(POV – Protagonist)


    Since I was forced to lie on the ground — not that it was my choice — I took the time to think about a few things. Honestly, I didn’t come to any revelations or anything; I was just reflecting on who I was and what I was doing before waking up in this body.


    But honestly, the more I tried to remember, the more confused I became. In the end, I simply couldn’t recall anything; my former identity was a complete mystery. Still, that didn’t make me sad — after all, how can you miss something you don’t remember? From my point of view, it was like I’d never even existed.


    I was snapped out of my thoughts when, suddenly, a wall in the room opened up some distance away from me. I looked over, confused — did this room have a door? That definitely wasn’t the same door we’d entered through. At the same time, I felt the pressure that had been pinning me down gradually start to ease up until it was completely gone.


    As I got up, I looked at the spot where I’d been lying and saw an imprint on the floor shaped like my body. That’s when I realized how intense the pressure on me had been. Were they trying to crush me? Honestly, if I’d still had a human body, I probably would’ve been flattened like a pancake.


    I brushed it off and turned my attention back to the new door that had opened. Beyond it, everything was pitch-black, but my eyes seemed to adjust, allowing me to see partially, almost like it was daylight. However, there didn’t seem to be anything inside, at least not in the areas I could see. Plus, I had no idea how far that hallway stretched.


    As I tried to imagine what would happen next, something jumped out of the darkness and stopped right in front of the door. It looked like a wolf, but it was clear that this wasn’t any ordinary wolf, at least not any I’d known. Instead of a regular head, it only had a skull, and a faint purple glow emanated from its empty eye sockets.


    The wolf’s size was comparable to that of an elephant, making it quite intimidating. To make things worse, its appearance was terrifying, like something straight out of a horror movie.


    The monster also seemed to have various parts of its body covered in bones; but unlike its head, which was a complete skull, the rest of its body looked relatively normal. The "wolf" glanced around, letting out a deeply unsettling sound. This intrigued me because it didn’t seem to have vocal cords, so where was the sound even coming from? Sadly, there was no one around to answer that question.Stolen story; please report.


    The wolf shifted its gaze back and forth, and its flickering purple eyes settled on the scientists who were observing us from behind the glass. As soon as it spotted them, it growled, emitting that same disturbing and mysterious sound again.


    I still didn’t understand how it was producing it, but it was clear that this wasn’t the first time it had seen this scenario. Judging by the way it was staring at the glass, if it managed to break it, the result definitely wouldn’t be pleasant to witness.


    My thoughts were interrupted when I felt an intense gaze directed at me. I slowly turned my head to face its source and found the wolf’s flickering eyes locked onto me, filled with an unfriendly intensity, just like it had done with the scientists.


    (It looks like it wants to reenact that unpleasant scene with me... doesn’t it?)


    Before I could come up with a plan, the wolf leapt toward me. Watching it approach, I activated my power, and a golden field spread out from my body. As always, its range was only about a meter, but that meter was enough for the wolf’s massive head to enter.


    The result was, as usual, that the wolf became completely motionless in front of me. Out of curiosity, I looked over at the scientists who were observing us. Laura, for some reason, had her head turned to the side, covering her eyes with her hands. Emily, on the other hand, was watching the situation with an analytical expression, though I could detect a hint of worry in her gaze.


    The director, meanwhile, had a look that clearly conveyed his interest and curiosity. I honestly had no idea what he was thinking or what he hoped to accomplish with all these tests. But then again, it’s not like I knew how they usually operated; this could very well be standard procedure for dealing with new anomalies.


    (Well, putting that aside... how exactly am I supposed to kill this thing?)


    Although my initial plan was simply to punch it — after all, it’s not like I could do much else — I quickly dismissed that idea. Let’s be honest: despite the surprising strength I had for a soft, jelly-like body, there was no way I’d be able to break the bones covering that thing’s body.


    However, in the end, I didn’t have any other method to try and take it down. So I decided to resort to the last option in situations like this. With that determination, I turned around and ran as fast as I could. As long as my power kept the golden circle active, I had a chance to escape.


    As soon as my feet crossed the boundary of the golden circle, I felt a kind of connection snap. I quickly looked back and saw the monster looking confused because, from its perspective, it probably thought it had managed to catch me.


    I ignored it and kept running as fast as I could, with my arms stretched out in front of me — losing one in the forest still haunted me, so I did it out of reflex. The monster didn’t stay put for long; as soon as it spotted me again, it started chasing me.


    Each time it got close enough to try biting me, I activated my power, buying myself enough time to escape, keeping the distance. This little “chase” of ours went on for quite a while.