My SSS-Rank Kingdom-Building System

Leon arrived at the parking lot with two minutes left on the timer. Emily was standing near the entrance, looking around.

"There you are," she said when she spotted him. "Took you long enough. Thought you weren't coming." Leon walked up to her, his expression unreadable.

"Change of plans. Let's go." Emily blinked. "Go? We just got here. I haven't even stepped inside yet." He tilted his head slightly, his tone calm but firm.

"Not feeling it. Let's find someplace else to hang out." She frowned. "Seriously? You made me wait, and now you're backing out?" Leon gave her a long look, his gaze steady.

"Yeah. Trust me on this. Let's bounce." Something about the way he said it made her pause. "Is something wrong?"

"Nope," he said smoothly, already turning away. "Just not in the mood for crowded places today." Emily hesitated for a moment before sighing.

"Fine. Let's grab coffee or something." As they walked away from the mall, Leon glanced over his shoulder at the building, the timer still ticking in his peripheral vision.

[00:01:15]

He didn't speed up or slow down. It was just another day.

The timer hit [00:00:00], and the world erupted.

A massive explosion tore through the building, the force of it rippling across the parking lot. Flames surged skyward as glass, steel, and concrete exploded outward in a deadly storm of debris.

Leon grabbed Emily's arm and yanked her down behind a nearby car just as the shockwave hit. The ground beneath them trembled violently, and car alarms screamed in the chaos.

"Leon!" Emily shouted over the noise, her voice frantic. "What the hell is happening?!"

"Stay down!" he barked, his eyes fixed on the collapsing building. The upper floors crumbled inward, each level buckling under the weight of destruction, sending plumes of smoke and dust into the air.

Screams echoed in the distance as survivors fled the scene, some staggering, others covered in blood and ash. Sirens wailed faintly in the background, growing louder as emergency vehicles raced toward the inferno.

Emily's breath came in short gasps as she peeked over the car, her face pale. "This—this isn't real. This can't be real…"

Leon didn't respond. His expression was unreadable, his gaze fixed on the devastation. After a long moment, he stood and dusted off his jacket.

"We're leaving," he said flatly, his tone calm and steady.

Emily blinked at him, still shaken. "Leave? What about—"

"They're dead," Leon interrupted, cutting her off without emotion. "Let's go."

She hesitated, staring at the inferno with wide, horrified eyes. But Leon was already walking, his strides measured and deliberate, as if the destruction behind him was nothing more than background noise.

Emily finally scrambled to her feet, stumbling after him. She didn't dare look back.

Leon pulled up in front of Emily's apartment complex, the hum of the engine the only sound breaking the heavy silence. The car's interior was filled with a tense, suffocating stillness, broken only by Emily's uneven breaths. She sat motionless, staring out the window, her face pale and drawn.

"You're home," Leon said simply, his voice devoid of emotion.

Emily didn't move for a moment. Finally, she turned to him, her eyes glassy. "You're… coming in, right?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Because I can't—" Her voice cracked, and she looked away. "I can't be alone right now."

Leon didn't argue. Without a word, he shut off the engine and stepped out of the car. Emily led the way up to her apartment, her steps unsteady.

Emily dropped onto the couch, her hands trembling as she fumbled with her phone, checking for updates, news, anything to make sense of what had just happened.

Leon stood by the window, his silhouette dark against the streetlights outside. He didn't speak, his thoughts elsewhere, distant.

"Tea," Emily mumbled, more to herself than to him. "I'll make tea." She stood and stumbled toward the kitchen.

Leon let her go. He waited until her movements became mechanical, pouring water and setting the kettle to boil, before he sank into the armchair across from the couch. Alone in the living room, he stared blankly at the floor.

"System," he said in his mind, his tone sharp and unyielding. "It was you, wasn't it? The bombs. That wasn't random."

For a moment, there was silence. Then, a cold, mechanical voice echoed in his mind.

[Host's refusal to acknowledge the System was impeding progress. A significant event was required to establish the System's presence and remove Host's doubts regarding its existence.]

He scoffed, the sound bitter and sharp. "So you commit mass murder just to prove you're real?"

[The sacrifice was necessary for the greater good and Host's development. Host's inaction required intervention.]

Leon closed his eyes, leaning back in the chair as the weight of the words settled over him. The System didn't care about morality or lives—it only cared about results. And now, no matter how much he wanted to ignore it.

Emily returned with two mugs, her hands still shaking. She set one on the table in front of him and sat down, cradling her own mug like it was the only thing keeping her grounded.

"Leon," she said quietly, her voice trembling. "What happens now?"

He picked up the mug and took a sip, his expression unreadable. "Now? You sleep. Tomorrow, we move on."

Emily frowned, searching his face for something—reassurance, understanding, anything—but found only a cold, unyielding mask.

"Move on?" she echoed.

Leon didn't answer. He simply turned his gaze back to the window, his mind already calculating the next move, the System's voice lingering in his thoughts.

[Host is advised to embrace the System's purpose. Resistance is inefficient.]

But Leon wasn't sure he wanted to embrace anything.

But then he suddenly felt Emily's arms wrap tightly around him, startling him.

"What are you doing?" he asked, his tone sharp, as he instinctively stiffened.