A Bug In Fate

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The next three days passed faster than Alden expected.

Life in the forest gradually settled into a routine. Every morning he would leave his hollow tree in search of food, spend several hours hunting weaker monsters, then dedicate the rest of his time to training. It wasn’t glamorous, but survival rarely was.

The results, however, were undeniable.

What had once been an endless and unfamiliar wilderness was slowly becoming familiar territory. Alden had discovered several water sources hidden between the giant trees, memorized safe routes through the forest, and learned which areas should be avoided entirely. He was no longer wandering aimlessly and hoping for the best.

Whenever he wasn’t hunting, he trained.

Push-ups, squats, running, and mana circulation became part of his daily routine. His body often ached by the end of the day, but the soreness never lasted long. Between mana and his unusual physique, his recovery speed was noticeably better than it had been on Earth.

Of course, not everything went smoothly.

Several times he returned to his shelter covered in bruises after underestimating a monster. Once, he disturbed a nest of aggressive insects and spent the better part of an hour sprinting through the forest while questioning every decision that had led him there. Another time, he accidentally ate a poisonous fruit and spent the rest of the day wondering whether his newly acquired poison resistance was actually working.

Thankfully, it was.

By the fourth day, Alden could deal with the weaker monsters in the area without suffering serious injuries. It wasn’t enough to make him complacent, but it was enough to give him confidence.

Standing atop a massive branch, he opened his status screen.

═══════════════════════

NAME: Alden Crowe

TITLE: A Bug

Realm: Awakened (Intermediate)

Strength: 183

Agility: 209

Stamina: 191

Intelligence: 293

Vitality: 239

Mana: 298

Physique: Apex Evolution Body

Affinity:

Void - D

Ice - A-

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Alden studied the screen for a moment before allowing himself a small smile.

The changes weren’t dramatic, but they were real. Compared to the terrified boy who had arrived in this world only a few days ago, he had become noticeably stronger. His physical abilities had improved, his mana reserves had grown, and he finally possessed enough experience to survive without panicking every time a bush moved.

Closing the status screen, he leaned back against the trunk behind him and stared at the dark sky above.

For the first time in several days, his thoughts drifted away from survival.

He thought about home.

About school.

About his friends.

Back on Earth, there had always been people around him. Friends who annoyed him, classmates who talked too much, and teachers who somehow tolerated all of it. At the time, it had felt completely ordinary.

Now he missed it more than he cared to admit.

The forest was beautiful in its own way, but beauty wasn’t company. Days could pass without hearing another voice, and no amount of training could distract him from that forever.

Alden had already accepted a difficult truth.

The chances of returning home were probably close to zero.

After years of reading novels, manga, and web stories, he couldn’t remember many protagonists who had successfully returned to Earth. Most adapted to their new worlds and eventually built new lives there.

Whether he liked it or not, he would probably have to do the same.

The thought left a bitter feeling in his chest, but there was little point dwelling on it. Worrying wouldn’t change reality.

With a quiet sigh, Alden pushed those thoughts aside and stood up.

Right now, he had a much more immediate problem.

He smelled terrible.

Four days of hunting, training, and surviving in the wilderness had left him covered in sweat, dirt, and enough dried blood to make him look mildly concerning.

Fortunately, he had discovered a pond yesterday.

The decision made, Alden began moving through the forest canopy.

Jumping between branches had become surprisingly easy. Reinforcing his legs with mana allowed him to cover large distances with little effort, and before long the familiar pond appeared through the trees.

It wasn’t particularly large, but it was spacious enough for several people to bathe comfortably.

Not that he had anyone to share it with.

The thought almost made him laugh.

Dropping from the tree, Alden landed lightly on the forest floor and began walking toward the water.

He had barely taken two steps when an unusual sound reached his ears.

"Slurrrp..."

Alden immediately stopped.

The sound was strange. Wet. Unpleasant.

At first, he assumed some creature was hiding nearby, but a quick glance around revealed nothing unusual. The pond remained calm, the trees stood motionless, and no monster appeared within sight.

His frown deepened.

Then he noticed something odd.

The ground beneath his feet looked... wrong.

Not obviously wrong. In fact, if he hadn’t stopped to investigate, he would have walked right past it. But now that he was paying attention, the texture seemed strangely familiar. What he had mistaken for moss-covered earth appeared rough and layered, covered in overlapping patterns that looked suspiciously similar to scales.

A cold feeling crept up his spine.

Slowly lowering his gaze, Alden found himself staring directly into a massive yellow eye.

For a brief moment, neither moved.

Then the eye blinked.

The entire patch of ground beneath him shifted.

Leaves, dirt, and broken branches slid away as an enormous reptilian head rose from the forest floor. Colors rippled across its body, changing from earthy brown to dark green with unnatural smoothness.

Only then did Alden realize the truth.

The ground he had been walking on was never ground at all.

It was the monster.

Unfortunately, that realization came a little too late.

A thick tail slammed into his side before he could react, launching him through the air like a ragdoll. Alden crashed into a nearby tree hard enough to shake loose dozens of leaves before tumbling to the ground.

Pain exploded through his ribs.

By the time he forced himself upright, the creature had fully revealed itself.

The monster resembled a gigantic chameleon, easily larger than a horse. Its scales constantly shifted colors to match its surroundings, causing parts of its body to blur into the forest whenever he looked away.

Alden’s expression gradually became serious.

The monsters he had hunted during the past three days weren’t even worth comparing to this thing.

The chameleon moved first.

One moment it stood before him.

The next it was gone.

Alden’s instincts screamed.

He threw himself sideways just as a claw tore through the spot where he had been standing.

The battle immediately descended into chaos.

Unlike the weaker monsters he had fought before, this creature wasn’t interested in trading blows. It attacked from impossible angles, disappearing into the environment before reappearing somewhere else moments later. Several times Alden lost sight of it completely, only to narrowly avoid a claw or tail strike at the last second.

The forest itself became part of the battle.

Whenever the monster vanished, Alden retreated into the trees, using branches and trunks to break its line of sight. His smaller size allowed him to move through the canopy more freely, while the chameleon’s larger body occasionally struggled in tighter spaces.

Even so, the advantage remained firmly on the monster’s side.

A deep scratch ran across Alden’s shoulder.

Another attack nearly shattered his arm.

More than once, he came within a heartbeat of death.

As the fight dragged on, however, Alden slowly began noticing things.

Patterns.

Tiny details that repeated themselves.

The creature’s camouflage was incredible, but not perfect. Every time it moved quickly, there was a brief delay before its scales fully adjusted to the new surroundings.

A fraction of a second.

Nothing more.

Normally, that weakness would be meaningless.

For Alden, it was enough.

Ten minutes into the battle, an opportunity finally appeared.

There.

A flash of yellow.

The eye.

Alden immediately changed direction and sprinted toward a cluster of giant roots protruding from the ground. The chameleon pursued him without hesitation, vanishing and reappearing as it moved through the forest.

The distance between them shrank rapidly.

Five meters.

Three meters.

One.

At the last possible moment, Alden jumped aside.

The monster committed to the attack.

Its massive body slammed directly into the roots with enough force to shake the surrounding trees.

Before it could recover, Alden moved.

Grabbing a broken branch from the ground, he drove it toward the creature’s exposed eye with every ounce of strength he could muster.

The forest echoed with a deafening screech.

The battle wasn’t over immediately, but the outcome had already been decided.

Several desperate exchanges later, the giant chameleon finally collapsed.

This time, it didn’t get back up.

Alden remained where he was for nearly ten minutes, staring at the sky while trying to catch his breath. Every muscle in his body ached, and his clothes were covered in dirt, sweat, and blood.

Eventually, a familiar notification appeared before his eyes.

═══════════════════════

[ Life-Threatening Battle Detected ]

[ Apex Evolution Body has adapted ]

[ Strength slightly increased ]

[ Physical Durability slightly increased ]

═══════════════════════

A tired smile appeared on his face.

The adaptation was real.

After resting for a while, Alden carved several pieces of meat from the monster’s corpse. Considering how much trouble the creature had caused him, he hoped it tasted better than the rabbit-like monsters.

Otherwise, the experience would feel mildly insulting.

Once that was done, he finally made his way to the pond and washed away the dirt and blood coating his body. The cool water felt refreshing after such an exhausting fight, and by the time he finished, he felt considerably better.

Since he was already there, Alden decided to scout the surrounding area before returning home.

The decision paid off sooner than expected.

A few minutes later, his steps slowed as something unusual caught his attention near the edge of the pond.

At first, he thought it was a pile of pale stones.

Then he got closer.

Bones.

Human bones.

A complete skeleton rested against the trunk of a nearby tree as though its owner had simply sat down one day and never stood up again.

Alden approached cautiously.

Beside the skeleton rested a rusted saber.

Nearby lay a worn leather bag that had somehow survived the passage of time.

His heartbeat quickened.

This was the first proof he had found that another human had once existed in this forest.

And perhaps...

The first clue about the world beyond it.

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