The forest was quiet—too quiet. Each step I took rustled dry leaves, echoing unnaturally under the canopy of twisted trees. Above, the sun blazed in place, unmovable. It had been hours—no, days—and it hadn't budged.
"Numen," I muttered, brushing a strand of sweat-soaked hair off my brow, "why is the sun still up? How long was I asleep?"
[YOU WERE ASLEEP FOR 14 HOURS. THIS PLANET'S SUN DOESN'T SET—NOT LIKE ON EARTH. IT STAYS IN THE SKY, CIRCLING SLOWER THAN YOU'RE USED TO.]
I blinked. "That's... disorienting."
[YOU'LL GET USED TO IT. YOU'RE ADAPTING FASTER THAN EXPECTED. THAT'S ONE OF YOUR GIFTS.]
"Gifts?"
[YES. BEFORE YOU WERE TRANSPORTED TO THIS UNIVERSE, YOU WERE GRANTED SURVIVAL SKILLS—UNIQUE ONES, FORGED BY THE GODS. YOUR MOST IMPORTANT ONE IS INSTINCT OF THE ANCIENT.]
I paused. Something about that name stirred a primal certainty in my chest.
[A FORGOTTEN GIFT WHISPERED DOWN THROUGH THE BLOODLINES OF THE FIRST SURVIVORS. WHEN ACTIVATED, THE USER INHERITS THE PRIMAL WISDOM OF ANCIENT SOULS—GUIDING EACH DECISION WITH THE CERTAINTY OF THOSE WHO'VE OUTLIVED DEATH ITSELF.]
SUB-SKILLS:
—PRIMORDIAL INSTINCT
Grants near-animal reflexes. You'll know when to flee, when to fight, and when to wait. Lies, traps, danger—you'll feel them before they find you.
—FORESIGHT PULSE
A moment. A spark. A flash of insight before disaster strikes. It won't show the future—but it'll give you the right moment to act.
—DIVINE ADAPTATION
A blessing woven into your soul. The world will twist and bend—but this skill ensures you bend with it. Survival is not a question—it's your nature.
—WHISPERS OF SURVIVAL
Voices in the back of your mind—half memory, half magic. They'll speak only when you're truly in danger. Soft. Urgent. Wise.
There were combat skills too, but those would come in time. Right now, I felt... less alone. Like something ancient had its hand on my shoulder. "You gave me these?" I asked quietly.
[NOT ME EXACTLY. BUT... LET'S SAY I WAS BORN TO CARRY THEM TO YOU.]
The forest opened to a sweet-water river. I'd walked ten hours, and hunger hit me like a storm. I collapsed near the bank. "Numen… help me out here."
[THERE ARE FISH IN THIS RIVER. ODD, SINCE IT'S SWEET WATER—BUT POSSIBLE. YOU CAN CATCH SOME.]
"HOW? I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING."
[TAKE YOUR SHIRT. TIE OFF THE NECK, KNOT THE SLEEVES. USE IT LIKE A NET.]
I followed his instructions. After a few tries, I caught three fish—one shimmering golden. "Pretty… but I'm starving."
[COOK IT. DRY LEAVES, WOOD, AND FLINT.]
"WHAT'S FLINT?"
[A SHARP, GLASSY GRAY ROCK. YOU'LL FIND SOME ON THE RIVERBANK.]
I gathered wood, found flint, and sparked a fire. The fish sizzled on a green stick. As I bit into the golden one, heat surged through my veins. "N-NUMEN! IT'S… HOT—WHAT'S HAPPENING?!"
[IT ABSORBED MANA—LIKE A BEAST. YOUR BODY'S ADJUSTING. YOU CAN ENDURE THIS.]
I gritted my teeth. Two hours of fire in my blood… then it passed. "Why didn't my instincts stop me?"
[BECAUSE THEY KNEW YOU COULD SURVIVE. AND GROW.]
Forty-five days passed. I lived by the river—fishing, cooking, surviving. More golden fish. No more burning. I'd adapted. "Your mana capacity's rising," Numen said one day. [SOON, YOU'LL BE ABLE TO SHAPE IT. BUT LET'S TRAIN FIRST. WE BEGIN WITH THE BOW.]
I built one with Numen's help. Practiced daily.
SIX MONTHS: Accurate shots.
THREE YEARS: Consecutive bullseyes.
TEN YEARS: A hundred arrows in one breath.
FIFTY YEARS: A thousand arrows in one breath.
[TIME FOR MOVING TARGETS.]
Three hundred years later—I was a master. No target could escape me.
[NOW, TIME TO FEEL MANA.]
I sat cross-legged. Thought of golden fish. A flicker… a memory. My family. Earth. All slipping into a blur. "Will I forget them?"
[NEVER. YOUR SKILLS PRESERVE MEMORY. WHEN YOU RETURN, IT WILL BE LIKE NO TIME PASSED.]
One month later, I grasped mana. My vessels tore from the pressure. I screamed.
Then—
SKILL UNLOCKED: PERSISTENCE OF THE UNDYING WILLTYPE: PASSIVE/ACTIVE HYBRID
RARITY: COSMIC/TRANSCENDENT (BEYOND MYTHIC)
ORIGIN: GIFTED ONLY TO THOSE WHO HAVE DEFINED FATE ITSELF.
My blood vessels transformed. I became… different. I began hunting beasts. One by one. Five hundred years passed. Mana bent to my will. I imbued arrows, shaped flame, frost, lightning.
Then I trained mobility.
SKILL UNLOCKED: BLINKSTORM TRANSCENDENCE
TYPE: ACTIVE/PASSIVE/ULTIMATE
RARITY: COSMIC/TRANSCENDENT (BEYOND MYTHIC)
ORIGIN: SAID TO BE BORN FROM A GOD WHO GOT BORED OF WALKING.
Then swordsmanship.
SKILL UNLOCKED: NULL EDGE: ABSOLUTE SEVERANCE
TYPE: ULTIMATE TECHNIQUE / REALITY-BREAKER
RARITY: EX-CONCEPTUAL/PRIMORDIAL (BEYOND TRANSCENDENT)
ORIGIN: A SWORD TECHNIQUE WHISPERED INTO EXISTENCE WHEN A DYING STAR DREAMED OF CUTTING FATE ITSELF.
I mastered every weapon I could find—daggers, spears, staves, even hidden blades.
THE GREAT HUNTS – FROM LESSER TO APEX
With time and strength on my side, I began hunting the beasts that haunted this world.
YEAR 1–100: Fanged Crawlers
Large centipede-like creatures with venomous barbs. Quick, twitchy, and deadly in packs. I relied solely on arrows, sniping them from trees.
YEAR 100–500: Ironhide Apes
Six-foot-tall beasts with stone-plated skin. They shattered trees with bare fists. I had to outmaneuver them, using Blinkstorm to strike joints and eyes.
YEAR 500–1500: Dusk Rend Stalkers
Feline predators cloaked in shadow. They moved like smoke—only visible by glinting fangs. I learned to hunt with silence, predicting their steps through Primordial Instinct.
YEAR 1500–2500: Skyrift Serpents
Flying serpents that spit lightning. My arrows burned through air, empowered with wind and lightning mana.
YEAR 2500–2999: Gravehounds
Four-legged monsters with skeletal heads, immune to basic mana. I had to infuse my arrows with emotional will—rage, focus, clarity. Only then did Null Edge finally split one in half.
Three thousand years passed. And then… there was only one left. "Numen. I've reached my limit."
[THEN IT'S TIME. TIME TO HUNT THE LORD OF THIS PLANET—VA'KHARN, THE APEX WYRM-KING.]
"Where is he?"
[AT THE PEAK OF THE WATERFALL CLIFF.]
I looked up. The cliff scraped the sky. I climbed. Three days later, I stood at the summit. The view stole my breath—vast forests stretched endlessly. Rivers carving ancient paths through mountains. A world untamed.
A voice boomed behind me. "WHO DARES ENTER THE TERRITORY OF THIS KING?!"