Jayden stared at his steaming knuckles, then at the Genesis mist that used to be a wolf. His ribs still screamed from the tree impact, but the pain was already fading—another perk of his transformation. Accelerated healing to match accelerated everything else.
The sword hung at his hip, two million dollars of monster-forged steel that he hadn't even touched. Part of him wanted to draw it, see if he could channel lightning through the edge like some anime protagonist. But...
"Body first," he muttered, flexing his fingers as residual electricity danced between them. "Can't swing a sword if I can't even walk straight."
Good decision? Bad decision? Fuck if he knew. But teleporting randomly every time he tried to move wasn't sustainable. He needed control. Needed to understand this new existence where time moved like molasses and he moved like lightning.
Another notification pinged:
[Area Alert: Thunder Wolf Pack detected]
[Quantity: 5]
[Recommended Level: 5-10]
[Warning: Pack tactics in effect]
Perfect. More test subjects.
Jayden closed his eyes, focusing on the feeling of his last successful attack. He'd moved with purpose then. Acceleration with intent. Not just speed—directed speed. Controlled demolition instead of random explosion.
His lightning cells mapped the approaching pack. Five distinct signatures, moving in coordination that natural wolves couldn't achieve. Two flanking left, two right, the alpha holding center. Classic pincer movement.
Time to experiment.
The first wolf burst from the underbrush, jaws crackling with electric hunger. In Jayden's accelerated perception, it might as well have been moving through tar. He could see each individual muscle fiber contracting, the electrical impulses traveling through its nervous system, the way its claws displaced exactly 3.7 grams of crystallized dirt with each stride.
*Move with purpose.*
Instead of panic-blurring, Jayden focused on a specific point—three feet to the left of the wolf's trajectory.
His body responded differently this time. The movement was still instantaneous to outside observers, but to him it felt like... sliding. Like reality was a sheet of ice and he was gliding across it, leaving trails of blue lightning in his wake.
He arrived exactly where he'd intended. No overshoot. No undershoot. Just pure, directed motion.
The wolf's jaws snapped on empty air where he'd been standing. Its confusion lasted approximately 0.003 seconds before Jayden's fist connected with its ribcage.
This time he modulated the force. Instead of deletion, the wolf merely exploded backward like it had been shot from a cannon, slamming into a crystal tree with a sound like breaking bells. Still very dead, but at least recognizable as a former wolf.
[Thunder Wolf Slain]
[+12 XP]
[Experience: 27/100]
The other four attacked simultaneously, their pack intelligence trying to overwhelm him with multiple vectors.
Mistake.
In his accelerated state, Jayden could see the entire battlefield like a chess board. Wolf Two lunging from northwest, impact in 1.3 seconds. Wolf Three coming low from the east, 1.7 seconds. Wolves Four and Five trying to flank wide, 2.1 and 2.3 seconds respectively.
All the time in the world.
He moved again, this time letting his body flow with the lightning instead of fighting it. Step-slide-glide to intercept Wolf Two. A palm strike to its skull, electricity coursing through the contact point. The beast's nervous system overloaded instantly, dropping it like a puppet with cut strings.
[Thunder Wolf Slain]
[+12 XP]
[Experience: 39/100]
Without stopping, he pivoted—and learned something new. At these speeds, angular momentum became a weapon. The turn generated a whip-crack of blue lightning that caught Wolf Three across the face, sending it tumbling. Not dead, but definitely reconsidering its life choices.
Wolves Four and Five tried to abort their attack, but momentum was a bitch at any speed. Jayden flowed between them, clotheslining both with lightning-wreathed arms. The impact at his velocity turned them into very fast, very dead projectiles that carved trenches through the crystal forest.
[Thunder Wolf Slain]
[Thunder Wolf Slain]
[+24 XP]
[Experience: 63/100]
Wolf Three, the survivor, tried to flee. Jayden almost felt bad for it. Almost.
He appeared in its path, moving so fast the air cracked. The wolf tried to stop, claws digging furrows in the earth. Its plasma eyes showed something that might have been recognition—this wasn't prey. This was extinction in designer jeans.
"Thanks for the lesson," Jayden said, then flicked it between the eyes. Just a finger flick. At his speed, it hit like a sniper round.
[Thunder Wolf Slain]
[+12 XP]
[Experience: 75/100]
[Pack Bonus: +10 XP for complete elimination]
[Experience: 85/100]
The forest fell silent except for the sound of electricity crackling across his skin. Five wolves, maybe thirty seconds of real-time combat. And he'd actually controlled it. Mostly.
But something nagged at him. The movements felt... inefficient. He was thinking in straight lines, A to B to C. What if he could be more fluid? What if he stopped thinking of positions and started thinking of possibilities?
A new sound echoed through the crystal forest. Heavier footsteps. Bigger electrical signature. His lightning cells tasted the air and sent back a warning: *Big. Bad. Hungry.*
[Name: Thunder Alpha]
[Level: 7]
[Warning: Area Boss Detected]
The creature that emerged made the regular Thunder Wolves look like puppies. Six feet at the shoulder, its entire body coursed with visible electricity. Not just fur conducting power—this thing's muscles were woven from lightning itself. Its claws left molten grooves in the ground.
Its eyes weren't just plasma; they were miniature stars, painful to look at directly.
When it howled, the sound rode the electromagnetic spectrum. Every bit of electronic equipment in Jayden's possession squealed in protest. The ten-thousand-dollar phone actually sparked despite its shielding.
"Okay," Jayden breathed, electricity building around him in response to the challenge. "Let's see what this speed can really do."
The Alpha didn't wait. It moved with shocking swiftness for its size, covering twenty yards in a single bound that left lightning afterimages. In normal time, it would have been invisible. In Jayden's time, it was merely very, very fast.
He slid left, but the Alpha predicted it, course-correcting mid-leap. Its claws passed inches from his face, the electrical discharge making his hair stand on end despite his immunity.
Smart. It could read electromagnetic buildup just like the smaller wolves, but better. Faster.
They danced through the crystal forest, predator and predator, neither able to land a decisive blow.
The Alpha adapted to his patterns, started herding him toward denser trees where his movement would be limited. Every time Jayden tried to build up for a power strike, it grounded itself or moved just enough to make him miss.
This wasn't like the smaller wolves. This thing had fought speedsters before. Killed them, probably.
Time to stop thinking like a human with speed powers.
Time to think like lightning itself.
Lightning didn't move in straight lines. It took the path of least resistance, branching, forking, finding every possible route simultaneously. And if he was made of lightning now...
The Alpha lunged again. Instead of dodging left or right, Jayden did something that made physics weep.
...He existed in five places at once.
Not illusions. Not afterimages. For one impossible moment, he quantum-scattered across multiple positions, each one crackling with potential. The Alpha passed through the center of his probability cloud, confusion flickering in those star-bright eyes.
All five Jaydens collapsed back into one behind the creature. The convergence released a thunderclap of displaced air and gathered kinetic energy. He channeled it all into a single palm strike to the Alpha's spine.
The impact was catastrophic. The Alpha's body conducted the force through its lightning-muscle fibers, amplifying the damage. It flew forward, electricity arcing wildly from its form, and crashed through three crystal trees before embedding in a fourth.
It tried to rise, legs sparking but not responding properly. Jayden appeared in front of it, moving with newfound fluidity. The Alpha's star-eyes met his electric-blue gaze.
"Thanks for the advanced lesson," he said, then brought his fist down like a hammer of god.
[Thunder Alpha Slain]
[+50 XP]
[LEVEL UP!]
[Level 2 Achieved]
[+5 Stat Points Available]
[Achievement Unlocked: "David vs Goliath" - Defeated enemy 5+ levels higher]
[Achievement Unlocked: "Speed Demon" - Defeated 5 enemies in under 60 seconds]
[Experience: 35/200]
Jayden stood over the corpse, breathing hard despite his infinite stamina. Not from exertion—from exhilaration. He'd done something impossible. Not just moved fast, but moved in ways that shouldn't exist.
His hand moved to the sword at his hip, then stopped. Not yet. He was just beginning to understand what his body could do. Weapons could wait until he mastered the first one—himself.
In the distance, more howls echoed. The dungeon had noticed him now. Good.
Class was still in session, and he had fifteen more levels to go.