SSS-Rank Extra: I Got a Chaos System-Chapter 37: Fracture Lines

[Skill: Feathered Footwork (D) activated]

Kazuki darted forward, a blur on the broken ground. The lines flickered in his vision—thin, glowing threads tracing the seams of flesh and bone—but whether it was from the dagger’s power or the rush of speed, he couldn’t tell. Behind him, the groans rose. In front of him, the path narrowed with bodies.

The first of the zombies lunged, arms stretched wide, mouth open in a crooked snarl. Kazuki saw the line—a thin shimmer cutting diagonally across its chest. He reacted there, slashing toward it—

—but the line vanished.

His blade missed the mark by inches, carving through rotted flesh but not deep enough. The corpse staggered, howled, and flailed wildly. He ducked the swing, cursing under his breath.

"Tch—come on..."

Another one lunged from behind—claws swiping for his ribs—while two more surged in from the front, rotten limbs flailing like broken branches.

"Shit,"

He couldn’t dodge. Not with Lillian slumped over his back, her weight dragging at his center of gravity. His feet were fast, but not that fast. Not like this. His grip on the dagger tightened. Then he twisted sideways, throwing his weight into a low pivot, just enough to avoid the rear swipe. The front two were coming fast.

One of them swung a rusted cleaver, the other reaching with cracked nails.

Kazuki drove the dagger forward, toward where he thought the line had been.

A flash.

The shimmer returned just as his blade touched down—and this time, it sank. Deep. Clean. The zombie’s neck split open in a hiss of ichor. Its body crumpled mid-stride.

"Yes!"

The other two were already there—closing in fast. For the briefest second, a single line cut across both of them in one perfect arc.

Kazuki went for it. He swung, fast and tight, trying to follow the line with every bit of will he had left.

But the line shifted.

His blade carved through the first one cleanly—neck to collarbone, a hiss of black ichor spraying across his arm. But the second? Missed. Just barely. The dagger skimmed its shoulder, tearing through flesh but not deep enough.

Kazuki’s eyes widened. "Dammit—!"

From behind, a sudden crack of cold. A dagger of ice whistled past his ear and embedded itself into the last zombie’s eye. It staggered back with a howl—not dead but stunned. He slashed upward toward the flickering line on its stomach. But again—it danced away. A glitch in his vision? Or hesitation in his mind?

Behind him, Lillian stirred. "Put me down."

Kazuki let out a shaky breath and carefully set her down. She blinked, still disoriented, then pushed herself upright.

"Thank god, Lillian, you’re fine." Kazuki said, sighing in relief.

"Kazuki, Focus ahead." She said, gesturing ahead to dozens more zombie coming, then paused, her expression turning serious. "And heads up—I wouldn’t be able to use spells for a while."

Kazuki nodded, gripping his dagger tighter.

His dagger trembled again—just for a beat—subtle, like a pulse beneath his grip. He opened the trial screen for brief second to note, what this was about.

[Warning: Thoughts will blur the vision. Let instinct carve the path.] His eyes briefly paused on it.

Kazuki narrowed his eyes. Instinct, huh?

He exhaled, slow and even. Stilled the noise. Loosened the tension from his arms. No more thinking. No more chasing the lines. Just trusting his instincts and going with flow. He let instinct guide him. His mind quieted—just movement now. Breath. Flow.

Kazuki dashed into the fray, weaving between five lunging corpses. Their snarls blurred into one as they converged from all sides. The lines flashed again—clean, cutting paths etched across each decaying body.

He drove the dagger into the first one—deep and fast, right through the throat.

But the moment the blade sank in, the line flickered.

"Not again—"

The shimmer broke. The threads twisted into smoke. The other four were already on him, limbs raised to tear and crush.

Kazuki’s knees bent, tension snapping through his legs like drawn wire.

[Skill: Brute Strength! (E) – Activated]

He launched upward in a burst of raw power, leaping high above the reaching arms. The wind screamed in his ears as he twisted mid-air, eyes snapping downward. For a heartbeat, time slowed. Lines shimmered faintly across all four zombies—thin fractures slicing through rot and bone, blinking in and out.

His instincts kicked in.

He gritted his teeth, angled the blade, and came down hard—a descending arc that sliced through the first skull like paper.

Ichor sprayed. He landed in a crouch, pivoted, slashed left.

The second one fell—its throat severed clean.

He cheered silently. Perfect.

The other two reeled,

Kazuki lunged, dagger whipping toward the faint flickers threading their limbs—two precise strikes, one after another.

But the shimmer vanished mid-swing.

His blade met resistance—cutting deep into rotted muscle, but not clean. One zombie shrieked and staggered back, barely hanging on. The other jerked sideways, Kazuki’s strike glancing off its shoulder.

"Tch—dammit," he hissed, stepping back to reset his footing.

He saw the brief timer flickering at the edge of his vision—[01:30]

His pulse quickened. "I don’t have time for this."

[Skill: Egg Bomb (C) Activated]

Six pristine, glossy eggs popped into existence in his hand, unnaturally warm and humming with energy. Kazuki didn’t miss a beat.

"Let’s rush ahead."