Aiden's wristband blinked: 6 Trust Points.
Lila had 11.
Takumi refused to say his count.
Rena claimed she had "enough to kill you three times and buy a drink afterward."
The system didn't lie about the numbers—but it didn't show the full picture either. Aiden knew that now.
What it never told anyone—until too late—was that going below 1 TP didn't always kill you.
Sometimes, it turned you into a debt collector.
---
The next encounter was with a girl named Elise, no older than sixteen. Her uniform was torn, skin bruised, but her eyes burned with survival. She stood alone in a warehouse zone surrounded by barbed wire and black warning drones.
"Don't come closer!" she shouted. "I'm flagged!"
Aiden froze. "Flagged how?"
She lifted her wristband. The screen was red.
[-3 TP] – Status: Debtor
Role: Collector's Proxy
Penalty: Compulsory Combat for Trust Rebalancing
"What the hell does that mean?" Lila whispered.
"It means the system enslaved her," Rena muttered. "Let her go below zero and now she works for it—killing others to repay the debt."
Elise shook her head violently. "I didn't want this! I only borrowed points to save my brother. He died anyway. Now I'm stuck—forced to hunt players until I get back to zero."
Takumi reached for his blade. "She's dangerous."
"No," Aiden said quickly. "She's trapped."
---
The group debated.
Rena argued to put Elise down now—before the system could turn her against them.
Lila wanted to help her.
Takumi said nothing—but stepped between Elise and the group.
Aiden made a choice.
He transferred 1 Trust Point to Elise.
Her band blinked.
[-2 TP]
Then a system prompt echoed:
> Unauthorized Transfer. Redistribution Penalty Applied.
Aiden: -1 TP
Elise: -2 TP – Rebalance Denied. Role Maintained.
Aiden gritted his teeth. "They didn't accept it."
Rena laughed bitterly. "Of course not. You can't save debt players. They're not people anymore. Just tools in the system."
That's when Elise lunged.
---
The fight was desperate, fast, heartbreaking.
She cried while she fought—screaming apologies and pleas even as she slashed at them. The system had given her speed, strength, bloodlust—but not choice.
Aiden disarmed her. Lila pinned her. Takumi delivered a disabling strike—paralyzing her, not killing.
Elise lay on the ground, twitching, whispering, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry…"
> System Notice: Proxy Inactive – Penalty Enforced in 5 Minutes
Aiden made another choice.
He held her wrist. And transferred 5 more Trust Points.
His screen dropped to 0 TP.
His chest clenched. The countdown began in his mind.
But Elise's screen blinked:
[+3 TP] – Status Cleared.
She gasped. "I… I'm free?"
Aiden collapsed.
---
For the next two hours, the group waited in silence. Watching. Hoping the penalty wouldn't come for Aiden.
It never did.
Instead, his wristband flickered back to life—with a new message:
> > Honor Action Detected. Override Authorized by System AI.
Aiden: +2 TP (Heroic Bonus)
New Status: Favorable Risk Profile<<
Rena's eyes widened. "It rewarded you."
"No," Aiden said, slowly sitting up. "It tested me."
"And next time," Lila said quietly, "you might not survive the test."
---
Elise left them the next morning.
Before she did, she hugged Aiden. "You didn't just save me. You reminded me… we're still human."
Aiden watched her walk away, into the fog.
He didn't say anything.
But inside, he knew.
The system could take everything from you—points, safety, time.
But it couldn't steal who you chose to be.
---