The forest welcomed me with silence. Not the calm, peaceful kind—but the kind that pressed against my ears, heavy and unsettling.

  “So… he teleported me here,” I muttered, my voice sounding oddly distant. “Still in the forest, huh…”

  Mist clung low to the ground, curling around the roots of trees. Their trunks rose tall and twisted, bark blackened with age, branches interlocking high above like skeletal fingers. Leaves whispered faintly as a weak breeze slipped through the canopy, letting scattered beams of sunlight bleed onto the forest floor.

  I took a few cautious steps forward.

  Moss coated the trunks, slick under my fingers when I brushed past. Thick roots coiled across the uneven ground, forcing me to watch my footing. Somewhere far off, a crow cawed once—sharp, lonely—and then the forest swallowed the sound whole.

  Valea.

  The thought anchored me. I have to find her. and regroup.

  But no matter how hard I tried, my mind kept drifting back to the cave.

  My hand moved on its own, pressing against my chest. Something felt… off. My heartbeat wasn’t racing, yet each thud felt heavier than it should, like it echoed faintly inside me.

  That stone. Did I really swallow it?

  Why would anyone shove something like that into my mouth? And then—heal me right after?

  I clenched my jaw and shook my head. None of it made sense. The sensation in my chest wasn’t pain, but it definitely wasn’t normal either. It felt like something had settled there… something foreign.

  Before I could dwell on it further, a smell crept into the air. Sharp. Metallic. Blood.

  My steps slowed instantly. Every sense sharpened as I followed the scent, weaving between the trees. The forest ahead looked… wrong. Too open. Too still.

  Then I saw them.

  Dark shapes lay scattered in a shallow clearing, half-hidden by grass and fallen leaves. As I stepped closer, the dim light revealed their forms—and my body went rigid.

  Three bears.

  Massive, powerful creatures, sprawled across the ground in unnatural positions. Their thick fur was matted dark, stiff with dried blood. Flies hovered lazily above them, their faint buzzing the only sound in the clearing.

  I swallowed and crouched beside the nearest one, pushing aside leaves and dirt.

  “They could be good for dinner, I guess…” I said, forcing a weak attempt at humor.

  But the words died in my throat. My gaze locked onto the wounds.

  Deep gashes tore across the bear’s hide—long, jagged, and devastatingly precise. These weren’t the messy bites or clawing scratches of a territorial fight. These were clean, powerful strikes. Decisive.

  My eyes widened.

  “These marks…” I murmured, lifting my hand and tracing the air above the wounds without touching them. “No normal beast could’ve done this.”

  Whatever killed them hadn’t struggled. It hadn’t needed to.

  A sudden sound sliced through the silence. A scream.

  High-pitched. Panicked. Raw with terror.

  I was on my feet in an instant, heart hammering as I spun toward the sound. Branches snapped under my boots as I sprinted through the trees, dodging roots and low-hanging limbs. The scream rang out again—closer this time.

  Heat stirred in my palm, faint but responsive, mana flickering instinctively as my pulse quickened.

  I burst through a wall of undergrowth—

  And froze.

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  A small clearing opened before me. In its center, a girl staggered backward, her breath coming in ragged gasps. Her eyes were wide, pupils trembling with pure fear.

  Closing in on her were three figures.

  Their bodies were hunched and distorted, limbs bent at unnatural angles. Their skin shimmered faintly, mana crawling over them like a living haze. Their presence alone made the air feel heavy, suffocating.

  I recognized them instantly.

  Dranox.

  Mana-born monsters.

  Their claws glowed faintly as they circled the girl, low snarls rumbling from deep in their throats. Each step they took pressed into the ground like something heavy and unnatural was dragging them down.

  She had nowhere left to run.

  "Be careful!" Her back nearly touched the tree when I burst out of the brush. I didn’t stop to think. My body moved on instinct.

  I sprinted straight between her and the Dranox, boots tearing through dirt and leaves as mana flooded my palm. Heat bloomed in my chest—sharp, sudden—then rushed down my arm like liquid fire.

  I twisted my wrist.

  “—Fwoom! Fwoom!”

  Two fireballs tore through the air, hissing as they slammed into the nearest creature. The blast staggered it backward, its body skidding across the ground, but it didn’t fall. It snarled instead, jaws splitting wide to reveal teeth like jagged obsidian.

  “Hey,” I said, stepping forward without looking back, “just stay behind me. Okay?”

  Three of them.

  They crouched low, claws twitching as if tasting the air. Their translucent skin shimmered faintly, veins pulsing with liquid mana that made my teeth ache just from looking at it. The space around them felt wrong—dense, pressurized—like the air itself didn’t want to move near their bodies.

  Tch.

  These weren’t like the beasts I’d fought before.

  One of them moved. It didn’t leap. It detonated.

  A blur of pale muscle and glowing claws tore toward me, the sheer speed splitting the wind. My instincts screamed louder than thought. I kicked hard into the dirt, twisting my body just enough—

  It missed me by inches.

  Mana surged mid-spin.

  CRACK!

  A firebolt slammed into its flank while it was still airborne. The blast sent it spiraling sideways, its body smashing into a tree. Bark exploded outward as it hit, the sound dull and sickening. The Dranox crumpled to the ground in a heap.

  No time to check if it was dead.

  The other two were already moving.

  They split wide, angling around me—trying to box me in.

  I stepped left on purpose, exposing an opening. One took the bait.

  It lunged.

  Claws sliced through the air where my head had been a heartbeat earlier as I dropped low. Heat coiled tight in my palm, compressed until it burned.

  I released it upward.

  A burst of fire punched straight under its chin.

  The Dranox reeled back, howling, its body jerking as flames tore across its throat. I didn’t stop. I pivoted on my heel, turning into the second one—

  —and drove a spark-laced punch straight into its ribs.

  The impact cracked like snapping wood.

  The force sent it skidding backward, claws carving deep grooves through the soil as it struggled to stay upright.

  They should’ve gone down. They didn’t. Instead, they regrouped. Slower now. Cautious.

  They circled me again, shoulders rolling, heads tilted slightly as if… observing. Their eyes flicked between each other in quick, precise movements Communicating.

  My grip tightened. What are they… thinking?

  The answer came immediately.

  One of them charged—too fast, too straight.

  Reckless.

  I smirked, lifting my hand, already shaping mana for a clean, decisive kill—

  SCHT!

  The Dranox skidded to a sudden halt halfway to me, claws digging into the dirt and ripping it apart. Soil and debris blasted upward, a blinding cloud swallowing its form.

  Too late, I realized—

  Movement. Not in front of me. To the side.

  The second burst out of the dust, claws carving a lethal arc toward my throat.

  Smart.

  I dropped low, the swing passing so close I felt the air split. My shoulder brushed its belly as I spun past it, mana flaring—

  A ribbon of fire tore along its side.

  The smell of scorched flesh hit me instantly, thick and acrid, curling into my lungs. I didn’t stop to watch it burn.

  THUMP!

  The ground beneath me exploded.

  The third Dranox tore out of the soil like a living nightmare, claws already slicing upward. I twisted away—

  Too slow.

  SHHKT!

  Pain ripped through my arm.

  Hot. White. Blinding.

  My vision swam as blood soaked through my sleeve, dripping down my fingers in seconds. I staggered back, teeth clenched, grabbing the girl's wrist and pulling her behind me.

  The girl looked at my hand which was dropping my blood onto her wrist “H-hey mister—you're hurt”

  No response.

  My ears rang violently, the world reduced to a dull roar. I barely felt the dirt beneath my boots as my gaze locked onto the three monsters regrouping ahead of me.

  Think, Shang. THINK.

  My mana felt hollow—scraped dry. Every attempt to draw on it sent a dull ache through my chest. Emptiness gnawed at me, merciless.

  “Damn it…”

  My knees hit the ground.

  They felt it.

  All three moved at once.

  Blades of claws weaved in from different angles, their timing flawless—no wasted motion, no hesitation. A perfect execution.

  I froze. No space to dodge. No strength to counter.

  “…Shit.”

  I knew it. This was it. My eyes squeezed shut—

  DUBAAM—

  One heartbeat. That was all it took.

  The sound shook my skull, deep and absolute, like something ancient had just awakened inside me. My fingertips tingled—then burned—then split apart with searing pain as purple light poured through the cracks.

  The Dranox halted mid-strike.

  Too late.

  A wave of raw force detonated outward from my body.

  My mouth fell open—

  Then—

  ROOOOOAAARRR!

  The forest screamed with me.

  The three monsters were hurled backward like broken dolls, their screeches ripping through the trees as trunks shattered and earth tore apart in their wake.

  My eyes snapped open. They burned. Pure, blinding purple.