The second attack came faster.
Not because the enforcer had increased its speed, but because the space itself had adjusted to support it. Every movement they made felt optimized, as if the system was actively assisting them.
Rahim noticed it immediately.
"…You're not fighting alone."
"No," the enforcer replied. "We never were."
The battlefield shifted again.
Gravity changed direction for a split second, just enough to throw off his balance. At the same time, another enforcer appeared at his side, its strike already halfway through its motion.
Rahim blocked—but barely.
The force pushed him back again, deeper this time, forcing him to reset his stance.
This wasn't random.
It was calculated.
"They're reading me," he muttered under his breath.
And worse—
They were improving.
The five enforcers didn't just react to his actions. They adapted to them, adjusting their timing, their positioning, even the space around them to counter him perfectly.
Rahim exhaled slowly.
"…So the system learns."
A brief pause.
Then his expression changed slightly.
"…Good."
Darkness gathered around him—not wildly, not explosively, but with purpose. Instead of expanding outward, it compressed inward, refining itself into something sharper, more precise.
If the system could adapt—
So could he.
The next attack came.
Three directions at once.
Rahim didn't move immediately.
He watched.
Measured.
Understood.
Then he stepped forward.
Not away.
Through it.
The first strike missed by inches.
The second was deflected with minimal movement.
The third—
He caught.
The enforcer's arm stopped in his grip.
For a moment—
Neither moved.
Rahim's eyes locked onto it.
"…You're not the only one learning."
And then—
He pushed back.
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