The Mana Lamp cast a pale circle of light across the clearing, its blue glow pushing back the shadows. JP lay half-awake, mind gnawed by unease.
Beside him, Lyra sat cross-legged, her silver eyes scanning the dark beyond the fire's edge. Her posture was calm, but her hand rested lightly on the hilt of the short blade she always kept near.
The forest was too quiet.
Then came the sound. A low growl.
JP bolted upright, clutching his herb knife. "What was—"
"Stay behind me," Lyra snapped, rising to her feet.
The underbrush rustled, and shapes emerged—glowing eyes, too many, circling them in the night. Wolves, lean and hungry, their fangs gleaming in the lamp's glow.
JP's heart hammered. Damn it. I'm not ready for this. A lamp, a tiny blade, and no clue how to fight…
He backed up, nearly tripping over his bedroll. His lamp flickered, shadows darting as the wolves closed in.
Lyra stepped forward, her cloak billowing. In a flash of steel, her blade sang.
The first wolf lunged—and she moved like water, sidestepping, slicing its flank in a single, precise motion. The beast yelped, crumpling to the ground.
She's fast… faster than human, JP realized, eyes wide.
A second wolf charged. Lyra pivoted, thrusting her blade deep into its throat. Her movements were fluid, efficient, almost practiced to perfection.
Meanwhile, JP stumbled back, fumbling with his knife as another wolf circled toward him.
Think, JP. Electricity. Circuits. Tools. You've always had tools.
But here—just a knife, a lamp, and his pounding heart.
The wolf leapt, snarling. JP swung wildly, catching its shoulder with the blade. Not deep, but enough to make it recoil. His lamp's glow seared into its eyes, disorienting it for a second.
"Stay with me!" Lyra called, cutting down another attacker.
Breathing hard, JP's mind scrambled. I can't fight like her. But there has to be something else. Something I can do.
And then he remembered.
A fragment of memory: his niece, sitting cross-legged on the floor back on Earth, muttering at a glowing screen. Laughing as she said, "Status board, open!"
JP's lips moved before he thought.
"...Status."
The lamp flickered, and a faint, translucent panel appeared before his eyes.
[Status Board: Active]
Name: JP (??? – Transmigrated)
Class: None
Level: 1
Skills: [Appraisal], [Alchemy Beginner], [??? Electrician's Instinct]
Condition: Fatigued, Mana Low
Inventory: Satchel (Herbs, Mana Lamp, Emberstone Fragments, Moonshade Resin)
JP froze. "Holy—"
The wolf lunged again, snapping him back to reality. He thrust with all his strength, the blade scraping its side. Lyra was there in a heartbeat, finishing the beast with a swift strike.
The clearing fell silent, broken only by the ragged breaths of the survivors. Three wolves lay sprawled in the grass, blood dark in the lamp's glow.
Lyra wiped her blade clean, her face unreadable. "You nearly got yourself killed."
JP swallowed, clutching his knife tight. His pulse thundered in his ears—but beneath the fear, there was something else.
Power.
Not in his arms, not in his blade—but in the panel still flickering faintly before him.
"Status," he whispered again, watching the board reappear.
For the first time, he wasn't just fumbling blindly through this world. He had a framework, a system.
And with it… a fighting chance.