My name is Yohan.

I was an office worker, with ten years of experience under my belt. I also have a family of my own, a wife and a child. We are a happy family.

This all began when I was about to go home.

At that time, I was on my way to the elevator after finishing my report. with hands full of stuff like my bag and my coat, I hurried on the steps as my wife said that my child was starting to talk, and I couldn't wait to see my child.

What happened next was something that, especially for me, could be called illogical.

Just as I was half running into the open elevator, the light started to flicker and made my eyes blink. then suddenly I was inside an unknown gray space.

everything was very confusing, honestly. It was like, one moment my eyes were looking at the elevator, and then I blinked, just a split second like any normal human does, and suddenly I was in the grey space.

How in the world could that happen? I have no idea!

Should I curse and shout bad words in this kind of scenario? Probably.

What should I do now? I think I know the answer to that!

What I should do right now is read this floating, transparent blue box in front of me that appears about a second after I arrive in this gray space.

The box says, as follows :

Welcome, New Soul, to the Battle World of Colossi!

You are copied to become one of the new champions, and we wish you to become a champion of this world.

Now, please choose your basic form!

Choose Basic Form

Now hold on a second.

Battle World? Copied? What the hell?

Oh, another blue box!

Battle World is a planet with a low to medium level of technology that is prepared for a long-lasting tournament.

Each battle world will have one grand champion, who will win the ultimate prize of three wishes.

Anything will be granted for these wishes, with no limitations.

Wow! It helps, but it was also not helping.

So I was kidnapped against my wishes and sent to the tournament for three wishes that I didn't ask for? Is this going to be healthy competition or a battle to the death? Please don't battle to the death! I am way past that now!

Oh, another blue box!

You are a copy of someone's soul.

The real you is still living well, healthy, and safe, just like you remembered before you were here.

This means that you have been given a wonderful opportunity!

You lose nothing if you fail.

You win a lot when you win.

So why not try your best and use your wish to make your life even better than it used to be?

What is this? Online ads? This box somehow sounds like a salesman trying their hardest to make some sales.

Another box?

Copied Soul,

Your time is almost up!

If you fail to choose a basic form, one will be given to you randomly.

Please choose your basic form.

Choose Basic Form

Hmm?

So if I didn't make a choice, would a random one be given to me?

Well, I better see the choices. I am a copy after all. No matter how messed up I get, my real self is safe, and my family will not be affected.

So, click!

Please choose your basic form :

Lion

Iguana

Snake

Eagle

Praying Mantis

Shark

why are there only animals? Am I supposed to be an animal now?

Then, what should I choose? Can I get a human, please? hello?

....

....

no response.

Well, let's see here.

I was a human who was born under Leo's horoscope. Why not choose the lion?

my logic was just too simple. Hahahaha!

Click!

Thank you for choosing your basic form.

Welcome to the Battle World, Colossi.

*****

Suddenly, the world went dark!

In front of me is a new blue box that shows name, race, status, and skills.

what was this blue box? some sort of video game display?

Name: Yohan

Race: Lion (Male)

Status: Healthy (incubation)

Skills :

- Challengers Mind

- Basic Instincts

Interestingly, I have two skills right now and none of them are talking about Microsoft Word and documentation. like skills in CVs?

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Anyway, now I just need to wait.

Wait, for what? for my status to change from the state of incubation.

I have no idea how I ended up in this incubation state all of a sudden.

Hmm, why don't I try to look at this box again? Somehow, it remains right in front of my face.

Oh!

Right after I focus on my skills, suddenly there is another box that gives me an explanation.

Neat!

Skills : Challengers Mind

This skill is a gift for every copied soul in the battle world.

The skill will allow logical thinking and calm responses when the souls first arrive in the battle world.

The skill will be removed when the souls have accepted their new reality and can thrive without help anymore.

Skill : Basic Instincts

This skill is a gift for every copied soul in the battle world.

This skill will allow the soul to know the basics of survival, including food choice, battle form, and life preservation.

New souls are advised to follow their instincts when they are lost or don't know what to do.

Now I understand. That is why I feel so relaxed and chill as if this is all just another day at work. It was because of this skill called Challengers Mind. The real me should probably be panicking and trying to run around in fear.

Then there is this instinctive stuff that will help me survive. Well, I hope it can help me be a champion too. Otherwise, I don't need it. Hahaha!

*****

It's been a while, but finally, at last, the thing that I have been waiting for has arrived. i am hatching !!

Rip!!

A layer of skin-like eggshell is ripped away from me as my body instinctively ripped it apart which then made me fall to the wet ground, laying weakly like a defenseless baby.

I slowly open my eyes and see that I am now lying on a ledge near the top of the mountains. Surrounded by empty, rocky ground right under the sunlight. I can see a very dense forest in the distance. roars and screeches of animals and bugs filled the forest below, while I was here on this ledge, all alone, with only the sound of the wind to entertain my ears.

As I break free from my slimy, gelatinous, skin-shelled egg, I am amazed to find myself in a brand-new world. My muscles were still weak and underdeveloped, and I could barely move except for the tiny movements of my eyelids and eyeballs. Everything around me was new and unfamiliar, and I couldn't wait to explore it all as I grew stronger and more capable with each passing day.

*****

I started to learn to move my body after a while, and after a few hours or so, I could finally stand on my four feet without wobbling around.

After I can finally start to walk safely without the risk of falling on my own, a new transparent blue box appears in front of my face again.

Welcome to the Battle World Colossi Tournament!

Call your status screen if you want to know about your progress!

New Mission ! : Reach the first rank and maintain the position for a week!

Progress : Rank 23/23

Name : Yohan

Race : Lion (Male)

Status: Healthy (Newborn)

Skills :

- Challengers Mind

- Basic Instincts

Wow, convenient!

Right after I started to walk, I was assigned a mission to battle. What should I wait for next? An ambush? or maybe a hug?

Ignoring the screen for now, I begin to inspect myself.

First of all, I have nothing to compare my size to since I am still near the top of the mountain. There is nothing that I know that I can take as a reference but some random rocks, which are somehow too small for me.

Secondly, aside from my unknown size, I am already a fully grown male lion with the mind and soul of a human. I have a beautiful mane that I am somehow proud of and willing to show to anyone who wishes to care.

I also have quite a set of sharp claws on all of my feet. I also have fangs, which are also sharp and deadly. What did I have to do with these Sharpies?

other than all those features, I somehow didn't feel that much difference. Everything seemed like it was clicking nicely without any discomfort. like I was always meant to be a lion. It's so weird!

I tried to move around a bit, trying to find anything that might result in a weird sensation but found nothing. I can walk fine, even when I know I was a bipedal human before and now a quadrupedal lion.

I can walk just fine, I can run just fine, I can roar, and I can purr. has anyone ever thought that Lion's Purr was cute? anyone? oh right, there is no one here.

After I finished with my body, I started to look for a way to go down from this mountain cliff. This mountain is bare of any life except me, and I am considering looking for other lifeforms.

not to eat them! Of course, who do you think I am? just another newborn lion who was a bit hungry?

I began to look around, walking to the edge to find a good foothold. Fortunately, I managed to find one! But it's not a foothold.

It was a road, badly made and uneven, but it was a road. It was hidden from view and somehow looked like someone or something had built it so anyone could get down from this place easily.

It's kind of suspicious, but I need it, so off I go!

*****

I was on my way down when I saw something interesting.

I saw a cow.

A big, fat, muscular cow that looks like it was on steroids after training in bodybuilding for five years. This cow was a muscle bro!

The cow appears to be confused and lost. It tried to look for grass by sniffing around, but I am pretty sure it knew that there was no hope in this barren mountain.

Suddenly, my instincts kicked in!

I started to crouch and began to be careful with my step, trying to make less noise. My crawling steps were made very carefully, one at a time, while my eyes kept watching over the muscular cow.

Whenever I see that the cow looks like it has started to get vigilant, I stop and put my body down to rest. I was trying to look like I was just sitting around and not a danger.

Step by step, I am getting closer and closer. Finally, I was close enough to pounce on it, and that was exactly what I did!

ROAARR!

I roared excitedly as I made my jump and pierced the cow's skin with my claws. The cows began to panic and started to kick wildly, but I remained on my spot, on the cow's back with my claws firmly embedded in it.

I tried to put my claws deeper into the flesh, but the muscles of this cow appeared to be too thick, like protective armor that defends against my claws. What should I do?

Then my logical thinking started to join the fray when I saw a bit of blood leaking from the claw wound. If I cannot stab it deep enough to kill it, then I just need to cut it open and let it bleed to death.

With all four of my feet, I begin to stab the cow's body and make a wide cut. Five lines of claw marks quickly appeared on the cow's body in four different places, gushing with warm red blood.

The cows could feel that I tried to rip his body and began to panic even more. It kicks wildly and begins to slam its body down in an attempt to remove me from its body.

Bam!!

Do you know what it feels like to get slammed down by a bodybuilder? Maybe not, but I just feel like that.

The cow successfully threw its body to the side and at the same time fell on my body, pressing me down to the sharp rocky ground.

But I keep fighting, for all the fresh meat that I could eat, I keep on wrecking the cow's back and digging into its flesh.

With my back feet, I tried to push the cow away to give me more room to move, but I failed. The cow panic mode is too chaotic, and I can barely make any movements.

In this kind of situation, I decide to do the only thing that crosses my mind. That is by sticking my sharp fangs into the cow's back and beginning to eat it. Alive!

The cow is mooing painfully as I take a full bite, munching it a bit before I swallow it. The cow finally realized that it could not stop me by putting its body on me and started to try to escape.

Fortunately for me, its effort just gives me enough room to launch another attack. This time I climbed on the cow's back and started to crawl onto its neck.

Using my powerful front paw, I slap the cow's neck as hard as I can to put it down. Of course, I failed, as the cow's neck was as thick as my body, but I didn't stop trying.

With one last attempt, I started to bite the thick neck and ripped the neck muscle with my fangs. It manages to inflict enough pain on the cow as it finally gives up and falls head down onto the ground. Looking tired and giving up, but still struggling.

Panting heavily but refusing to put my prey in any more misery, I bite the cow's throat as hard as I can and let it quickly bleed to death.

As the cow lay there, weak and waiting for its final breath, I sat beside it to catch my breath. Somehow it feels satisfying, to fight with prey that is trying to fight back.

I can't wait to find other prey. I hope they fight as hard as this cow, or they will be ashamed.