I died.
Well.
I probably died.
Ethan Cole lay on his back staring at a sky that was far too blue to be real.
Not blue-blue—not the washed-out, cloud-choked mess he was used to—but a sharp, impossible color, like someone had turned the saturation slider up until reality complained. There were no power lines cutting across it. No planes. No distant city haze.
Just blue.
He blinked.
Ow.
Okay. Blinking still worked. That felt like a good sign. Dead people probably didn't blink. Right?
"Okay," Ethan muttered, his voice cracking slightly. "Okay. This is either heaven, hell, or I hit my head so hard I unlocked graphics mode."
He pushed himself up on his elbows. The ground beneath him was grass—real grass, not the crunchy half-dead stuff from the park near his apartment. This grass was thick, springy, and alarmingly green. It smelled like… well. Like grass was supposed to smell, if grass actually tried.
A breeze rolled over him, cool and gentle, carrying the sound of distant birds.
Birds he did not recognize.
"Oh no," Ethan said flatly. "Oh no no no."
That was when the air in front of his face glitched.
Not shimmered. Not sparkled. It glitched—pixelated for half a second, tore sideways like a broken video stream, and then snapped into place as a translucent blue window hovering in midair.
It flickered.
Static hissed.
Then text appeared.
[ SYSTEM INITIALIZATION FAILED ]
[ ERROR CODE: 404 — PROTAGONIST NOT FOUND ]
Ethan screamed.
It wasn't a heroic scream. It wasn't even a dignified one. It was a sharp, panicked sound that cracked halfway through and ended in a cough.
The window flickered again.
[ WARNING: SUBJECT VOCALIZATION DETECTED ]
[ PLEASE REMAIN CALM ]
[ OR DON'T. SYSTEM IS NOT YOUR THERAPIST ]
"…I'm hallucinating," Ethan whispered. "This is a coma thing. This is absolutely a coma thing."
The window shook slightly, as if offended.
[ DIAGNOSIS: DENIAL ]
[ SECONDARY DIAGNOSIS: MEDIOCRITY ]
[ TERTIARY DIAGNOSIS: WOW, YOU ARE VERY AVERAGE ]
Ethan stared.
"…Excuse me?"
The blue pane expanded, text scrolling far faster than he could read.
[ SCANNING SOUL PARAMETERS… ]
[ SCAN COMPLETE ]
NAME: Ethan Cole
AGE: 14
ORIGIN: Earth (Unremarkable Subregion)
STRENGTH: 6
AGILITY: 7
ENDURANCE: 6
INTELLIGENCE: 8
MAGIC AFFINITY: 3
CHARISMA: 5
OVERALL RATING:
— aggressively fine —
Silence.
Then Ethan laughed. A short, incredulous sound.
"That's it?" he said. "That's my life? Aggressively fine?"
[ YES ]
"That's not even an insult you can argue with!"
[ CORRECT. SYSTEM PRIDES ITSELF ON ACCURACY ]
Ethan rubbed his face with both hands. This had officially crossed the line from "dream" into "bad fanfiction."
"Okay," he said, looking straight at the window. "If you're a system, then where's the tutorial? Where's the starting village? Where's the old man with the sword and the tragic backstory?"
The window froze.
Actually froze.
A loading icon appeared.
It spun.
Stopped.
Spun again.
[ … ]
[ … … ]
[ … … … ]
"Oh no," Ethan said quietly. "You're buffering."
[ BUFFERING IS A STRONG WORD ]
[ "FAILING IN REAL TIME" IS MORE ACCURATE ]
The text scrambled, letters briefly rearranging themselves into nonsense before snapping back.
[ ERROR: TUTORIAL INSTANCE NOT FOUND ]
[ POSSIBLE CAUSE: SYSTEM DESYNC ]
[ POSSIBLE CAUSE: WRONG DIMENSION ]
[ POSSIBLE CAUSE: YOU WEREN'T SUPPOSED TO BE HERE ]
"…That sounds bad."
[ IT IS ]
Ethan swallowed. "So what happens now?"
The window brightened, like it had made a decision it wasn't proud of.
[ EMERGENCY CLASS ASSIGNMENT INITIATED ]
[ RANDOMIZATION DISABLED DUE TO LOW CONFIDENCE ]
[ ASSIGNING SAFE, LOW-RISK ROLE ]
A new panel slammed into place with unnecessary drama.
CLASS ASSIGNED: HEALERROLE DESCRIPTION:
• Restores health
• Supports allies
• Avoids direct combat
• Dies immediately if hit by anything stronger than a stiff breeze
Ethan stared at it.
"…I don't have allies."
[ THAT IS A YOU PROBLEM ]
"I can't fight."
[ CORRECT ]
"I don't even like blood."
[ CONGRATULATIONS. YOU ARE IDEALLY SUITED ]
Ethan slowly lay back down in the grass.
Above him, the impossible blue sky remained perfectly indifferent.
"Fantastic," he muttered. "I get kidnapped by another universe, roasted by a broken computer ghost, and given the one class that needs friends."
The window hovered there for a moment longer.
[ FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH ]
[ YOU WERE NOT MY FIRST CHOICE ]
[ OR MY SECOND ]
"…Thanks."
[ YOU'RE WELCOME ]
Somewhere in the distance, something roared.
Ethan closed his eyes.
This is fine, he told himself. I'm a healer. What's the worst that could happen?
The system flickered ominously.
[ LOADING WORLD DATA… PARTIAL ]
[ GOOD LUCK, KID ]
And just like that, Ethan Cole officially entered a fantasy world with trash stats, no tutorial, and absolutely no idea how to survive.
Ethan did not move.
This was not a dramatic choice. This was a strategic one.
If he stayed very still, maybe the world would realize it had made a mistake and gently undo him.
The roar came again.
Closer this time.
It wasn't a dragon roar. Ethan knew that instinctively. Dragons roared in a very specific, cinematic way. This was lower. Throatier. Wet, somehow. Like something big was breathing through too many teeth.
Ethan opened one eye.
The grass around him rippled.
"Oh," he whispered. "That's… that's not ideal."
The System window reappeared with a soft pop, hovering at the edge of his vision like an intrusive thought.
[ HOSTILE LIFEFORM DETECTED ]
[ CLASSIFICATION: ??? ]
[ THREAT LEVEL: YES ]
"That's not a number!"
[ NUMBERS FELT OPTIMISTIC ]
Ethan rolled onto his stomach and pushed himself up, heart pounding. He finally took a proper look around.
He was in a clearing at the edge of a forest. The trees weren't quite right—too tall, bark too dark, leaves shaped like they had been designed by someone who'd only heard trees described once. Thick roots twisted out of the ground like lazy snakes. The undergrowth was dense enough to hide… well.
Anything.
Something moved between the trunks.
Big.
Hairy.
Low to the ground.
"Oh no," Ethan said. "That's a bear."
The System paused.
[ CORRECTION ]
[ THAT IS NOT A BEAR ]
The creature stepped into the clearing.
It was bear-shaped in the same way a nightmare was human-shaped. Four-legged, broad, covered in dark fur—but its head was wrong. Too narrow. Its eyes were set too far forward. Its mouth opened sideways, splitting wider than seemed physically reasonable, revealing layered teeth like someone had tried to design a saw and given up halfway through.
Saliva dripped onto the grass.
The System helpfully added:
[ LOCAL DESIGNATION: MAWBEAST ]
[ DIET: MEAT ]
[ PREFERRED PREY: SLOW MEAT ]
Ethan stood very, very still.
"…I'm slow meat."
[ YOU ARE EXCEPTIONALLY SLOW MEAT ]
The Mawbeast sniffed the air.
Ethan did the only logical thing.
He waved.
"Hi," he said weakly. "I'm… uh. New."
The Mawbeast roared again and charged.
"Oh okay," Ethan shrieked. "We're skipping introductions!"
He turned and ran.
He did not run well.
Ethan had never been a runner. He was a fast-walk-when-late kind of person. His feet tangled in roots immediately, his arms flailed uselessly, and within seconds his lungs were on fire.
Behind him, the Mawbeast gained ground with horrifying ease.
[ SUGGESTION ]
[ PANIC MORE EFFICIENTLY ]
"I AM!"
[ UNCONFIRMED ]
The System window flickered violently.
[ EMERGENCY COMBAT OPTIONS: ]
• Punch (inadvisable)
• Kick (worse)
• Scream (already in progress)
[ AVAILABLE CLASS ABILITIES: ]
• Minor Heal
Ethan skidded around a tree, barely avoiding a snapping jaw.
"I CAN'T HEAL MYSELF IF I'M DEAD!"
[ ACTUALLY, YOU CAN ]
"What?!"
[ MINOR HEAL TARGETS: SELF OR ALLY ]
[ COOLDOWN: 10 SECONDS ]
[ MANA COST: LAUGHABLE ]
Ethan tripped.
He hit the ground hard, knocking the breath out of him. Pain exploded through his shoulder and knee.
The Mawbeast loomed over him, shadow swallowing the light.
Ethan screamed again, more out of reflex than hope.
"MINOR HEAL! MINOR HEAL! DO THE THING!"
The world tugged.
It felt like someone had reached into his chest and gently pulled on something warm and elastic. A soft green glow flared around his hands without him meaning it to.
The pain in his shoulder faded.
Not gone.
But better.
Ethan blinked.
"Oh."
The Mawbeast lunged.
Ethan rolled, barely avoiding teeth that carved a furrow into the dirt where his head had been.
"OKAY," he shouted. "OKAY I SEE THE PROBLEM NOW."
He scrambled backward, glowing hands shaking.
"I CAN'T WIN," he said out loud, voice hysterical. "I can't fight. I can't run. I can't even bleed properly."
[ YOU ARE LEARNING ]
The Mawbeast hesitated.
Just for a second.
It tilted its head, sniffing.
The green glow pulsed again as Ethan instinctively slapped Minor Heal on a shallow bite on his arm.
The creature recoiled.
It whined.
Ethan froze.
"…Did that hurt you?"
[ INTERESTING ]
The Mawbeast backed away a step, growling uncertainly.
Ethan stared at his glowing hands.
"I didn't hit you," he whispered. "I didn't do anything."
The System's text slowed, letters appearing more carefully than before.
[ HEALING ENERGY INTERACTS WITH LOCAL LIFEFORMS ]
[ EFFECTS MAY VARY ]
[ SIDE EFFECTS INCLUDE: PAIN, FEAR, CONFUSION ]
The Mawbeast growled again—but this time, it did not charge.
It turned and bolted back into the trees, crashing through the undergrowth in a panic.
Silence returned to the clearing.
Ethan lay on his back, staring at the sky again, chest heaving.
"…I scared it away," he said.
[ TECHNICALLY ]
[ YOU HEALED AT IT ]
Ethan laughed. A wild, breathless sound.
"I healed a monster until it ran away."
[ WELCOME TO SUPPORT GAMEPLAY ]
The System flickered, then a new line appeared.
[ CLASS COMPATIBILITY UPDATED ]
[ HEALER — STATUS: UNEXPECTED ]
Ethan closed his eyes.
"…I want to go home."
[ REQUEST DENIED ]
[ REASON: PLOT ]
Somewhere in the forest, something else moved.
The System dimmed slightly.
[ RECOMMENDATION ]
[ FIND HUMANS ]
[ YOU ARE MUCH FUNNIER AROUND WITNESSES ]
Ethan groaned and pushed himself upright.
"Fine," he muttered. "But if I die, I'm haunting you."
[ ACKNOWLEDGED ]
[ I DESERVE THAT ]
And with that, a fourteen-year-old healer with trash stats limped toward the forest, glowing hands and all, having accidentally discovered that in this world—
Healing did not always mean kindness.
The forest thinned gradually, like it was losing interest in hiding things.
Ethan emerged onto a low rise and stopped.
He turned in a slow circle.
To his left: mountains.
Not nice mountains. Not snowy postcard mountains with gentle slopes and inspirational music. These were jagged slabs of stone stabbing up out of the earth, dark and uneven, their peaks shrouded in slow-moving cloud. Narrow paths cut across their faces like afterthoughts. Something large moved far up along a ridge, its silhouette briefly blocking the light.
Ethan squinted.
"Nope."
He turned right.
Plains.
Wide, rolling grasslands stretching to the horizon, broken by distant tree lines and the occasional river glinting in the sun. No cliffs. No sheer drops. No ominous shapes pacing the skyline.
The wind was warmer there. Kinder.
Ethan stared at both options for a long moment.
[ PATH SELECTION AVAILABLE ]
• Mountain Route — High risk, high reward
• Plains Route — Low risk, low expectations
Ethan pointed at the plains.
"That one."
[ CONFIRMING: LOW AMBITION TRAJECTORY ]
"I've had a day," he said defensively. "Also I'm a healer with the lung capacity of a damp napkin."
[ ACCEPTABLE RATIONALE ]
He started walking.
The plains were… nice.
Unsettlingly so.
The grass swayed in long waves, insects hummed lazily, and the sky stayed a constant blue without threatening to explode or rain fire. Every now and then Ethan would flinch at a shadow or distant movement, but nothing attacked him.
Which, frankly, made him more nervous than the Mawbeast had.
Hours passed.
His legs ached. His feet hurt. He discovered a blister and immediately healed it, then felt vaguely guilty about wasting magic on his own incompetence.
The System, unhelpfully, said nothing.
When the sun dipped lower and the light turned gold, Ethan saw smoke.
Thin. Controlled. Human.
He stopped dead.
"…People," he whispered.
[ PROBABILITY OF HUMANS: 87% ]
[ PROBABILITY OF DISAPPOINTMENT: 94% ]
Ethan ignored that and headed toward the smoke.
He found the hunter at the edge of a shallow ravine, crouched beside a snare trap. The man was tall and lean, wrapped in worn leather and fur, with a bow resting easily against his shoulder. A knife hung at his hip. His hair was tied back, and his eyes were sharp in a way that immediately made Ethan feel like a very loud, very obvious animal.
The hunter noticed him instantly.
The bow was in the man's hands before Ethan could blink.
"Stop," the hunter said.
Ethan froze.
"Hi," he said, lifting his hands. "I'm—"
The hunter's gaze flicked past him, then back.
"…System," the man said flatly.
Ethan's heart sank.
"Yes?"
The hunter exhaled slowly through his nose, like someone who had just found mold in bread they really wanted to eat.
"Of course you are."
[ DETECTED: LOCAL HOSTILITY ]
[ RECOMMENDATION: DO NOT GLOW ]
Ethan clasped his hands behind his back.
"I'm not dangerous," he blurted. "I can't fight. I heal. That's literally it. I don't even have a sword."
The hunter studied him for a long moment.
"You always say that."
Ethan blinked. "Always?"
The man lowered the bow slightly but didn't relax.
"You're what," the hunter continued, "the third this season? Fourth?"
Ethan's mouth opened.
"…This season?"
The hunter straightened, eyes narrowing.
"Listen, kid. You didn't walk out of a shrine. You didn't fall out of the sky screaming. You didn't explode a goat or set the grass on fire."
"Those were options?"
"So you're one of the quiet ones," the hunter went on. "That's… better. Usually."
[ SYSTEM NOTE ]
[ WE ARE DEVELOPING A REPUTATION ]
Ethan swallowed.
"What… what happens to people like me?"
The hunter looked away, toward the plains.
"Some die," he said simply. "Some get lucky. Most cause trouble without meaning to."
"I don't want to cause trouble."
"That's what makes it worse."
The silence stretched.
Finally, the hunter sighed and rested his bow against the ground.
"Name," he said.
"Ethan."
The man nodded once. "Jorren."
Ethan hesitated. "Why… why don't people like System users?"
Jorren's jaw tightened.
"Because you arrive with power you didn't earn," he said. "Because the world bends around you and breaks for everyone else. Because when things go wrong, it's never you who pays first."
Ethan thought of the Mawbeast running in fear.
Of his glowing hands.
Of the System calling him unexpected.
"Oh," he said quietly.
Jorren glanced at him, then looked away again.
"You can walk with me to the river road," he said. "After that, you're on your own."
Ethan nodded quickly. "Thank you."
Jorren paused, then added, "And kid?"
"Yes?"
"Hide the glow. Don't tell people what you are unless you have to."
He started walking.
Ethan followed.
Behind them, the sun dipped below the plains, and the System window flickered once more.
[ STATUS UPDATE ]
[ WORLD AWARENESS: IMPROVING ]
[ SOCIAL STANDING: POOR ]
Ethan sighed.
"Figures," he muttered.
[ WELCOME TO CIVILIZATION ]