Theo adjusted the scavenged pack slung across his shoulder. Its strap dug into his chest as the mismatched contents clinked with every step. Erasmus had been generous enough to provide rudimentary tools—if a rusted pickaxe and a leather pouch full of chalky capsules could be called generosity.

The smooth, clinical voice of Erasmus echoed in Theo’s mind as he recalled their final exchange before leaving the safety of the fortress.

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“Remind me again,” Erasmus drawled, pacing back and forth in front of his floating consoles. His sharp, icy blue eyes were fixed on Theo, brimming with scepticism. “What exactly do you intend to contribute here?”

Theo leaned against the lab’s wall, arms crossed and a cocky grin plastered across his face. “I’m the muscle, obviously. You’re the brains, I’m the brawn, looks, charisma. I can even crochet. Really I should be asking you the same.”

Erasmus pinched the bridge of his nose, muttering something in a language Theo didn’t recognize. He turned on his heel, glaring at the younger man. “You are an unintegrated anomaly, Theo. That’s not a strength—it’s a liability. Without the System’s enhancements, you’re little more than a resource sink.”

Theo’s grin faltered. He shoved his hands into his pockets and straightened, posture stiffening. “Well, if you didn’t think I was worth keeping around, why drag me into your creepy techno lair in the first place?”

Erasmus stopped pacing and fixed Theo with an unreadable expression. “I didn’t bring you here. The system did for some unbelievably generous reason. If I wasn’t on this planet, chances are you would have been terminated or left for dead.” For a moment, the silence hung heavy between them. Then Erasmus sighed and turned back to his console, gesturing at the translucent tablet hovering in mid-air.

“I’m not in the habit of carrying dead weight,” he said, his voice colder than usual. “If you want to prove your usefulness, you’ll need to start pulling your weight. I have tools and schematics that could help you survive, but none of the materials I have are of low enough grade to meet the System’s requirements.”

Theo frowned. “So what, you’re saying all this fancy tech is too good to use?”

Erasmus gave him a withering look. “The System enforces strict parameters. Higher-grade materials are prohibited at this world’s current level. Anything I create from my existing inventory would trigger a compliance protocol, and we’d both be dead before you could make another poorly timed quip.”

“Got it,” Theo said, his tone unusually subdued. “So what do you need from me?”

Erasmus tapped the tablet, and a detailed list of items appeared in the air. “Biolum moss, crystal fangroot, and Erythrite Veinstone. They’re abundant enough in this region, but you’ll need to harvest them without dying. These will allow me to craft tools that won’t set off the System’s protocols.”

Theo raised an eyebrow. “No offense, Raz, but this sounds like a suicide mission. Couldn’t you just send a sex bot or something?”

Erasmus’s lips twitched into the faintest shadow of a smirk. “Consider this a test. If you can’t handle a simple foraging task, perhaps this isn’t the world for you. And don’t expect me to hold your hand.”

Theo’s jaw tightened, and his grip on the strap of his pack firmed. “Fine. I’ll bring back your magic weed or whatever. But when I do, you’d better start giving me some actual credit. Remember that I didn’t ask for this either and I suspect there’s plenty you aren’t telling me.”

Erasmus turned away, already engrossed in his work. “If you return in one piece, I may even pretend to be impressed. Don’t let it go to your head. Now get going. The world isn’t going to wait for you to grow a nutsack.”

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The biome stretched out like the fever dream of a mad god—colors pulsing, shadows shifting as if the land itself breathed. Trees with gnarled, bone-white trunks spiralled upward, their canopies shifting like slow waves in an ocean of bioluminescence. Tiny motes of light flitted in the air, dancing between patches of neon moss. Beneath Theo’s boots, the ground alternated between patches of soft, glowing moss and jagged crystalline outcroppings that seemed ready to slice through anything unprotected. Each breath carried an electric tang, a faint mix of ozone and something vaguely sweet.

The voice of Erasmus repeated through Theo’s mind again. “This is an ecosystem designed to kill. Try not to make it easy for it.”

As if the towering techno-recluse hadn’t already made it clear he expected Theo to fail.

“Just don’t die, Theo,” Theo muttered under his breath, mimicking Erasmus’s dry tone. He kicked a rock, which tumbled forward, only to dissolve into a puddle of green slime. “And definitely don’t touch anything not on the list. Sure thing, boss.”

The silence of the area was deceptive. Every now and then, a faint rustling reached Theo’s ears, coming from directions impossible to pinpoint. It was the kind of sound that made his instincts hum with tension. The distant chirps of something bird-like were joined by an occasional low growl that seemed to vibrate the ground.

He pressed forward, trying to focus on his goal: gather the materials Erasmus had rattled off with the same enthusiasm as someone listing groceries. Biolum moss, crystal fangroot, and a mineral Erasmus had called “Erythrite Veinstone”—“bright red, likely sharp enough to pierce your skull if mishandled,” Erasmus had added with what Theo swore was the faintest, hopeful smirk.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

The first hour was uneventful—if you ignored the oppressive feeling of being watched. Theo’s eyes darted from shadow to shadow, but nothing revealed itself. The eerie quiet, broken only by the crunch of his boots on alien soil, gnawed at his nerves.

He paused to crouch beside a tree, its trunk pulsating faintly with veins of glowing blue sap. The moss Erasmus needed was growing along the bark. Theo pulled out a small, dull blade from his pack and scraped the bioluminescent moss into a jar, careful not to touch the sap itself.

“Alright,” he muttered, capping the jar and stashing it away. “One down. Two to go.”

The distant growl came again, louder this time. Theo froze. The air around him seemed to tighten. Slowly, he turned his head toward the sound. Nothing. The forest’s vibrant glow and shifting shadows made it impossible to see far, every corner alive with false movement.

“Chill, Theo,” he whispered to himself, gripping the handle of the pickaxe. The rusty tool was more psychological comfort than practical defence.

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Two hours later, Theo’s patience was wearing thin. His nerves buzzed from the constant vigilance, and his legs ached from weaving through the uneven terrain. Finding the fangroot had proven harder than expected. The plant’s signature crystal-like structure blended seamlessly with the jagged mineral growths sprouting from the ground. Twice now, Theo had knelt to examine what he thought was fangroot, only to discover it was nothing but inert rock.

Finally, he stumbled upon a small patch of the plant growing along the edge of a narrow ravine. Its translucent, crystalline stems shimmered faintly under the forest’s bioluminescent glow. Theo knelt and used his blade to carefully dig out the roots.

The air shifted. A low rumble vibrated through the ground, subtle but unmistakable.

Theo froze, the fine hairs on his arms standing on end. Slowly, he raised his eyes, scanning the surrounding forest. Nothing moved. The rumble came again, closer this time. It wasn’t the distant growl he’d heard earlier; it was heavier, a deep vibration that seemed to resonate in his chest.

And then he saw them.

Eyes. Six pairs, glowing faintly yellow and perfectly camouflaged against the glowing moss and crystalline backdrop. They blinked in unison, low to the ground, like predators assessing their prey.

Theo’s breath caught in his throat. The creatures stepped forward, revealing themselves as they emerged from the undergrowth. They moved like a pack of wolves, their sleek bodies covered in shimmering scales that reflected the biome’s eerie light. Long, talon-like claws clicked against the ground as they circled him, and their elongated snouts—more raptor than canine—twitched as they sniffed the air.

“God damn Raptor-wolves. Of course,” Theo muttered, his heart hammering in his chest.

The largest of the pack—likely the alpha—let out a guttural growl, its eyes locking onto Theo. His grip on the pickaxe tightened as he shifted his weight, instincts honed from years of street fights kicking in.

“Alright,” he said under his breath, trying to keep his voice steady. “Easy now, big dog. I’m not here to cause trouble. Just a friendly guy passing through...”

The alpha growled again, a sound that rumbled through Theo’s bones. The rest of the pack moved closer, their predatory gazes unblinking.

Then they lunged.

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Theo barely had time to react. He swung the pickaxe in a wide arc, forcing the first raptor-wolf to veer away mid-leap. The second came at him from the side, claws slashing through the air. Theo ducked, rolling awkwardly across the uneven ground. He came up in a crouch, his heart pounding as adrenaline surged through his veins.

“"Brilliant plan, Raz. Send the only guy without enhancements into Jurassic Park with a rusty pickaxe. Absolute shithouse,” Theo thought, scrambling backward as the pack regrouped. “Send the guy with no System skills or buffs into a death forest with nothing but a rusty pickaxe. Might as well have just done me yourself.”

The alpha snarled, its scaled hide rippling as it crouched low. The others fanned out, cutting off Theo’s escape routes. They were toying with him, testing his defenses.

Theo’s mind raced. Fighting them head-on was suicide. He needed an opening—a distraction, anything—to buy time.

His eyes darted to the ravine. It was narrow but deep, its edges lined with jagged crystal formations. An idea sparked. It was reckless, borderline suicidal, but better than being shredded by claws and teeth.

“Alright, you scaly bitches,” Theo growled, gripping the pickaxe tightly. “Let’s see how good you are at cliff diving.”

He bolted toward the edge of the ravine, the pack snarling as they gave chase. The ground blurred beneath his feet, each step precarious on the uneven terrain. The alpha closed the distance faster than Theo expected, its claws raking across his back. Pain flared, but he didn’t stop.

Theo reached the ravine and jumped, twisting mid-air to grab a protruding crystal ledge. His momentum slammed him into the jagged wall, knocking the wind from his lungs. He gritted his teeth and hung on breathlessly, his fingers digging into the sharp edges of the crystal.

The alpha skidded to a halt at the edge, snarling in frustration. One of the smaller raptors wasn’t so lucky; it barrelled over the edge, letting out a high-pitched screech as it tumbled into the abyss. Theo wasn’t able to gauge exactly how far the drop was before jumping. It turned out the answer was: Very fucking far.

Theo faked a grin through the pain. “One down. If I survive this, I’m never letting Raz send me grocery shopping again.”” he muttered, shortly before his crippling fear of heights twisted his stomach into knots.

The pack paced along the ravine’s edge, their eyes never leaving Theo. The alpha let out a chuff, stepping closer as if weighing the risk. Then, with a final, deliberate snarl, it snapped its jaws before turning away, leading the pack back into the undergrowth. The glowing eyes vanished one by one.

Theo let out a shaky breath, his arms trembling from the strain of holding onto the ledge. Carefully, he climbed back up to solid ground, wincing as the movement pulled at the fresh claw marks on his back.

He sat down heavily, his chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath. The adrenaline began to fade, leaving behind the dull ache of exhaustion and the sharp sting of his wounds.

“Next time,” Theo panted, staring up at the glowing canopy, “you’re going shopping, Raz.”