Abigail Jenkins screamed with all her might. She was running away from a vicious pack of [Wolf Vipers] all around level 7.

She had woken up in Urmatia yesterday right before the mist rolled away. She had avoided fights whenever she could, and when things got dark, she found thickets of trees and shrubs to sleep behind, concealing her from wandering monsters.

She was only a Lvl 4 since she had used her blessing once and looted once. The system representative told her to follow her [Inner Compass] and the signal flares to safety. Abigail was doing just that when she came across her first [Wolf Viper]. Now she was one trip away from death because she used her blessing on one [Wolf Viper] without being aware of the pack.

The [Wolf Vipers] gained on her steadily. They couldn’t get to her instantly since Abigail had put everything into [Agility] to dodge monsters. But her [Endurance] was lacking, and her fatigue was growing rapidly.

Whenever she looked back, she saw that the [Wolf Vipers] had gained on her. It was still impossible for her brain to conceive how such creatures could exist. Their bodies were like slithering gray snakes. Their heads were like shaggy gray wolves with extended fangs. Their yellow, slitted eyes glared at Abigail hungrily as they slithered after her.

“I’m gonna die, I’m gonna die, I’m gonna die,” Abigail cried, unable to overcome the painful stitch that bit into her side. She wasn’t overweight, but she was a little on the fluffy side.

Her legs felt weighed down as if the muscles were injected with cement. The trail she was running across dipped and rose unexpectantly, tripping her up. She hated seeing this in the movies when a girl fell, unable to escape her demise. Now she was going to suffer the same fate.

Fate was a bitch.

Abigail collapsed, turning toward her doom.

The monsters hissed excitedly. Seven in total raised up their heads, preparing to sink their fangs into her and tear her apart.

Abigail screamed.

A wolf viper closed in on her to finish her off.

“Hey!” shouted a masculine voice belonging to someone dressed like a medieval knight. The armored stranger burst out of the thick forest vegetation, surprising the monsters enough to make them hesitate. He flew in with a metal-and-leather-encased fist aimed at the [Wolf Viper]’s head.

No way, thought Abigail. This guy had to be a fool. He couldn’t possibly fight a monster with just his fists. He was going to get them both killed and⁠—

The armored hero smashed the monster’s head apart.

“No way!” screamed Abigail as gory fragments splattered across the forest trail. All it took was one punch from the newcomer to take out the monster. The [Wolf Viper]’s body thrashed around weakly as it died.

The six remaining [Wolf Vipers] made hissy snarl sounds. They fanned out, slithering into the forest vegetation. At first, Abigail thought they were fleeing, but then she heard more hisses and snarls and bush rattling.

“They’re circling around us,” the armored man said, turning to Abigail. Confident and friendly brown eyes looked at her through his visor. “Sit tight, and don’t move. They might try to go for you, but I’ll get them first each time.”

“No way,” Abigail said breathlessly. Was he human? He wasn’t one of those animated corpses she had seen before the mist disappeared. Could he be from this world, an Urmatian human hero?

Another wolf viper bolted out of the bushes from behind Abigail. She let loose a shrill, thinking she was going to die. The heavy thud of metal and leather meeting flesh and bone cut off her scream. Viscera rained over her body, making her shudder with disgust.

“Sorry about that,” the armored guy said. “It gets really bloody and real in Urmatia.”

“Y-y-you’re from here?” she asked.

“Huh? Oh. No way,” he said. “I got here, like, six days ago.”

“What?” Abigail gaped at him. He had been here for six days, and this was what he became? A one-punch, monster-smashing knight?

Another wolf viper. Another killer punch. The wolf viper’s body thumped across the trail with its head cracked open like a cantaloupe.

“I’m John, by the way,” he said.

“Abigail,” she replied. “Please no Abby, or anything unnecessary. It’s strictly Abigail.”

“Fine by me, boss,” he said with a chuckle.

Abigail found his joke dubious since she was one hundred percent at his mercy. In fact, she found it ridiculously scary that he had so much power and speed in his body that he could kill anatomy-incorrect creatures with a single punch.

Imagine what he could do to me if I make him angry, Abigail thought darkly.

This truly was like a game, just like the person behind the notifications had explained. The game speaker was strangely quiet now as John zipped about like a hornet and killed monsters with one punch each.

“Hm, this is pretty easy,” he said. “I mean, I’m still using as much force as possible. But I’m not even using my skills or magic.”

“I’m glad you’re having fun while I’m cowering like… like… a stupid damsel,” Abigail said bitterly.

“Oh, hey, it’s okay, really,” John said. “When I first got here, I was panicking like crazy. It’ll take some adjustment. Hell, maybe you’ll adjust better than me. I promise you’re going to be alright.”

She wanted to counter his positive belief. She had the words to tear that apart even if it made her sound like a negative nancy.

But he removed his helmet and flashed her a handsome smile that stunned her. She decided not to be difficult, and she let him help her get to her feet when he offered his hand.

“The monsters?” she inquired.

“The last few slithered off,” John said. “Freaky, ain’t it? [Wolf Vipers]? I think I would’ve died if I was fighting these instead of the [Shamblers].”

“You’re way too nice and modest,” Abigail said.

John gave her another heart-thumping smile. “My new friends here tell me stuff like that. What can I say? I’m just a guy who doesn’t jerk other people around much. This world. The old world. They got enough jerks as it is. Why be a part of that?”

Abigail found it really dubious that anyone could be so nice and strong at the same time. He had to have a sinister dark side. It was easier to consider that as soon as he put the helmet back on. But for now, she was very willing to follow him without complaint. It was weird for her. She always looked at herself as highly self-sufficient.

But this John fellow and the new world might change her view on things.

***

“Well, this just isn’t right,” Tommy said, sitting on a rocky ledge that left him isolated from other escape options. He was forced onto here after being chased by a freaking [Horned Beetle Bear, Lvl 25]. It was a humongous and hideous thing, and it was patient, too.

The [Beetle Bear] raised its massive horned head and glared up at Tommy from its position below him. It had nearly caught Tommy while he was crossing through a rocky gorge. It was a little muddy at the bottom, but he had been sure it wouldn’t be difficult to trek over.

Then the [Horned Beetle Bear] appeared and started giving chase. Tommy’s first reaction had been to climb the nearest incline. He had scraped up his hands and nearly lost his nails. He had climbed and climbed until the gorge walls were too difficult for him to scale further. He wasn’t an expert climber.

Now he was out of breath, scared as hell, and sitting in place as he watched the [Horned Beetle Bear] visibly think of a way to get to Tommy.

“Got to admit this is one heck of a joke,” Tommy said. “Died to an overreaction from a bee sting. Now I’m going to die to someone playing Frankenstein with a beetle and a bear.”

He turned toward the notification prompts. “Whoever you are, you’re a sick puppy. The sickest of puppies. If someone wanted to conquer the world with a disease, they’d get it from you.”

That was funny, right? It sounded funny to him. He could really use a laugh.

The [Horned Beetle Bear] rammed its weaponized horn against the base of Tommy’s little platform. Its horn really did look like something a giant beetle would have. Its back was covered by a massive shell with tufts of fur poking through the gaps. More insect-like armor covered its six legs that ended in sharp claws. And since Urmatia seemed like the type of world that loved to go above and beyond, the [Horned Beetle Bear] could probably stand fifteen feet tall on its far rear legs.

Tommy was about twenty feet above that, juuuust out of reach.

“I could probably find you a circus that’ll pay lots for you, big guy,” Tommy said. “Come on, man. Let me get away this one time. I swear it’ll be worth your while.”

The monster rammed against the gorge wall again, breaking apart rock. Cracks ran up the wall and broke apart Tommy’s platform. That got a scream out of him as he stood on what little remained of the platform.

“I’m sorry!” Tommy shouted. “If this is for my sins, I’ll change. I’ll take out the trash every day. I’ll stop stealing cookies from my little sister’s stash! I’ll get a job and stop playing video games! I’ll do whatever you want, just don’t let me suffer like this!”

“Man, stealing cookies from your little sister is pretty cold, bro.” A guy’s voice. Up above. Twenty feet away. Tommy could barely see his features since the sun was shining right behind the guy. It looked like the new guy was wearing armor like a knight and⁠—

The [Horned Beetle Bear] smashed against the base of Tommy’s platform and wrecked it. Tommy was raised not to curse, and he stuck to that religiously for most of his life.

“Fuuuuuuuudge!” Tommy screamed.

“I got you, man!” The armored figure rushed down faster than Tommy could fall, becoming a human missile. He grabbed Tommy’s arm, nearly yanking the joint out of the socket.

The monster lunged up with drolling teeth to chomp on Tommy’s legs.

“Mother of fudge!”

The hero swung him around with one arm. It was just enough to keep Tommy’s legs from getting chomped on. “Dude, climb up on me.”

“My arm hurts,” Tommy said.

“What’s your level?” The knight asked while sticking to the wall somehow. Tommy noticed claws were poking out of the knight’s gauntlets, helping him cling to the wall with one hand. Tommy also saw silvery fur covering the guy’s arms. Beast-like eyes looked at Tommy angrily.

“Hurry it up unless you want to get eaten,” the knight grouched.

“Level 0,” Tommy squeaked.

The beetle bear monster lunged up again.

“Fuck it,” the monster-knight said, pushing away from the wall.

Tommy sailed with his new captor like a rag-doll, his arm hurting even more. He expected he was going to land harshly and get hurt even further. To his surprise, the monster-knight maneuvered Tommy up into his arms while midair. When they landed on the gorge twenty feet behind the [Horned Beetle Bear], Tommy found himself holding onto his savior like a bride being carried by the groom.

“My… hero?” Tommy asked.

“Sure,” the monster-knight grouched. He let Tommy down and pushed him back. “Stay there. Don’t move. I’ll take care of this.”

“Okay,” Tommy squeaked.

As the [Horned Beetle Bear] watched them closely with intelligent eyes, Tommy noticed other people standing on the ledge the monster-knight had appeared on. There were four of them in total, and one was a curvy girl with her fists on her hips. Even from here, Tommy could see that girl had a difficult air surrounding her.

“John, how are you going to keep protecting us if you’re all the way down there?” the girl yelled.

“Let me work, woman!” John yelled, squaring up against the monster.

“What… what’s gotten into you?” the girl asked, stunned.

Tommy had no idea what their relationship was like before John rescuing him, but he was inclined to side with John. Let the man work.

But there’s no way, Tommy thought. That thing was massive. It could probably bite John in two. If it couldn’t bite him, it would swat him down and crush him under its six legs. And other than its fur belly, it was armored up top. Whatever game this John guy was playing, he was clearly outmatched by the monster.

The monster seemed to think the same and charged John outright. It lowered its head and rammed its horn at John, which would lead to Tommy getting trampled if the monster succeeded.

Tommy watched his oncoming death like a car crash happening right in front of him. He barely noticed how the air warbled slightly around one of John’s fists. He barely noticed the way John’s legs shook with manic energy. For a moment, it looked like Tommy was doomed. Then a split second later, the mud around John’s feet flew away in a spray of wet clods. John flew at the [Horned Beetle Bear] and smashed his fist against its horn directly with an air-bursting crack!

The [Horned Beetle Bear, Lvl 25] reared backward as if a much larger monster struck. Parts of its horn fell in pieces around the monstrous knight as he stalked the retreating beast.

Tommy’s eyes were nearly bulging from the sight of one beast-like guy besting a giant, Frankenstein-like monster. He had to be dreaming. But the vicious thwacks coming from the hero’s fists meeting the monster’s face were too real to be made up. Then it got squeamish for Tommy when the knight ripped open the monster’s face with his claws and…

“Are you ramming its broken horn into its face?” Tommy asked.

John turned back, looking more human than before. But unlike before, he was now covered in brownish blood. He smacked his hands together like he did an honest day’s work and came over to Tommy.

“Hey, sorry about your arm, that was sloppy of me,” John said. “Still figuring out this hero stuff. Been at it for six days so far.”

He totally ignored the fact that he rammed the monster horn into a monster’s face, Tommy thought. “Um, I don’t think you should tell people you’ve been at this for six days, man. That’s, like, not reassuring.”

John shrugged. He reached down into a pouch on his belt and offered Tommy a thumb-size red stone.

Tommy stared at it.

“Oh, wait, you’re a Level 0. You have no idea how this works,” John said, which made Tommy jerk back like he got slapped in the face. “You’re gonna need a stone to smash this. Here.”

John dug around in the mud for two rocks. Once he got them, he helped Tommy smash the red stone to get the magic out.

“This is real,” Tommy said, incredulous. He moved his arm around. It was back to being normal.

“Yup.”

“And, uh, are you a guy like me?” Tommy asked carefully.

“Yup.”

Tommy doubted it. This John guy had to be from the Special Forces or something insane to be capable of doing this after only six days. Or maybe he was a serious gamer and took full advantage of the game rules of this new world. Yeah, this John guy was nothing like Tommy.

“Hello! Are you done down there? Some of us want to get to safety,” the girl leading the troupe up there said.

“Fan of yours?” Tommy asked.

“Abigail? Maybe,” John said, leading the way back to the spot he found Tommy on. “Girls like that always put on a tough act. But it never lasts.”

“You sound like you know your way around girls,” Tommy said, who had little to nothing of a love life.

“Eh. What I know is mostly trouble,” John said, shrugging. “But I can’t help it. I get drawn to trouble for some reason.”

Yeah, this guy is ridiculous, Tommy thought. Maybe I can be half as good as him in twelve days.

John made him ride on his back before sprouting fur, fangs, and claws and climbing up the gorge wall. They linked up with the others who were all scared people like Tommy. Everyone looked to John to lead them to safety, and Tommy did the same. Half of them were girls. The other half were Tommy’s people⁠—what he considered to be regular guys.

Maybe they need jokesters in this world? Tommy hoped. But looking at John gave him doubts about that. The girls were hanging all over him, especially the tough one, Abigail. Maybe I can try to be like him somehow?