The wolf skidded past him but recovered quickly, turning with a snarl as it charged again. Rayen's heart pounded in his chest like a drum, and without thinking, he slammed his palm on the ground. A few small rocks nearby trembled and jerked upward—his life force responding instinctively. The rocks weren't big, barely the size of his fists, but he flung them toward the wolf with all the control he could muster. One of them smacked the wolf across its snout, making it flinch and veer off to the side. It wasn't a knockout blow, not even close, but it bought him time.
He scrambled up, eyes darting. His sword lay too far to grab in time. The bag was on the opposite side, and the wolf was already shifting its weight to pounce again. Rayen didn't think. He bolted.
Grass slapped against his legs as he ran, stumbling through the uneven ground in the dark. Behind him, he could hear the wolf crashing through the brush, snarling with rage. He didn't dare look back. He forced more of his energy outward—not enough for a shield, but enough to cause a little pulse under his feet. Just enough to launch him forward with extra momentum. His legs screamed. His lungs burned. But he didn't stop.
The wolf slowed as the terrain shifted uphill, the steep slope throwing off its pace. Rayen, panting hard and barely holding it together, ducked behind a thick fallen log and pressed himself flat against the dirt. The wolf growled somewhere nearby, sniffing, circling, searching. But it didn't find him. After what felt like forever, it wandered off with a low growl, tail swishing in frustration.
Rayen stayed frozen in place, eyes wide, his hands clutching at the dirt like it was the only thing holding him to life. When he finally moved, it was slow, shaky, like every limb had forgotten how to function. He peeked up and around.
The wolf was gone.
He was alive.
But everything else—his sword, his bag, even the sheet—he had left behind.
Rayen's feet dragged through the underbrush, each step heavier with the weight of his frustration. His sword, his bag, everything left behind in that chaotic scramble. Just a five-year-old kid now—barely half the height he once was, muscles replaced with noodle limbs, power reduced to tricks with pebbles. And yet here he was, the so-called strongest player of WuXhun Online, yelling curses into the void like a madman.
"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" he shouted into the trees, startling a few birds into flight. "I'm [ImNumber1]! The strongest damn player of WuXhun Online! I nearly conquered this entire world in the game! Even the top-tier civilization's players used to shiver when my name popped up in the world chat, and now look at me—running from a budget lion with mange problems!"
He kicked a rock, which rolled about two feet and hit a tree with a disappointing thunk. It didn't make him feel any better. His tiny legs ached. His hands were scraped. The oversized shirt Dattadri gave him felt like a punishment, not gear. And the worst part—he couldn't even swing a sword properly anymore.
"Why?! Why the hell did I get reincarnated as a naive little brat?! If the god of this world had even a shred of self-respect, they'd have given me a proper body! Hell, I'd even take that old man's bony frame over this pint-sized mess!"
Lost in his rant, Rayen stomped forward without paying attention to where he was going. His head buzzed with anger, every step deeper into the unknown. But then—his ears twitched. A faint sound crept into the edge of his senses. It wasn't growling. It wasn't footsteps. It was… rushing water?
He froze.
Wait. That sound—was that a waterfall?
His frustration paused just long enough for curiosity to take over. He turned slightly, angling toward the noise. As he moved through a patch of thicker trees, the sound grew louder. Water crashing. Steady, powerful, rhythmic. His pace quickened. The trees gave way, opening to a view that finally made his eyes widen—not from fear or anger, but something else entirely.
A waterfall.
Tall and wild, it crashed down into a serene, shimmering pool. Mist curled up like smoke, catching bits of moonlight and scattering it into the air like silver dust. The entire area glowed faintly, the way game environments did when you stumbled into a hidden area not marked on the map.
Rayen stepped closer, breath slowing. For the first time since leaving the house, he didn't feel like cursing.
"…Looks like I unlocked a secret spot."
And then he promptly sneezed.
"Okay… secret spot with cold wind," he muttered, hugging himself. "Nice."
He started running here and there around the waterfall, then took off his clothes and jumped into the cold water. It felt like a freezing shower—something he never had in his past life since his cheap rental house didn't even have one. "How refreshing... If I ever wanted to die, I'd rather die here!" he shouted with a laugh. He bent down to drink the flowing water, but something slipped into his mouth, and he started coughing. A moment later, he spat it out—only to see a fish plop back into the stream like nothing happened.
Rayen sighed. "Me and my luck—both are fucked up."
Then his eyes caught the rocks where the water hit just right, splashing like a natural shower. Since the water was already cold and he wasn't about to waste the chance, he went over, sat down on one of the rocks, folded his legs, and closed his eyes. I should train here, for better control over my life force... I can still cultivate without the old man. I know everything about this world's cultivation system. But a thought lingered—still, doing things under a mentor hits different. I don't want to live alone again after having that old bastard with me.
He stayed still, training in the freezing water under the night sky, his soaked hair sticking to his forehead, teeth clattering now and then—but his spirit steady.
---
Time slowly passed—more and more. He was fully leaned into his meditation, completely unaware of how much time had slipped by in the real world. But as Rayen returned to reality, he blinked and muttered, "D-does… years passed again?" He quickly looked down at his body—it was still the same size. No growth. No changes. Not even the surroundings looked different. It was still night.
Wait.
He glanced up at the sky. The moon—it was different from before. That meant it wasn't the same night anymore. One or two days must have passed. Panic jolted through him. He stood up, rushed over to grab his clothes, and started running uphill.
This… this could be the third night. Or even the fourth. Maybe fifth. But still—I have to find the Divine Lilies. I can't return without achieving anything. He gritted his teeth. Fuck those wolves. I'm not scared of any of them. I'll defeat them and get those lilies for me.
But slowly, his legs started to give out. His body was screaming in pain from hunger.
Oh right… I forgot—I'm hungry.
His vision blurred. Eyes started to close on their own.
No—no—Rayen, you can't go off now. You have to stay awake… run toward the lilies…
Aah, shit! I'm so hungry I could eat a damn wolf… but I need to stay awake for—
His eyes closed. After a moment, he forcefully opened them—just to see… a girl?
He didn't have enough energy to lift his head and look at her face. The only thing in his vision was her knee and foot. He could tell she was older than him, maybe around eight or nine. She didn't say anything—just placed three cooked fish in front of him on a wide leaf, like it was a plate. As Rayen blinked, she vanished—like she wasn't even there.
After seeing the food, a strange energy surged through his weak body. He sat up and immediately started eating all the fish. They were big, and by the time he took the last bite and chewed it down, his small stomach was completely full. That's all it could hold.
Rayen sighed and stood up.
Now I have to collect three Divine Lilies quickly and return home before the sunrays could touch the house.
He then started running toward the uphills, questions swirling in his mind about who that girl was—but he didn't need answers right now. What he needed were the Divine Lilies. He could come back here later to thank her.
He started running toward the higher parts of the mountain, encountering many wolves along the way—but somehow, he managed to get away. Maybe it was luck, or maybe just his fucked luck. Either way, he wasn't dead yet, and that counted for something. He kept climbing, eyes scanning every patch of flora along the path. Red flowers. Pink ones. Even a few rare blue ones. But none of them had that divine yellow glow. Time kept slipping past—he had already spent two to three hours climbing, and he was getting dangerously close to the mountain's peak.
Then, just ahead near the mouth of a massive cave, a faint yellow light flickered from the inside. Rayen's eyes lit up. Divine Lilies? That had to be them! Without a second thought, he dashed toward the glow, heart racing. But the moment he crossed the cave's threshold, a sharp sting sliced across his cheek. He froze, eyes wide in shock. Blood trickled slowly down his face. Then he looked up—and instantly regretted every decision that led him here.
Dozens—no, hundreds—of glowing red eyes lit up in the darkness around him. Behind. In front. Surrounding him.
"I-I'm… cooked."