Chapter 1: I Became The Strongest In One Day

— Damn… who knew I'd run into a wolf right away…

The young man sprinted through the forest. He glanced back for just a second — and his heart dropped.

The wolf was already close. Too close.

— At this rate, it'll catch me…

Nor burst out of the forest into an open clearing — and instantly realized his mistake.

Nowhere to hide.

He looked back again… and tripped.

Nor slammed face-first into the ground, the air knocked out of his lungs.

— Oh no… I'm done for…

He lifted his head — and saw the wolf slowly approaching.

At that same moment, far beyond the continent, a completely different battle was raging. The ground was covered in dozens of corpses, the air thick with blood and ash.

— This is the end, Rodon… This place will be your grave.

The man, barely able to stand, with a deep wound running across his entire torso, breathed heavily as he stared at the old man.

The old man knelt, head lowered, as if he had already accepted his fate.

— Ha… ha-ha… I don't think it will end like this.

The old man smirked. In the next second, all his life force ignited, compressing into a single spell.

The air trembled. Space twisted.

And he vanished.

Forest clearing.

The wolf kept approaching.

Nor tried to stand—

— Ah!..

Pain shot through his leg. He looked down in horror — his ankle was twisted.

What do I do?..

He quickly scanned his surroundings.

No cover. No trees nearby.

Only… a rock.

About the size of his fist.

Nor slowly reached for it.

And just as the beast was about to pounce—

He threw it with all his strength.

I've already reached the apprentice level… this should be enough…

But—

The wolf dodged at the last second.

And jumped.

— Damn!..

At that exact moment, the air behind the wolf rippled.

A figure appeared.

It was the same old man.

— Argh… to think I would be reduced to this… — he rasped, barely holding himself together. — I used all my life force for this jump… I have… no more than five minutes… I need to find someone… and absor—

He didn't finish.

The very rock Nor had thrown slammed straight into his head.

The old man's body jerked—

And in the next moment, it began to crumble like ash.

At the same time, the wolf sank its fangs into Nor's shoulder.

— ARGH!..

The pain was unbearable.

I'm going to die…

And then—

Everything froze.

Silence.

Nor slowly opened his eyes.

The wolf lay on top of him, its fangs still buried in his shoulder… but it wasn't moving anymore.

Time had stopped.

Ding.

Nor blinked — and the next moment, time resumed as if nothing had happened.

He didn't immediately realize the pain was gone.

The shoulder the wolf had bitten no longer burned or tore apart.

What?..

But there was no time to think.

Instincts took over.

Gritting his teeth, Nor gathered what strength he had left and punched the wolf in the side with his left hand.

— I have to do something!

His fist barely touched the beast.

And then—

CRACK.

A horrible sound echoed through the clearing.

The wolf's body split apart as if it had been cut by an invisible blade.

It happened so easily that, for a moment, Nor couldn't even understand what he had done.

Blood splashed across his face and clothes.

Silence.

Nor froze...

His hand was still extended forward, trembling.

The wolf's body lay motionless beside him, split in two.

— What… was that?..

— What is going on?! — Nor shouted, staring at the purple text.

— Sta... tus... — he slowly read aloud.

The window disappeared.

— What? Why did it disappear?!

Nor sat there for a few seconds, still trying to understand what had just happened.

Then the word slipped out almost on its own.

— Status...

The window instantly reappeared.

— Ah...

Nor flinched slightly and instinctively leaned back.

For a few seconds, he simply stared at the floating window, afraid that it might disappear again… or do something even stranger.

After a moment, his gaze slowly moved across the strange numbers and unfamiliar words.

Level.

Stage.

Supreme

Additional Points.

Shop.

Map.

Inventory.

But no matter how long he stared at them, everything only became more confusing.

His head was still a mess, and the blood covering his face and clothes made it impossible to think clearly.

—In the end, Nor let out a shaky breath and slowly pushed himself up from the ground.

At that moment, he noticed the sun was already setting.

— Damn… it's getting dark. I'll figure everything out later. I need to get out of here first…

He took one unsteady step forward.

Then suddenly froze.

— My shoulder…

Nor quickly checked the place where the wolf had bitten him.

His eyes widened.

The wound was gone.

The only proof that anything had happened was the torn hole in his clothes.

— I… don't understand…

His gaze shifted to his ankle.

— My leg… seems fine too…

To test it, he made a small jump.

Bad idea.

— AAAAAAAAAAA!!!

In the next moment, he shot hundreds of meters into the air.

— WHAT?!

He screamed in panic as the ground rapidly moved away.

He didn't even have time to process it—

Before he started falling.

— No… no, NO!!!

A few seconds later, he slammed face-first into the ground.

Silence filled the clearing again.

Nor lay flat in a crater about two meters wide.

After a few seconds, he opened his eyes and slowly raised his head.

— Am I… alive?..

Carefully, afraid to launch into the sky again, he stood up and checked himself.

— I think I'm fine… — he muttered. — Just covered in even more blood… and dirt…

He let out a heavy breath.

— I need to wash up…

And with that, he slowly and carefully began walking toward his home.