2025-03-17 13:55:11Chapter 2: The Unknown Figure
"Huh...? I'm... alive?" Max opened his eyes to see the tall trees moving above him while his vision remained blurry. His body experienced a strange sensation of weightlessness, reminding him of waking up from a deep sleep. The forest canopy allowed sunlight to pass through its dense structure, creating a patterned light show on his face. The cold wind touched his skin as he struggled to stand up from the wet forest ground. His hands sank into the earth, feeling the coarse surface of dead leaves and tiny twigs beneath his fingers. His uniform was covered in layers of dirt, yet his body remained unharmed. No pain. No wounds. Not even a single scratch. Max stared in disbelief while checking his entire body, patting his arms, chest, and legs. It didn’t make sense. He had plummeted from a thousand-foot cliff. His bones should have been completely destroyed. His body should have been nothing more than a lifeless mass on the ground. Yet, here he was. "This has to be a dream... There's no way I survived that." A sudden gust of wind made Max snap out of his trance. His eyes shifted toward the distant horizon, where the sun had begun to rise. The sky displayed warm tones of orange and gold, casting its glow over the endless forest before him. He frowned. "An entire night has passed?" His voice emerged as a soft whisper, barely carrying over the rustling leaves. His initial shock transformed into a dull emptiness that dug into his chest. "Not that it matters... No one would even notice I'm gone." A bitter smile tugged at the corner of his lips as he shook his head. He should have died. That was the plan, wasn't it? Yet, fate had denied him even that. Just as he turned to glance back at the mountain from which he had fallen, something flickered in the corner of his vision. A small, blinking blue light. Max froze. It hovered slightly to the left, no matter where he turned his head. His heart pounded as he focused on it. And then— [- Welcome, Host -] A translucent blue screen materialized in front of him, floating in mid-air. Max’s breath hitched. "What the hell...?" His voice trembled as he instinctively took a step back. The glowing text remained unmoved, hovering steadily in his vision. He turned his head sharply to the left, then to the right. The screen followed him. Panic surged through him. "Am I hallucinating? Did I hit my head?" Max squeezed his eyes shut and took a deep breath. Just a dream. That was all this was. A strange, vivid dream. But when he reopened his eyes, the text had changed. [- Idiot host, you have been chosen to wield great power! -] Max stared, dumbfounded. "Did this thing just insult me?" His confusion deepened as he reread the words. Host? Power? None of this made any sense. [- You have ten seconds to decide if you accept this power or not. -] The words shifted before his eyes. For a moment, he just stood there, blinking. "Wait—what? Decide? What power? What the hell is even happening?" Max’s mind raced with questions, but before he could process any of it— [- Ten -] His stomach twisted. [- Nine -] A slow, creeping dread settled in his chest. "Wait, hold on!" Max raised his hands as if trying to stop the countdown. [- Seven -] His throat went dry. "Is this real...? Will I really die if I refuse?" The screen answered him. [- Six (You shall die) -] Max’s blood ran cold. "What kind of messed-up system is this?!" [- Four -] His breath quickened. Ba-dump. Ba-dump. His heart pounded against his ribcage as the numbers continued to drop. [- Two -] The world seemed to blur around him. [- One -] "I ACCEPT!" The moment the words left his lips, the countdown halted. Max doubled over, his hands gripping his knees as he gasped for breath. His body trembled, sweat trailing down his temple. That wasn’t a bluff. He could feel it—whatever this was, it held real weight. [- Congratulations on accepting this power! Your fate has now been turned around. -] Max's vision blurred as exhaustion washed over him like a tidal wave. His eyelids grew unbearably heavy, and a strange lethargy seeped into his bones. [- Host shall undergo constitution examination and evolution. -] What...? His thoughts turned sluggish. His knees buckled. Somewhere in the distance, a rustling sound reached his ears. A dark silhouette darted between the trees, moving unnaturally fast. Something... or someone... was watching him. Max barely managed to tilt his head before a figure emerged from the shadows—a towering man clad in a tight, black bodysuit. His presence was imposing, his frame muscular and built for battle. A sleek green mask covered the lower half of his face, concealing his expression. The stranger stood barely twenty feet away. "You’re coming with me, kid." Max felt an icy chill crawl up his spine. "Who... who are you?" His voice wavered as he instinctively took a step back. The masked man didn’t move. "I don’t have time for questions," he said, his tone low and commanding. "Come with me. Now." Max’s mind raced. A kidnapper? A rogue agent? A hunter? His pulse quickened. [- Five -] The screen was still counting down, but Max had no time to think about that now. "What do you want from me?!" "Don't resist, and I won’t have to hurt you," the man said, taking a step forward. [- Three -] Max's breath hitched. His instincts screamed at him. Run. His body moved before his mind could catch up—he turned on his heels and bolted. The masked figure exhaled through his nose. "Fool." Before Max could make it far, the man shot forward, moving impossibly fast, his body weaving between the towering trees like a phantom. Max barely had time to react. Just as the man lunged for him— [- Zero -] A brilliant flash of light erupted around Max, engulfing his entire body. The next thing he knew— He was gone. The masked figure landed gracefully on the ground, his outstretched hand grasping at empty air. He straightened, his masked face tilting slightly. "A teleportation ability...?" His voice was barely a whisper. For the first time, the man’s brows furrowed. "How rare." Without wasting another second, he turned and vanished into the trees. Somewhere deep in the forest, the winds carried on as if nothing had happened—completely unaware that the world had just shifted.
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