When I was young, I'd always imagined aliens as being the same as humans, but with slight changes. Some would have extra hair here, or a weird nose ridge there. I blame Star Trek and Star Wars for my preconceptions.

The thing in front of me wasn't like that.

Standing among a dozen bodies, a bulbous head was the first thing I noticed, pudgy and enormous, it was home to two enormous bulbous eyes with pin prick black pupils in the middle. A gargantuan chin folded into itself, hanging from its neck in folds, bone grey in color, and a wide grin set onto a lipless mouth that would have looked innocent had it not been attached to such a grotesque creature.

Blue skin flanked the left and right side of the Inheritor, with the exception of a bone grey stripe that ran through its middle. I've never looked into healthy skin, but I could tell this creature didn't have it. Its stomach jutted out almost impossibly wide, nearly covering the brown furred hooves it had instead of feet and smacking against its bloodied claws. They were the cause of the pile of dead bodies that the creature stood over. The alien had two arms, two legs, and a head, but the resemblance to humanity ended there.

The sight of it should have scared me witless.

But all that coursed through me was rage.

“No, no, NO.” The creature’s wail echoed across the surroundings. “F. F. F. Why is it always F? Does this planet not have any champions?”

He's speaking…English?

The voice was high pitched, like a squirrel whose nuts have been cut off. It reeked of desperation and the moment I heard it I grew less fearful. And yet, the bodies that lay on the ground told me to be wary.

A blue box appeared over its head as I gazed upon the Inheritor.

[Inheritor: Tuttle. Rank: C. Growth Talent: C+. Fun facts: He likes to eat.]

I glanced sharply at the bodies on the ground, but none of them had been nibbled on. A chuckle hit my ears as the System laughed.

[He does not eat humans. You xenophobe.]

Oh, right, of course he doesn't.

After all, no civilized alien would eat a sentient being. That was just—

[He thinks your species tastes disgusting.]

I could feel the disgust rippling through my face, but before I could react, Tuttle rose from his pile. His full height was over six feet, and the ground shook as the massive creature stomped toward me. The Inheritor was surprisingly quick, and his breath hit me before he reached me. Or maybe that was the smell of his body odor. Either way, it was a deadly weapon.

This guy is rank C. I don't know what that means, but I'm going to guess that he can kill me with a claw.

My hands rose in a vague semblance of a boxing pose. I couldn't actually find it, but I'd had a boxing anime marathon once. Surely that counted.

I shivered as the Inheritor reached me, his stomach looming over me like a wall. Then he passed me, biting his right hand’s claws nervously as he tapped at the air in front of him with his left.

“Daily log in. I need my daily login. Where is my daily login?”

[Your Inheritor has claimed his daily login bonus!]

A new message appeared in front of me, but the voice was emotionless and lifeless despite the exclamation mark in the blue box. Unlike the System’s banter, this notification sounded like it was pre-recorded.

[Your Inheritor has received a free weapon summon!]

“YESSS.” A guttural high-pitched growl filled with primal emotions shut out of Tuttle's throat. The Inheritor’s massive stomach shook with pleasure, and he raised his claws in celebration.

As his cry of celebration hit the two bridges around us, a bright light struck the ground, bathing us both in its blue and white glow. The summoning portal that doubled as our ceiling was writhing and warping as it spewed bright light onto us, and when I gazed into its depths, I saw dozens of black particles swirling in mid-air like a tornado.

[The summoning station has been activated.] The emotionless voice declared.

In front of my eyes, a smaller blue box flashed to life, and I felt a sense of urgency emanating from it.

[Unit Tom Vegas, stand back.]

I took a step back. And then another. But the blue and white glow of the portal above us followed me. The moment I passed the Inheritor, I broke out into a sprint.

Tuttle didn't notice me. He hadn't noticed me since I'd arrived.

All he had eyes for was the portal above us.

“I-I haven't activated it yet,” he stuttered. “System, you lying sack of grain, what's being summoned?”

Grain? I think that insult means something different in his language.

I wasn't sure how I could understand Inheritor’s words, but it was quickly becoming obvious to me that it wasn't speaking English. I was just listening to an English translation of some kind.

The System’s response blew my train of thought apart.

[Unusual. This is not a designated protocol. Investigating now. Please wait.]

I paused at the edge of the portal’s light. The System was hesitating. That should've been good news. After all, it had been nothing but antagonistic toward me.

So why do I feel fear?

[Entrant: Inheritor, Leonis. Protocol: Debt collection.]

The light brightened until it took on a single shade of white. Then a tingle rippled over my skin, and the light turned pure blue like the ocean. Finally, a pulse of pure gold light replaced it, and a power gust of wind erupted from the portal and blasted the surroundings. The trees screamed in protest as leaves ripped off their branches, and a high-pitched wail of fear escaped Tuttle's mouth.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

When the light disappeared, a new figure knelt in the middle of the field, taking an identical pose as the Terminator had when traveling back from the future.

[Inheritor: Leonis. Rank A.]

A blue box quickly appeared over its head, but instead of the usual blue, this one was gold. I took a step back. Then another. But I knew it wouldn't be enough. The air cracked and groaned as the newcomer stood, as through reality itself couldn't tame his existence.

Leonis was not a lion. He wasn't even a lion-humanoid hybrid.

A single red light glowed on the left side of its face where its eye should have been. The right side was dull and cracked. Broken in battle. Metal the color of darkened iron clung together in strips to form a vaguely human shape, taking on the job that puny flesh normally would. Two arms and metal hands hung at the Inheritor’s side, and a pale red glow flowed through them, emanating from within its body.

Then its left arm split open, the metal plates disappearing into its body only to be replaced by dozens of glowing red liquid whips.

“Oh look,” Leonis’ voice was deep, and distinctly male, without a hint of his mechanical nature. The Inheritor tilted his head. “It's the sad fatso.”

Hell no.

The Inheritor looked like a denizen from hell had been converted into a cyborg. And he was Rank A. I didn't even know what that meant or what stats were, but I definitely wasn't going to mess with that.

Leonis glided over the ground as though it wasn't there, and I realized he was hovering above it.

Great. He has superpowers.

I backed away slowly, trying to put myself behind one of the three trees in the area. Unfortunately, it was a small oak tree whose trunk was hardly enough to cover my head. It was the tree equivalent of a teenager.

But I had a feeling that didn't matter. The new person’s attention was focused on one person only. Tuttle.

“Tuttle,” Leonis narrowed his one glowing eye. “I've come to collect my debts. Give me the weapon summon.”

“No-no,” Tuttle pulled back. “This isn’t unfair. I have more time.”

“You have as much time as I give you,” Leonis replied. “A weapon summon. Your luck is beyond belief. Do you plan to give it to your soldiers?” Leonis asked, a giant catch of amusement entering his voice.

Leonis’s gaze fell onto me, and I shivered. There were no emotions within his eye, and as its red light pierced me, I had a feeling that he could take my life away with a thought.

“What a quaint system you humans have,” he said. “Barbaric, but creative in its application.”

Then he turned back to Tuttle, and I saw my Inheritor quivering as he tried to hide his head behind his claws.

“I'll use it myself,” Tuttle said. “My summons were useless.”

Leonis looked around him and spotted the bodies strewn across the floor. “You killed your units?”

“They were weak,” Tuttle cried out.

A flash of anger curled with my heart.

Is that how this world is going to operate now? Judging people by their value, and their stats?

“Perhaps. But they were also your only hope. You cannot climb the tower floors yourself. And you are too weak to inherit this planet.” Leonis was no longer amused.

“With enough time, I can pay you back!” Tuttle cried out.

Leonis’s red eye brightened as his anger grew. “You said you would pay me back last cycle. Time after time I have seen assets pass through your claws only to be spent to satisfy your meager whims. No. No more. I paid a price to enter your hub early. Your life alone cannot repay your debt, but it will have to do.”

His words were accompanied by a flash of red light as the whips emerging from his right side lashed out at Tuttle. My Inheritor cowered like a tub of jello as he was struck, letting out a high-pitched scream as the first attack reached him.

Then it bounced off his skin, falling to the ground and leaving him unharmed.

Leonis tilted his head, and I stared at them both.

[Warning!] The System’s voice blared out in my mind. [Your Inheritor has been attacked! Hub Inheritor’s invincibility protocol has been activated.]

“You fool! You're attacking an Inheritor in their hub!” Tuttle screeched. “I’ll wipe out my debts right here, with you!”

Bounding forward in a single leap, Tuttle raised his claws wide and smashed his large hand into Leonis. The change in position was so quick that even the metal Inheritor was surprised. Sparks flew and a metallic screech hit the air as his metal body slid across the concrete, leaving deep gouges in its wake.

Without hesitating, Tuttle jumped onto his enemy and clawed his body apart. Bringing his arms down in a blood fueled frenzy, I saw chunks of metal flying apart and hitting the ground.

Shock coursed through me at the sight. I assumed that my Inheritor was weak because of his cowardly demeanor, seeing him in battle made me realize why the dead people on the ground had chosen to run.

Their blood was still soaked into Tuttle’s claws, but each new hit against Leonis’s body scraped it off like paint.

Throughout the massacre Leonis was calm. Even as chunks of his metal flesh were ripped apart, he stared emotionlessly at his attacker. First, his left arm was ripped from its socket. Then, his chest piece was torn apart, except for the red gemstone in the center. Finally, even his face was torn apart, all semblance of humanity gone as a mesh of pulsating crimson wires was revealed underneath. There was no blood. Only cold mechanical flesh.

Tuttle stood victorious over his enemy, and I could tell that the battle was done. There was nothing that the metal Inheritor could do to defeat the clawed alien.

Inheritors are invincible in their own hubs? My blood ran cold. That means there's nothing I can do to harm him.

Or so I thought.

“Are you done?” Leonis asked. His voice came out ragged, his throat torn in two, but there was a finality to his tone that sent a chill down my spine.

On instinct, I ducked.

A flash of crimson light bathed the area, and Tuttle let out a cry.

Something fell to the ground in front of me, causing the ground to tremble. It was the top of the oak I'd been hiding behind. The tree had been cut in half, right where my chest would have been.

There was a crash to my side, and I caught a glimpse of Tuttle rolling across the ground. Two large whips slashed unceasingly against his stomach, unable to harm him but keeping him at arm's length through sheer force. Leonis rose from the ground, and the metal that had been ripped off his body vibrated and flew back. Only a few pieces of scrap metal that were damaged beyond repair remained on the ground. Piece by piece his body reformed, and in moments he was whole again.

“Fool. I let you live for years, and you took my generosity as permission to live a lifestyle you could not afford. I claim my debt,” Leonis said. “I've let you have your fun. Now, allow me to share mine."

This is insane.

I took a single look at the newly formed half-tree in front of me and decided that I didn't want to be part of whatever ‘fun’ Leonis was about to have. With a push, I flung myself away from the tree and the battle, and I thanked my lucky stars that neither Leonis nor Tuttle paid me any attention.

“System. I lay claim to my debts. What is his, is now mine.” Leonis raised his left fist, and his whips dug into Tuttle. I saw a faint shimmer as my Inheritor’s invincibility activated. “First, I will take away your invincibility.”

Tuttle’s eyes widened as a spray of blood hit the air. The crimson whips had severed his arms, and they fell to the ground accompanied by a pained wail.

[Invincibility has been transferred.]

“Now, I will take ownership of this hub,” Leonis stated.

[You do not have permission to acquire this asset. Hub ownership is designated by the System and does not belong to the Inheritor.]

Leonis glanced to the side, and his metal lips warped into the semblance of a smile. “Then I take the main meal. Your weapon summons.”

“No, I use it!” Tuttle roared. “System, activate the weapon summon!”

[The summoning station has been activated. Weapon summoning beginning.]

A white light bathed the area from above, and it quickly turned blue. Leonis growled, the guttural sound at odds with his metallic visage, but as he raised his whips to strike down his enemy for good, he paused. The light above had transformed into a brilliant gold.

No. He didn't pause.

We were frozen in place.

I tried to move my hand, but it refused to obey me. And my eyes were stuck on the summoning portal above, staring into the depths of its golden brilliance.

There was a ripple among the golden notes as they began to transform. Some took on reddish tinges. Others had green hues. Blue soon joined in the mix, and then more colors emerged. Each light held a different meaning and whispered of powers beyond my understanding. It was a sight of beauty so profound that I couldn't fathom its depths.

Radiant rainbow light spilled out across the surroundings, bathing the frozen world in splendor. Tuttle let out a cry of victory, and for the first time I saw something other than anger and condescension in Leonis’ face. It was fear.

The System’s voice filled the surroundings, and even it was in awe.

[A legendary weapon has been summoned.]