Lukas gasped as his back slammed into the cold earth.
"Ugh, my head…" He clutched his skull, blinking rapidly. Above him, towering trees stretched high into a pale green sky, their leaves rustling in the wind. The forest was eerily quiet.
He sat up groggily.
"That damn goddess…" he muttered. "She actually threw me into another world…"
Looking down, his eye twitched. He was still wearing nothing but his championship boxing shorts.
"ARE YOU SERIOUS?!" he yelled toward the heavens.
"You could've at least given me some CLOTHES!!"
His voice echoed through the forest. A few birds took flight. Then… something moved.
A rustling in the undergrowth.
Lukas froze. "Wait… did I attract that…?"
The bushes shook again. Heavy footsteps. Then—
THUD. THUD. THUD.
From between the trees, a massive beast emerged, a tiger-like creature, its fur streaked with black and silver, and a single glowing horn spiraling from its forehead.
Lukas paled. "...Okay. I may have just invited death."
The beast growled and charged.
"OH COME ON!" Lukas bolted. "Don't underestimate the stamina of a CHAMPION!"
He sprinted, weaving through the trees, but the beast was fast, too fast. Its steps grew louder, closer.
"Why is it catching up?!" Lukas shouted. "I'm an athlete, damn it!"
Then he remembered.
The goddess… the skill.
She said she gave him something like [Devour].
Lukas skidded to a stop and turned around, a cocky grin on his face.
"Alright, you overgrown cat... time to see what this skill can do."
He planted his feet and shouted,
"[Devour]!"
…Nothing happened.
Lukas blinked. "Huh?"
He tried again.
"[DEVOUR]!!"
Still nothing.
His smile vanished. "That conniving, LYING goddess!"
The beast roared, closing in. Lukas screamed and ran again, branches slapping his face.
Out of breath and nearly broken, he stumbled into a small clearing, and saw someone lying motionless nearby. A human.
Next to the body… a sword.
Without thinking, Lukas grabbed it. The metal was cold and heavier than he expected.
Behind him, the tiger-like creature growled deeply "Grrrrrr…"
"Alright…" Lukas muttered, turning to face the monster.
"I've never held a sword in my life. But I have fought giants in the ring."
He dropped into a stance, one that mimicked his boxing posture. He bounced lightly, shifting his weight from foot to foot, keeping the sword close to his side like a glove ready to strike.
The beast lunged.
Lukas dodged, barely. Its claws slashed the air where his head had been.
"Focus…" he whispered. "Like the ring. One hit at a time."
He countered, slicing across its side. The blade connected, barely drawing blood.
The creature snarled. Its horn glowed.
Then, it fired a laser from its mouth.
Lukas screamed, diving out of the way. The beam scorched the ground, slicing through a tree like butter.
His side was grazed, blood seeping from a fresh wound.
Panting, shaking, Lukas gritted his teeth. "Alright… enough games."
He closed the distance.
Duck. Step in. Twist the hips.
A perfect uppercut, but with a sword.
The blade plunged into the beast's chest, right into its heart.
The creature gasped. Trembled. Then… collapsed.
Silence returned to the forest.
Lukas stood there, bloodied and shirtless, panting over the corpse of the magical beast.
Then he raised the sword triumphantly.
"YEEESSS!! FINALLY!"
He looked toward the sky.
"You see that, you wicked goddess?! I'm gonna survive this damn world, AND make you PAY FOR THIS!"
Lukas stood over the beast's corpse, panting heavily. He gritted his teeth, trying to steady his breathing.
"Alright…" he muttered between breaths. "Maybe I'll stop screaming like a lunatic from now on."
He let the sword rest against his shoulder and glanced back to the clearing.
That body, The person lying motionless on the ground. The one whose sword he had borrowed.
Lukas walked over, muttering under his breath,
"Hey… thanks for lending me the sword, buddy."
No response.
Lukas frowned. "Tch. Rude."
He stepped closer, crouching beside the figure.
"Hey. Can you hear me?"
He reached out and lightly shook the man's shoulder.
Then he saw it.
The face, or rather, the absence of one.
The man's head was sliced, clean through, his entire face missing, like it had been erased with a giant knife.
Lukas stumbled back.
"Wh–what the hell?! What IS that?!"
His eyes widened, heart pounding in his chest.
The air around him suddenly felt heavier.
He looked around the forest. The trees, the sky, the very air, everything felt alien now. Different.
This… wasn't Earth.
Not even close.
"The laws of nature here... they're completely wrong," he whispered.
Then he muttered, "Okay, I need to get the hell out of this forest. Fast."
His eyes fell back to the corpse.
The clothes. Surprisingly clean. Still intact.
He sighed, standing over the body again.
"Forgive me," he said reluctantly, reaching down and stripping off the man's tunic and pants.
"But I can't run around half-naked in boxer shorts like a jungle lunatic..."
As he finished changing, something strange happened.
A glowing message popped up before his eyes.
[Skill: Devour - Active]
Target identified. Would you like to consume? [YES] / [NO]
Lukas froze.
"Wait... What?!"
His jaw dropped.
"So I do have the skill after all?!"
He looked at the corpse, then back at the floating message.
"...Wait a sec. Is this skill triggered by taking someone's clothes?!"
Out of curiosity, and a touch of arrogance, he poked [YES].
A dark, shadowy aura began to seep from his chest, swirling around him like smoke. It reached for the body.
"Whoa, wait no no no, STOP!" Lukas yelled, stepping back.
But the skill had already activated.
The shadows devoured the corpse completely.
Flesh, bone, blood, gone in seconds. Nothing remained. Not even a stain.
Another notification blinked into view,
[New Skill Acquired: Regeneration]
Lukas stared, pale and horrified.
"...So that's what this is," he muttered.
"A skill that devours others… and takes what they had."
He looked down at his own hands, still trembling slightly from the aura.
Then he glared upward, clenching his jaw.
"What the hell did you give me, you crazy goddess?!"
He raised an eyebrow.
"Regeneration, huh? Then how the hell did that guy die in the first place?"
He scratched his head. "A skill that heals you, and yet you end up faceless. What kind of monster did that to you?"
He paused, lowering his head for a moment in rare solemnity.
"Anyway… rest in peace, buddy. Thanks for the sword… and the shirt."
Then a thought hit him.
"Wait a minute… what about that tiger freak I killed earlier?"
He turned toward the beast's remains, well, where they had been. It was still lying there, massive and menacing.
Lukas approached cautiously.
As soon as he got close, the familiar glowing prompt returned:
[Skill: Devour - Active]
Target identified. Would you like to consume? [YES] / [NO]
Lukas stared at it.
"So monsters don't need to have their clothes removed… guess that makes sense. They don't wear any."
He hit [YES] without hesitation.
Shadows surged from his body once again, enveloping the tiger-horned beast and consuming it entirely, fangs, fur, bones and all, until there was nothing left.
Another notification flashed:
[New Skill Acquired: Laser Beam]
Lukas blinked, then grinned.
"Was that the move it used earlier? Sweet."
He rolled his shoulders and looked around. The forest was still dense, the sky hidden by thick foliage.
"Alright… time to get out of here."
He looked left. Then right. Then up.
"...Where the hell do I go?"
Lukas sighed, rubbing his face in frustration. "This exploration crap isn't exactly my thing."
So he did the only thing he could, walked in a random direction.
Hours passed.
His stomach growled. His throat was dry.
"I should've saved some tiger meat or something..." he grumbled. "Champion, devourer… now starving idiot."
Then—
He stopped.
There was a presence nearby. Heavy. Fast.
From between the trees, a figure appeared.
A woman. Slender but strong. Her posture deadly, her chest… impressively distracting. Her hair was long and black, and her face hidden beneath a sleek white mask.
In her hand, a dagger.
She lunged forward without hesitation.
"WHAT THE HELL?!" Lukas shouted, leaping back. "Why does everyone want to kill me?!"
He ran. Again.
"Why is my luck absolute TRASH?!"
He darted through the forest, ducking under branches and leaping over roots. Behind him, the masked woman chased relentlessly, dagger glinting in her hand.
"Hey! I'm HUMAN!" Lukas shouted behind him. "STOP CHASING ME!"
He tried again, louder this time.
"Can you even understand me?! I'M NOT A MONSTER!"
No answer. Just cold, killing intent.
"Damn it!!" he cursed, feet pounding the ground. He didn't know where he was going.
Until—
The trees parted.
He skidded to a stop at the edge of a massive cliff. Far below, a river churned and roared.
"...Of course," Lukas muttered. "Another stroke of genius-level bad luck."
Behind him, the masked assassin approached slowly, dagger glinting in the sunlight. No words. No mercy.
Lukas exhaled, exasperated and done with it all.
He turned to face her.
"...You want a goodbye?"
He raised his middle finger.
"See you, bitch."
Then he turned around and jumped.
The wind howled in his ears as he fell. The cold spray of the river rushed up to meet him.
"I'm not dying here," he growled to himself.
"I'll survive. And then I'll make that goddess PAY for sending me to this insane world!"
SPLASH!