- 3 -

Danger? My knees bent instinctively, trying to make myself smaller. It didn’t help much—I was out in the open on the riverbank.

Across the water, something moved along the edge of the woods. The shadows of the trees kept it hidden, but as it stalked through the patches of shattered sunlight, I got the sense that it was smaller than an adult person; it seemed to be prowling on four legs.

A shiver chased up my spine. Somehow, I could feel its gaze on me. I might not be able to see it, but it could definitely see me.

Turning my head as little as I could, I side-eyed the woods behind me. If I needed to, I could make a run for it.

But maybe it’s just here for a drink…

Another branch stepped as the creature pushed through the undergrowth and into the light. At first, it looked like a large dog or wolf. But as the shadows fell away and the full beast emerged, it became apparent this was something I had never seen before.

The beast moved quickly, its hunched shoulders keeping it low to the ground. Two fox-like ears and four dark eyes were fixated in my direction. Strangest of all was the mushrooms sprouting from the matted fur along its back.

I sucked in air through my nose and whispered, “What the heck is that…?”

The creature’s long muzzle opened as it stepped to the edge of the water, revealing fangs the size of my hand. As it sniffed the air, a strand of drool fell into the river, carried away by the water.

System: Identifying. This is a forest beast, canine-type. Local to the Alderian Forest. Difficulty rank: 2.

Rank 2? I don’t know what that means, but it certainly doesn’t help me!

I didn’t have time to worry about the System and its game right now. There would be time to sort this all out and come to terms with the fact that this was, indeed, some kind of fantasy world with not-so-fantastic monsters—if I survived.

Keeping my knees bent and staying low, I took a slow step backward.

The creature’s jaw snapped closed. It stepped into the shallow river, not stopping to drink.

This is really bad!

If I ran for it and made it through the brambles, the trees were tall and thin—I doubt I could climb them. And there was no way I could outrun this thing over a long distance. That left fighting, but I didn’t have a weapon.

“Hey, System?” I said, “Any advice, please?”

System: Affirmative. Suggestion: use your powers.

“My what now?”

The creature plowed steadily through the shallow water. The river barely brushed its underbelly.

System: Clarification: Your powers. The abilities you were assigned when you were brought to this world.

“That would be really helpful to have known earlier. Why didn’t you tell me?!”

System: You did not ask.

A low and ominous growl tore me from my shock. Behind the forest beast in the river, another one stepped out of the woods. It was followed by a third, and then a fourth, all of whom leaped into the water to join the first beast prowling toward me.

I can be angry at the System later!

“System, what do I do!?”

System: Assessment of abilities required. Please first activate your abilities to receive ability-related suggestions.

Stupid thing!

Feeling a mix of fear and betrayal—both at the System and at myself for trusting it to save me—I began to search for a rock I could throw. As I did, I thought rapidly about the past hour since I had woken up in the field.

Powers? I certainly didn’t have any special abilities before; I could barely handle basic math. But then again, this was some weird fantasy game—if there were freaky mushrooms wolves, then maybe I could be a little freaky, too. What do they do in anime or fantasy games? Just wiggle my fingers, I guess?

Giving up on a rock that was too large to lift anyway, I flung my hands in front of me and pointed my fingers toward the beasts. They were already halfway across the river—I didn’t have much time.

I wiggled my fingers wildly.

Nothing happened.

Let’s try… “Fireball!” I yelled as I flicked my fingers.

The largest beast snorted; a green-tinged cloud puffed from its nose, with little flecks that reminded me of mushrooms spores. The pack had reached a flatter section of the stream—they were gaining speed.

“Kamehameha!” I shouted, swinging my arms desperately.

Once again, nothing happened.

Desperation welled in my throat. “I don’t actually have any powers, do I!?”

It was awful how it felt morbidly fitting. After all, I was just a cashier with a useless college degree. I was barely getting by in my own world, why would it be any different in a new one?

A miraculous chance at another life had opened up to me, and I was already going to die—again. It was all for nothing, everything I had done in my previous life and this one was meaningless.

System: Calculating. Something tingled at the base of my neck. Incorrect. Your powers have been assigned. Please activate your abilities.

“I’m trying!” Tears stung in the corners of my eyes.

The first creature had reached the shoreline a few paces away. Drool and river water dripped from its beastly muzzle as its hefty paw sunk into the sand at the river’s edge.

I pulled my hands closer to my body. Running was now completely futile.

This is it then. I blinked the tears away. If only I really did have powers; if only I could handle this situation and survive—I’d do anything.

< A c t i v a t e >

The word floated into my mind as gently as the breeze. It echoed in the deep spaces of my mind, deeper than the System’s voice. It felt close and yet impossibly far away at the same time.

Fangs clacked as the largest beast snarled again and circled to my right, just an arm’s distance between us. I could smell its reeking breath. Its many dark eyes—blown completely black—dragged up and down my body as if checking to see how much of a struggle I’d put up. The others hung back, no doubt sensing their leader was enough to take down their helpless target.

< A c t i v a t e ? >

This time, the faint word rising in my consciousness sounded like a question.

With a victorious growl, the larger beast finished its assessment. Its eyes narrowed and its hackles raised as it tensed its powerful muscles—it was about to lunge.

“Yes!” I shouted as the beast leaped forward, its horrid jaws stretching open, “Activate!”

The word contorted in my mouth.

A fragment of a second later, I realized it wasn’t the word—it was my mouth that was changing.

Light burst across my vision. Wind roared, and I felt but couldn’t see my body as it was slammed by the impact—water splashed across my skin, feeling simultaneously boiling hot and icy cold. The world drew in on itself like a headache, then pushed outward with such abrupt force that I thought I was going to pass out. I squeezed my eyes shut as a wave of disorientation washed over me like a tsunami.

Ugh…

I peeled open my eyes. Or I tried to—the world was strangely hazy. Shapes were blurry and contorted, as though I was looking through stained glass. I blinked, and the haze slid up like one of those test lenses the eye doctor makes you try at your eye appointment.

Do I have… multiple eyelids?

Of all the strange things today, that was one of the weirdest.

My head hurts. But more importantly—the wolf…!

The creature that had been about to eat me was nowhere to be seen. I was also very high up—I could see the tops of the trees, and the river that had been so wide had somehow gotten smaller.

With disorientation still clouding my mind, I looked down and saw a very small creature laying against the rocks in the shallows. It had matted fur with mushrooms—this was the forest beast that had been about to eat me. It laid still, and although the trickle of the stream washed around it, I could smell the blood.

The powerful tug of iron and warmth was vivid on my tongue. It filled my senses, helping me to focus. I blinked again, multiple eyelids sliding smoothly together.

Far below, huge clawed feet dug into the rocks and sand of the riverbank. Thick scales tapered into tough skin, lining bronze claws that shone dangerously in the light. I shifted, and the right leg lifted slightly.

Those are… my feet…

A low whine pulled my attention. The other mushroom wolves had moved back—one was standing, hackles raised in the river, while the other two had distanced themselves on the shoreline.

Something inside me knew. Because although I couldn’t see myself, I was sure—I wasn’t me anymore.

Is this my power?

I bared my teeth and growled. The sound started as a deep, alarming sound in my throat. It grew, vibrating in the air, until it echoed through the forest like an avalanche.

A cloud of birds took flight from the trees, escaping into the air as the remaining mushroom wolves spun back around. They dashed into the stream with their tails between their legs, splashing furiously to the other side.

I watched them from up high.

Holy shit.

“What is this?” My mouth opened instinctively, but the words didn’t come from my throat. They filled the air, a vibration on the wind.

System: Your activated abilities register as Dragon Shifter. Congratulations.

The System’s voice was the same as always, echoing robotically inside my head. That, at least, had stayed familiar.

“Dragon Shifter?” I tilted my head and it moved way faster than I expected—a look around told me why. My neck had become a long, snake-like stretch of scales. “What does that mean?”

System: Dragon Shifter. Ability: S Class. It is one of 869 ability options gifted to a player, ranking in the top 1%.

Wicked! Isn’t that the best possible option!?

It certainly felt powerful. My senses were going wild—my eyesight was picking up the droplets on the rocks across the stream. And through the trees, although I couldn’t see it, I somehow knew there was a deer. I could sense it striding through the woods, the alert tension in its muscles. I could almost feel its heartbeat pulsing against my tongue and could smell the echo of its sweaty fur.

There were also thirteen—no, fourteen—birds in the trees deeper in the woods.

The information my senses were giving me was like a million little alerts from the System going off all at once. Blinking again to refocus, I looked over the tops of the trees. Tendrils of smoke rose in the distance.

That’s probably the town I was trying to get to. I doubt they’d have phones—but do I even still need to go to town? I’m a flipping dragon.

Staring at the tendrils of smoke spiraling up in the distance gave me an idea. I twisted my neck around and was delighted to see two wings folded on my back.

“I have wings!”

They unfurled with a simple thought. I stared in wonder as they stretched out, bat-like, with wide planes of golden membrane that caught the sunlight between each of the darker fingers.

I flapped them like one would their arms. Gusts of wind rocked the trees and sent waves that pushed the stream momentarily off course.

Wonder gripped me. Can I fly!? That would be so cool!

Tensing my arms and legs, I lifted my wings, braced myself, and jumped. Air sucked beneath my body as I left the ground—but although I flapped, I could feel the relentless tug of gravity yank me back down.

I hit the ground hard, unused to lands on four limbs instead of two. Luckily, it seemed the scales covering my body were a pretty solid defense. The rocky shore didn’t hurt at all as I climbed back onto my four legs.

“Hmmm.” I glanced at my wings. “Do I have to activate the ability to fly, or something like that?”

System: Incorrect. Flying is a level 3 ability. You will need to train to reach the next level.

Leveling up, huh.

Seeing how I was in a game in a fantasy world, leveling up didn’t seem too out of place. And if it was anything like a video game, it wouldn’t be difficult at all.

No problem. Let me just…

I take a step forward, but it's hard to move my hind legs at the same time as my arms. Which made sense, after all, both my body and my perception of the world had changed quite drastically as a dragon.

Everything has a learning curve, doesn’t it?

Somewhere in the woods—thirty paces to my left—a cat-like animal sneezed. At the same moment, another mushroom wolf a hundred paces to my right across the stream started digging.

“I’ll just…”

I took another step, but I didn’t time it right, my back leg swung up into my right arm. Claws clanked against scales. At the sound, something like a rabbit scurried back into the ground twenty paces behind me. I couldn’t be sure what it was, because a creature that might have been a badger was clawing at a tree sixty paces somewhere to my left.

The assault of information my senses were picking up and throwing at me was overwhelming.

I can’t think like this, and right now, I can’t even move! I need to stop this—at least for now.

“How do I turn back—actually, never mind.”

The System wouldn’t, or couldn’t, tell me how to activate my abilities, so I couldn’t expect it to tell me how to turn them off. There were some things I would need to figure out on my own. Luckily, I was no longer being attacked and had plenty of time. I also knew how to turn my powers on, so turning them off seemed to be a simple matter.

“Deactivate,” I said.

Just as before, the words twisted in my mouth as I morphed. Light rocked my vision, there was a gust of wind, and when I opened my eyes, I was looking down at human feet.

“Sweet,” I said, eyeing the flat nails of my hands. Same as always. “That was… awesome.”

I was even wearing the same clothes. It was a complete body swap.

“Hang on. Earlier, you said this was a game, and that Dragon Shifter is an ability for a player, yes?”

System: Correct. You are a player in the game, and Dragon Shifter is one possible player ability.

Wicked. Maybe it was the adrenaline from defeating a monster—heck, defeating anything, for the first time—or the fact that I could actually turn into a dragon, but I felt something giddy settle in my stomach. “So, what do I get if I win the game?”

System: Upon the successful completion of your task, you would receive a prize of ten million gold coins, a harem, and can return to your world, where you can keep your abilities.

“Gold? A harem? Heck, forget that—I get to keep these powers back in my world!?”

System: Correct.

I couldn’t keep the smile off my face. The things I could do with this! Back in the real world this would be amazing. I would never have to clock in at the supermarket again. I would be a celebrity. Not to mention the rush of joy at being so powerful. I had never experienced anything like it. Even now, I already wanted to shift back into a dragon. My old human body seemed almost quiet and boring in comparison.

“Surviving to the solstice should be no problem when I can pop into a dragon!” I laughed as I admired the large claw-shaped footprints—my footprints—gorged into the sandy soil.

This was going to be a breeze. I could kick back and thoroughly enjoy my time here in this world.

“How many other people are playing?”

System: Two.

I glanced up. “Just two?”

From what I saw as a dragon, the forest and hills rolled on for what must be miles. I had only spotted what might be one town, but there were mountains in the distance. It seemed like a vast world—and what video game world only had two people in it? “Only two people in this whole world?”

System: Incorrect. Data approximates 3.24 million humanoids with the current status: alive.

“Approximate?” I repeated. Strange information aside, there was something slightly delicious about the know-it-all system who made a home in my head not having all the answers. “You don’t know exactly?”

The beeping sound seemed a bit louder than usual. I almost winced.

System: The answer is approximately 3.24 million humanoids.

Touchy for an AI. Whatever.

“That’s a lot of people. How come only two of us are playing...whatever this is?”

System: The game is between two people. The remaining approximately 3,239,998 humanoids are irrelevant.

I guess that makes them NPCs.

“Does the second player have to survive to the solstice too?” I asked.

The months would pass much faster if I had a friend in the same situation.

I wonder what powers they got? Something like dragon shifting? Or maybe they can shift into something else—like a phoenix, or a unicorn. That’d be cool too.

Whatever powers the second player had didn’t really matter. We could hang out, level up, and have fun together.

I smiled as I brushed hair from my eyes.

System: Incorrect. The second player has a different task.

“Oh yeah?” I said, stepping up on my flat rock from earlier to get a better look at just how huge my dragon prints were. “What’s their task?”

System: The task of the second player is to kill you.

My foot slipped on the wet stone. Too shocked to catch myself, I fell back, splashing into the stream. Winded and wet, I heaved myself upright, trying to catch my breath. It took a few seconds of flustered panting for me to process the System’s dire words.

“Wha… what!? They’re trying to kill me!?”

System: Correct.

A sense of dread, cooler than the water, washed over me.

So much for friends—I’m being hunted!?

Once again, the tides had turned drastically.

JackiSensal

Whew, that was a long one. First powers, though! Turning into a dragon is pretty neat, although being hunted puts a little damper on that. Not that'll be a problem for Kass, right? It couldn't possibly be a key part of the story, not at all... *shifty eyes*.

Hope you enjoyed the chap. Next one is coming soon.