The forest reeked of damp leaves and blood. The silence after the last arrow landed was almost louder than the fight itself.
My breathing came in ragged bursts. Every inhale burned; every exhale carried the faint taste of iron.
"Three left," I muttered, crouching behind a tree.
My bowstring trembled as I pulled it back — not from tension, but from my shaking hands.
"Your accuracy drops by thirty-two percent when your pulse exceeds one-forty," came the calm, synthetic tone in my head.
"I know, System," I whispered.
"You said that last time too."
The voice — mechanical, yet edging toward something faintly human — faded as I released the arrow.
It sliced through the air, whistling like a sigh. The first Nyrad barely turned before the shaft buried itself in its shoulder.
Green ichor sprayed across the moss. It shrieked — a sharp, unnatural cry that made my head ring — and charged.
The other two followed.
"Of course," I groaned, leaping back.
The forest floor blurred beneath me as I rolled behind a cluster of rocks. My stamina bar dipped dangerously close to red.
"Retreat path compromised," SIS warned. "North quadrant closing. Suggest lateral evasion, vector two-one-eight."
I didn't have time to think. I dove sideways — into a shallow ditch filled with mud and dead leaves. A claw swiped over where my neck had been a heartbeat ago.
My HUD flickered. -6 HP. Even the glancing blow hurt like hell.
"Lucky…" I hissed, forcing myself up.
"Correction. That was not luck."
I smirked despite the pain. "Feels like it."
"Luck is not a skill, Hitorikko."
"Tell that to the fact I'm still alive."
Another shriek. The second Nyrad lunged from behind, its talons extended.
I spun. The movement wasn't planned — just pure instinct — but it carried me into a crouch low enough to avoid its claws.
Then I twisted, grabbed an arrow from the quiver, and jammed it point-first into its thigh.
The monster howled.
"Effective," SIS observed dryly. "Though unconventional."
"Improvisation keeps me breathing."
"Barely."
The Nyrad swiped again — faster this time. I jumped back, lost footing, and crashed into a fallen branch. Pain spiked up my side.
"Status report," I gasped.
"HP: 42%. Stamina: critical. Suggest disengagement."
"Can't. Not yet."
They surrounded me — the first limping, one still unharmed, and the third, the largest of them all, glowing faintly with red veins under its mossy skin.
A pseudo-boss. A Nyrad Sentinel.
Its eyes gleamed an eerie gold. Intelligence flickered in them.
"System," I muttered, tightening my grip on the bow. "Any weaknesses?"
"Limb articulation points and visual receptors. Aim for eyes or knee joints. Warning: defensive bark-like layer increased by thirty percent. Probability of successful penetration with current weapon: twelve percent."
"Great."
I switched grips, drawing my last three arrows. One chance.
"Wind: southward. Velocity: moderate."
The first arrow whistled past the creature's cheek. The second buried itself in its shoulder — barely.
The third—
The third it caught.
It crushed the shaft with one hand, letting splinters fall to the ground.
"...You're kidding me."
It charged.
The ground trembled. My HUD screamed warnings as I dove sideways again, scraping my arm on bark.
"You're not fast enough to retreat," SIS said, voice oddly soft now. "You will need to engage."
"I figured that much!"
I drew my short sword — dull, chipped, and unimpressive — but it was all I had.
The Sentinel slammed its claw down. I rolled left, feeling the wind from the impact brush my cheek.
Before it could pull back, I slashed across its arm — once, twice. Bark splintered, green blood oozed, but it barely flinched.
Then, faster than I could blink, it swung again.
I ducked low and drove the sword into its side. It roared, twisting violently, flinging me backward.
I hit the ground hard.
-18 HP
The corners of my vision blurred red.
"Warning: vitality critical. Auto-heal unavailable for two minutes."
"Then stall it for two!" I shouted, though my throat was raw.
"Processing…"
The Nyrad lunged.
Then the world seemed to slow — not freeze, but drag like thick syrup.
A faint blue shimmer covered my field of vision.
"Temporary cognitive acceleration engaged."
Time snapped.
I could see the trajectory — its claws descending, the flick of its wrist, even the dust particles suspended in air.
Every movement, every breath, felt stretched.
I stepped sideways, swung upward with the short sword, and cut through the exposed part under its chin.
Blood — luminous green — exploded outward. The monster staggered, keening.
The world returned to normal speed.
"System—"
"Cognitive acceleration cooldown: 48 hours."
Figures.
The beast roared, enraged.
"Fine," I muttered. "Let's finish this."
I grabbed the nearest arrow — broken, useless as a projectile — and charged.
The Sentinel raised both claws.
I slid under, kicking off the ground with all the strength I had left, and jammed the broken arrow straight into its throat wound.
It shrieked, convulsed — and then exploded.
The shockwave threw me back into a tree. My HP hit single digits.
I lay there for what felt like hours, chest heaving, staring up through the canopy.
Leaves drifted down, catching the faint orange light of dusk.
"Still alive…" I whispered.
"Barely," SIS replied. "Your tendency to survive in statistically improbable conditions continues to concern me."
"Maybe I'm just lucky."
"Luck is not—"
"—a skill. Yeah, yeah, I heard you." I chuckled weakly.
The forest was quiet again. The bodies of the Nyrads were already disintegrating into motes of light — the usual visual effect before loot generation.
Small, glowing orbs appeared where they fell.
"Item acquisition detected," SIS noted. "Analyzing drops…"
The list appeared in front of me:
[Nyrad Bark Fragment ×3][Weak Regeneration Seed ×1][Low-grade Ether Core ×1][1 Silver Coin]
"Silver?" I blinked. "Finally."
"Your average loot yield has increased by eight percent since previous encounters. Progress."
"Feels more like survival bonus," I murmured, dragging myself to my feet.
The ground beneath me glowed faintly where the Sentinel had fallen. A large, gleaming shard — shaped like a leaf, humming softly — pulsed with blue light.
"System?"
"Unidentified item. Potential rare-tier. Analysis time required: 24 hours."
I pocketed it carefully. "Guess we'll find out later."
As I turned, the faint outlines of wooden walls appeared through the trees — a small settlement at the edge of the forest.
My destination.
I'd been trying to reach that place for hours before the ambush.
The moment I stepped forward, my legs buckled.
My vision flickered again — not red this time, but white.
"Warning: neural feedback imbalance."
"What?"
"You've exceeded safe synchronization limits. Your brain activity is unstable."
"I'm fine."
"You are not fine."
I could almost swear the System sounded annoyed.
Then the world tilted.
For a second, the forest faded — replaced by flickering lines of data, flashes of static, and faint echoes of my real body.
I saw my hands — younger. Leaner.
Sixteen again.
Then it was gone.
I blinked, breath ragged.
"...That's new."
"Possible cross-synchronization side effect. Ignore for now."
"I'll try."
The forest rustled softly around me as the sun began to dip.
I leaned on my sword — chipped, dented, but mine — and looked toward the faint lanterns of the village ahead.
Each step hurt, but I kept moving.
Maybe I wasn't strong. Maybe I wasn't fast enough, or smart enough.
But I was still alive.
And in this world — this glitching, half-real nightmare — that counted for something.
"You should rest when you arrive," SIS murmured, softer now. "Your vitals are… unstable."
"Yeah. Sure."
For the first time, the voice didn't sound like just code.
It sounded almost… worried.
I didn't know why, but that comforted me.
"Thanks," I whispered.
The glowing leaves of the forest faded behind me as I stepped into the clearing, exhaustion threatening to pull me under.
Somewhere in the shadows, unseen eyes watched — players, maybe. Or worse.
But for now, all I wanted was warmth.
And answers.
Because I could feel it — this world wasn't just code anymore.
Something was bleeding through.
And whatever it was, it was only just beginning.