I woke up reaching for my phone.

  My hand hit dirt and— dirt?

  Still half asleep, I slapped the ground again, slower this time, like maybe the phone would politely appear if I double checked.

  But nothing.

  My eyes opened wide.

  I saw them, trees. Tall ones. Ugly ones.

  The kind of trees that looked like they had been there before I was born and will continue to be there after I’m gone.

  I blinked once. “…Huh?”

  “…Okay, not my room, actually not even remotely my room.”

  I sat up carefully, like sudden movements might trigger something.

  Immediately the cold air brushed across my face.

  “Yeah, definitely not my ceiling fan.”

  I looked left. More trees.

  I looked right. Even more trees.

  I looked down at myself, it was still me, still in yesterday’s clothes and still very much confused.

  “…Alright,” I muttered, rubbing my face. “One of those dreams.”

  Because clearly, this was a dream.

  I’d had weird ones before. Like last week I daydreamed about defeating the blood night, yesterday, I dreamed about defeating an evil god and accidentally becoming a hero of some region called— honestly, I forgot, but it sounded important.

  But point is? My brain does weird things sometimes.

  Very normal stuff. Sometimes very weird stuff.

  To confirm my genius diagnosis, I pinched my arm.

  HARD.

  Pain shot up immediately as I froze.

  “…Okay.”

  Not ideal but next one.

  I slapped my own face

  SMACK.

  My head snapped to the side as my cheek burned and my dignity evaporated.

  “…That should’ve worked.”

  Alright, plan B.

  I leaned forward and bit my tongue.

  Hard.

  Obviously not smart, but I only realized it too late when pain exploded in my mouth and tears welled up instantly.

  I sat there in silence for a few seconds, tongue numb, eyes watering, and reevaluating some several life choices.

  “…Hmm. This is… concerning.”

  A slow realization began creeping up the back of my head.

  Looking around, weird purple fruits, cold wind, and the very real dirt under my hands made my heart beat a little faster.

  “…Wait.”

  I stood up slowly, very slowly, like if I moved too fast, reality itself might’ve noticed.

  My breathing picked up, my eyes widened.

  The thought hit me as a giant grin spread across my face.

  “…No way.”

  My hands started shaking, not in fear.

  Oh no. In excitement.

  “NO WAY—“

  I pointed dramatically at absolutely nothing.

  “DID I JUST GET ISEKAI’D?!”

  Silence hit me, but I didn’t care, I spun in a slow circle, eyes sparkling like I’d just won the lottery.

  Levels.

  Skills.

  Magic.

  Quests.

  Hot elves.

  My entire body lit up like it was the New Year’s Eve.

  “OHHH MY GOODNESS,” I whispered, already shaking. “IT FINALLY HAPPENED.”

  Years.

  YEARS of professional-level manga consumption had prepared me for this exact moment.

  This was it, this was my arc, my season one.

  I placed my hands on my hips and nodded seriously at the trees like they were my supporting cast.

  “Alright,” I said confidently. “I understand the assignment.

  I sat down cross legged on the dirt.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  Calm, composed, and ready. “…Now we wait for the pop-up.”

  Nothing happened, but I nodded anyway. “Understandable.

  Pop-ups take time.

  Probably loading.

  Yeah, definitely loading.

  I leaned back slightly, completely at peace with this new protagonist's lifestyle.

  I clapped my hands together.

  “Alright,” I said seriously. “Let's not waste time.”

  I straightened my posture, squared my shoulders, and extended one hand forward like every responsible future protagonist should.

  Deep breath in. Cool expression on.

  “Magic ball.”

  …

  Nothing happened. Not even a spark.

  “...Okay.”

  That was fine. Beginner worlds sometimes lock advanced skills. Very normal. I had read at least twelve series where this exact thing happened.

  I rolled my shoulders and tried again, this time with more authority.

  “Iceball.”

  But silence.

  “...Alright, warm-up spells might also be restricted.”

  I nodded to myself like this was completely expected and absolutely not embarrassing.

  “Let’s try something basic.”

  I pointed dramatically at a nearby tree, “whoosh.”

  Nothing. “…Okay that one might’ve needed mana.”

  I lowered my hand slowly.

  Totally fine, it’s plan B time.

  If magic didn’t work yet, then it clearly meant the system was still calibrating my physical stats.

  I dropped to the ground and started doing push ups, “one… two… three.”

  By twelve, my arms were already shaking.

  By sixteen, my soul began leaving my body.

  “Seventeen… eighteen… nin—“

  I collapsed face first into the dirt, and for a long time, I just lay there.

  “… Okay,” I wheezed into the ground. “Low starting stats. That’s… that’s fine.”

  Rough beginnings always built character… probably.

  I rolled onto my back and stared up at the unfamiliar stuff above me. Strange purple fruits hung from the trees, moving gently in the cold breeze.

  But still, there was no system window, level notifications or even a friendly tutorial fairy.

  I folded my hands over my stomach and nodded slowly.

  “Alright,” I said to nobody. “Pop-up is delayed.”

  I sat up, cross-legged, posing what I believed was a very patient and wise protagonist pose.

  “… We wait.”

  Five seconds had passed, then ten then twenty.

  My stomach began to growl, loudly.

  I looked down at it with mild betrayal. “… You are being very dramatic right now.”

  It answered with another grow, longer this time. More. aggressive.

  I exhaled slowly, “okay,” I admitted. “Step one before greatness… food.”

  I pushed myself to my feet and stretched.

  Looking at it, the purple fruits had caught my eye again.

  I reached up, plucked one, and took a cautious bite.

  Sweet.

  Too sweet.

  “… Yeah, no.”

  My stomach rumbled again, clearly unimpressed with my standards.

  I scanned the forest again, and that was when I saw it.

  Something small moved between the trees.

  Something with four eyes, and ugly enough to count as an insult.

  I slowly grinned, “well… well… well. Looks like the food delivered itself.”

  The creature sniffed the ground, completely unaware of the future tragedy approaching from behind.

  I crouched low and rolled my shoulders.

  “Aleight,” I whispered, confidence restored. “First hunt of the new world.”

  The creature twitched as I lunged forward like a man with absolutely no clue.

  “COME HERE BUDDY—“

  It squealed and bolted fast.

  …Okay, maybe too fast, but not fast enough.

  I tackled it into the dirt with a triumphant laugh.

  “Ah-HA! Caught you now.”

  The little thing wriggled and squeaked in pure distress as I was already planning the seasoning when—

  Grrrrrr…

  I froze, no way my stomach possibly made that sound.

  Slowly… very slowly… I looked up.

  A shadow loomed over me, breathing heavily, watching.

  The first thing I noticed wasn't the teeth or the claws.

  It was the size.

  The one I tackled barely reached my knees.

  The one standing over me now? Its legs alone were thicker than my torso.

  “…Oh.”

  My brain worked very hard to stay.

  This was fine, totally fine, every creature had… parents.

  That was normal.

  A very wholesome and family oriented ecosystem actually.

  I forced a polite smile, “hey there.”

  The small one wriggled free from my grip and scrambled behind the massive legs towering over me.

  The creature didn’t even move, it just looked at me.

  Its eyes were level with my face now.

  A low rumble came from its chest.

  A sound that basically said I see you.

  My mouth felt dry. “… So,” I started carefully, raising my hands slightly, “this is a misunderstanding.”

  The creature's claws pressed into the ground, sinking in slowly.

  The air around us felt heavier, like the entire forest had gone quiet.

  Just the breathing of mine and its.

  It wasn’t long before I realized something. There was no music, no dramatic system alert. And no pop-up window saying—

  [WARNING: HIGH LEVEL THREAT DETECTED.]

  Nothing except reality.

  My heart started to beat, not with the excited kind, but the kind you feel in your throat.

  “… Okay,” I whispered.

  The creature lowered its head slightly just closer, it’s breathing washing over me, warm and thick.

  This wasn’t animated or stylized.

  There was dirt under its claws, weight in its stance, and intent in its eyes.

  And for the first time since waking up here, I couldn’t help but think… what if this world isn’t built for me?

  The creature had stepped forward, and inside me, something made the decision for me.

  Run.

  I didn't even think of a direction or plan, I just turned and ran.

  Running through the vast forest, my breathing started to break instantly, too loud and sharp.

  Behind me, the creatures steps continued to create thuds, like it wasn't chasing something difficult, but inevitable.

  “Don't fall— don’t fall— don't fa—”

  I almost tripped within seconds.

  My foot caught a root and I stumbled forward, barely catching myself.

  “Don't fall.”

  If I fall, I'm dead.

  A tree behind me exploded with a crack as something massive burst through it

  “Too close, way too close.”

  I didn't look back. The sound of it moving had told me everything.

  It wasn't struggling, wasn't rushing, it was closing the distance without effort.

  My lungs burned, my chest tightened.

  Dirt almost got into my mouth as I struggled to breathe.

  My vision blurred at the edges.

  It wasn't long before the ground vanished.

  I hit a slope I hadn't seen and went down hard, rolling through the dirt and rock before slamming into a tree.

  My eyes widened as I felt the impact knock the air from my body.

  For a moment, I couldn't breath, couldn't move.

  But I saw it, above me, it appeared.

  Standing at the top and looking down at me.

  I could see it, the steady rise and fall of its chest.

  This was it, this was the part where it could've ended me.

  It could've rushed, could've leaped.

  But it didn't… its head tilted slightly, as if considering.

  A low rumble rolled from its chest, something closer to acknowledgment than hunger.

  But then… it turned.

  Not in fear. Not in mercy. Just… disinterest.

  Just like that, the heavy steps moved away from me.

  The forest had swallowed the sound of the creature as I stayed there, waiting, for it to change its mind and finish me off.

  But it didn't.

  My hands started shaking against the dirt, but not from relief, understanding.

  Maybe it didn't finish me off because of the system, but maybe… maybe because it decided I wasn't worth finishing.

  The thought settled slowly.

  This world didn't care if I lived.

  It didn't even care enough to kill me.

  I couldn't stop shaking.

  It wasn't because I was afraid anymore, but because something inside me had found out.

  This wasn't a story, there was no system voice.

  No stats.

  No reward window.

  Not even a “you survived,” screen.

  This wasn't a isekai, just a world that didn't care about itself.

  My fingers pressed into the ground as I tried to breathe slower, calmer.

  If this wasn't a fantasy. Then what was it?

  Why me? Why did I come in this wor—

  “Elias…”

  My eyes widened as I froze, for what I heard, it wasn't from any direction in the forest, but in my mind.

  “Elias…” I heard it again.

  Without time to waste, I stood up.

  My legs moved forward, like it was certain of the directions to the voice.

  Like I'd been following the instructions long before I understood them.

  With every step the trees started to thin, the air felt more… structured than wild.

  I stepped into a clearing.

  And I saw him, already there.

  Standing still with a holy light that almost blinded me, a sword on his back, sheathed and relaxed.

  My chest tightened with recognition, the way he looked at me as if he was waiting for me.

  “...Micheal?”

  And I knew, whatever expectations I had about this world.

  was wrong.