The stream whispered beside me as I crouched at its edge, letting the cold water run over the bite mark on my calf.
The wound wasn't deep, but it stung in that way only guilt can manage.
I let the water wash across it again, rubbing away the blood while my thoughts churned heavier than the current.
Somewhere along the high of getting isekaied, getting a system, getting magic, getting flight, and getting infinite mana regen…
I'd apparently misplaced the fact that this world is, in fact, real.
That these "Magic Beasts" weren't mobs.
That the EXP dings weren't just scoreboards.
I had killed from so far above that it never felt like killing.
Just… clean shots followed by clean dings.
And the System had been right… painfully right.
If I had seen even one pair of dying eyes, I would've frozen.
I did freeze the moment I saw those hog pups.
All that excitement, all that thrill, all that "haha I'm OP now!" nonsense evaporated the second I saw them push their little faces into their parents' fur.
I dipped more water over my calf, watching the pinkish swirls drain downstream.
After a moment, I looked up.
"What exactly are Magic Beasts?" I asked quietly.
–Ding!
{They are the result of millions of years of evolution within a world saturated in mana.}
I blinked slowly. "…Right. And aren't there like you know… goblins and stuff?
–Ding!
{They exist. The first monsters appeared during the Age Cataclysm, when portals to foreign and eldritch worlds opened across the land.
This era is also known as the Age of the First Hero.
Monsters are beings without souls. They do not follow this world's laws, which include their physiology and innate powers.
They are to be eliminated on sight, for their reproduction rates are dangerously high.
Though the portals have long since vanished, monsters remain, sustained by rapid breeding cycles and dungeon ecosystems.}
"Whoa… that's… a lot."
My head tilted on instinct. "So it's fine if I… you know."
–Ding!
{Yes. But within reason and moderation.
Monsters have become integral to the world's economy. Primarily through the Adventurers Guild.
Please avoid driving them to extinction.}
I snorted. "Extinction? Dude… I'm not sure I could even if I tried."
Somehow, and I have no idea how, I felt the system give me a side glance.
I huffed a laugh, then pushed myself to my feet, even though the bite wound on my calf had barely stopped bleeding.
I had 3 healing potions in my inventory. One sip and this would be gone in seconds.
But… I didn't take it out.
Something in me didn't want the wound erased.
Didn't want it "fixed."
Wanted it to be something that'd keep me from forgetting what I saw and what I did.
So I turned away from the stream with the wound still burning lightly on my leg, letting the wind brush over it like a quiet reprimand.
I exhaled slowly, letting the cool breeze settle my thoughts before flicking them to -
"Status."
[Protocol: Chronos]
Name: Nico
Race: Human
Circuits: 9
Affinity: Infinity, Time, Ice
Level: 3
EXP: 350 / 2250
Status: Normal
Stat Points: 3
Stats
STR: 1
AGI: 1
END: 1
DEX: 1
MP: 10 / 10
MP Regen: ∞
LCK: ERROR
Magic
Ice Pebble (Common) [2 MP] (2 Circuits for Optimal Function)
Skills
Precognition (Legendary) (2 MP/sec) (2 Circuits for Optimal Function)
Gear
Cloak of Flight (Epic)
Credits: 137
Tabs: [Shop] [Inventory] [Map] [Crafting]
The three stat points flickered on the Status Window like they were mocking me.
And those 137 credits didn't feel any better.
Normally, that number would've filled me with the same giddy rush I felt when the system first appeared.
Now, they just sat there, feeling almost… dirty.
"Maybe I should just leave them be…" I whispered without meaning to.
–Ding!
{Recommendation: Instead of running away, own up to it. Take accountability.
Host, kill what you will, I will not stop you. Just have the decency to look them in the eye.}
"You're right…" I breathed.
–Ding!
{I know. Now, let's invest the three stat points into STR.}
I blinked. "…Why the hell would we do that?"
–Ding!
{One's build must be balanced. You shou-}
"But it makes more sense to focus on MP first," I cut in. "That's my greatest strength! Man, you sometimes say the dumbest things…"
–Ding!
{Host-}
With a single thought, I shoved all three stat points into MP.
And a warm pulse flooded through me like a soft expansion, like new space opening inside me.
My MP limit jumped from 10 to 25 in an instant. Each stat point increasing my MP by 5.
The moment it did, I felt that familiar flicker of infinite mana regen stretch out into the new space before filling it effortlessly.
–Ding!
{…Wonderful. The cosmic hazard has upgraded his fuel tank. I am thrilled. Truly.}
"Don't be dramatic," I muttered, before popping open the 'Shop', "This just makes logical sense."
–Ding!
{Host, when YOU say 'logical,' I get nervous.}
I rolled my eyes. "Relax. I'm not going to do anything crazy."
The system didn't reply.
Probably because it already knew I absolutely would.
And as I stepped away from the stream, typing 'Clothes' in the little search bar in the 'Shop' tab, the forest fell strangely quiet around me.
"Nay, recommend me some new drip," I said, scrolling through the endless list of clothes, "I really wanna get out of this hospital gown…"
-Ding!
{Please note that the forest has gone quiet}
"Noted," I muttered, swallowing, and immediately funneling mana into the cloak before shooting upward through the canopy.
After all...
Height meant safety.
Height meant visibility.
Height meant -
–BOOM.
A low, atmospheric thud rippled across the sky like someone had slapped the clouds.
"What the…" I whispered, turning toward the sound.
And saw it.
Over the northern mountain ridge, something enormous slipped into view, moving with a speed that made the air around it distort.
Each flap of its wings cracked the sound barrier in bright violet halos.
"Is that… a dragon... no, a wvyren?" I whispered, more to myself than anything else, as I squinted.
The creature tilted, and the sunlight caught its obsidian black scales.
And even from this distance, I could see the purple energy pulsing through it like lightning.
The image had barely settled in my mind when I felt it.
A gaze settling on me as though the sky itself had narrowed into a pair of eyes directly at my soul.
The wyvern turned its head.
And I felt our eyes meet.
Then –
–ROOOOOOAAAAAR!!
A mountain-shaking, bone-jangling roar ripped through the sky.
–DING!
{Entity Identified: Tier 5 Wyvern. Host, Run.}
"OH MY GOD! OKAY! YES… RUNNING!"
I slammed all 25 MP into the cloak and took off in the opposite direction at about 100 km/h.
-WHOOSH!
But the wyvern?
Another sonic boom erupted behind me as it dove, closing the distance in mere seconds.
"NONONONO!! WHY ARE YOU SO FAST?!"
I dove lower, hugging the tree line, hoping, praying, that the trees would slow it down.
Well, they did not.
Of course, they did not.
The wyvern plowed through the first oak like it was made of cardboard.
-CRACK—BOOM—SMASH!
"BRO STOP BREAKING THE TREES… THEY DID NOTHING TO YOU!!"
The wyvern snarled, blasting through another cluster of trunks.
–Ding!
{Host, this level of maneuvering is unsustainable.}
"YOU DON'T SAY!"
I dove again, skimming the forest floor, kicking up dirt and panic, trying to use every tree as a shield, but the wyvern simply tore through each one without slowing.
It burst through a tree cluster that would've stopped a truck, sending shattered trunks flying past me like wooden shrapnel.
Its purple-lit eyes locked onto me while the distance kept shrinking.
10 meters.
7.
5.
3…
And then the air around me distorted as its shadow engulfed my entire world.
The wyvern opened its jaws wide, revealing rows of jagged fangs glowing with inner lightning, and lunged.
I had just enough time to scream-
"WAITWAITWAITWAIT… LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING! LET ME - !"
CHOMP.
And the world vanished in a single bite.