The Dark Forest was a place known for its abundance of lower-level Draks after the war, which mainly accommodated no-blades.
The war had left the land like this — cratered, thin-soiled, still scarred decades on. One weapon alone had done most of it: Doomflare, a detonation so powerful it ate through earth like a hot knife through butter, leaving nothing behind but scorched ground and silence.
Humanity had scraped its way back from that. Project B: Human Enhancement had been the answer — binding people to Lumina, an energy drawn not from life force like old Qi, but from nature itself. It wasn't gentle. Forcing that kind of power out of the world came at a cost, but survival didn't leave room for gentler options.
---
[Binding with the host will now commence...]
[Analyzing host DNA...]
[Almost done....]
[Congratulations! Binding complete. You can now access the system.]
---
"I think I've finally lost it."
"I'm seeing things now."
Strange notifications appeared one after another, accompanied by unpleasant sounds that hurt his ears every time a message popped up.
"The pain I felt a while ago… it's gone? How strange."
"I see light."
For a while now, after being roughly thrown off the cliff, everything had been a blur, until it eventually faded into complete darkness.
That darkness had consumed him, as if the pain from his fractured bones and punctured organs had slowly drained his life away, little by little.
But just as he had accepted his fate, the bright rays of the sun pierced through his eyelids, snapping him back to reality.
At the same time, the notifications appeared, and strangely enough, the excruciating pain he had felt earlier vanished instantly.
Victor's eyelids fluttered open, his gaze locking onto the sun.
He didn't even flinch from the brightness, despite the sun's rays injecting themselves into his eye sockets, urging him to look away.
However, nothing of the sort happened. He wasn't sure if it was because he was half-dead or if his eyes no longer functioned properly. Either way, he could care less.
"I'm not dead?... Hmm… That brings me to believe I'm needed in this world. Because from what that notification said earlier about my condition, fractures, damaged organs, I shouldn't have survived."
"I can't believe I was struck this badly by a damn no-blade! Bastard!"
"These creatures..." he mumbled, slowly pushing himself up. "They're really getting on my nerves... Eh?"
The moment he lifted his back off the ground, his gaze locked onto another pair of eyes, ones that sent a chill down his spine.
"Why am I so unlucky? Sigh..."
The eyes before him were a deep purple-blue, holding a feeling of absolute despair, the same feeling one would get with a blade pressed against their throat.
These eyes belonged to a wolf-like creature, a being that radiated the essence of hell itself. It was massive, at least ten times larger than an elephant.
Its fur was purple, and its three-inch brown claws dug into the earth, keeping it in an aggressive stance. Even breathing, it moved the ground beneath it — small clumps of dirt trembling loose with every exhale.
A cold shiver spiraled down Victor's spine. His entire body tensed, sweat beading on his forehead as he remained frozen in place. His mind, trained for years to calculate odds in half a second, came up empty. There was no move here. Not in this body.
But then… the massive beast suddenly sat down on its haunches, tongue lolling out as it panted like an oversized dog.
Victor blinked, stunned.
Just moments ago, this creature radiated a murderous aura, one that made his body tremble with the fear of imminent death. And now?
Now, it had the eyes of the kindest being in existence.
Beside the big dog was something else, his katana, the very weapon that had been glued to him since the moment he awoke.
But what was even more shocking was the Komodo Drak that had whipped him earlier with its thick tail. It now lay motionless behind the wolf.
There was no doubt it was dead.
How did he know? Because a large chunk of its neck was missing, and from the bite marks, he could tell it was the wolf's doing.
Victor could also tell that the lizard hadn't even had time to struggle.
Before it could even realize it was under attack, its fate had already been sealed—only a thin strand of flesh barely held its severed head together.
"Yikes… with such ease."
He counted the wound with a soldier's eye out of habit — one bite, no hesitation marks, no second strike needed to finish the job. Whatever this wolf was, it didn't waste effort. It killed the way he used to, back when his body could still cash the checks his instincts wrote.
---
Ding!
[Host has now been given a companion, provided by the system.]
"The system?... What the fuck is the system?"
[Host might be wondering, 'What is the system?']
[I am a special creation, made with both magic and technology.]
"Is that even possible?"
[Yes, it is.]
Victor remained silent for a while.
Honestly, he wasn't even surprised, after all, transmigrating into another body was already something beyond belief.
"Hmm... I have a question. Why am I here? And why am I in possession of another human body?"
[Call it fate or luck. You have been chosen by a being beyond the level of celestials.]
"Celestials? So beings like that actually exist?"
"Tell me more."
[Error!]
[You are not eligible to receive further information.]
"Why?"
[It is for your own good. There are things you need not know, unless you have the power to protect yourself.]
[And my purpose is to help guide you to that strength, power beyond your imagination.]
Sigh…
"Well, on the bright side, this 'system' thing promised me power."
Power.
He'd fought his whole life for scraps of it — rank, command, just enough authority to keep his men alive one more day. It had never been enough. It had gotten his son killed anyway.
For a man who'd buried everyone he'd ever loved to Draks, that word landed different now. Not a temptation. A debt collector's knock.
A sly smile curved on his lips.
"So tell me…"
"What can this pet of mine do?"