As my own being was grabbed by something unfathomably big and dragged out of the darkness at speeds I never experienced before, I screamed in a mix of protest and terror. My movement felt so quick yet I felt like an infinity had passed since the entity picked me up. My consciousness dimmed, not being able to take what was happening to me. I blacked out.
“Ha!”
I gasped for air. As the oxygen filled my lungs, it felt like it had thorns. It burned. I coughed violently.
“What the fuck?”
After a long coughing session, I swore as the sensation I felt was less than pleasant.
“Hold on. 1, 2, 3, control, control.”
I sounded younger? I coughed again and cleared my throat.
“One, two.”
Was my voice always this high-pitched? No, it can’t be. I looked at my hands. My scars and calluses covering my hands were gone. I touched my chest, belly, and thighs. My muscles and super-soldier enhancements were also gone.
“Okay, breathe in and out. Calm down and fully comprehend your status-“
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 48.7568%">Name</td>
<td style="width: 48.7568%">Poyraz Karabulut</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 48.7568%">Strength</td>
<td style="width: 48.7568%">10</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 48.7568%">Agility</td>
<td style="width: 48.7568%">9</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 48.7568%">Vitality</td>
<td style="width: 48.7568%">10</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 48.7568%">Mana</td>
<td style="width: 48.7568%">1</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 48.7568%">Charisma</td>
<td style="width: 48.7568%">6</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 48.7568%">Defense</td>
<td style="width: 48.7568%">8</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 48.7568%">Spark: Fallen Soldier’s Armor(Low grade, growing)
</td>
<td style="width: 48.7568%">*Can generate armor around your body.
*Increase all stats by 10 percent.
*Increases defense further by 10.
*Will form armor automatically in danger.
*Gives resistances:
-Darkness 10 %
-Fire 8%
-Curse 5 %
-Instant death 30 %
-Poison 3 %</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 48.7568%">Spark Skills</td>
<td style="width: 48.7568%">Night Vision E(Passive)
Shadow Melt E (Passive)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 48.7568%">Personal skills</td>
<td style="width: 48.7568%">Unarmed Combat Mastery B(Passive)
Sword Mastery B(Passive)
Combat Sense C(Passive)
Iron Will A(Passive)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 48.7568%">Titles</td>
<td style="width: 48.7568%">Locked</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Letters from an unfamiliar alphabet floated in front of me written in on a semi-transperant blue screen, yet I could perfectly understand them.
…
“This like a video game?”
Like the one youngsters play? I laughed at my own stupid joke. I grabbed my chin and tried to stroke my beard but I soon realized that I didn’t even have a single hair on my face. I had a thick, manly beard for most of my adult life.
“Rest in peace, my glorious beard.”
After carefully reading through the status in front of me, I was able to make sense of it somewhat. Firstly, personal skills were self-explanatory. All of them were things I learned in my time in the army and through countless battles.
“Where is firearm mastery?”
I didn’t know why it wasn’t here. Maybe this was a world of sword and magic?
“What exactly is Combat Sense?”
While I had an idea-
(Combat Sense is a heightened capacity for observation, refined through training, discipline, and experience. It is not born from skill or talent but from countless life-or-death battles. User will be able to read the enemy and battlefield and take the best course of action.)
So it also explains stuff. Convenient.
“Where I am? Why I am here?”
…
No answers came. Of course, that would be too easy for me.
I looked around and inspected my surroundings. I was in a forest. I took some time to take it in. How long has it been since I last saw a forest? Live trees? The air was rich with the scent of earth and moss, mingling with the faint perfume of wildflowers. Birds chirped in the distance, their melodies punctuated by the rustle of unseen creatures moving through the underbrush.
Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.I stretched my body, noting the lack of noises my joints made and the missing sensation of my missing implants. I wore simple, grey clothes. They were comfy and made me feel neither too warm nor cold. But besides that, I had nothing on me. No guns, no grenades, no power armor, hell not even a knife. That coupled with my diminished physique made me feel exposed.
I was half sure that I was no longer at Earth so chances of a bug from The Horde attacking me were low. That didn’t make me feel better however as surviving in the wilderness without any information about the surroundings and no equipment was hard to even for someone as experienced and trained as me.
A rustle in the underbrush caught my attention, pulling me from my thoughts. I crouched instinctively, my heart pounding as I scanned the surroundings for any sign of movement. I half crawled, half walked on all fours to take cover behind a tree without taking my eyes off the bush the rustle came from.
And then I saw it.
A creature, sleek and low to the ground, slinked through the underbrush. It resembled a wolf, but something about it was off. Its two thick tails swayed as it moved, and the green streaks running down its back glimmered in the muted light filtering through the leaves. If I wasn’t sure before, its appearance confirmed my suspicions. I was in another world.
The animal raised its snout to the air and sniffed the air. Fuck. It was slightly smaller than a grey wolf but bigger than an ordinary dog. That meant that it could tear an unarmed human to pieces. In this situation, that unarmed human was me. Also, it might have had a pack close to here.
“Should I climb to a tree?”
Some of the trees here looked climbable. I already thought of climbing one to get a better view of the surroundings before.
“Growl!”
It spotted me. Its body language showed clear signs of aggression.
“Weird.”
I thought. Most animals, even carnivores don’t get this aggressive this quickly. Some wolf species even avoid humans. I have only seen this kind of aggression in one kind of being: Horde. As it readied its body to launch itself toward me, I started to climb. Unfortunately for me, without years of rigorous training and experiments, I wasn’t as athletic as I thought I was, especially compared to a wolf. My right foot was caught between its jaws.
I expected its fangs to tear into my skin and even break my bones, shadows wrapped around my body. It was durable enough to protect me from its bite but I could feel the pressure around my foot increasing. It also tried to pull me from the tree. I kicked with my other leg which had an armored boot right now, just like my right foot. I aimed for its eye and nose and managed to break free. I quickly climbed higher. It growled and howled at me. It was probably screaming for me to get down so it could bite my balls off.
“Fuck off, will ya?”
I shouted from the top of the tree. My voice was loud now that I was safe. I was able to climb faster. I remembered the status and what it told me.
Spark: Fallen Soldier’s Armor(Low grade, growing)
*Can generate armor around your body.
*Increase all stats by 10 percent.
*Increases defense further by 10.
*Will form armor automatically in danger.
Interesting. Now that I was covered in armor, I felt stronger. Is it because of the stat boosts? So it only was active when I wore the armor. I looked carefully at the armor enveloping my body like a second skin. It wasn’t bulky like the power armors I wore before, allowing me to move with surprising agility. The main piece was a hooded jacket that reached my thighs, a deep shade of gray that seemed to absorb the surrounding light. The hood was large enough to obscure my features, casting a shadow over my face while not obstructing my vision. My arms were protected by gauntlets that ran the length of my forearms.
Knee pads hugged my legs, providing extra protection without hindering my speed, and my boots were sturdy, military-style, rising just beneath my knees. They felt perfectly fitted. A triangular piece of armor covered my torso, light yet resilient, offering a sense of security without the weight of a traditional plate. As I moved, I could feel the armor responding to my thoughts.
It felt weird. Normally, I would have to spend some time adjusting the armors I used but it felt like I used this one for years.
“No helmet, huh?”
Of course, what important thing a helmet would have protected? Except, you know, the most important organ in my body? I probably looked like some kind of rogue to other people. The armor was lighter in color but still grey.
“But Fallen Soldier’s Armor, huh? It is fitting but…”
Nobody wants to remember their failures.
“Growl!”
“Can you fuck off? I am trying to have a moment here.”