The needle-furred wolf didn't move like a normal animal. It moved like a blur of green static. When it lunged, I didn't try to outrun it. I knew my teenage legs would give out in two steps. Instead, I dropped to my knees, letting the wolf's heavy body sail right over my head.
The wind from its jump was cold and smelled like crushed pine needles.
THUD.
The wolf landed behind me, its claws digging deep into the soft, white soil. It turned around slowly, its emerald eyes glowing with a hungry light. It was confused. A human "Zero" was supposed to scream and run. I wasn't doing either.
"You're fast," I whispered, my heart thumping so hard against the Relic that it felt like it was trying to break my ribs. "But I've spent twenty years watching things much bigger than you eat people much stronger than me."
I didn't wait for it to jump again. I reached into my bag and pulled out the glass bottle. I didn't throw it at the wolf. Instead, I smashed the bottom of the bottle against a rock.
SHATTER.
The thick, sugary protein shake spilled onto the ground, but I didn't care. I now held a jagged, razor-sharp glass weapon. It wasn't a legendary sword, but in the hands of someone who knew where to strike, it was enough.
The wolf growled, a low sound that vibrated in the golden air. It crouched low, preparing for a second strike. This time, it wouldn't miss.
[ WARNING: HEART RATE CRITICAL ] [ SYNC RATE: 0.13% ] [ SUGGESTION: RUN ]
"Shut up," I hissed at the blue screen. "Running is for people who have a choice."
The wolf moved. It was a green streak.
I didn't move left or right. I stepped forward, closing the distance. Most people move away from a predator, which gives the predator the perfect angle to bite. By stepping toward it, I ruined its timing.
As the wolf's jaws opened to snap at my face, I jammed my left arm—wrapped in my thick school blazer—into its mouth.
The wolf's teeth sank deep into the fabric and my flesh. Pain flared like a white-hot iron, but I didn't let out a sound. I used the wolf's own weight to pull it down. We hit the ground together in a mess of green needles and school uniform.
With my right hand, I drove the broken glass bottle into the soft spot right under the wolf's jaw.
CRUNCH.
The glass sank deep. The wolf thrashed, its needle-fur cutting into my hands and chest, but I held on like a demon. I twisted the glass, feeling the warm, sap-like blood of the Guardian coat my fingers.
The emerald light in the wolf's eyes flickered. It let out one last, wet whimper before its body went limp.
I pushed the heavy carcass off me and scrambled back, gasping for air. My left arm was a mess of blood and torn cloth. My hands were covered in tiny cuts from the needle-fur.
[ GUARDIAN DEFEATED ] [ EXPERIENCE GAINED: LEVEL 0 -> LEVEL 1 ] [ CALIBRATION SPEED INCREASED ]
A rush of cold energy flowed from the dead wolf and into the Relic in my chest. The silver lines glowed bright for a second, and I felt the pain in my arm dull slightly. It wasn't a full heal, but it was enough to keep me moving.
I stood up, shaky and bleeding, and looked at the white tree.
The Heart of the Forest was still there, glowing softly. I walked toward it, every step feeling like I was walking through deep water. I reached out and plucked the golden fruit from the branch.
It was heavy and felt like it was made of warm honey.
I didn't hesitate. I bit into it.
The taste was overwhelming—it tasted like summer, like life, like everything I had missed in twenty years of living in a graveyard. The fruit melted in my mouth, turning into a golden liquid that raced down my throat.
Suddenly, my knees buckled.
"Argh!"
It felt like my blood was boiling. The golden energy from the fruit and the silver energy from the Relic met in the middle of my chest and started to fight. My skin turned red. I could see the veins in my arms bulging as the fruit began to rewrite my biology.
My bones cracked and grew denser. My muscles, which were soft and weak, tightened and became lean and hard. The "Zero" blood in my body was being flushed out, replaced by something much older and much stronger.
I curled into a ball on the white soil, screaming as the light took over.
When I opened my eyes, the golden rift was gone.
I was lying in the dirt of the Gwangmu Woods, back in the real world. The sun was lower in the sky now. It must have been late afternoon.
I sat up and looked at my arm.
The bite marks from the wolf were gone. There wasn't even a scar. My school blazer was still torn and bloody, but the skin underneath was perfect. I felt... different. I didn't feel like a weak teenager anymore. I felt like a bowstring pulled tight.
I stood up, and for the first time, I didn't feel winded. My balance was perfect. My vision was sharper. I could hear a bird chirping three hundred yards away.
I pulled open my shirt. The Relic was still there, but the silver lines were much thicker now. They looked like a map of a city made of light.
[ STATUS UPDATED ] [ NAME: KANG MIN-HO ] [ LEVEL: 1 ] [ SYNC RATE: 5.0% ] [ BODY STATUS: REINFORCED (RANK F) ] [ TIME LEFT: 112 HOURS ]
"Five percent," I whispered. I clenched my fist, and the air seemed to crack under the pressure. "One fruit gave me five percent."
In my old life, it took people years to reach this level of strength. I had done it in two hours.
But I knew this was just the beginning. The Heart of the Forest was a "General" boost. To survive what was coming in four days, I needed a real weapon. And I knew exactly where one was hidden.
But first, I needed to deal with my "normal" life. My phone was vibrating in my pocket. I pulled it out.
27 MISSED CALLS: MOM. 14 MISSED CALLS: MR. PARK. 1 TEXT MESSAGE: JIN-SOO.
I opened the text from the bully, Jin-soo.
"Run away all you want, Zero. But you left your notebook in class. I'm going to burn it in the incinerator after school unless you come and get it. See you at 5:00 PM behind the gym."
A cold smile spread across my face. In the old world, I would have been terrified. I would have begged for my notebook back.
But April 12th was the last day Lee Jin-soo would ever be a bully.
"I have a little time before I go to the next rift," I said, looking at my blood-stained shirt. "I might as well say goodbye to my old life properly."
I started walking back toward the school. I wasn't running this time, but I was moving faster than any track star.
The "Zero" was gone. The Regressor had arrived.