The moment those words—have fun—settled in the air, the world just… gave out beneath them.
No warning. No countdown.
One second Neel was standing.
The next—
He was falling.
His stomach dropped so hard it almost hurt. Air slammed against him from all sides, his clothes snapping and fluttering wildly as the pressure hit his chest and knocked the breath right out of him.
"—!"
Nothing came out.
For a second, his brain just stopped working.
Then it clicked.
I'm falling.
Fast. Way too fast.
Neel clenched his teeth, forcing himself to stay conscious as the pressure kept building. It felt like something heavy was pressing down on his entire body, like he was being crushed midair.
…This again.
Not the same.
But close enough.
That pulling, crushing feeling—he'd felt something like it when those tentacles dragged him in.
"Focus… come on…"
His voice barely came out, lost in the wind.
He forced his body to spread out a bit, trying to stabilize himself. It wasn't clean or controlled, but it stopped him from spinning like an idiot.
Skydiving… yeah… something like that…
He'd only done it once, and this was nothing like it—but it was enough to keep him from completely losing it.
Then he looked down.
"…Oh, you've got to be kidding me."
A forest.
Dense as hell.
Covered in snow.
And getting closer way too fast.
Neel's jaw tightened. If this keeps up, I'll die from the pressure alone… and even if I don't… yeah, I'm not surviving that impact.
A short, dry thought slipped through.
So what, he just threw us here to die?
He paused.
No… that doesn't make sense.
"He said some would die… not all…"
That thought stuck.
Then something clicked.
"…Status window."
A blue screen popped up in front of his eyes, almost too calm compared to everything else.
---
[Name – Neel Roy]
[Age – 16]
[Clan – None]
[Soul Core – Unawakened]
[Innate Ability – Unknown]
[Traits – Unknown]
Strength – F
Agility – D
Vitality – E
Intelligence – D
Luck – E
Looks – C
Potential – B+
Dexterity – 5% crit rate / 120% crit damage
---
[You have 1 unclaimed item in your mailbox.]
[Claim? Yes / No]
---
"…Yes. Obviously yes."
The ground was way too close now. His body creaked under the pressure—he could feel something starting to give.
---
[You have received: High-Tier Awakening Potion]
---
A small glass bottle appeared in his hand, filled with orange liquid that glowed faintly, tiny blue sparks moving inside it.
Neel stared at it for maybe half a second.
"Yeah… no time."
Moving his arm felt like lifting a rock tied to his shoulder. Pain shot through it, something cracking as he forced it up anyway. His grip slipped for a second before he steadied it.
"Don't drop it now…"
He bit the cork off and swallowed everything.
The taste hit him—
—and it was awful.
Not bitter. Not sweet.
Just… wrong.
For a second, nothing happened.
Then his body lit up.
Pain tore through him, sharp and sudden, like something inside him had just been ripped open. His muscles locked, his vision blurred, and for a moment he genuinely thought he was about to pass out midair.
"—agh!"
His chest burned.
His veins felt like they were on fire.
It didn't stop.
It kept going.
Like his body was being broken down and put back together over and over again, faster than he could even process.
Time stretched weirdly. Could've been seconds. Could've been minutes.
By the time it slowed down, Neel was barely holding it together.
But something had changed.
His body felt… heavier, but in a stable way.
The pressure wasn't gone.
But it wasn't crushing him the same way anymore.
"…Still bad."
The ground was getting dangerously close now.
Neel forced his eyes open and pulled up his status again.
---
[Name – Neel Roy]
[Age – 16]
[Clan – None]
[Soul Core – Awakened (Awareness)]
[Natural Essence Recovery – 38%]
[Innate Ability – Teleportation]
[Traits – Speedster, Unyielding Core, Passive Regeneration, Immense Stamina]
---
He focused on one word.
Teleportation.
---
[Teleportation – Instantly move anywhere within 700m. Cooldown: 5 seconds.]
---
Neel stared at it, breathing uneven.
"…Okay. Okay, this is something."
Then he looked down again.
"…Yeah, no. Not that simple."
At this speed, teleporting straight to the ground would still kill him.
His brain scrambled.
Think. Think. THINK.
Then—
"Wait…"
His eyes widened slightly.
"I don't need to stop… I just need to mess with the fall."
He activated it.
The world twisted for a split second—
—and he reappeared slightly higher.
The sudden shift threw off his fall just enough to feel it.
Not much.
But it was there.
"Again—"
Teleport.
A jolt ran through his body.
Teleport again.
Each time, his fall broke a little. The smooth drop turned uneven, like he was skipping through the air instead of diving straight down.
It hurt.
Every jump felt wrong.
But his speed—
It started dropping.
Slowly.
"Again… come on…"
Cooldown felt too long.
Teleport.
Closer.
Teleport.
Still fast—but not instant death fast.
The ground rushed up one last time.
"Last one—!"
He teleported just above the surface.
Then—
He hit.
Hard.
The impact knocked the air out of him as he slammed into the snow and rolled, pain shooting through his body as the remaining force dragged him across the ground.
But he didn't explode.
Didn't break apart.
He stopped.
Alive.
For a few seconds, he just lay there, staring at the sky, breathing like he'd just run for his life.
"…Hah…"
A weak laugh slipped out.
"…still here."
His arm twitched slightly as he lifted it, staring at it for a second before letting it drop back down.
Then, slowly, a grin formed on his face.
"Hah… if that was supposed to kill me…"
He let out a long breath.
"…they'll have to do better than that."