Kael was at school, just like any other day. He was a brilliant student, sharp and successful in his classes. His only problem was the bullies who targeted him relentlessly. Because Kael lacked physical strength, he was an easy target, forced to endure their cruelty in silence.
One day, after school, the beating went too far. As he was being struck, his head slammed against a wall, and he collapsed to the cold ground. He could taste the metallic tang of blood in his mouth. The mocking laughter of the bullies echoed in his ears, ringing like a death knell.
Why am I so weak? he thought bitterly. Just before losing consciousness, a final, desperate thought crossed his mind: If only I were stronger... I would defeat them all. Every single one of them.
When he finally opened his eyes, he wasn't in the classroom. He was in the middle of a dense, dark forest. His first thought was that his tormentors had dragged him here as a sick joke. He pulled out his phone, turned on the flashlight, and began walking, hoping to find a way home.
Suddenly, the sky broke, and a heavy rain began to pour. Spotting a nearby cave, he thought, I can wait here until the rain stops, and stepped inside. A strange noise echoed from the depths. Driven by a mix of fear and curiosity, he walked toward the sound.
There, he saw it: a bizarre, wolf-like creature. A Shadow Wolf. It was sleeping. Terror gripped Kael's heart. He tried to back away silently, but his eyes were so fixed on the beast that he didn't notice the rock behind him. He tripped, and the resulting thud echoed through the cave like a gunshot.
The Shadow Wolf snapped its eyes open.
Seeing Kael, the predator immediately lunged. Kael bolted out of the cave and into the rain-soaked forest, his clothes clinging to his skin. The wolf was right on his heels, closing the gap with terrifying speed. Suddenly, Kael's foot caught on a stray tree root, and he crashed to the mud.
As the wolf prepared for the final leap, a cold, robotic voice resonated within his mind:
[ NOTIFICATION ]
Host "Kael" has reached a critical threshold. Survival instinct detected.
Analyzing... Internal Desire: "Absolute Power."
Current physical capacity: Insufficient.
Alternative power path identified: "Mental Sovereignty."
[ ZENITH PROTOCOL ] fully initialized.
Silencing emotions... Brain capacity limiters removed.
[ FIRST SKILL UNLOCKED: HYPER-CALCULATION ]
In an instant, the world changed. Kael's field of vision was flooded with glowing blue data. Numbers and trajectories appeared over the wolf's rippling muscles, the velocity of the wind, and the exact angle of the approaching claws.
The fear that had paralyzed him vanished. He didn't just see the wolf; he understood it. The system whispered the beast's next move with 99.8% accuracy.
Kael reached out and gripped a jagged, broken tree branch lying in the mud. He clutched it tightly, and for the first time in his life, a dark, predatory smile spread across his face.
Let's see how things would unfold from this point on.