Kayla and Ashley moved steadily through the dense forest, their eyes sharp, ears tuned to every subtle sound. The only noises breaking the heavy silence were their footsteps, the occasional call of distant birds, and the whisper of wind through the leaves.
Time dragged as they pushed deeper into the shadows. Along the way, they dispatched some low-level beasts, harvesting only the most valuable parts.
'Still no Blue Lotus' Ashley mused, pocketing a Frostweed stem—useless for their mission, but worth a few Credits.
They'd come across various spirit plants here and there—not the elusive Blue Lotus Flower they sought, but worth collecting nonetheless. If there was demand, those plants could fetch them some extra credits.
Suddenly, Ashley stiffened, sensing a disturbance far ahead. Kayla caught it too. Something was approaching fast—no use trying to avoid it.
Kayla sprang up a nearby tree with ease, climbing twenty meters to get a better view.
"It's just a mid-tier 2 beast chasing a tier 1 human." Kayla said, breaking the silence with a smirk.
Ashley joined her at the top, folding her arms as she studied the scene. "What the hell's a tier 1 doing out here? And how did he piss off a mid-tier 2 beast that much?"
Kayla barely held back a laugh. "It's a guy... and he looks like he's barely holding on."
Ashley's lips twitched with amusement. "Yeah... definitely fucked up."
They watched the chase unfold, the man running for his life, the beast closing in fast.
"We should help him, right?" Ashley asked with an odd smile.
Kayla nodded, "Probably..."
But neither of them made a move to get down. Their relaxed postures said otherwise—help, sure, but on their terms.
The man's panicked screams grew louder as he neared the base of the tree. Kayla laughed, enjoying the spectacle. It was almost comical.
Without a word, Ashley—peak tier 2—released her aura, just as she said.
The forest trembled under the sudden pressure. The wind died, and even the birds fell silent.
Her aura surged outward, a refined, crushing force shaped by years of battle experience.
It slammed into the rhino like an invisible iron wall.
The beast skidded to a halt, hooves tearing into the earth, muscles trembling with shock and confusion. Fury drained from its eyes, replaced by raw instinct—the primal kind that whispered danger louder than any roar. It looked up at the two figures perched effortlessly above, and for the first time, fear slithered into its heart.
It turned sharply, hind legs tense, ready to flee—to escape whatever force had just crushed its will to fight.
But it was already too late.
Ashley raised her hand with slow, calculated grace. A spark ignited at her fingertip, then rapidly condensed into a searing flame—small, compact, shaped like a bullet forged in the heart of a volcano. It hummed with intense heat, a whisper of death cloaked in fire.
With a flick of her fingers, the flame shot forward like a comet, slicing through the air with barely a sound.
The fiery projectile struck the ironback rhino's skull with pinpoint precision. There was no explosion, no spectacle—just a clean, lethal strike. The flame pierced through bone like paper, boring deep into the beast's head. In less than a heartbeat, its brain was incinerated, turned to ash by the concentrated heat.
The rhino's eyes went dim.
It didn't scream.
It didn't struggle.
It never even realized it had died.
With a dull thud, its massive body crumpled to the forest floor. Silence followed.
Ashley landed softly on the ground, her expression calm, barely interested. Her oppressive aura withdrew, fading like a sword being quietly sheathed.
"Tch. All that fuss over one beast."
Kayla jumped down beside her, a grin already stretching across her face. She let out a small laugh, eyes fixed on the battered, wide-eyed boy they'd just saved.
---
Hi, I'm Adriel.
I was born on a blue planet called Earth.
I'm a hacker—and well, pretty damn good at it.
Then, somehow, I got transported to this world called Astron for reasons even I don't understand.
Apparently, I arrived with a system that has a fucking cool name—The Infinite System.
But things haven't been going smoothly at all.
The 'system' doesn't have energy, so I have to find energy for it. It promised me some vague rewards if I succeed, so without a second thought, I stepped out.
It's been two days since I got transported, and I've only slept once.
No newbie tutorial, no time to adjust, nothing.
Just a fucking quest to complete.
That's how I ended up in the dark forest, chasing after some energy surges that a random post on the Starnet claimed were real. (Looking back, maybe I should've researched some more before blindly trusting some anonymous post.)
So far, things have been going well—the system prompts basically mean the post is authentic.
I've been making my way toward the source of the energy surges, and it's been smooth—except for the fact that a stupid, brittle-as-fuck stone may be responsible for my death.
In a world that I've only lived in for 2 days.
I passed the ironback rhino—how I know the name is still a mystery, probably from my current body's memories—but that stone, that god-damned stone, just had to break.
And break loudly, like a fucking snitch.
Long story short, I'm currently running for my life like someone chased by death—which, honestly, is exactly who I am right now.
My legs? Dead weight. My whole body feels like a rotting log, heavy and useless.
It's not even me anymore.
My heart feels like it's trying to break free from my chest. I'm gasping desperately for oxygen, my lungs burning like I'm breathing fire.
Sweat pouring off me in rivers I didn't know I could produce. My legs feel like dead weight. Every part of my body feels heavier than a tank.
I can hear is my own heartbeat pounding in my ears.
Yes.
MY FUCKING HEARTBEAT!!!
I've been running like a madman for over two fucking hours now—all because of a goddamn system that apparently can't get energy for itself, and a fucking stone that decided to be a fucking snitch.
The only reason I've lasted this long is because of my aether—that's almost gone—and honestly, I'm starting to think my good friend rhino isn't taking me seriously at all.
I try not to scream—it would only drain my stamina faster. But then, of course, I made the mistake of looking back.
And there it was.
The biggest, most terrifying thing I've ever seen.
This shit behind me is fucking huge.
I start yelling. It's not my fault—pure instinct.
I'm definitely not scared.
DEFINITELY.
As I keep running, I glance up and spot two figures watching from the top of a tree.
I get closer and I see it's two girls. Sisters? Friends? Cousins? I don't give a fuck.
What I do give a fuck about though is that they're directly in front of me and that I'll reach them in about fifteen seconds.
I can't change course because if I try, I'll definitely become someone's dinner—and I really don't know their power level.
Maybe they're high-tier powerhouses, since they're just watching instead of running away.
Ten seconds.
Nine.
I open my mouth to warn them.
But all that comes out is a terrified scream: "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"
No words, just pure panic.
And the closer I get, the more it seems like they're laughing.
Laughing.
Huh?!
Why are you bitches laughing?
What's so funny?
Why can't I relate?
Dafuq?
One of them lazily raised her hand, and at her fingertip, a bullet-shaped flame bursts to life—small, dense, and blistering hot.
With a flick, it shoots through the air, past me, straight toward the rhino.
Using my last ounce of energy, I turn my head just in time to see the flame striking the rhino dead center in the forehead piercing it's skull and incinerating its brain in an instant.
The beast that chased me for hours collapses with a heavy thud.
I stop running and fall flat on the ground.
It's over.
With the adrenaline gone, the pain and exhaustion hits me like a freight train.
It comes so suddenly I can barely process it.
I don't even know what's worse—the pain from injuries I've gotten from various sources, both known and unknown, or the crushing fatigue that's left me barely able to breathe.
There's also the fact that the ironback rhino—a mid tier 2 beast that pursued me with all anger and killing intent—just died.
Just like that.
No warning. No suspense.
I look at its corpse as the culprits make their way to my position.
I realize now that since they killed the beast with such ease, they could do the same to me.
I try hard to stand up but can't.
I'm just a log lying there, gasping for air.
I didn't have the strength to think or do anything else. Not like I wanted to anyway.
They arrive at my position and just stare at me for some seconds before bursting in to laughter.
As for why they are laughing, I seriously do not know.
'Yo chat, what should I do?'