The screen pulsed once.
Then vanished.
Jax felt it immediately.
Not pain.
Not heat.
Balance.
His body suddenly felt… complete.
Like every muscle, every nerve, every instinct had finally synchronized perfectly.
His breathing sharpened.
His senses expanded.
Even the air itself felt clearer somehow.
Jax took a cautious step forward.
Then another.
Then— He ran.
The world exploded into motion.
The ground vanished beneath his feet as the forest blurred around him in streaks of green and brown.
Wind roared past his ears as his body accelerated far faster than his brain had been prepared for.
“OH—!” CRASH.
His shoulder smashed through a tree thicker than a truck.
Wood exploded outward in a deafening crack as the massive trunk snapped apart and toppled into the forest behind him.
Jax skidded violently across the dirt before finally stopping.
Silence.
Leaves drifted slowly around him.
Jax stared at the destroyed tree.
Then at himself.
“…I should be dead.” Nothing hurt.
Not his shoulder.
Not his ribs.
Not even a bruise.
He flexed his fingers slowly.
“Okay,” he muttered.
“That’s concerning.” The roar came again.
Closer this time.
Heat slammed into his back as flames erupted through the forest behind him.
Jax reacted instinctively.
He launched sideways— —and cleared nearly thirty feet.
He hit the ground rolling before springing back to his feet effortlessly.
Jax blinked.
“…That’s VERY concerning.” The dragon burst through the burning trees behind him.
Massive black-red scales reflected the firelight as wings tore through branches like paper.
Molten eyes locked onto him with primal fury while flames spilled from its jaws onto the forest floor.
The ground blackened wherever it stepped.
Jax moved instantly.
Fire exploded through the space he had occupied barely a second earlier as he darted between burning trees at speeds that still didn’t feel remotely real.
The strange part?
His body already knew what to do.
Every dodge.
Every movement.
Every shift in balance.
It felt natural.
Like instinct had been downloaded directly into his muscles.
“Okay,” Jax breathed while sprinting through the forest, “I officially have several questions.” Another blast of fire tore past him.
“AND NO ANSWERS.” He leapt over a fallen tree.
Overshot completely.
Smashed through three branches.
Recovered midair somehow.
“Still learning!” The dragon roared again, louder now.
Angrier.
Jax risked a glance backward.
Huge mistake.
The dragon was gaining.
Fast.
“…Yep.
That’s bad.” The forest suddenly opened ahead of him.
Water.
A massive lake stretched between the trees, sunlight glimmering across the surface.
Jax’s mind sharpened instantly.
Fire.
Water.
Large body.
Limited turning.
Neck.
An idea formed immediately.
It was a terrible idea.
But importantly— It was an idea.
“Good enough.” Jax sprinted toward the shoreline.
The dragon followed without hesitation, smashing through trees as flames scorched the ground behind him.
The lake rushed closer.
Heat exploded at his back.
Jax dove sideways as dragon fire ripped across the shoreline, turning sand into glass.
He rolled once.
Twice.
Then planted his feet directly at the water’s edge.
The dragon descended toward him with jaws open wide.
Jax grinned nervously.
“Hey!” he shouted.
The dragon roared.
Jax pointed directly at it.
“You are WAY bigger than I’m emotionally prepared for!” The dragon lunged.
Good.
Jax ran directly toward it.
At the last possible second— He jumped.
Not away.
Up.
The world slowed.
The dragon’s massive head filled his vision.
Heat blasted against his skin.
Jax twisted midair effortlessly.
His fist pulled back.
And instinct took over.
He punched.
Not wildly.
Not desperately.
Perfectly.
His fist connected with the dragon’s neck.
For a split second— Nothing happened.
Then— BOOM.
The explosion shattered the air itself.
Jax felt resistance vanish completely as his momentum carried him through something massive, wet, and horrifying before he crashed violently into the dirt on the opposite side of the shoreline.
He rolled several times before finally coming to a stop flat on his back.
Silence filled the lake.
Jax stared up at the sky.
“…I think,” he said slowly, “I may have overreacted.” Something enormous hit the ground behind him.
Hard.
Jax slowly pushed himself upright.
The dragon’s body remained standing at the shoreline.
Its head did not.
The massive skull slid from its neck and crashed into the lake with a tidal splash that sent waves rolling across the shore.
A heartbeat later, the rest of the body collapsed.
The forest became silent again.
Jax stared at the corpse.
Then looked down at himself.
Blood.
Burned scales.
Black smoke.
Something green he sincerely hoped was not an organ.
He wiped a hand slowly across his face.
“…I need a shower.” A translucent screen appeared immediately.
FIRST FOE DEFEATED SHADOW EXTRACTION POSSIBLE SHADOW AUTHORITY AVAILABLE WOULD YOU LIKE TO PROCEED?
Jax stared at the screen.
Then at the dragon.
Then back at the screen.
“…That sounds incredibly suspicious.” The screen waited patiently.
Jax looked back toward the massive corpse lying beside the lake.
“…But also incredibly useful.” He pressed YES.
The shadows beneath the dragon immediately deepened.
Not natural darkness.
Something heavier.
The corpse trembled once.
Then again.
Shadow spread across the dragon’s body like liquid smoke.
COMMAND REQUIRED Jax blinked.
“A command?” The shadows writhed violently now, coiling around the dragon’s corpse in massive spirals.
Jax thought for a moment.
Then pointed toward the fallen dragon.
“…Return.” The world darkened.
Shadow erupted upward.
The dragon’s corpse dissolved into black smoke before rebuilding itself from darkness itself.
Wings unfolded slowly.
Massive claws dug into the earth.
Burning crimson eyes opened once more.
The dragon rose.
Not alive.
Not undead.
Shadow.
The enormous creature towered above the lake silently, flames flickering beneath black scales as it lowered its head toward him.
Waiting.
Listening.
Loyal.
Jax stared upward in complete disbelief.
“…Okay,” he said quietly.
“That is unbelievably cool.” The screen flashed again.
S-CLASS SHADOW ACQUIRED PLEASE NAME YOUR SHADOW Jax looked at the massive shadow dragon.
Then toward the scorched forest around them.
Then back at the dragon.
“A fire dragon from hell tried to murder me five minutes after I arrived in this world,” he muttered.
“…Feels dramatic enough.” He typed.
DANTE The dragon lowered its massive head immediately in acknowledgment.
A deep rumble echoed from its chest.
Not hostile.
Almost respectful.
Jax stared at the towering creature for several long seconds.
Then finally looked down at himself again.
Covered head to toe in blood, ash, dragon guts, and dirt.
“…Yeah,” he sighed.
“Definitely need a shower.”