The North Woods were a jagged labyrinth of ancient pines and freezing mist. To the old Ezekiel, these woods were a place to gather firewood and stay away from the shadows. To the current Zeke, they were a playground.
He moved through the underbrush like a ghost. Thanks to his new passive skill, [Apex Predator's Stealth], not a single dry twig snapped under his boots. The silent forest was alive to his [Supernatural Senses]. He could hear the frantic heartbeat of a rabbit three hundred yards away and smell the metallic tang of old blood on the wind.
[Warning: You are entering the territory of a Level 10 Elite Monster.]
"Level 10, eh? Just what I need to test these new muscles," Zeke whispered, pulling [The Fang of Boney Island] from his inventory. The obsidian blade hummed with a dark light, hungry for a fight.
Suddenly, the wind died down. The forest went deathly silent. From behind a massive, moss-covered boulder, a pair of glowing yellow eyes emerged. The Alpha Timberwolf was a nightmare of fur and muscle, standing nearly five feet tall at the shoulder. Its fur was matted with dried gore, and its growl vibrated in Zeke's very bones.
[Target Identified: Alpha Timberwolf]
[Type: Beast / Elite]
[Condition: Hungry / Aggressive]
The wolf didn't howl. It lunged.
In his past life, Zeke would have been shredded in seconds. But now, time seemed to slow down. His [Kshatriya] instincts kicked in. As the beast's jaws snapped inches from his face, Zeke didn't retreat. He pivoted on his heel, his body moving with the grace of a dancer and the lethality of a viper.
SHLICK.
The bone-dagger carved a deep, glowing red line across the wolf's flank. The beast let out a pained yelp, its 'Fear' debuff ticking for the first time.
"My turn, buddy," Zeke smirked.
He didn't just want to kill it; he wanted to master his new body. He experimented with [Heat Manipulation], letting a flicker of fire coat the edge of his blade. He danced around the beast, his [Physical Godhood] making the wolf's desperate lunges look like they were in slow motion.
With one final, explosive burst of speed—using [Shadow Dash]—Zeke appeared directly above the wolf. He drove the Fang deep into the base of the creature's skull.
[Target Neutralized.]
[Experience Gained: +1200 EXP]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Gold Received: 500]
Zeke stood over the dissolving carcass of the wolf, his chest barely heaving. He felt... alive. Truly alive for the first time since the regression.
"One hunt down," he muttered, wiping a splash of black blood from his cheek. "999,500 gold to go."
He checked his map. The sun would be rising in two hours. He had to get back before Eustace started the morning chores, or there would be hell to pay.
The first rays of the sun were bleeding over the horizon as Ezekiel slipped through his bedroom window. His breathing was steady, but his mind was racing. Two level-ups in one night had changed him—his muscles felt denser, and his senses were so sharp he could hear the dew dripping off the leaves outside.
He quickly shoved his blood-stained hoodie into his [Unlimited Inventory] and pulled on a clean one just as a heavy footstep vibrated through the floorboards.
"Zeke! Out of bed, boy! The cows aren't going to milk themselves, eh!" Eustace's voice boomed from the hallway.
Zeke opened the door, coming face-to-face with his father. Eustace stopped dead in his tracks. He narrowed his eyes, looking Zeke up and down. The old man's nose wrinkled.
"You smell like... iron. And pine," Eustace grunted, his gaze piercing. "And since when did you get so tall? Did you hit a growth spurt in the middle of the night, eh?"
[System Warning: Suspicion Level Rising!]
[Active Skill: 'Sovereign Presence' is leaking. Suppress it?]
Zeke quickly focused, pulling his aura inward. He used his newly earned [Charisma] point to soften his gaze, putting on the mask of the clumsy farm boy.
"Just didn't sleep well, Dad. Must be the excitement about the farm chores, eh!" Zeke forced a goofy grin.
Eustace didn't look convinced, but he grunted and headed toward the kitchen. "Just get downstairs. Your mother's waiting."
Breakfast was tense. Martha sat in her wheelchair, her eyes lingering on Zeke with a soft, knowing curiosity. But before anyone could speak, a loud, aggressive knock echoed at the front door.
Eustace opened it to find a man in a sharp, expensive suit holding a briefcase. He looked out of place against the dusty landscape of the farm.
"Mr. Miller? I'm here representing the Northern Credit Union," the man said coldly. "Regarding the outstanding debt on this property. You're three months behind. If the full amount isn't paid by the end of summer, we initiate foreclosure."
Zeke felt a surge of heat in his palms. [Heat Manipulation] flickered in his blood. He watched his father's shoulders slump—the proud man looking defeated for the first time.
"We... we'll have the money," Eustace said, his voice cracking slightly.
"I hope so," the collector sneered. "Otherwise, your wife will need a new place to park that chair."
Zeke's eyes flashed a dangerous, predatory gray. He stepped forward, but the man had already turned to leave, tossing a thick envelope onto the porch. "By the way, some TV crew sent this for your kid."
Zeke waited until he was back in his room to open the envelope. It was the official acceptance for Total Drama Island. He remembered this letter. He remembered the $100,000 grand prize.
But as he unfolded the document, his heart skipped a beat.
"GRAND PRIZE: $10,000,000 USD"
Zeke's pupils dilated. "Ten million...?"
In his past life, the prize was a hundred thousand. Then a million in later seasons. But ten million for the very first season? This wasn't just a reality show anymore; it was a high-stakes war.
[System Message: Reality Shift Detected.]
[Warning: The world has adjusted to match the Player's potential. Difficulty Level: EXTREME.]
Zeke gripped the paper so hard it began to smoke. If the prize money had changed, what else had? Were the other contestants different? Was Chris McLean even human?
He looked at the photo of Camp Wawanakwa on the flyer. It looked darker, more jagged than he remembered.
"Ten million dollars," Zeke whispered, a cold, dark smile spreading across his face. "Enough to save the farm. Enough to heal Mom. And more than enough to buy the lives of anyone who gets in my way."
[New Quest: Preparation for the Bloodbath]
[Objective: Reach Level 20 before the Boat arrives.]
For the next three months, the Miller farm became the site of a quiet, supernatural revolution. Ezekiel didn't just wake up early; he turned the crack of dawn into his personal playground.
[Day 15 of Training]
[Status: Level 8]
Eustace walked out to the barn at 5:00 AM, rubbing his eyes and clutching a mug of black coffee. Usually, he had to drag Zeke out of bed by his ankles. Today, he found the barn doors wide open.
Inside, Zeke was bench-pressing a fully grown cow.
The cow looked bored, chewing its cud in mid-air, while Zeke's muscles rippled under his sweat-soaked shirt. One hundred... one hundred and one...
"Zeke? What in the name of all that is holy are you doing with Daisy?" Eustace asked, his coffee mug frozen halfway to his mouth.
"Just... checking her weight, eh!" Zeke grunted, setting the ton of livestock down as gently as a feather. "Done with the milking, the mucking, and the hay, Dad. I'm gonna go jog to the next province and back before breakfast!"
Zeke vanished in a blur of [Shadow Dash] speed. Eustace stood in the silent barn, staring at the perfectly cleaned stalls.
"I... I think I need stronger coffee," he muttered, a mix of terrifying pride and genuine confusion on his face.
[Day 45 of Training]
[Status: Level 14]
Martha sat on the porch, her eyes twinkling with amusement. She watched as Zeke "plowed" the north field. He wasn't using the tractor. He was hitched to the plow himself, sprinting at thirty miles per hour, turning the earth so fast it looked like a brown tidal wave was following him.
Eustace stood next to her, leaning on a shovel. "Martha, the boy fixed the roof yesterday. He didn't use a ladder. He just... jumped onto the chimney from the ground. Carrying three bundles of shingles."
Martha patted her husband's hand. "He's a growing boy, Eustace. He's just motivated?"
"Motivated, eh?" Eustace pointed to the field. "He just accidentally threw a boulder the size of a minivan into the neighbor's pond because it was 'in his way.' I don't know if I should sign him up for the Olympics or call an exorcist."
[Day 85: One week before departure]
[Status: Level 20 REACHED]
Zeke stood in the middle of the forest at midnight. He looked down at his hands, which were glowing with a faint, orange heat. His body was a masterpiece of lean, functional muscle—the [Kshatriya] blood was fully awakened.
[System Notification!]
[Quest Complete: Preparation for the Bloodbath]
[Rewards: +5 Skill Points, +1 Divine Gacha Ticket, New Title: 'The Farmhouse Monster']
He opened his inventory and pulled out his grayish-black hoodie. It fit tighter now, his shoulders broader, his gaze sharper. He looked at the reflection of his gray eyes in the obsidian blade of his dagger.
"Time to go, eh."
The next morning, the boat was scheduled to arrive at the nearest dock. Zeke sat at the breakfast table, eating enough eggs to feed a small army. Eustace sat across from him, looking at his son with a newfound respect—and a healthy dose of fear.
"Zeke," Eustace said, his voice unusually soft. "That show. Those city folk. They're gonna try to break you. They're gonna think you're just some homeschooled kid from the dirt."
Zeke looked up, a cold, predatory smirk playing on his lips. "Let them think that, Dad. It'll make it funnier when I own the place."
Martha rolled her chair closer and tucked a small, hand-knitted charm into his pocket. "Just come back to us, Ezekiel. And... try not to break the other children too badly, alright?"
Zeke hugged his mother, feeling the fragile weight of her. "I'll get that ten million, Mom. I promise."
[System Message: Departure in 3... 2... 1...]
[Welcome to Total Drama Island: Extreme Edition.]