The world was not kind
Kai had thought waking up in a fantasy world would be exhilarating—just like in the games he loved. But within days of wandering the vast, forested wilderness, the romanticism had vanished. The nights were cold, the days blistering, and the creatures that roamed the wilds did not play by game rules.
He trudged barefoot through moss and roots, his armor scratched and worn, his sword now more of a blunt object than a blade.
"I thought I'd be leveling up by now," he muttered, swatting at insects. "Where's my damn tutorial?"
He hadn't seen another human—or humanoid—in weeks. Just strange beasts: multi-eyed wolves, floating jellyfish with stingers that paralyzed, and a flock of birds that screamed with human voices. He ran more than he fought. His rations ran out by the second week.
One night, while hiding inside a hollow tree trunk, Kai clutched his knees and whispered, "Maybe I'm not meant to survive this either…"
But then he remembered Masaru's sneer, his father's drunken scowl, his mother's disgust.
"No," he said, jaw tightening. "I didn't come here to die. Not again."
He fashioned crude weapons. Learned to hunt small game. He drank from filtered stream beds. He started tracking stars, noting terrain. Weeks passed. Then months. The world slowly revealed its laws—and Kai learned them by blood and grit.
One morning, he stood on a hill and saw it: stone towers, massive gates, and banners fluttering. A city—no, a kingdom. Civilization at last.
He smiled weakly. "Finally."
He limped toward the walls. But as he entered the bustling streets, people barely gave him a glance. They were tall, fair-skinned, and beautiful. Some with horns. Others with pointed ears. Elves, demons, hybrids.
Kai, dirt-covered and gaunt, was beneath notice.
He wandered for hours, awed by the stone architecture and market stalls. He marveled at enchanted lanterns that floated and children levitating pebbles with glee.
Then he heard it.
"Hey! You!"
A voice rough as gravel. Kai turned. A man with jagged teeth and a spiked club stepped forward, flanked by two others. Gutter thugs.
"New face," the man grinned. "Smells like prey."
Kai backed up. "I don't want trouble."
"Too bad," the second thug laughed. "You walked into it."
They circled him. He raised his fists. "I have a sword."
The leader sneered. "That blunt stick? I've seen sharper soup spoons."
One lunged. Kai dodged, barely. Another grabbed his shoulder. Pain flared as he was slammed into a wall.
"Let go of me!"
The leader raised his club. "You'll wish we just robbed you."
Then—something changed.
Time slowed.
Kai's heartbeat thundered in his ears. A glow spread across his vision. His eyes shimmered silver. The air warped around him.
"What the—" the thug gasped.
In a blink, Kai moved. Not consciously. Instinctually.
He dodged left, grabbed the second thug's arm, and twisted it until bone cracked. He spun, landed a kick that sent the leader flying.
"I—what's happening to me?!" Kai shouted.
Blue symbols burned across his forearms. A whisper echoed in his mind: "Power recognized: Adaptive Reflex. Skill awakened: Combat Transcendence."
He moved like water, like fury made flesh. He disarmed the third thug, used his momentum to slam him to the ground. Every attack flowed perfectly.
When it ended, all three lay groaning on the cobblestones.
Kai panted, wide-eyed. "I… I did that?"
A small crowd had gathered.
A cloaked woman stepped forward, eyes narrowed. An elf. Her voice was calm, curious.
"You're not from here."
Kai shook his head slowly. "No. I don't even know where here is."
She smiled faintly. "Then allow me to welcome you to the Kingdom of Nytherra. And you… you've just earned an audience with the King."
Kai followed the elf through winding streets to the palace, flanked now by guards. He couldn't tell if he was a guest or a prisoner.
"I didn't mean to cause a scene," he said.
"You didn't," she replied. "You revealed power. Power interests the King."
As they passed a courtyard, Kai spotted children practicing magic—levitating objects, creating gusts of wind. He stopped to stare.
The elf paused. "You've never seen magic before?"
"Not outside of a screen," he replied.
She frowned. "You truly are foreign."
The throne room was massive. Shadows clung to obsidian pillars. At the far end sat the King.
He was tall, with curved horns, skin like volcanic stone, and eyes of molten gold. A terrifying presence.
Beside him sat the Queen—radiant, with emerald hair and piercing violet eyes. An elf, no doubt.
Kai knelt instinctively.
"Rise," the King commanded. His voice was thunder.
Kai stood, shaky. "My name is Kai. I—I don't know how I got here."
"You arrived in our world with no magic signature, no citizenship rune, and no memory of crossing the portals."
"I woke up in the wilds," Kai said. "I've been surviving for months."
The Queen leaned forward. "You fought three men alone, untrained, and awakened an ancestral skill."
"Ancestral?"
"It is a rare gift," the King said. "Only bloodlines of ancient origin wield such instinctual power."
"I don't even know my bloodline,"kai said.
"You will," the Queen said. "In time."
The King rose, descending the steps. Kai tensed.
"You have strength," he said. "But strength without purpose is chaos. I will give you shelter. Training. A place among my ranks."
"Why?" Kai asked.
"Because I see in your eyes what I once saw in mine: the hunger to rise." the king said.
Kai bowed his head. "Then teach me."
The King smiled, revealing fangs😁. "Good. Let the world know—another contender has entered the game."
And for the first time since he arrived, Kai felt something unfamiliar.
Hope.