With a thunderous snarl, the massive wolf lunged—fangs like daggers aimed straight for my throat.
Too fast. Too close.
I dropped instinctively. Its snapping jaws swept past my ear like a guillotine, so close I felt the spray of hot saliva streak across my cheek.
No time to think.
I hit the ground hard. The breath punched from my lungs, but I rolled, came up on one knee, and sprang to my feet in a low fighting stance.
The wolf skidded to a halt, claws tearing lines through the dirt, already twisting back toward me.
Before it could pivot fully, I launched forward and slammed a Muay Thai kick into its rear flank.
Crack.
The sound was sickening—but it only staggered, a monster of sinew and steel. Its body built for the hunt. Built to endure.
It whirled, faster than something that size had any right to be, foam flinging from its yellowed fangs.
Its claws carved the air in a sweeping arc—a blur of death.
I leapt back, but not fast enough.
Pain lanced across my chest. My shirt tore open, blood blooming in three furious red lines.
I staggered, but didn't fall. Couldn't fall. I gritted my teeth, forcing the scream back down into my ribs.
No weakness. Not now.
I surged forward, slipping just outside its strike range, moving on instinct honed by desperation and near-death.
It lunged—I sidestepped.
An opening.
I drove a brutal liver punch into its ribs.
Crunch. Something gave way.
The wolf let out a choked growl, reeling back, breath hissing from its fanged maw. Its eyes flared, wild and gleaming—but not broken.
Not yet.
With a roar, it came again. Faster now. No caution. No tactics.
Just raw, unbridled rage.
I spun aside, just in time, catching its shoulder with both hands, turning with its momentum.
An Aikido pivot. Its strength became mine.
The beast hurled through the dirt, a screech of claws tearing trenches as it skidded, gouging the earth.
It rose—slow, dazed, bleeding.
One eye burned with primal hatred. A predator refusing to die.
Then it began to circle.
Low. Silent. Calculated.
We danced—predator and prey, switching roles with every heartbeat.
Seconds stretched into lifetimes.
Then—it lunged. But different this time.
It wasn't rage anymore.
It was finality.
A pressure like a storm-front broke across the clearing as it charged.
Too fast.
Its paw connected with my ribs. The force was obscene.
I flew. Through branches, through pain, through screaming wind.
Through the edge of consciousness.
Crash.
My back slammed into the base of a gnarled tree. The impact crunched through my spine. My vision went white.
Broken. Battered. Breath gone.
I crumpled to the ground, twitching, choking on air that wouldn't come.
Memories surged like a tide.
Hiccup. Dad.
Each name stabbed deeper than any fang. Guilt exploded in my chest like shrapnel.
Tears came, hot and fast, cutting trails down my bloodstreaked face.
"Hic…" I gasped. My voice was cracked, shredded. "I wanted to come back stronger. Someone you'd both be proud of. But why—why is fate always so cruel to me?"
My body curled in on itself, useless. Ruined.
"I gave everything. Every breath. I trained for years just for a future—just to live again. All I ever wanted was a family of my own. A wife to adore. Children I'd die for."
"Hic…"
And then—her name burned to the surface.
Merida.
A wildfire ignited in my chest.
Not just beauty, but strength. Spirit. Fury wrapped in flame.
At the festival, I hadn't planned to win—just to prove myself.
Then I saw her.
Her arrows flew like lightning—flawless, focused, fierce.
She defied her mother with fire in her eyes. Even the king dared not interrupt her storm.
At first, I thought it was showmanship. A royal tantrum.
But it wasn't.
In the weeks that followed, I learned her. Day by day.
Her laughter—loud and unashamed.
Her pride—unyielding.
The wit behind her barbs—sharp, but never cruel.
The kindness—hidden, buried deep beneath years of armor and expectation.
And slowly—helplessly—I fell.
Not just in love.
I belonged to her.
And when I learned she loved me too, I made a vow beneath the ancient moon:
"I, Erik Horrendous Haddock, swear before gods and kingdom: In three years, I will return to Dunbroch and make Merida my bride."
The ring on my finger pulsed, hungry for purpose.
I gripped it with all the strength I had left, pouring mana into the stone until my vision blurred.
My voice rang out, forged of iron and steel:
"If I die—this ring will shatter. If I fall for another—this ring will shatter. If I fail—this ring will shatter."
Then, softer. But unshakable.
"But I swear to you, Merida: I will not die. I will not falter. And I will never, ever love another."
My tears dried.
The pain remained—but it changed.
It became rage.
Wild. Consuming. Pure.
I screamed, raw and defiant:
"I REFUSE!"
ERROR. ERROR. HOST: CALM YOUR MIND. ERROR. SKILL: [BERSERK] FORCIBLY ACTIVATED.
Skill Activated: BerserkerAll stats: +200%Pain: NullifiedRationality: TerminatedState: [Destruction. Malice.]
My mind cracked. The world bled red.
And from the void—fire.
Unique Skill: Fire Dragon Slaying MagicFire ImmunityFire Manipulation
My skin seared. The air warped around me.
Heat pulsed through my veins. A furnace made flesh.
Flames erupted from my palms, turning the shattered forest into a cathedral of ash.
Trees curled inward like dying beasts.
The wolf froze. Its hunter's instincts screamed at it to flee—but it was too late.
The Wolf's Terror (Wolf's POV)
At last. The creature had fallen.
Small. Fragile. But unyielding.
It had cost me dearly. One eye gone. My ribs shattered. Blood leaked from every wound.
But I had won.
I limped forward, salivating.
"Hmph. Let's eat this one alive."
But then—something strange.
It was crying.
"Pathetic," I growled.
It whispered. Words broken by grief.
I didn't care.
But then—the air shifted.
Something ancient. Wrong.
It stood.
Shattered. Misshapen. One arm limp. The other clenched hard enough to crush stone.
It should be dead.
Then—flames.
The ground cracked.
Fire wrapped around it like a second skin. The sky turned molten.
I couldn't breathe. Couldn't think.
Then—it looked at me.
Eyes like furnaces.
And from its mouth—hell.
A gout of white-hot flame surged toward me. It swallowed my world.
Fur peeled away. Flesh blistered and screamed.
Then—it vanished.
And reappeared.
Right in front of me.
Fists. Fire. Fury.
Each blow shattered something inside me—bone, will, pride.
I bit down on its arm in desperation.
It grinned.
Then—exhaled.
Flame poured into my lungs.
I screamed smoke.
I staggered, dying.
This isn't prey.
This isn't a warrior.
I realized, in soul-deep terror.
This is a devil.
POV Ends
Host. Host... It's not safe—please, wake up. Host. Host! sigh I guess I'll do you a favor… just this once.
Unique Skill: Fire Dragon Slaying Magic has leveled up.Unique Skill: Fire Dragon Slaying Magic has reached Lv. 10.You have unlocked derivative skills.Skill Acquired: Flame BreatherSkill Acquired: Flame EaterSkill Acquired: Dragon Scales
Warning: You have been afflicted with a curse.Curse Acquired: Motion Sickness
You have obtained a Dragon Seed.Due to your Unique Skill: Fire Dragon Slaying Magic reaching Lv. 10, your body will now undergo a forced metamorphosis.Accept evolution?Yes / No20 seconds remaining…15 seconds…3… 2… 1…Commencing metamorphosis.
Three Hours Later
I awoke slowly, my senses dulled but adjusting fast. Everything felt… different.
I was floating. Weightless.
It took a few moments before I realized I wasn't dreaming. I looked around. The remains of a battlefield surrounded me—scorched earth, broken trees, claw marks gouged deep into the rock. A few feet away lay a giant wolf's corpse, its thick fur singed and matted with blood.
And then—
Metamorphosis: 99%Metamorphosis: 100%Metamorphosis Complete.
A pulse of energy rippled through my body.
My limbs felt stronger. My senses sharper. I raised my hand and could almost see the heat in the air.
"...What is this?" I whispered, staring at my own reflection in a pool of bloodied water. My eyes burned a faint red, and crimson scales traced patterns along my shoulders.
Host, your Unique Skill: Fire Dragon Slaying Magic has evolved your body. Your stats have increased, and your physical form has adapted to better utilize dragonic energy.
I brought up my status screen.
My jaw dropped. "No way… Hell yes!"
All my base stats had surpassed 30. Strength, Agility, Endurance, Magic—everything. For the first time, I felt real power coursing through me.
But the celebration didn't last long.
Do not be too excited yet, Host.
I blinked. "Huh? Why not?"
Your current stats, while impressive for your level, are nowhere near enough to defeat the creature you need to defeat to leave this realm.
"…System," I muttered, my voice low. "What are the stats of that beast?"
All of its stats are maxed—100. Every 10-point threshold creates a bottleneck that is increasingly hard to break. That beast was born with stats over 70 and has grown beyond anything natural.
I froze. "Maxed out…? Are you saying that was one of the strongest beings in existence?"
Correct. You barely survived against a creature on the bottom end of the apex predator spectrum.
My heart pounded. Sweat gathered at my brow despite the cool air. The realization hit like a dagger: I was still weak.
"…How long would it take for me to max out all my stats?"
If you were to remain in Berk, living a normal life while training, you could push past 30 in roughly ten years.
I clenched my jaw. "Ten years just to reach what I have now? That's too slow."
Then, if you choose to fight your way through this realm with no rest, based on your current growth rate, it would take you approximately 4,000 years.
My legs nearly gave out. "Four… thousand…?"
Affirmative.
I sank to my knees, stunned. "How am I supposed to last that long? How do I escape this realm…? Why… why me?"
My voice trembled. The isolation. The looming threat of death. The sheer weight of time. It all crashed down on me.
But before despair could fully consume me—
Worry not, Host. Time here flows much faster than outside.
I glanced up. "How much faster?"
Time dilation factor: 10,000:1. One thousand years in this realm equals a single year in the real world.
I exhaled. My heart steadied. That meant—even after thousands of years, only a few would pass outside.
"…But it would still take four years out there. Four whole years before I see Merida again."
Correct.
"That's too long!" I shouted, fire building in my chest. "I promised her I'd come back!"
Host, your current growth rate is not absolute. If you challenge yourself constantly, defeat powerful enemies, and complete quests, you may rise far quicker than projections suggest.
I took a deep breath.
The despair hadn't left—but it had something new to compete with now: resolve.
"…Then I'll do it. I'll get stronger. No matter how long it takes."
I pushed myself to my feet and began walking, searching for shelter.
"System, tell me more about this place."
This dimension is the size of a continent, divided into five distinct levels. The deeper you descend, the fewer the enemies—but each one is significantly stronger.
Enemy stat progression by tier:
Normal Beasts: 20–30Advanced Beasts: 30–40Elite Beasts: 40–50Leaders/Overlords: 50–100
The ruler of your current level is Fenrier, the Wolf King. All of his base stats have reached the 50-point bottleneck.
"…What?! That's only the first level?!"
Yes. Additionally, each level contains a dozen or more elite beasts strong enough to challenge the local ruler. These are rivals and potential successors. Fewer enemies exist the deeper you go, but each is exponentially stronger.
I grit my teeth.
"That wolf I barely killed… was only normal tier."
Correct.
Known Beast Kings:
Fenrier – King of WolvesTitan – King of TigersPride – King of LionsPyra – Queen of PhoenixesBalerion – King of Dragons
I eventually found a small cave sheltered beneath overhanging stone. It would serve as a temporary base. I gathered some dry wood, used Flame Breather to light a fire, and warmed a packet of food from my inventory.
Sitting near the fire, I mulled over everything.
This realm wasn't just a prison. It was a crucible—a place meant to break me or forge me into something greater.
I scribbled in the dirt with a stick:
Plan for Survival & Growth
Level up Fire Dragon Slaying Magic.Engage in combat daily. Fight relentlessly.Complete system quests and seek hidden achievements.
Satisfied, I nodded to myself.
The stars above were brighter here—strange constellations forming unknown patterns. I stared up at them, letting my breathing slow.
No one would save me. No miracle would come.
But I would survive.
I would grow.
And I would return—stronger than any monster, any beast, or any god that stood in my way.