The name's Jax. I was an ordinary Joe from Earth—boring life, really. No family. No aspirations. Just living life in a trance.
While walking home from the store late one night, a sudden storm rolled in. Fast wind. Lightning. Heavy rain. As I broke into a run, lightning struck me right in the chest.
The world blurred, and the smell of burnt flesh was all I could sense.
Everything went dark. I couldn't see or smell anything—it felt like I was floating in a void.
Then, the next thing I knew, I was waking up in an unfamiliar house, in an unfamiliar bed. The place looked old—medieval-era old—and rundown.
Pain flared in my head as the memory of my death hit me like slamming into a brick wall.
What the hell… am I dreaming?
I've been reincarnated?
I got to my feet and looked around the house. My body felt alien. I was taller than I remembered, and my hair was long and black.
What the hell is this?
My clothes were ragged, and there was a chill in the air. Then I heard it.
Fusion System initialized.
A blue panel appeared in front of me.
Name: Jax
Race: Human
Level: 1
EXP: 0 / 100
Stats:
Strength: 1
Agility: 1
Intelligence: 5
Wisdom: 1
Endurance: 1
Class: N/A
Skill: Infinite Fusion
What kind of stats are those? I'm a trash mob. What do these numbers even mean?
The system responded.
Each stat point represents your overall capability.
A value of 1 reflects the ability of a normal, fully grown human. Anything above 1 multiplies that baseline.
My Intelligence was 5—five times higher than the average human.
Wait… did you mention mana?
So there's magic in this world?
Yes. However, my conversational ability is limited. I cannot answer questions beyond basic information. I exist solely to assist with fundamental system functions.
Well, shit.
All of a sudden, my stomach started to growl. Man, I was starving. There didn't seem to be anything to eat.
I decided to step outside my little run-down shack.
When I opened the door, a massive forest greeted me. It stretched on endlessly, as far as the eye could see.
But what really caught my attention was the ground—covered in a thick layer of snow.
Man… I didn't get reincarnated just to freeze to death, did I?
I turned around and went back inside to look for supplies. After searching for a bit, I found a chest tucked under the bed.
Inside was a bundle of fur, a wooden bow, and a handful of arrows.
The moment I touched them, a message appeared.
Ding!
Inventory function unlocked.
Non-living items only.
Storage capacity: small room.
Storage space can be upgraded.
Well, that's helpful.
As soon as the fur went into my inventory, another notification appeared.
Would you like to fuse your worn rags with the fur?
I accepted mentally.
In a faint flash of light, my clothes changed into a new set—Primitive Fur Garb. Warmth spread through my body almost immediately.
I didn't think I'd freeze to death now.
Wait… is that what my Infinite Fusion skill does? That's broken as hell.
Guess I really did get my golden finger.
With my new clothes and the bow and arrows, I decided to hunt something to eat. I opened the door again and embraced the wild.
I wasn't a hunter—not even close. I'd never used a bow before in my life. But I guess it was adapt or die.
I ventured a short distance into the forest.
That's when I noticed it, perched on a tree branch.
A squirrel?
Maybe… except it was the size of a small dog.
And it had fangs.
A saber-toothed squirrel.
That thing could probably tear me apart.
I pulled the bow from my inventory, and it appeared in my hand. I nocked an arrow, aimed carefully, and released.
The arrow flew—and missed by inches.
The creature's eyes glowed an eerie red as it locked onto me.
Then it leapt.
It landed right in front of me, and as I turned to run, its fangs sank into my leg. Blood poured from the wound, and I crashed to the ground.
Pain exploded through my body, flooding me with adrenaline.
I had to think fast.
Grabbing another arrow, I stabbed it into the creature's eye. It shrieked in pain. Using the opening, I yanked my leg free and kicked the arrow in deeper with my uninjured leg—hard enough to pierce its brain.
The creature collapsed.
Dead.
Ding!
Level 3 Fanged Squirrel defeated.
EXP gained: 50.
Bonus EXP applied: x2 (Target was higher level).
Total EXP gained: 100.
Level up!
Warmth surged through my body again. When the pain faded, I realized my leg was completely healed.
Guess leveling up heals me.
Stat Increase Applied.
All stats increased by +0.5.
A blue panel updated.
Name: Jax
Race: Human
Level: 2
EXP: 0 / 209
Stats:
Strength: 1.5
Agility: 1.5
Intelligence: 5.5
Wisdom: 1.5
Endurance: 1.5
Class: N/A
Skill: Infinite Fusion
Then another notification appeared.
Ding!
New Skill Acquired: Detect
Curious, I tried it on the creature.
Detect → Fanged Squirrel (Corpse)
Level: 3
Status: Deceased
Threat Level: Low–Moderate (to inexperienced humans)
Notable Traits:
Enhanced fangs
Increased muscle density
Aggressive predator
Possible Uses:
Meat
Fur
Bone
Next, I turned my attention to the forest itself.
Detect → Surroundings
Location Type: Wilderness
Biome: Cold Forest
Threat Level: Unknown
Environmental Effects:
Low temperatures
Reduced visibility in snowfall
Detected Lifeforms:
Small predators
Unknown entities
I exhaled slowly.
Yeah… this world wasn't going to be forgiving.