Just as expected, it abandoned the crying baby instantly — switching prey with the brutal logic of a predator — and chased her.
Her feet slammed against the dirt, kicking up dry leaves and dust as she tore through the clearing. Branches clawed at her arms, vines whipped past her face, but she didn't stop. Couldn't stop.
Behind her, the beast of a snake slithered in pursuit, dragging its bulky body through the forest — crushing roots and snapping branches thicker than an arm as it chased after her. She could hear the various sounds of things breaking, its hissing, and the grotesque slithering that sounded like wet stone grinding against bone.
Lavayla's scalp tingled, and she ran faster. Her heart pounded like a war drum in her chest — thud-thud, thud-thud — each beat louder than the last, echoing in her ears like thunder trapped inside her skull. It was all she could hear. All she could feel. Her pulse was a riot, a panicked rhythm that screamed run, run, run.
Lavayla was not a runner, but right at this moment, she ran like she'd never done before. Even compared to professional runners, her speed right now surpassed theirs. She was thankful she jogged every morning and went to the gym regularly, because if not…
Lavayla didn't know how long she'd been running — stumbling, sprinting, slowing, then exploding forward again — her body switching into desperate bursts of speed every time the python's hiss scraped too close behind her.
Her feet had to be a bloody mess as stones and thorns cut through her flesh, though she couldn't even register the pain. And the forest made everything harder — rotting trees creaked ominously overhead, their trunks hollowed by age and decay. One snapped with a sharp crack, crashing down just behind her.
She ducked instinctively, barely avoiding a falling branch that splintered against a nearby rock.
Then the ground turned treacherous — slippery terrain coated in moss and slick mud. Her foot skidded, and she nearly lost her balance, arms flailing as she caught herself against a tree trunk. Her palm scraped bark, but she didn't stop. She couldn't. Behind her, the python's body slammed through the underbrush, its hiss rising in pitch — furious now.
She pushed forward, but the vegetation fought her every step. Vines tangled around her ankles. Thorned branches tore at her arms and legs, leaving angry red welts. She had to run through it all, without stopping.
Time passed, and just when Lavayla thought she was definitely going to die — if not in the stomach of the python, then from exhaustion or the terrifying forest — a pleasant but high-pitched ding rang in her ears. A shimmer appeared in her vision, spreading outward until it formed a transparent rectangular high-tech screen, followed by:
'Hello, new host! Having fun out there?~ I'm your assigned system!'
'My official name is Wild Genesis. Yeah, I know—very dramatic, very unnecessary. Sadly, I'm stuck with it forever. But whatever~ just call me Nessia. Nice to meet you, even if you're mid-sprint!'
A feminine teenage voice chimed in Lavayla's head as she ran, breath tearing at her lungs. She nearly stumbled when the python's hot breath brushed her back, her heart jerking painfully in her chest.
"Fuck! What is that? Who the hell is speaking shit in my head?!" Lavayla yelled, staring at the screen showing the last words the thing in her mind had said.
Was she fucking hallucinating now?
The system, as if just realizing Lavayla's predicament, made a sound of surprise.
'Oof, close one. Still—props to you! Ten minutes of cardio with a giant pythonon your heels and you're somehow not dead. Honestly? Great start, host. Keep this energy for the rest of our missions!'
A scowl formed on Lavayla's face. If she weren't running for her life, she would have cursed the thing in her mind to hell and back. Still, she snapped, "Are you fucking crazy? What the fuck are you?! Why are you in my head? If you—"
'Okay, someone's angry—yes, you're in danger, and I'm so sorry about that. Really. But no, that does not give you permission to yell at me. I'll only say this once, so listen while you run.'
'I'm your system. Call me Nessa. You're my host. You'll get tasks, rewards, points, and access to my lovely mall where you can buy things to make surviving this world… well, slightly less tragic. Got it?'
Lavayla wanted to ask more questions, but she almost crashed into a tree, so she focused and instead asked, "Is that all?! That's nothing."
'That's all you get for now. I'd give you the full tutorial, but— giant python. Priorities.'
'Anyway! Since introductions are done—ready for your first mission in this charming new world~?'
[MISSION: Escape from the Dreadcoil python and save the beastbaby. And since you're already sprinting for your life, you get bonus reward points for being such a proactive host.]
Lavayla wanted to yell at it that it wasn't as if she had any choice. It was either run or die!
[Duration: You have 25 minutes to escape the Dreadcoil python and 1 hour to save the beastbaby.]
[Reward: 10,000 points for completing the missions. 4,000 for escaping the python, 2,500 for saving the baby, plus 2,500 welcome points!]
[Good luck! Seriously — you'll need it.]
'Alright, host, mission briefing time,' the system said with breezy confidence, as if they weren't in immediate danger. 'The dreadcoil python does not live in this forest. Its natural habitat is wide, open terrain where it can swing its tail and hiss freely—none of these trees cramping its style. It hates tight spaces, dense jungle floors, tangled roots… you know, basically everything around you right now.'
Lavayla nearly tripped. It was like listening to a high school teacher reading from a textbook — if the teacher was sassy and slightly amused.
'It only came here because it's starving and caught the beastbaby's scent. So now it's doing the desperate-chasing-things-it-doesn't-usually-bother-with thing.'
'Its strength is in its coils — bone-crushing, spine-snapping, whole-horse-in-one-hug kind of strength. But! It's also incredibly slow with eyesight that's… let's just call it "romantically blurred." Great for you, tragic for its diet. That's why you're still very alive and very chased.'
It went on, voice blithely cheerful: 'Oh, and by the way? Your survival chances just dropped by 15% in the last four minutes. Stamina at 42%, heart rate unstable, muscle strain rising — but! Rest assured! Your system is here, and I'm one of the best~! Turning dead ends into exits and unfavorable situations into favorable ones~!'
Lavayla wanted to curse. She wished the system had a physical body just so she could wring it's life out of it. She honestly wondered if it had hit its digital head on something.
Despite her mental screaming, the system kept going in a sing-song tone, 'Anywayyy… you've got twenty-five minutes to not die and an hour to rescue the baby. But realistically? If you keep running straight like this, you won't even save your own life, much less the baby's.'
"Then what the hell should I do?!" Lavayla shouted, voice cracking.
'What else?' the system said dryly. 'Turn around, pick up the baby on your way, and go straight. I'll tell you when you're on the right track. And also—maybe don't scream? You can just think at me. I promise I'll hear you.'
'Oh shit, the baby! Wait— You can hear my thoughts?!'
'Not the private ones, relax. Now turn around that big tree and run!'
'W-what?!'
'Ugh, the tree on your left — the one wider than the python breathing down your neck. It can't cut through it or wiggle around fast enough to catch you. This is your shot. Now turn, host!'
'Okay.'
Immediately, Lavayla did as the voice instructed. She planted her foot hard into the soft soil, using a jutting root as leverage, and pivoted sharply to the left. Her body whipped around, momentum nearly throwing her off balance, but she caught herself with a palm against the thick trunk. The massive tree acted like a natural barricade — its girth so wide the python would have to loop around it, costing precious seconds.
The beast hissed in fury, its heavy body slamming into the tree with a dull, meaty thud before it began the long, slow process of curving around the trunk. Leaves rained down from the impact. Lavayla didn't wait; she shot forward through a narrow gap between two boulders, the terrain too tight for the snake's bulk to squeeze through quickly. Every twist, every tight turn bought her more distance — a few meters here, another few there — until the python's hisses grew fainter behind her.
'Good job, host! Now just follow what I say and you will reach the beastbaby~! Clap clap!'
'You are insane!'
'No, I'm sweet and lovely! Now, I will be counting numbers and telling you what actions you must take to safely run through the obstacles and reach the baby in the shortest time possible.'
Lavayla didn't know how she would be able to follow its orders, but she decided to trust the system. At least she had gained some distance, so she steadied her breathing and readied herself.
'We're starting… 1-2-3-4-5 — Leap!'
Lavayla hurled herself over a thick fallen log just as the ground dipped beneath it.
'1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9… Duck!'
She dropped instantly, sliding under a low tangle of branches that would've clotheslined her.
'1-2-3-4-5-6 — Move to your right!'
Lavayla swerved sharply, dodging a jutting rock just as she felt the air shift behind her — the python forcing its massive body back onto her trail.