Cherreads

Chapter 2 - Chapter 2-The Cost Of Breathing

Kael moved fast, but the Drift moved faster.

Trash blew across the cracked streets, caught in winds that smelled like copper and smoke. Broken neon signs flickered overhead — "COINLOAN", "FOOD 4C", "BALANCE SAFE."

No law. No order. Just coin counts floating above every head, like targets.

Kael kept his hood low.

His balance? 38 Coins.

And 1,000 Coins on his head — a bounty posted by the system itself.

He stuck to side streets, avoiding crowds. Every eye felt like a weapon. Every glance checked his balance.

> "Hey, you see him yet? The zero-bidder freak?"

"Yeah. Bounty's auto-pay. I'd stab my own brother for that kind of payout."

Kael moved faster.

---

A vendor barked from the corner. "Water's 5C. Breathe too loud, and it's 10."

Kael paused.

A scanner post stood nearby — Balance Toll: 1C per minute just to walk that block.

> "Coinverse tax. Can't breathe for free here," the vendor sneered. "Pay or die, same difference."

Kael kept moving. He didn't even have the luxury of stopping.

He ducked into an alley, heart pounding.

---

> [System Notice: Balance drain active. Toll area — Drift S1]

Balance: 37 Coins

---

Kael froze.

Even standing still cost him coin. He'd bleed out at this rate — slowly, invisibly.

He had two choices:

Earn fast. Or kill fast.

---

A scream rang out nearby.

Kael's head snapped up.

Three players were dragging a fourth through the alley — a teenager, barely older than sixteen. His balance floated over him: 12 Coins, blinking red.

> "Twelve's enough for lunch," one of them laughed.

The kid struggled, but he wasn't strong. He wasn't fast. His balance was too low for any skill. That's all that mattered.

Kael froze. He could walk away. Stay hidden. Let it happen.

But 12 Coins… was still 12 Coins.

If Kael killed them first—

No.

He shook his head. He wasn't like that.

Was he?

---

The first attacker drew a blade — same type as before. Kael recognized it: Auction Gear, 5C per swing.

Kael's fingers twitched.

He stepped forward without thinking.

"Let him go," he said.

The three turned.

The leader sneered. "You lost, or just stupid?"

His eyes scanned Kael's balance — 35 Coins. Then widened.

> "You're him."

The others froze.

"Bounty freak."

Kael's breath caught.

---

The leader raised his blade. "Kill him. Now."

Kael didn't wait for them to strike.

He ran straight at the leader, closing the gap before they could process what a 35-Coin nobody might do.

The leader flinched, blade half-raised.

> [AUCTION ALERT: Weapon Activation – Cost: 5 Coins]

Balance: 30C → 25C

Kael slammed into him, knocking the blade wide.

The two others shouted, but Kael was moving—not fighting to win, just to survive long enough for the system to react.

He reached for the leader's wrist and yanked hard.

A coin clattered to the ground.

No, not gold.

Black.

---

> [Black Coin Detected.]

Skill Option Unlocked: Balance Theft

Cost: 1 Black Coin

Effect: Steal 50% of target's balance instantly.

Kael's eyes locked on the prompt.

The leader shoved him back. "You're dead, freak!"

Kael didn't answer.

He touched the Black Coin.

> [Balance Theft: Activated.]

Target: Confirmed.

The leader froze.

His balance display blinked.

25C → 12C → 0.

Kael's own balance jumped:

35C → 47C.

The man's eyes widened in horror. "W-what the—"

Kael didn't hesitate.

> [Buy Death: Activated.]

The second Black Coin burned away in his hand.

The leader dropped, dead before he hit the ground.

---

> [You have earned 12 Coins.]

[Balance: 59C]

[Black Coin Use Logged.]

[System Alert: Balance Anomaly Detected. Ledger Guard Notified.]

Kael exhaled slowly.

He was still alive.

Still hunted.

But now? Richer.

And getting better at this.

---

Behind him, the kid sat up, shaking.

"You… you saved me."

Kael didn't answer.

He just stared at his hands, where the second Black Coin had vanished.

> "No," he muttered. "I didn't save anyone. I'm just paying the cost."

---

The kid followed him.

Kael didn't say anything—just kept moving. Every second standing still in Drift cost him coins, and now the balance drain was ticking again.

> [Zone Toll Active: 1C/min]

Balance: 59C → 58C

"Where are you going?" the kid asked.

Kael glanced back. "Somewhere I don't bleed out."

---

He ducked into a back alley again, deeper this time. The kind of alley where even coin thieves didn't linger.

Drift's underground was a maze. Half-built tunnels, collapsed streets, old vault doors repurposed as hideouts.

Kael only stopped when he found a shadowed corner and dropped behind a pile of scrap.

> [Temporary Toll Exempt – Zone: No Data]

Balance Stable.

Finally.

He slumped against the wall, sweat dripping.

The kid crouched nearby. "Thanks for earlier. I'm Jace."

Kael didn't reply.

---

> "You're not from here," Jace said. "You move different. Fight different."

"I just didn't want to die," Kael muttered.

> "Well, you've got bigger problems," Jace said. "Your bounty's higher now. It updated."

Kael's blood went cold.

He pulled open the feed.

> [Bounty Update: Player Kael Rivenhart]

Cause: Second Illegal Coin Use

New Bounty: 5,000 Coins.

Zone Status: Hunted.

Target Class: Black Tier.

Black Tier.

He wasn't a freak bounty anymore.

He was kill-on-sight.

---

Jace leaned closer. "You need protection. I know someone. He deals off-grid."

Kael's eyes narrowed. "Undermarket?"

Jace nodded. "You want to keep breathing? You need a mask, a name wipe. He can do that."

Kael hesitated.

He had coins now. Not much. Enough.

> "Where?"

Jace grinned. "Follow me. Just don't die on the way."

---

Jace led him down.

Deeper into Drift, past the toll zones and scan posts, into areas where balance monitors flickered out, where no law—system or street—held sway.

> "Almost there," Jace muttered, ducking under a broken gate. "Undermarket starts in the cracks."

Kael didn't ask what that meant.

He could see it.

This was where the balance broke down.

---

People loitered in alleys, faces hidden behind coin masks, their real balances unreadable. Some carried weapons. Some didn't need to. Power here came from coin flow — and Kael could feel it in the air.

One man stood on a corner, holding up a gleaming coin.

> "Black Coin trace! One minute use! Ten coins!"

Kael stopped.

> "They sell… residue?"

Jace glanced back. "Stolen, mostly. Burned and resold. Doesn't unlock real skills—but it can glitch a scanner, maybe open a toll gate."

Kael's hand instinctively touched his pocket. Empty.

He hadn't realized how much he relied on that Black Coin spark — and now it was gone.

---

A shout echoed nearby.

Kael turned.

Two players fought—one armed, one not. Both low balance. Desperate.

The unarmed player lunged—too slow.

The weapon flashed.

---

> [Balance Transfer Complete: +8C]

[Player Terminated.]

Coins clattered on the ground, soaked in blood.

No one helped. No one even stopped.

Kael stared.

Jace didn't.

> "Come on," he said. "That's Drift. Coin's the only thing worth bleeding for."

Kael followed.

---

He didn't flinch.

But deep down, he knew—

He'd need more Black Coins.

And this time, he wouldn't wait for them to come to him.

More Chapters