[Ding! You have killed a green worm]
[Ding! You have gained experience points]
[Ding! The entity green worm has been added to your summoning list]
Ethan awoke to a splitting headache, blinking in confusion as strange, glowing words floated in front of his eyes. He rubbed his temples, trying to piece together what had just happened. The last thing he remembered was the screech of tires and the impact that should have killed him.
Instead, he found himself lying on the ground in a forest clearing, surrounded by towering trees that seemed too ancient, too wild to belong anywhere on Earth. His mind raced, but he couldn't shake the strange messages in front of him.
"Summoning list?" he muttered, squinting at the flickering words.
He sat up slowly, and that's when the oddness hit him harder. His clothes weren't the neatly pressed suit and tie he'd been wearing before the accident—they were loose-fitting and simple, like something out of a medieval reenactment. His shoes, polished leather oxfords, were gone, replaced by simple boots. But that wasn't the most jarring part.
He glanced down at his hands—smaller, smoother. His body felt lighter, more agile, almost like…
"No way," Ethan muttered. He scrambled to his feet, his heart pounding as he realized something was very wrong. His legs were shorter. His arms, too. His entire body felt different—heavier with youth, but smaller. He caught his reflection in a nearby pool of water, and the breath left his lungs.
Staring back at him wasn't the 35-year-old corporate manager he'd been a moment ago. It was a much younger version of himself, no more than sixteen or seventeen years old. His face, his build—everything about him was… younger.
"What the hell happened to me?" Ethan gasped, his voice trembling as he tried to process the sight. Did just die and get reincarnated or some shit? Was something like that even possible?
Just as panic threatened to overwhelm him, another ding sounded in his head.
[Quest Updated: Survive.]
Ethan's attention snapped back to the glowing words in front of him. They seemed far more real and pressing now. His younger self. The forest. The strange messages. He wanted to think of all of it as some sort of coma dream after the accident but the last message made him nervous. What if it wasn't?
He looked around, the towering trees looming over him, the air filled with unfamiliar sounds of distant creatures. His pulse quickened.
"Okay, okay," Ethan muttered, trying to steady his breath. "You've been through stressful situations before. Just figure this out. Summoning list… worm?"
He didn't know what would happen, but he focused on the words green worm that had appeared in the glowing interface. Perhaps something magical would happen.
The next second a single worm, tiny and seemingly insignificant, scurried out of thin air and stopped at his feet. It waited as if it somehow recognized him as its master.
His stomach churned, and a nervous laugh bubbled out of him. "This is ridiculous."
But before he could dismiss the absurdity, more rustling echoed from the shadows of the trees. The underbrush stirred, and Ethan's breath caught. Something much larger was approaching.
The ding sounded again.
[Warning: Hostile entity detected.]
Ethan's heart skipped a beat. What was coming? Could this all be real? Just where the hell was he? Did he not die in the car accident?
"Survive," Ethan whispered to himself, his eyes darting around the forest nervously, his fists tightening. He glanced at the tiny worm still waiting patiently at his feet. "Well, guess it's just you and me, buddy." He mumbled.
The next second before he could respond, a snarl sounded and the underbrush exploded with movement. A massive, wolf-like creature, its fur matted with mud and eyes glowing a feral yellow, burst through the foliage. It was easily twice Ethan's size, all muscle and teeth, and it fixed its hungry gaze on him.
Ethan's body froze, panic seizing his mind. He had no weapons, no plan, and nothing but a worm by his side. The absurdity of it all almost made him laugh again—what could a worm do against this thing? What could he do against this thing?
But the cold reality of the creature's snarls reminded him there was no time for disbelief.
[Ding! Forest Direwolf, Level 5]
A notification popped up in front of him.
"Yeah, no kidding," Ethan muttered, his voice shaky. His mind raced, grasping for a solution, anything to survive the next few seconds. The wolf inched closer, growling low, its hackles raised. The next moment he turned and bolted. What else was he fucking supposed to do?
Ethan didn't need to think twice—survival instincts kicked in, and he ran. Branches whipped his face, and his boots crunched against the forest floor as he sprinted through the underbrush. The snarling of the massive direwolf behind him grew louder, its heavy paws thudding against the ground as it gave chase.
How the hell was he supposed to outrun this monstrosity? He did not think this through.