Kyne took his first step toward the forest but then stopped abruptly, remembering something.
"Let's take it slow first."
He turned around and sat down on the bluegrass again, breathing deeply the mana-laden air.
The deaths still left a strange taste in his mouth, and his mind was clearer than ever.
"Status." He said again, with more intent this time.
The translucent screen then appeared.
————————————————————
[Immortal Adaptation System — Status]
Name: Kyne Fritz
Age: 18
Talents: Immortal Adaptation (Unknown Rank)
Rank: F-
[Adaptations] (+)
————————————————————
His eyes quickly passed over the name and age, basic information irrelevant at the moment.
The talent "Immortal Adaptation" he already understood, at least in its essential function. But the other two entries caught his attention.
First, he focused on Rank F-.
As if responding to his mental focus, an explanation appeared below.
[Existential Rank: Measures the 'density' of your existence in the current reality. All beings possess a classification. Rank F- represents the most fragile and basic form of existence.]
Kyne frowned.
"So I'm basically the weakest possible being in this world."
He murmured to himself. The idea was, at the same time, a little humiliating but fascinating and exciting. He was starting from absolute zero. Everything from now on would be progress.
His focus then shifted to [Adaptations]. When he thought about expanding the section, the screen reorganized itself, displaying a list.
[Adaptations]
{Dimensional Pressure Resistance (A-), Slash Resistance (F-), Mana Affinity (F-), Poison Resistance (F-)}
Kyne focused on each one in turn, and detailed explanations appeared.
[Dimensional Pressure Resistance (A-): Acquired after death by dimensional disassembly during transmigration. Grants tolerance to environments with abnormal pressure or spatial distortions.]
[Slash Resistance (F-): Acquired after death by stabbing. Minimally reduces damage taken from cutting and piercing objects.]
[Mana Affinity (F-): Acquired after death due to incompatibility with ambient mana. Allows your body to slowly process mana to survive.]
[Poison Resistance (F-): Acquired after death by the bite of a Blue Grass Spider. Grants basic immunity to simple poisons.]
A slow smile spread across Kyne's face. He seemed to be collecting impossible things.
Closing the screen with a thought, Kyne looked around. The first thing he needed to do was get his bearings. He had no idea where he was in this new world, or even what kind of world it was.
His gaze swept across the clearing until it found a particularly tall tree at the edge of the forest. A giant violet trunk and silver leaves that seemed to reflect the light of the two suns.
"Perfect." He murmured.
He walked to the base of the tree. The trunk was smoother than he expected, with bark that felt like satin to the touch. Kyne then began to climb.
The first meters were easy. Thick branches served as natural steps. But as he climbed higher, the branches grew thinner and farther apart.
Kyne was about fifteen meters above the ground when his right foot slipped on a loose piece of bark.
For a fraction of a second, he floated, his fingers desperately clinging to a thin branch. The branch cracked.
And then he fell.
The first meters were silent, only the air whistling in his ears. Kyne had time to think.
'Ah, so that's how it is.'
Before the acceleration took over. The ground rushed toward him, the blue grass turning into a blur.
The impact came with a sound he felt more than heard. A wet, deep thud that shook his entire body.
The pain was instant and absolute.
He felt it. He truly felt his ribs break, not like a snap, but like an implosion inside his chest. Bone fragments pierced his lungs, and suddenly he could no longer breathe, only choke on the blood filling his mouth. His spine broke somewhere, and his legs twisted at impossible angles.
But the most interesting thing, Kyne noticed this as he was dying, was that despite the extreme pain, despite being terrible, unbearable, he was… fine. Mentally fine. He was not panicking. He was not desperate. He was just observing.
'Did the system do something to my mind? Or maybe I was always like this?' Kyne thought as darkness began to invade his vision.
A short, crooked laugh escaped his bloodied lips before consciousness left him completely.
[You died after falling from a great height.]
[You received: Fall Resistance (F-)]
[You will resurrect in 3… 2… 1…]
Kyne woke up lying at the base of the same tree, his body perfect and intact.
He sat up, brushed the blue grass from his back again, and looked up at the point from which he had fallen.
"Well, that was educational." He said to himself.
"But not as captivating as I imagined. The fall was too fast. Maybe from a greater height…"
His voice died when he remembered what he had seen during the brief fall. Before looking at the ground in panic, he had managed to take a quick glance at the horizon.
Forest.
It seemed that there was nothing but forest in every direction.