The administrator looked at him for three seconds.

The points of light fixed. The :D unchanged.

Serah and Lira had stopped fighting too.

The chamber was silent.

"The message," the administrator finally said, "is not for you."

"I know."

"It’s for the Streamer A_D_M sent to this world."

"I know."

"And you’re not that Streamer."

"I know."

A pause.

"Then why—"

"Because someone brought me here without authorization," Kai said. "And the message you prepared for the authorized Streamer can tell me something about who it was."

The administrator processed this.

The points of light shifted.

"That," the administrator said, "is smarter than it should be for someone who only knows how to use their fists."

"I have my fist wrapped in Qi centimeters from your chest. Do you want to see a Qi explosion?"

"Qi doesn’t do that."

"Mine does."

---

[System — notification]

[The system notes that Kai stopped the final strike to obtain information]

[The system considers that consistent with the user’s profile]

[The system also notes that the administrator is recalculating]

The administrator looked at the exposed core.

Looked at the fist ten centimeters away.

Looked at Kai.

"Maybe I have better information for you. Something I sent to the A_D_M database while we were fighting."

Kai looked at him for a second, analyzing the new information.

"What is it?"

"If I give you the message," it said, "do you end this here?"

Kai considered it.

"Depends on the message."

The administrator processed the response.

Then, with the same kind tone it had had at the start of the event, it said:

"A_D_M knows someone used the system architecture to bring you here." A pause. "And they know who it was."

Kai waited.

"The message was a warning for the authorized Streamer. So they’d know there’s an unregistered variable in Aethon that could affect system stability." The points of light stared at him. "That variable is you."

"And the who?"

"A_D_M doesn’t include it in the message." The administrator tilted its head. "They have it. But they won’t share it in a simple labyrinth event."

"Then?"

"They’re searching for the culprit, though it seems they disconnected from the hive mind, as I like to call the central server." A pause. "But for now, they’re preparing the authorized Streamer to annihilate you. And not just them."

Kai looked at the core.

Looked at the administrator.

"Well, that’s everything."

"The protocol says the message is delivered to whoever reaches the center."

"But in your case it’s useless... After all, you’re not some simple criminal looking to buy their freedom."

The administrator didn’t respond.

Kai lowered his fist.

He stood up.

He took a step back.

The administrator looked at him.

"You’re not finishing this?"

"No."

"Why?"

Kai looked at it with the expression he’d worn the whole Chapter — no smile, no visible analysis, nothing but the attention of someone who already knows what they needed to know.

"Because you’re going to need to report this."

The administrator processed that.

"And?"

"And when you report it, someone at A_D_M is going to read that I reached the center and that you had your core exposed and couldn’t do anything."

Kai nodded toward the administrator’s panel.

"That says more about what I am than any database that doesn’t have me registered."

The administrator looked at him for five seconds.

The points of light fixed.

Kai smiled at the administrator.

"Besides, it’ll be fun to see what they come with this time and see how much more my fists can humiliate the magic and hacks of this world."

The permanent :D.

And then, for the first time in the entire event, the administrator let out a laugh.

Short. Genuine.

"Well played," it said.

The remaining creatures dissolved — the black material returning to the floor.

The chamber traps shut off.

The administrator opened the panel.

[Event: Labyrinth of Grimvast — result]

[Participants who reached the center: 3]

[A_D_M message: delivered]

[Administrator status: core exposed — non-critical damage]

[Note to file: user Kai Reno — unregistered variable — escalate to architecture level]

It closed the panel.

Looked at Kai.

"The labyrinth exit activates in thirty seconds."

Kai nodded.

"One question before you go."

Kai waited.

"Did you realize that with what you’ve done today, you’ve become stronger than many local beings of Aethon?"

Kai thought about it.

"Truth is, I only figured that out a little while ago."

The administrator processed this.

"And when did you figure that out?"

"Three Chapters ago."

---

[DraconicLegacy: ᕦ(ò_óˇ)ᕤ "THREE ChapterS AGO" ᕦ(ò_óˇ)ᕤ]

[Dr_Snow: the admin laughed. genuinely. first unpracticed emotion of the whole event.]

[Drakeking: Kai didn’t finish the fight. used the advantage position to get what he needed. that’s smarter than winning.]

[Jack_Moore: "winning the fight and winning the information aren’t the same" — Kai says it like it’s obvious.]

[Brandon_Haddan: ᕦ(ò_óˇ)ᕤ ᕦ(ò_óˇ)ᕤ ᕦ(ò_óˇ)ᕤ ᕦ(ò_óˇ)ᕤ ᕦ(ò_óˇ)ᕤ]

[RagingMutant: ┗(°0°)┛ ┗(°0°)┛ ┗(°0°)┛ KAI ┗(°0°)┛ ┗(°0°)┛ ┗(°0°)┛]

[Jesse_Williams: viewers: 27,100,000. no one left. no one.]

---

The white chamber began to change.

It didn’t fade — it reconfigured, the white walls yielding to reveal the exterior of the fortress of Grimvast, the same mountain pass in the western sector where they’d arrived that morning.

The light of Aethon’s sun burst in.

Lira raised a hand to cover her eyes — then remembered the sunglasses in the pocket of the leather jacket and put them on with her working shoulder.

Serah stepped outside first.

Kai followed.

Lira came out last, with the posture of someone who has decided what just happened was annoying but manageable and that she’s not going to say anything more about it.

The administrator stayed on the threshold.

"Kai Reno," it said.

Kai turned.

"A_D_M is going to contact you."

"I know."

"When they do, they won’t be as kind as I was."

Kai looked at it.

"That was kind?"

The administrator tilted its head. The goat horns changed angle. The :D unchanged.

"Relatively."

The fortress of Grimvast stayed there but the A_D_M disappeared, or at least tried to, since Lira stopped it with her hand before it could do anything and knocked it out with a strike to the neck.

"Lira, what are you doing?!!" Serah shouted, annoyed.

"Kai had already let him go."

"Kai, if I don’t, I’m hungry besides. I haven’t eaten anything."

"And I wonder what the blood of someone who was just boasting about being level five tastes like."

Kai looked at the administrator.

Then looked at Serah.

Then at Lira.

The three silent for a moment.

"Fine," Kai said. "Just don’t kill him. I need him to deliver the message."

"Okay, I’ll move away a bit to check if there really isn’t anyone else in the fortress. Maybe there’s another dish around here."

She started walking toward a point in the dungeon.

Serah watched her for a second, sighed, and turned toward Kai.

"You know she walked away because she won’t hold back, right? She just wants revenge for what happened."

"Well, whatever." Kai said, shrugging. "By the way, Ser—"

He didn’t finish because Serah cut him off, hugging him tightly and saying:

"It’s okay. You can relax now. I know you pushed yourself to the limit just to protect us. You can rest."

"What? Serah, I’m fine. Don’t worry."

"Don’t lie to me. I can feel your exhaustion. Remember I’m imprinted on you... I’ll take care of you now. Rest."

And with that said, unexpectedly, Kai passed out from exhaustion in Serah’s arms.

"Rest, my alpha. I’ll take good care of you... Kai’s system, if you’re there, can you turn off the transmission?"

---

[DraconicLegacy: ᕦ(ò_óˇ)ᕤ He passed out... Kai was exhausted and still held on until the end ᕦ(ò_óˇ)ᕤ ᕦ(ò_óˇ)ᕤ]

[Dr_Snow: the fortress disappeared. A_D_M is going to contact Kai. And Kai proved that despite being an unknown, he can defeat the administrators.]

[Drakeking: Serah immediately noticed Kai’s state and told him to relax.]

[Jack_Moore: the message was for the authorized Streamer. Kai wasn’t that Streamer. he made it anyway. that says everything.]

[Brandon_Haddan: ᕦ(ò_óˇ)ᕤ Kai is so strong now and he proved it ᕦ(ò_óˇ)ᕤ ᕦ(ò_óˇ)ᕤ But he’s also a human who only recently arrived in Aethon and had to face very powerful magical beings in such a short time ᕦ(ò_óˇ)ᕤ super Kai ᕦ(ò_óˇ)ᕤ]

[RagingMutant: ┗(°0°)┛kai ┗(°0°)┛ kai┗(°0°)┛kai ┗(°0°)┛ kai┗(°0°)┛kai ]

[Jesse_Williams: ᕦ(ò_óˇ)ᕤ Kai is amazing ᕦ(ò_óˇ)ᕤ ᕦ(ò_óˇ)ᕤ he deserves to take a break ᕦ(ò_óˇ)ᕤ maybe he should take some time away from the impossible quests ᕦ(ò_óˇ)ᕤ]

[System — notification]

[Event: Labyrinth of Grimvast — completed]

[Current viewers: 27,100,000]

[The system notes that Kai obtained the A_D_M message]

’[Stream off... Serah, he’s all yours. Enjoy.]’