I kept moving deeper into the forest because, quest complete or not, answers weren’t just going to walk up and introduce themselves.
The air grew colder… heavier, like something unseen was pressing down on everything around me.
The trees here looked older too—thicker trunks, roots twisting through the ground like veins, alive in a way that made my skin crawl.
My steps slowed without me meaning to.
Something felt off.
Not the usual “I’m in a mysterious fantasy world” kind of off… more like the kind you feel right before making a terrible decision you’ll regret for the rest of your life.
I swallowed and forced myself to focus.
An F-rank beast… probably something harmless, right?
Maybe a bunny, something small, weak, manageable.
Yeah… that sounded about right.
The System stayed silent.
Helpful.
I exhaled and pushed forward—and then I heard it.
A sound.
Wet.
Wrong.
Like something tearing into flesh.
I froze.
My brain immediately tried to ignore it, like if I pretended hard enough it would just stop existing.
Ah… please don’t let that be a monster.
I took a careful step forward, slow and quiet, then another sound followed—chewing this time, slow… deliberate.
I grimaced.
Great.
This was fine.
Totally fine.
Probably just a deer eating grass.
Definitely not something horrible.
I crept around a thick tree trunk and peered through the leaves—
—and instantly regretted it.
A creature crouched over something… feeding.
Not clean.
Not natural.
Messy.
Wrong.
Its skin was pale, almost gray, stretched too thin over its body.
Its arms were long—too long—like they’d been pulled and stretched and never put back.
Fingers curled into hooked claws as it tore into whatever it had caught.
I didn’t look too closely at the victim.
Self-preservation.
Very important.
A skin walker…?
Right.
The author just took real-world animals and amplified them with mana.
Then the System’s voice slipped in, amused.
[Oh?
You actually found a [D-] rank beast… impressive.]
I blinked.
D rank?
Oh hell no.
That thing wasn’t just dangerous… it was way out of my league.
I slowly took a step back, careful, quiet—
—and it stopped.
The creature’s head turned slowly.
Too slowly.
Like it already knew I was there.
Its eyes locked onto mine.
Empty.
Hungry.
Wrong.
For a second, neither of us moved.
We just stared.
Then—
Nope.
Absolutely not.
I turned and ran.
No hesitation, no second thoughts, just pure survival instinct kicking in as my legs moved before my brain could catch up.
“Nope nope nope nope—” I muttered under my breath, keeping it low, barely audible, but saying it anyway because somehow it helped.
The forest blurred past me as I sprinted, branches whipping against my arms and face while I dodged trees and stumbled over roots without stopping.
Behind me, something moved—fast.
Too fast.
I risked a glance over my shoulder and immediately regretted it.
It was chasing me.
Its limbs moved in jerky, unnatural motions, long arms swinging in ways that didn’t make sense, like it wasn’t running but dragging itself forward faster than it should be able to.
I snapped my head forward again.
Nope.
Not thinking about that.
I pushed harder, lungs burning, heart slamming against my chest like it was trying to escape.
My Luck stat is definitely [B+], right?
…Right?!
Or does it mean really bad shit?!
“Fuck,” I hissed under my breath.
“Why won’t you leave me alone?!”
It answered with a low, wet snarl.
Closer now.
Too close.
The air shifted behind me, colder, heavier, like the forest itself was holding its breath.
It wanted me—not in any metaphorical way, but in a very real I-want-to-eat-you sense.
I hated that.
I dodged another tree, nearly tripping, barely catching myself before pushing forward again.
“Nope,” I muttered like a mantra, because fighting?
Yeah, no.
Hard pass.
I wasn’t built for that.
Not yet.
The sound of it grew louder, heavier, right behind me.
I glanced back again.
Big mistake.
It was right there, close enough that I could see its claws stretching toward me.
I yelped—not my proudest moment, but completely justified—and forced my legs to move faster.
The world blurred.
My body moved on instinct now, survival mode fully engaged, no thoughts, just run.
Something sliced through the air beside me.
I felt it.
Didn’t check.
Couldn’t check.
Stopping meant dying.
“Stop chasing me already!” I snapped, louder this time.
It didn’t listen.
Of course it didn’t listen.
So I kept running.
Because the alternative?
Yeah… no.
Eventually—somehow—the sounds faded.
The pressure lifted.
The forest felt… normal again.
I slowed, then stopped, bending over with my hands on my knees as I dragged air into my lungs like I’d been drowning.
Sweat dripped down my face, my heart still racing like it hadn’t gotten the memo that we survived.
“…Okay,” I muttered between breaths.
“That was terrible.”
Understatement of the century.
I straightened and looked around.
Trees.
More trees.
Great.
Definitely not lost.
Absolutely fine.
I wiped my face and started walking again, slower this time, careful… alert.
No more surprises.
Please.
I hadn’t even gone that far when—
SSSHH.
I froze.
The underbrush shifted.
Not small.
Not harmless.
Something stepped out.
Pale skin.
Thin frame.
Long… wrong arms.
And it was eating.
Again.
“…Seriously?” I whispered.
The System spoke quietly.
[It’s not looking at you.
Now’s your chance.]
Yeah… no.
I wasn’t suicidal.
A faint label hovered in my mind.
[D Rank Beast]
I exhaled slowly.
Do I really have to do this…?
The beast paused.
Its head turned.
And just like before—
It looked straight at me.
We locked eyes.
Silence stretched between us.
Then it smiled.
Too wide.
Too wrong.
Like it had been waiting.
“Oh hell no…”
My stomach dropped as I took a step back—
—and the creature moved.
The forest went dark.
Not night.
Not shadow.
Darkness.
It spread unnaturally fast, swallowing the space between the trees like ink spilling across paper.
The temperature dropped sharply, cold biting into my skin as visibility shrank to almost nothing.
“…You’ve got to be kidding me.”
The world dimmed until all I could see were vague outlines—trees, ground… and nothing else.
No creature.
No movement.
No warning.
My heartbeat spiked.
Too quiet.
Then something brushed my back.
I jerked forward on instinct—
Too slow.
Pain exploded across my side as something sharp tore through my shirt and skin.
“Ghk—!”
I stumbled, barely catching myself as I scrambled away, clutching my side.
Warmth spread between my fingers.
Not good.
Not good at all.
I was bleeding.
A low, distorted chuckle echoed through the darkness—not from one direction, but from everywhere.
“Yeah… no,” I muttered, breath shaky.
“This is how people die in horror movies.”
Silence answered.
Then it came again.
A blur of movement from the left—
I swung wildly.
Nothing.
A second later—
Impact from the right.
Claws raked across my shoulder, spinning me off balance as I hit the ground hard.
My vision shook, thoughts scrambling.
It wasn’t just fast.
It was hunting me.
Playing with me.
I pushed myself up, breathing ragged.
Think.
You can’t outrun this.
You can’t see it.
You can’t fight what you can’t—
Something shifted behind me.
I turned.
Too late.
It slammed into me again, driving me into the dirt.
Its weight pinned me, its form barely visible—a silhouette of hunger and wrongness.
Its jaws opened.
Teeth.
Too many teeth.
Time slowed.
This is it.
Not dramatic.
Not heroic.
Just… over.
Something inside me twisted.
No.
Not like this.
Not here.
Not after everything.
Something burned in my chest.
Hot.
Bright.
Violent.
The darkness flickered.
The creature hesitated—just for a second.
But that was enough.
Light burst from my body.
Not blinding, not explosive—sharp, like stars cutting through a night sky.
The darkness recoiled, peeling away like it was alive… and in pain.
The creature shrieked as its form became fully visible.
“What…?” I gasped.
Holy shit… did I just awaken my [Star] affinity?
Energy surged through me.
Not strength.
Not speed.
Something cleaner.
Sharper.
Like my body had remembered something it wasn’t supposed to know yet.
The creature lunged again—desperate now, stripped of its shadows.
I moved.
Faster.
Cleaner.
Instead of backing away, I stepped in.
My hand found the fallen branch.
And when I swung, a faint deep-purple light trailed behind it, like a streak across the night sky.
The branch connected with its arm.
CRACK.
It screamed.
That… actually hurt it.
I didn’t stop.
I couldn’t.
Something inside me pushed forward, guiding my movements—not skill, not experience… instinct.
Something deeper.
It swiped at me.
I slipped past it—barely, but enough—and struck again.
Its side.
Then its shoulder.
Each hit sharper than the last, each movement more precise, like I was syncing with something.
The creature faltered.
For the first time—
It was on the back foot.
“Yeah…” I breathed, tightening my grip.
“Not so fun anymore, is it?”
It lunged wildly.
I saw it coming.
For once—
I actually saw it.
I stepped in, twisted, and drove the branch forward with everything I had.
The starlight flared—
—and pierced straight through its chest.
Silence.
The darkness shattered completely.
The creature froze, its body trembling before collapsing to the ground.
Dead.
I stood there, unmoving, chest heaving as the faint glow around me flickered—and then faded.
The forest returned to normal.
Just trees.
Just silence.
Just me.
My legs gave out, and I dropped to my knees, staring at my hands.
“I actually killed it… Fighting’s fun when you’re not on the receiving end, huh…”
A notification appeared.
[Quest Complete: Kill your first beast]
[Reward: Received]
I barely registered it.
Because that wasn’t the System.
That power… it felt different.
Invigorating.
Like I was floating.
So this is what battle junkies feel…
Not gonna lie—it felt good.
Then—
{DING}