Leaves crunched beneath Jax’s back.
The shimmering light he had fallen through was already fading.
That was the first thing he noticed.
Not stone.
Not ruins.
Leaves.
Jax groaned and slowly sat up, brushing dirt from his coat as sunlight filtered through towering trees overhead.
Massive trunks stretched skyward in every direction, their branches interwoven so tightly that the sky itself was reduced to scattered shards of blue.
“…Okay,” he muttered.
“This is definitely new.” Birds chirped overhead.
Somewhere deeper in the forest, something massive moved.
The sound was distant.
Heavy.
Not remotely human.
Jax immediately decided to ignore that problem.
A translucent screen suddenly materialized inches from his face.
Jax recoiled hard enough to nearly fall backward.
“What the hell?!” The screen followed him perfectly.
SYSTEM INITIALIZATION COMPLETE Welcome, User.
Jax stared at the glowing words.
“…Right,” he said carefully.
“So either I’m hallucinating… or I died.” No response came.
Instead— PHYSICAL INTERACTION CONFIRMED Proceeding to Character Allocation.
“…Cool.
Cool cool cool.” The display shifted instantly.
CHARACTER ALLOCATION REQUIRED Available Stat Points: 9999+ Jax blinked.
Then leaned closer.
“…That can’t be right.” He tapped Strength experimentally.
Strength: MAX The available points didn’t move.
Jax frowned.
He tapped Agility.
Agility: MAX Still 9999+.
“…Huh.” He tried Intelligence.
Then Endurance.
Then Luck.
Because honestly, if fantasy stories taught him anything, Luck was probably broken.
Still— 9999+ Jax slowly looked up from the screen.
“Well…” He placed both hands on his hips.
“That seems medically concerning.” He maxed everything.
Every stat.
Every category.
Every obscure slider the System offered him.
The screen pulsed violently.
WARNING Stat Allocation Exceeds World Parameters “Oh, come on.” The interface distorted.
Symbols shattered across the display before rapidly reforming into something darker.
ADVANCED SYSTEM LAYER DETECTED ADDITIONAL ALLOCATION AVAILABLE Stat Points Available: 9999+ Jax stared at the screen for a long moment.
Then burst out laughing.
“No.
Absolutely not.” The ceilings had increased.
Again.
Jax didn’t hesitate this time.
“Round two.” He maxed everything again.
Immediately.
The forest suddenly became quieter.
Too quiet.
OCCUPATION SELECTION REQUIRED Based on selected occupations, future abilities will be determined.
“Okay,” Jax muttered.
“This sounds more normal.” He selected Adventurer.
The screen remained open.
More options appeared.
Mage.
Merchant.
Knight.
Commander.
Alchemist.
Necromancer.
Scholar.
Artificer.
Ranger.
Healer.
Jax frowned.
“…Why can I pick more than one?” He selected Mage experimentally.
It remained highlighted.
“Oh.” A dangerous amount of confidence immediately entered his expression.
Several minutes later— Every occupation was selected.
Jax shrugged.
“Versatility feels important.” Selection Confirmed.
The forest went silent.
Completely silent.
Even the birds stopped.
PLEASE SELECT YOUR SECOND DIVINE ABILITY Jax blinked.
“…Second?” He scrolled through the list.
Battle Insight.
Dimensional Pocket.
Combat Regeneration.
Beast Affinity.
Mana Overdrive.
The list continued endlessly.
And then— The ground shook.
A roar exploded through the forest so violently it rattled his bones.
Birds burst screaming from the trees overhead.
Branches snapped.
Something enormous crashed through the undergrowth toward him.
Fast.
Very fast.
Jax turned just in time to see scales.
Claws.
Golden eyes.
And enough teeth to turn him into a cautionary tale.
A dragon.
“Oh, you have GOT to be kidding me!” Jax ran instantly.
His legs barely moved.
He stumbled forward awkwardly, nearly faceplanting into the dirt.
NOTICE: Allocated stats will not apply until character creation is finalized.
“NOW you tell me?!” Heat exploded behind him.
Flames tore across the forest as he threw himself sideways on pure instinct.
The System window snapped back into existence directly in front of his face.
CONFIRM SELECTIONS?
The dragon crashed through the trees behind him.
Closer.
Louder.
Hungry.
Jax slammed his hand against the screen.
“YES!” The world froze.
The dragon’s shadow swallowed him whole.
And for the first time in its ancient life— The dragon hesitated.