The quiet of the hideout was broken only by the hum of the generator and the soft footsteps of Jaden pacing back and forth. His mind was restless.
Something was wrong.
Since the last encounter, he hadn't received any loot drops.
No supplies. No weapons. No upgrades.
Only the cold glow of experience points and stat boosts—but no tangible items.
He tapped the Lock System interface, searching for clues.
The familiar message didn't appear.
No loot notifications.
His fingers hovered over the screen, activating the status panel.
A warning blinked faintly beneath the Lock Points:
"Loot Acquisition Suspended: Threshold Reached."
Jaden frowned.
"What the hell does that mean?"
He scrolled through system logs and discovered a new entry:
"Loot Acquisition Cap active: To maintain system balance, item drops will cease temporarily until new Lock Levels are unlocked or system criteria are met."
It was a mechanic he hadn't encountered before.
The system was preventing him from hoarding too much gear at once.
A cooldown period—an invisible limiter—had kicked in.
Jaden exhaled slowly.
He'd been pushing too fast, leveling and growing without giving the system time to reset.
If he wanted more loot, he needed to hit new milestones. Unlock new Locks.
Or face grinding with only attribute boosts.
That realization hit hard.
Without loot, survival became even tougher.
He'd have to rely on strategy and skill.
And recruit stronger allies.
Tess watched him closely but said nothing about the system, unaware of what he was seeing.
"You seem tense. Everything alright?"
Jaden shook his head, forcing calm. "Just thinking. We need to keep moving forward."
Marcus joined them, voice calm but firm. "Then we push harder—find new enemies, new challenges."
Before Jaden could answer, the hideout's entrance creaked open. A figure stepped inside—a young woman, weary but determined, clutching a worn backpack.
"Name's Kira," she said, voice steady. "I've been surviving out there alone. Heard you're building something here."
Jaden studied her for a moment, then nodded. "We are. We could use someone like you."
Tess offered a small smile. "Welcome to the fight."
Jaden felt a flicker of hope. New allies meant new strength.
The path to power was no longer just about fighting—it was about unlocking the system's mysteries.
And he was determined to break through.
Because without those rewards, even he would be vulnerable.