Sometimes I wonder how life plays games with you—like how life is playing a game with me right now.
One moment, I was overthinking my life and my unaccomplished dreams. The next moment, a dinosaur was running after me.
I know I can't outrun it.
Oh my gosh, what should I do? Internal turmoil
What the hell? How could there be such a massive lion in this world?
Now I don't know if this is a prank—if someone has dumped me on an island where the government is running an experiment—or if I have transmigrated into another world, just like in a novel.
Internal crying
Why is the lion running toward me?
I was certain I was going to die.
The lion leapt—right over me. For a second, everything went silent. Am I… alive?
Am I saved? For now, I think I am—at least while they're fighting. But why are they fighting? Did they place a bet on me? Is the winner supposed to eat me?
Have I become a chicken drumstick for them?
What has my life become?
Oh my—my overthinking really is going to kill me one day. Not some other day. I think today is the day.
I should start running right now. There's a forty percent chance I'll survive.
Why are my legs wobbling? They feel like jelly. My adrenaline rush is over.
The white lion attacked fiercely. Its claws were sharp, pale, and terrifying as they slashed through the air. Then, with a fierce and merciless strike, he clamped his powerful jaws around the dinosaur's neck. The sheer force lifted the massive creature off the ground before he hurled it upward and brought it crashing down in a brutal, sumo-like slam.
Bang
The earth trembled beneath my feet.
Everything was over.
Team Lion won.
And yet… why the hell am I still standing right in the middle of this madness?
There's a saying that when death comes close, the mind either goes completely blank or descends into pure chaos. Right now, mine was doing both at the same time.
Oh my God. I'm going to die.
Why is he coming toward me?
My death is near—so unbearably near. Oddly enough, fear wasn't the only thing I felt.
I was calm.
Almost… accepting.
If I really had to die here, then at least it would be by the hands—no, the fangs—of this gorgeous, breathtaking white lion.
There were worse ways to go, right?
"Oh—don't come near me!" I screamed, my voice cracking. "Help! Somebody! Is there anyone out there? Please—help me!"
The forest answered only with silence. Then, right before my eyes, the impossible happened.
The massive white lion's body shimmered, its shape twisting unnaturally as bones cracked and fur receded. In seconds, the beast was gone.
In its place stood a man.
Tall—easily six feet five inches. Broad shoulders. Narrow waist. A perfectly sculpted V-shaped body that looked as if it had been carved by the gods themselves. The kind of physique girls would lose their minds over.
My brain short-circuited. Something warm suddenly slid down my nose.
…Huh?
Blood?
Oh no. No, no, no—this is bad.
That's so embarrassing. He's definitely going to think I'm a pervert who got a nosebleed just by looking at him.
What a truly hellish start to a love story.
"Female, are you alright?" he asked, his voice deep but calm. "Are you bleeding?"
I slowly turned my face toward him, trying not to panic.
"You are bleeding," he continued, concern flickering across his expression.
"I apologize. I could not protect you properly, female. I deeply regret this."
Even after witnessing a dinosaur die and a lion turn into a man, his words were strangely… polite.
"It's okay," I replied weakly, wiping my nose with the back of my hand. "I think I'm just really tired… and dehydrated. This isn't your fault."
My legs felt unsteady, like they might give out at any moment.
"Female," he said, studying me carefully, "are you thirsty? There is a lake nearby. I will take you there. There may also be fruits you can eat."
Then he said something that made my brain completely stop working.
"You can ride on me."
…Ride on him?
Excuse me?
What kind of thoughts am I having right now? Have I officially lost my mind? I'm stranded in some ancient, deadly forest, and this is what my brain decides to focus on?
What a pervert I've become. As if sensing my hesitation, he extended his hand toward me, offering help without urgency.
"Female, are you listening to me?"
"Oh—yes!" I blurted out.
"You were saying… ride?"
"Yes," he said simply. "I will transform into a lion. You can ride my lion form."
Before I could question my sanity any further, he stepped back. With a deep, echoing roar, his body shifted once more. Muscles expanded, bones reformed, and thick white fur covered him again. In seconds, the magnificent white lion stood before me, kneeling as if inviting me aboard.
I swallowed hard.
Carefully, I climbed onto his back, gripping his fur tightly so I wouldn't fall. It was unbelievably soft—warm and comforting, completely unlike what I had expected from such a fearsome beast.
I wanted to pet his ears. They looked impossibly fluffy. Were they sensitive, like the novels said?
No. Stop. That would be disrespectful.
He'd definitely think I was some kind of pervert.
I forced myself to focus.
I don't even know where I am. This isn't my world—or at least, it doesn't feel like it. First, I need food and water. Then I need information—answers about this forest, about him, about how I ended up here.
Only after that…
will I allow myself to think about the future.
The lion rose smoothly, and as we moved deeper into the forest, I held on tight—uncertain of what awaited me, but painfully aware that my life had already changed forever.
The forest started to changed as we moved forward. The air grew cooler, heavier, carrying the faint scent of water and unfamiliar plants. The sounds around us shifted—less distant roars, more rustling leaves and chirping insects.
When I finally saw a body of water ahead, my grip loosened. My heartbeat slowed.
I accepted the truth.
I had transmigrated into a mystical beast world.
A world where I was completely alone.
No friends. No parents. No relatives.
I felt nothing.
My heart felt frozen—cold, numb—as if all emotions had been sealed away.
The lion suddenly stopped.
Ahead, moonlight reflected off a vast, still lake. Its surface shimmered unnaturally, as if something was alive beneath it.
"This is safe," his voice echoed calmly inside my head.
I froze.
…He didn't speak out loud.
My fingers tightened again.
If he could speak directly into my mind, then this world was far more dangerous—and far more real—than I had imagined.
And whatever game life was playing with me…
it had only just begun.