The oasis before him wasn’t particularly large, but it was overflowing with life and vitality.
As he approached, Rowan immediately spotted a small lake at its center.
The water was crystal clear, and he could even see fish swimming beneath the surface.
Picking up his pace, he rushed to the shore, scooped up handfuls of water, and drank greedily.
After quenching his thirst, Rowan splashed water onto his face, clearing some of the dizziness caused by the heat and dehydration.
Then he found a shady spot beneath a tree and sat down, finally taking the time to think about his situation.
He had definitely transmigrated.
At the lakeside, he’d gotten a good look at his reflection.
His appearance hadn’t changed.
He was still as handsome as ever.
Just…
much younger.
He patted his stomach.
The little beer belly was gone.
Running a hand through his hair, he found it thick and healthy.
“If this is hell, the benefits are incredible.
Not only do you become younger, but they even restore your hairline!” Rowan chuckled to himself.
“If programmers found out about this place, they’d crack each other’s skulls open fighting for admission tickets.” His personality had always been like this.
Easygoing.
Adaptable.
A little lazy.
He firmly believed in the saying: When the boat reaches the bridge, it will naturally find a way through.
Besides, after years of reading transmigration novels, he refused to believe there was a single fan who hadn’t mentally prepared themselves to get isekai’d at any moment.
“I wonder what kind of world this is.” “Please don’t let it be one of those loser-protagonist starts.” “An invincible protagonist route would be best.” “And absolutely no tragic suffering stories, please!” Then another thought struck him.
“I wonder if I have a cheat ability.” He carefully felt around himself.
Nothing.
“Hmm…
sunlight just feels hot.
So I’m not Superman.
That’s disappointing.” He checked his hands.
No mysterious rings.
Which meant there probably wasn’t an old grandpa living inside one either.
“Deep Blue?” No response.
“System?” Still nothing.
“Status panel?” Suddenly, his vision blurred.
A translucent interface appeared before his eyes.
Name: Rowan Ashford Age: 15 Race: Human Class: Druid Equipment: None Level: 80/80 Health: 100% Mana: 100% Class Skills: Wrath, Moonfire, Starfire, Insect Swarm, Typhoon, Hurricane, Starfall, Bear Form, Cat Form, Travel Form, Flight Form, Regrowth, Tranquility, Rebirth, Revive, Mark of the Wild…
The interface was extremely simple.
Yet the moment Rowan saw those familiar skills, he froze.
“Wait…” “Isn’t this my World of Warcraft Druid character sheet?” “Holy crap!” His eyes widened.
“This is huge!” A Druid!
His favorite class in all of World of Warcraft.
And the reason was simple.
It was absurdly versatile.
A Druid could tank.
Heal.
Fight in melee.
Cast from range.
But those weren’t even his favorite parts.
What Rowan loved most were the shapeshifting forms.
Bear Form.
Cat Form.
Travel Form.
Flight Form.
Aquatic Form.
Each had its own unique purpose.
Most importantly— They were all instant-cast.
Back in the day, one of Rowan’s favorite things to do was jump off a cliff, transform into Flight Form at the last second, and soar into the sky.
That feeling had been cool beyond words.
Countless times, he’d fantasized about having those abilities in real life.
And now…
That dream had actually come true.
Suppressing his excitement, Rowan continued examining the rest of his skills.
Wrath: Harnesses nature’s power to deal significant damage to a target.
Healing Touch: Channels natural energy to restore health.
Starfall: Summons a shower of stars that inflict devastating damage.
Tranquility: Calls down a rain of life energy, healing all allies within range.
As images of these spells flashed through his mind, Rowan couldn’t help imagining Starfall in reality.
Meteor after meteor crashing from the heavens.
Devastation wherever they landed.
The destruction would be unimaginable.
For a moment, he desperately wanted to cast it.
But he restrained himself.
He still had no idea what kind of world he had entered.
What if this was one of those absurdly powerful worlds?
If he started dropping meteors from the sky and some terrifying expert casually erased him from existence…
He wouldn’t even have a place to cry.
Better to stay low-profile for now.
Large-scale spells were out.
But the other abilities?
If not now, then when?
With a thought, magical light erupted around him.
A thunderous roar echoed through the oasis.
A gigantic bear appeared.
Standing nearly five meters tall, its fur was covered in mysterious glowing runes.
The bear rose onto its hind legs and let out a deafening roar toward the sky.
An invisible shockwave spread outward.
Bear Form Skill: Demoralizing Roar — A powerful roar that weakens the fighting spirit of nearby enemies.
The massive beast then violated every known law of physics.
From a complete standstill, it launched forward at incredible speed toward a distant boulder.
Bear Form Skill: Charge — Rushes toward a target at high speed and stuns it.
As it arrived, magical energy gathered around its claws.
Bear Form Skill: Maul The giant paw slammed into the rock.
The boulder shattered instantly.
“YES!” Rowan felt exhilarated.
A moment later, magical light flashed around the bear.
The massive body vanished.
In its place stood a sleek black panther.
The instant it appeared, it disappeared once again.
Cat Form Skill: Prowl — Enter stealth while increasing movement speed.
When it reappeared, it was already behind a nearby tree.
The panther lazily swiped a claw.
A crimson flash cut through the air.
The entire tree split in half.
Cat Form Skill: Rake “Awooooo!” The panther let out a triumphant roar before transforming back into human form.
Standing there, Rowan wore a look of complete satisfaction.
“This is freaking amazing.” After all that excitement, his stomach began growling.
Looking toward the fish-filled lake, Rowan grinned.
Walking to the shore, he leaped into the air.
Magic flared around his body once more.
Splash!
A plump seal plunged into the water.
In Aquatic Form, Rowan darted effortlessly through the lake, twisting and turning beneath the surface before quickly catching a large fish.
When he returned to shore, his clothes weren’t even wet.
Magic really didn’t care about common sense.
After gathering some dry branches, Rowan casually attempted to cast Moonfire.
Nothing happened.
“…?” “What the hell?” “The shapeshifting worked perfectly.
Why can’t I cast Moonfire?” Confused, he opened his status panel again.
Then he noticed something alarming.
Mana: 5% “…What?!” His eyes nearly popped out.
“Where did all my mana go?!” “I only used a few shapeshifting skills!” Frantically examining the panel, he finally discovered the problem.
“…Wait.” “Where’s my gear?” “Where the hell is all my gear?!” Rowan was dumbfounded.
In World of Warcraft, equipment wasn’t just important.
It was everything.
His stats came primarily from gear.
The fact that a handful of abilities had nearly emptied his mana pool proved it.
Without equipment, his character was dramatically weaker.
Rowan rubbed his forehead.
This was annoying.
Still, having the class was infinitely better than having nothing.
Once he escaped the desert, he’d investigate this world properly and see whether acquiring in-game equipment was possible.
After resting for a while and recovering a small amount of mana, he finally cast Moonfire.
A tiny ball of silver fire appeared, igniting the pile of wood.
As the fish roasted beside the campfire, Rowan examined his skills again.
Then he activated one of Cat Form’s passive tracking abilities.
Humanoid Tracking — Detect all humanoid creatures within ten miles.
A moment later, he frowned.
“Seriously?” “Did they dump me in the middle of nowhere?” “There isn’t a single humanoid within ten miles.” Despite his surprise, he wasn’t particularly worried.
Without the Druid class, he’d have a one hundred percent chance of dying in this desert.
With it?
Even without equipment, escaping the desert shouldn’t be a problem.
The absolute worst-case scenario was that the universe was playing a cruel joke and the entire planet was covered in sand.
But the chances of that were practically zero.
Based on the plants and animals he’d already encountered, he was probably still on Earth.
After finishing the grilled fish, Rowan lay back against a rock and stared at the star-filled sky.
Countless thoughts drifted through his mind.
“I wonder what kind of world this is.” “At least I was basically alone back on Earth.” “Still…
dying because I got mad during a WoW raid is pretty embarrassing.” “It’s all those damn Need-Greeding loot goblins’ fault.” “They’re truly unforgivable.” He stretched his arms.
“This body feels incredible.” “So young.” “So full of energy.” “I’m way stronger than I was at fifteen in my previous life.” “Must be the Druid class enhancing me.” He stared upward at the stars.
“I wonder if this world has Silvara.” “Or if it’s still the same Earth.” Then another painful thought surfaced.
“Sigh…
Why did my character panel come with me, but not my gear?” With countless questions swirling through his head, Rowan slowly drifted off to sleep.