetic machine gun. He pointed a thick finger at Sebastian.

"We got a camper, boys!" the leader laughed, spitting a wad of saliva onto the concrete. "Look at him. Standing in the shadows like a little rat. He has not even fired his gun yet!"

"Easy points," another soldier sneered, drawing a pair of serrated combat knives. "Let us rush him. Take his ammo and push to the center."

Sebastian stared at them. His pitch black emotionless eyes bored holes through

his dark visor. He did not raise his weapon. He just let his arms hang loose at his sides.

"Look, guys," Sebastian said, his voice entirely deadpan. "I am on a really tight schedule. I have a magic castle to build, a comatose princess to wake up, and a corporate oligarchy to overthrow. I do not have the energy to shoot you all individually. So, do me a favor and just walk away."

The five men stopped. They looked at each other for a second, completely confused by the sheer boredom radiating from the lone player.

Then, they burst out laughing.

"Is this guy for real?!" the knife wielder cackled. "He thinks he is a badass because he is wearing a black suit! Kill him!"

The five men fanned out, forming a loose semi circle. They raised their weapons and prepared to turn Sebastian into a piece of digital Swiss cheese.

"I tried," Sebastian sighed. "I really did."

He did not dive for cover. He did not panic. He just accessed his green Admin UI, pulling on the Code Compiler hidden beneath his fake Vanguard ID.

He did not want to use his Sovereign laws. Throwing a black hole or a localized sun into the arena would instantly spike his Suspicion meter to one hundred percent. The orbital cannons would lock onto him, and his cover would be blown.

He needed something subtle. Something that looked like a completely normal but

incredibly lucky physics interaction.

He dug into the bottom of his digital inventory. He bypassed the god tier magic and found a pathetic Tier 0 skill book he had looted off a dead rogue weeks ago.