Theo had made a lot of questionable decisions in his life, but running low on power while trekking through a magical death jungle ranked pretty high on the list. His mesh suit's energy reserves were nearly drained.

As he traipsed through the foliage in the opposite direction of the intimidating presence near his fireplace, he clasped his backpack tightly, desperate to avoid the attention of more predators. He had been on edge for the last two days and was extremely beleaguered.

Less than five minutes into his tactical retreat, he heard rustling a few meters to his left and immediately froze, holding his breath.

An adorable feline creature sauntered out. It seemed incredibly aloof and hadn’t noticed him yet.

Theo exhaled as a smile tugged at his lips. “Well, hey there, lil guy.”

He knelt and rubbed his fingers and thumb together, beckoning the precious little baby over so he could give it some love squeezes.

The tiny creature, barely the size of a football, noticed him and let out a pitiful growl, clearly not in the mood for cuddles.

Theo straightened and raised his hands. “It’s okay. If you don’t want t—”

More growls followed by a hiss interrupted Theo.

Theo crossed his arms, wounded. “Alright, no need to be a dick about it. I could punt you across this jungle if I wanted—”

Unfortunate timing indeed.

The creature flared a violent shade of crimson, its body elongating and expanding in an unnatural, grotesque transformation. A moment later, Theo found himself staring at a towering, flaming lion-like monstrosity. Molten veins pulsed across its frame as it let out a guttural, echoing bellow.

Theo stepped back, deadpan. “Oh. Fantastic.” He sighed. “Because obviously, you’re a Pokémon boss evolution.”

The monster stomped forward, sending tremors through the ground. Theo did what any self-respecting survivor would do: he turned and ran like hell—if he had a tail, it’d be tucked.

Normally, his enhanced mesh would have kicked in, allowing him to bound at an alarming pace. But with his suit’s power nearly gone, he was running at human speed—and the massive fire beast was gaining.

Each stomp set the underbrush ablaze, thick smoke choking the air. Heat radiated off the beast in suffocating waves, so intense that Theo’s mesh began to glow. Sweat pooled down his back.

As he ran, a faint trickle of energy began to seep into his mesh device. It seemed the heat was being used to provide energy.

With the beast right on his heels, Theo kept attempting to channel the energy into his legs for a boost. Eventually, the charge was enough for one step. Theo crashed his right foot into the ground and blasted forwards.

This caused a much healthier gap to open between the predator and prey, even causing the flaming monster to lose its footing as the earth cratered beneath the explosive step.

Ahead, the dense foliage made sprinting even harder. The path was uneven, roots and vines snaking through the ground like nature’s tripwires. He had to think fast.

Then—voices. Metal clashing. A battle.

His implant flared, tracking a path through the dense jungle.

No idea who’s fighting over there, but they’re probably much better equipped to handle this flaming bitch than I am.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

He ran toward the sounds of battle.

The terrain became rockier, the trees thinning as he neared what looked like the remnants of a collapsed ruin. Vines clung to fractured stone pillars, and deep fissures cut through the ground.

Theo skidded around a corner and barely avoided slamming into a large, jagged wall of roots and stone. He risked a glance back—his pursuer’s flames were eating through the vegetation, turning everything behind him into an inferno.

He wasn’t built to handle this. Not anymore.

Back in the real world, Theo had trained like a madman. Strength, agility, reflexes—he’d honed himself into a human weapon. But here? Here, he was nothing without his enhancements. Hell, even before the system he wouldn’t have been able to fight even a normal lion.

Another bellow from behind shook him from his thoughts. He had to move.

He surged forward, dodging a falling branch that ignited the moment it hit the ground. The fire was no longer spreading naturally. It moved with intent, carving a path straight toward him. His mind scrambled for options, for anything that could turn the tide, but every route led to the same conclusion—he was outmatched.

Then, he spotted them.

Up ahead, barely visible through the dense foliage, a group of fighters was in serious trouble. Three of them were huddled together as a massive tree monster loomed over them. This thing was huge and looked pissed, one arm raised high, ready to bring down a devastating blow.

Theo assumed he was walking into a group of people having a disagreement, not another fucking agent of death.

“Oh, get fucked!” he yelled furiously as he threw his hands up.

His ocular implant flared, collecting information about the creature and the unfortunate adventurers.

The largest of the group, a towering brute of a man, braced himself, arms raised as if he intended to take the hit head-on. Beside him, another fighter—leaner, jittery—held some kind of ranged weapon but wasn’t firing, his aim shifting wildly as if he couldn't decide what to do. The third, who had been shouting orders just moments ago, had fallen silent, his stance rigid, like even he knew they were seconds from getting crushed.

And then there was the fourth guy. Off to the side. Tangled in thick vines. Completely trapped. His arms were pinned to his sides, his legs wrapped so tight they may as well have been in a plant-based straightjacket. He wriggled desperately, his struggle only making the vines constrict further, like a really affectionate boa constrictor. He wasn’t fighting. He wasn’t escaping. He was just... crying?

Theo panted, his breathing fast and shallow.

They were losing. Spectacularly.

Should he try to save them? Or… use them?

The thought hit him like a gut punch. If he ran straight through their little formation, the creature would follow. It didn’t care about strategy. It was hunting him. He could lead it right into their midst, let it rip them apart in the chaos, and in the confusion, he could escape.

It was a brilliant plan. It was also, by most moral standards, a horrific one.

Theo may have been determined to survive, but he wasn’t that dark. Not yet.

His eyes met the supposed leader of this ragtag group. Theo flashed a grin, because even with his life on the line, he had been desperate to meet some survivors, really anyone but Erasmus. And then—

The walking tree monstrosity—the one currently laying waste to everything—stopped mid-attack. It turned to look at Theo. And it looked pissed.

Wait.

Theo’s grin faltered.

There's no way it just ignored the easy prey to focus on him. The system simply couldn’t hate him that much. He was useless.

Right?

The tree beast, as if personally offended by his continued existence, pulled energy from the ground. The soil rumbled, tendrils of magic twisting as it compacted the earth into a massive boulder.

Ah. Welp.

Theo had just enough time to reconsider every mistake he’d ever made before the boulder rocketed toward his face.