Chapter 3 — Swarm System: Awakening
Kaito stared at the floating panel, heart still thumping against his ribs. The eerie glow from the translucent screen illuminated his blood-streaked face.
> [Bug Extermination Complete.]
[Sync Rate: 3%. Welcome to the Swarm System.]
[New Skill Acquired: Antennae – Low Tier.]
[Would you like to learn more? Y/N]
He blinked.
This... wasn't a hallucination.
He'd seen strange things during extermination jobs—mutated rats, gas leaks causing illusions—but this?
A game-like interface hovering in midair?
He reached out.
His finger passed through it... and the screen shimmered, shifting with his motion like it was reading him.
"What the hell is this…?"
A sudden realization hit him—this felt like those sci-fi mangas his little brother used to read. Systems, upgrades, hidden worlds.
But this was real.
Too real.
He hesitated, then said aloud: "Yes."
The screen pulsed.
> [Analyzing... Initiating Swarm System Tutorial.]
> [You are now recognized as: Compatible Host.]
[Background Status: Human – Exterminator.]
[Symbiosis Level: Initiated.]
A cold feeling ran up his spine. Symbiosis? With what?
Then came pain.
Not from outside—but within.
His skin prickled. His hearing sharpened. His body convulsed. He clutched his chest as something shifted inside him.
It lasted only seconds.
When he looked up again, the screen changed.
> [New Passive Skill Unlocked: Swarm Sense – LV1]
[You can now detect irregular bug lifeforms within 15 meters.]
"Swarm... sense?"
He stood up slowly. His breathing was returning to normal. But now, he could hear faint... movements. The buzz of something crawling—three floors below him.
He had never heard anything like that before.
He shouldn't be able to.
And yet... he knew exactly where it was.
"This isn't a bug spray job anymore."
He left the building.
The strange guard was gone.
---
Outside, Tokyo's city lights sparkled like a galaxy turned upside down. Neon signs, vending machines, people in suits heading home.
Normalcy.
But now it all felt wrong.
His phone rang. Boss's number.
Kaito answered.
"Hey, Kaito!" the voice barked. "Took care of the complaint?"
"…Yeah," he said, trying to sound normal. "One of the biggest I've ever seen."
"You're lucky, you know that? This building's got contract renewal on the line. You clean it out, we're gold."
"Yeah. Sure."
"You sound off. You sick?"
"No," Kaito lied. "Just tired."
The call ended.
He pocketed the phone.
As he walked toward the station, still shaken, a loud laugh caught his attention.
He froze.
Up ahead stood his ex-girlfriend, Yui, and her new boyfriend—tall, flashy, obnoxious.
She glanced at him. Smirked. Whispered something to the guy.
They laughed again.
Kaito clenched his fists.
He turned away.
"You should've stayed with a real man, Kaito," her boyfriend sneered.
Kaito didn't reply.
He kept walking.
But for the first time… he could hear something beneath their skin. A faint… hum.
Was it... them?
Or was it him?
---
Back at his apartment, he locked the door and sat in the dark.
He opened his hand. The mark from the fight—a strange, almost insect-like scar—was still there, pulsing faintly.
And in the silence of the room…
> [Incoming Mission Detected.]
[Zone: Sublevel B6 – Tokyo Underground Tunnels.]
[Objective: Investigate Anomaly.]
[Time Limit: 24 Hours.]
Kaito stared.
A new mission?
He hadn't agreed to anything. He wasn't a soldier. He wasn't a hero.
And yet...
He couldn't forget the feeling of that monster lunging at him.
Or how it melted after death.
Or how the city kept pretending nothing had happened.
"What the hell did I get dragged into…?"
---
End Of Chapter 3