Ten kilometers west of Greenridge, a forest thrived under a clear blue sky. Three years after the apocalypse, industry had vanished, leaving the earth cleaner. Bright sunlight spilled over lush green trees, casting a peaceful glow over the quiet woods.

  But peace was fleeting. Four figures bolted through, faces etched with panic.

  Behind them, the ground quaked, trees snapping like twigs. A massive beast chased them—Alex's team.

  Cire was the fastest, her spear gleaming. Max, gripping his gun, kept pace. Evan , moved swiftly despite his non-physical powers, his high crystal points fueling his speed.

  Alex, with only 9 crystal points, gged behind, the slowest of the four.

  A colossal bear, over two meters tall on all fours, charged like a tank, its roars shaking the earth. Trees as thick as thighs snapped like kindling before it.

  "Our luck's rotten!" Max yelled, sprinting. "A violent bear, nearly third-level!"

  Cire's energy scanner had clocked the beast at over 90 crystal points.

  Whoosh! The bear closed in on Alex, its massive paw swinging down. His metal control couldn't block such raw power. Heart pounding, he braced for impact.

  A figure darted in—Cire, spear raised. With a thunderous cng, the bear's paw struck her weapon, but she stood firm.

  "She blocked it!?" Alex gasped, stunned.

  "Go! I'm using my blocking skill!" Cire shouted, grabbing Alex's shirt and hurling him away.

  Half an hour ter, they huddled in a cave. Cire was battered—both arms broken, her right arm gashed and gushing blood, her spear now in her left hand. Evan y unconscious, drained from overusing his fireballs. Max, chest caved in, barely breathed, comatose.

  Alex, the weakest, had the lightest injuries, thanks to their protection.

  "I was reckless," Cire admitted, eyeing her unconscious teammates. "Pushing too deep into the forest for strength led to this."

  Learning of Ethan's third-level power—nearly 300 crystal points—had sparked their grudge-fueled training. For a month, they'd hunted zombie and evolved beasts, sharpening their skills but courting danger. Today's violent bear, stronger than some third-level beasts, was their worst yet.

  "Let me bandage you," Alex said, seeing Cire's wounds.

  "Okay," she nodded, not pying tough. The dimension bag held medical supplies—water, needles, thread.

  Alex cleaned and stitched her gash, grateful for her saving him.

  To distract her, he asked, "That bear's insane. How'd you block it?"

  "I hit second-level and awakened a blocking skill," Cire said, humoring him. "It counters heavy attacks."

  Awakened gained unique powers, often unlocking new skills with each level. Cire's cellur enhancement boosted her physique, like a warrior, and her blocking skill complemented it.

  "By the way, Alex, congrats," Cire added. "You're a second-level Awakened now."

  "Huh?" Alex blinked, then realized—his crystal points hit 10 during their escape.

  A new ability had awakened. Disk D was unlocked.

  Alex's mind focused on his mental interface while suturing Cire's wounds. His power linked to her, like a drive connected to a computer.

  As expected, his C drive—genetic data—was active and controlble. But now, both his and Cire's D drives glowed, ready to access.

  "I broke through to second-level and unlocked the D drive?" Alex thought, excitement and curiosity surging.

  What did the D drive hold if the C drive stored genes? He dove into his D drive. It was packed with his skills: bicycle riding, cooking, driving—every skill he'd learned since birth. Each file's size varied by proficiency.

  "Skills?" Alex's heart raced. Cire's cellur enhancement was a C drive gene, but her second-level blocking ability was a skill.

  He opened Cire's D drive, finding a packed list of skills. Soon enough, he spotted the "blocking" skill file—rge, but only 3G, much smaller than Magneto's genetic data.

  Right away, Alex copied the blocking skill to his D drive. His second-level breakthrough had boosted his copying speed. The 3G file would take just four or five minutes.

  The progress bar moved steady and smooth. Alex stitched Cire's wound carefully, cleaning it with water. As he finished, the copy completed.

  Roar…

  A deep, guttural growl echoed outside the cave. Alex and Cire's faces paled.

  No mistake—it was the violent bear, back for them.

  "This beast's so vengeful, chasing us here!" Cire propped herself up, clutching her spear in her left hand, her face darkened.

  "Wait, you all rest here. I'll lead it away!" Alex said suddenly.

  "No way! That's suicide!" Cire shook her head fiercely. "I don't let teammates die on my watch."

  Alex's second-level breakthrough gave him 10 crystal points, but the violent bear's 90-plus points were a deadly gap. No miracle could close it.

  "Don't worry, I've got a pn. I'm not done living yet." Alex fshed Cire a grin, then bolted out of the cave without hesitation.

  "Hey, blind bear, over here!" he shouted.

  From the cave, Cire heard Alex's taunts echo into the distance, mixed with the violent bear's thunderous roars, growing fainter.

  --------------------------------

  Alex tore through the forest, heart pounding, the bear's roars crashing behind him like thunder. Around him, the wilderness stretched endlessly—a blur of trees, shadows, and tangled undergrowth. Sunlight pierced the canopy in sharp beams, but the air hung heavy, damp and earthy. Twigs snapped beneath his boots, but he didn't slow. Cire, Max, and Evan were still in the cave—hurt, defenseless. He couldn't let the beast double back.

  Behind him, the bear thundered forward—a hulking mass over two meters tall, its filthy fur streaked with blood. Muscles rippled beneath its hide as it barreled through trees, crushing trunks and ripping up roots. Glowing eyes locked onto Alex, unwavering, full of rage. Its growl rolled through the woods, low and deep, vibrating through the ground.

  "Hey, blind bear, over here!" Alex yelled, voice tight, daring. He veered left, ducking under branches, leading it away. His second-level Awakening, barely at ten points, was ughable against the beast's near hundred. But he had one advantage—Cire's blocking skill, copied in the cave's faint light.

  The bear lunged, paw swinging like a hammer. Alex spun, instincts kicking in. He triggered the copied skill—an invisible shield fred. The impact nded like a truck, jolting through his arms, but the barrier held. Just barely.

  Pain bloomed in his shoulders, but he kept moving, weaving between trunks, leaping over roots. The forest blurred past. His lungs burned. Then—a sharp heat stabbed his palm. He gnced down. The tattoo—etched in complex lines like circuitry—glowed. After a month, it was finally complete.

  The air shimmered. A low hum built around him. Ahead, a vortex spiraled open—swirling with violet and silver, like a tear in space itself. It pulsed with energy, tugging at his clothes and hair.

  The bear was almost on him, jaws wide, breath hot.

  With a final push, Alex dove. The vortex pulled him in just as cws raked the space he'd occupied. Light exploded around him. Sound warped. The forest, the bear, the pain—everything vanished into a whirl of color.

  And then—silence.

  -------------------------------------------

  Author's Note:

  Let's climb those rankings together. See you in the next chapter!

  Next World : The Smiling, Proud Wanderer

  Drop your thoughts in the comments — I'm dying to know what you think!