The forest was quiet again.
Smoke drifted lazily above the scorched shoreline while the smell of burned scales and shattered bone lingered in the air.
Jax stood near the lake and exhaled slowly.
His entire body still buzzed with energy.
Everything felt lighter.
Sharper.
Too sharp.
Too strong.
He flexed one hand experimentally.
Still ridiculous.
“No more dragons,” he muttered hopefully.
The forest offered no response.
“Great.” Jax glanced down at himself.
Blood.
Ash.
Dragon guts.
Something green he absolutely did not want identified.
“…Yeah, that’s not staying.” He peeled off his ruined clothes and stepped into the lake, immediately sighing as the cold water washed over him.
Not freezing.
Refreshing.
Grounding.
For the first time since arriving in this world, his brain finally had a second to breathe.
No dragon trying to kill him.
No glowing screens.
No exploding trees.
Just water.
Jax submerged completely, scrubbing blood and soot from his hair before resurfacing near the center of the lake.
Then he caught his reflection.
He paused.
“…Huh.” Jax tilted his head slowly.
Broad shoulders.
Defined muscle.
Balanced proportions.
His body looked less like someone who worked out and more like someone custom-designed by an extremely biased character creator.
“…Okay,” he admitted quietly.
He squinted slightly lower.
“…Wow.
Okay.” He leaned closer to the reflection.
“I REALLY don’t remember looking like this before.” Which was strange.
Because surely he would remember looking like this.
Right?
His thoughts snagged there again.
That same strange emptiness.
Like missing pages in a book.
Jax frowned slightly.
“…Weird.” Then— “HEY!” A voice echoed through the trees.
Jax snapped upright.
“Get away from the water!” “There’s a dragon nearby!” Branches shifted along the shoreline as several figures emerged from the forest.
Jax blinked.
“…Another one?” The four women stopped.
“…Another one?” one repeated cautiously.
They approached slowly along the lakeshore, weapons already drawn.
Which meant— They still hadn’t seen the corpse.
Yet.
Jax rubbed the back of his neck.
“Yeah,” he said carefully.
“About that.” The group finally stepped fully into view.
And Jax’s brain immediately short-circuited.
Red-haired demon girl.
Tall blonde elf.
Blue-haired bunny girl.
Green-haired healer-looking girl.
Jax stared for a full second.
Then glanced toward the dragon corpse.
Then back toward the women.
“…Am I in an isekai?” The horned redhead blinked.
“What?” Jax pointed vaguely between them.
“Dragon.
Demon girl.
Elf.
Bunny girl.” He pointed at the green-haired girl last.
“And statistically you’re probably a healer.” The green-haired girl looked startled.
“…I am.” Jax nodded slowly.
“Yeah.
Okay.
Definitely an isekai.” The horned woman snorted.
The bunny girl looked confused.
The elf looked deeply unimpressed.
Then all four of them finally saw the dragon corpse.
Everything changed instantly.
The elf’s expression hardened.
“…What happened here?” The bunny girl’s eyes widened dramatically.
“The head’s gone…” The red-haired demon woman whistled softly.
“Well,” she murmured.
“That’s excessive.” The elf immediately moved toward the corpse, inspecting the massive wound carefully.
“No spell residue,” she muttered.
“No blade marks.” Her sharp eyes turned toward Jax.
“What weapon killed this dragon?” Jax raised one hand slightly from the water.
“…Technically?” The elf narrowed her eyes.
“I punched it.” Silence.
The bunny girl blinked.
The demon woman stared at him.
The green-haired girl looked genuinely concerned for his mental health.
“You…” the elf said slowly, “…punched an S-class fire dragon.” Jax shrugged helplessly.
“In my defense, I hit it VERY hard.” The demon woman burst out laughing.
The bunny girl looked impressed.
The elf absolutely did not.
Her bow rose immediately.
“Get out of the lake.” Jax winced.
“See, I’d really rather not.” “Why?” she demanded sharply.
Jax pointed toward the shoreline.
“My clothes are over there.” A pause.
Then realization slowly crossed the group’s faces.
The bunny girl turned bright red instantly.
The green-haired girl looked away so fast she nearly gave herself whiplash.
The demon woman started grinning.
The elf remained perfectly composed.
For almost three full seconds.
Then her expression cracked too.
“…I see,” she said stiffly.
Jax sighed.
“I was covered in dragon organs.” “That does sound unpleasant,” the demon woman admitted.
“Thank you,” Jax said.
The elf cleared her throat aggressively and straightened.
“Exit the water slowly.” Jax raised both hands.
“See?
This is already a much healthier conversation.” He walked calmly toward shore.
The reactions were immediate.
The bunny girl froze completely.
“…Is he part giant?” The green-haired girl made a small squeaking noise and looked away again.
The demon woman outright cackled.
And the elf— The elf turned crimson.
“I—” She immediately spun around.
“I apologize for absolutely nothing,” the demon woman said proudly.
“You are not helping,” the elf hissed.
Jax walked past them with complete confidence, grabbed his drying clothes from the fallen tree, and started dressing.
“See?” he said casually.
“Totally innocent misunderstanding.” “You punched a dragon to death,” the elf replied without turning around.
“Nothing about this situation is innocent.” “Fair point.” Jax pulled his shirt over his head.
The bunny girl was still staring.
“…You really killed it by punching it?” “Honestly,” Jax admitted, “I’m still processing that myself.” The demon woman folded her arms, studying him carefully now.
Not fearfully.
Curiously.
“Interesting,” she murmured.
The green-haired girl finally looked back toward him.
“…You’re human,” she said quietly.
Jax paused slightly.
“…I think so?” That earned him four deeply confused stares.
Jax pointed awkwardly at his own head.
“Long story.” The elf finally turned back around, professionalism slowly returning.
“…We will be having that story,” she said firmly.
Jax nodded.
“Yeah.
That seems fair.” Behind them, the massive corpse of the dragon remained sprawled across the lakeshore.
Silent.
Watching over the beginning of something none of them yet understood.