The last sensation Ren felt before waking was the blinding pain of impact—the truck, the screech of tires, the inevitable darkness. When he opened his eyes again, he was not met with the afterlife he had expected but instead found himself gasping for air, the damp scent of earth filling his lungs. He blinked against the dappled light filtering through the dense canopy above, bewildered and disoriented.
Ren lay on a cold, stone slab surrounded by towering trees, their gnarled branches twisting like ancient fingers grasping at the sky. The forest was alive with the sound of rustling leaves and distant whispers, as if the very air held secrets just waiting to be uncovered. He pushed himself upright, feeling a surge of unfamiliar energy coursing through him—a sensation both exhilarating and terrifying.
He had been pulled into a different world, Netharia, where the rules of reality were foreign. As fragments of memory from the villager he now inhabited flooded his mind, he understood the horror of his situation: Kalen, the young man whose body had been left to die on this sacrificial slab, had been offered to an unseen entity that demanded blood and suffering. This ancient forest was a place of dread, where the lines between life and death blurred, and darkness lurked in every shadow.
Glancing down at his body, Ren noticed the ritual markings smeared across his skin, remnants of a dark ceremony. The memories of Kalen’s last moments weighed heavily on him—a mix of fear, desperation, and hopelessness. Yet, intertwined with those memories were fragments of a revelation that sent a shiver down his spine.
As he surveyed his surroundings, he instinctively summoned a status screen before him. The interface shimmered to life, revealing the extraordinary nature of his abilities.
----------------------------------------
STATUS SCREEN
Name: Ren
HP: 99,999
Mana: 99,999
If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
Stamina: 99,999
Luck: 999
Agility: 999
Attractiveness: 999 (He chuckled at this ridiculous stat, shaking his head.)
Defence: 999
Potential: SSS+++
Traits: Undying: During a dying state, your stats are all temporarily boosted to max. (Status: Permanent)
----------------------------------------
“What the hell?” Ren exclaimed, his voice echoing in the stillness. The numbers were absurd, and the concept of a permanent boost was baffling. But the trait’s description revealed the truth: he had been pulled into this world while dying, his soul torn from its original body before its time had come to an end. In that moment of chaos, he was thrust into Kalen’s fading consciousness, resulting in an anomaly—a bug in the system, as it were.
The realization hit him hard: this was why his stats were maxed out, and why he was inexplicably strong. The energy within him felt boundless, a force that could shatter the very ground beneath him if he chose. He could blow away the entirety of this forest with a single stomp, he joked. But for now, he needed to understand the limits of his powers and the consequences they might bring.
As he moved away from the sacrificial slab, he could feel the weight of Kalen's memories pressing down on him, urging him to act. The villagers had sacrificed him to appease whatever creature lurked in the depths of the forest, but Ren refused to accept that fate. He could feel a connection to the earth beneath his feet, the life pulsing in the roots and the air humming with energy. He was a part of this world now, and he would shape his own destiny.
The forest loomed around him, an intricate web of shadows and light, thick underbrush and ancient trees whispering secrets of long-forgotten rituals. The atmosphere was charged, a palpable sense of magic and dread coiling in the air. He could hear the whispers growing louder, as if the forest itself were trying to communicate, warning him of the dangers that lay ahead.
With a determined breath, Ren stepped deeper into the woods, embracing his new existence. He was not just a villager left to die; he was something more—a survivor, an anomaly, and perhaps even a hero. As he ventured forward, he would uncover the truth of this land, confront the entity that demanded sacrifice, and discover the full extent of his abilities.
“Let’s see what this world has in store for me,” he said, resolve hardening in his chest as he prepared to face the unknown.