Chapter 3: The Dragon Hunt

  For weeks, Shekhar had lived on the edge of exhaustion.

  Every morning before dawn, when the world still clung to the veil of night, he began his training. The silence of the early hours was his only companion as he swung his blades—slicing through the air until his arms burned with fire and fatigue. He ran for miles until his legs threatened to give way, his breath ragged, the pain nothing more than a distant echo. He meditated in the cold hours before the sun crept over the horizon, sharpening his mind until it was a blade in its own right—cold, calculating, unfeeling.

  Pain had become his constant companion. Bruises covered his skin like a second layer, a testament to the relentless pursuit of strength. But Shekhar never stopped.

  Because every night, the memories returned.

  The screams. The blood. The faces of those he had failed to protect.

  Whispers of weakness clawed at him in the dead of night, louder than any enemy's roar. His past haunted him like ghosts, filling his mind with doubts. But those same ghosts, as vile as they were, had become his fuel. They were the fire that pushed him forward, the reason he kept moving. The reason he trained until he was no longer human—until he was something harder, something faster, something stronger.

  Last night, beneath the whispering glow of his lonely campfire, something extraordinary had happened. A system notification had appeared—cold, mechanical, and yet, monumental.

  > New Ability Unlocked: Copy and Absorb.

  A game-changer. A skill that could change everything. But he had barely had time to process it before sleep claimed him, his battered body demanding its due.

  Today, though, was different.

  Today, there would be no distractions.

  Today, he would hunt.

  ---

  The morning sun crept lazily across the sky, casting a warm, golden hue that pried through the dense canopy above. Shekhar moved beneath it with quiet purpose, his footsteps barely a whisper against the forest floor. Every movement was deliberate, precise. His routine—training drills, system quests, even the mundane chores—had become second nature. Every box was ticked, every task cleared. There was no room for hesitation. No space for weakness.

  Because today, he was venturing deeper into the forest.

  Beyond the familiar hunting zones.

  Into the heart of the wild.

  Where true strength awaited.

  The trees here loomed taller—ancient sentinels whose gnarled roots clawed at the earth as if to hold the very world together. Shafts of sunlight pierced through the thick green canopy, casting the forest floor in a cathedral-like glow. The world was alive here, full of energy and ancient power. It was beautiful. And suffocating.

  With each step, the weight on his chest grew heavier.

  The dream had returned. Again.

  Fragments of a life beyond this one—distant, fading, yet achingly familiar. A family. Friends. A world that felt like a half-remembered dream, slipping further away each time he reached for it.

  Every time he tried to hold on to those memories, they eluded him, slipping through his fingers like smoke.

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  The ache in his chest throbbed, sharper than any blade.

  He shook his head, forcing the thoughts aside. Now was not the time for ghosts.

  A rustle in the underbrush snapped him back to the present.

  Instinct kicked in.

  His body moved before his mind had time to process.

  He ducked low, eyes narrowing as golden glimmers of light flickered between the shadows. A growl echoed through the air—low, menacing, primal.

  From the underbrush, a pack of wild bears emerged. But these weren’t ordinary beasts. Their bodies were twisted, veins pulsing with dark mana, their once-natural forms now corrupted, their eyes glowing with an unnatural, furious light.

  Predators.

  Hunters.

  And Shekhar was prey.

  The first bear lunged—massive, a blur of muscle and teeth.

  But Shekhar had been waiting.

  He slid beneath the beast’s deadly swipe, moving with fluid precision born of countless hours of practice. His hands flicked, and in the blink of an eye, three enchanted daggers appeared—two gripped firmly in his hands, the third clenched between his teeth.

  “Let’s dance,” he muttered, barely audible over the sound of the bear’s growl.

  Mana surged through him, filling his veins with energy, making the air hum with power. He infused each of the daggers with elemental energy—fire, water, wind—and the weapons shimmered with raw, destructive force.

  Shekhar moved like a storm.

  Blades flashed in the air. Flames licked the fur of the bear, scorching its flesh. Water cut through its hide with deadly precision. Wind howled, turning his strikes into a whirlwind of devastation.

  The bears fought back, but they were no match for Shekhar's fury. Within moments, the twisted creatures lay still, their bodies reduced to lifeless husks, their corrupted forms vanquished by his elemental assault.

  > You have killed Wild Bears.

  Level Up +5.

  Shekhar exhaled sharply, his breath shaky from the intensity of the fight. He rolled his shoulders, flexing his hands to relieve the tension that had built up during the battle.

  “Still too slow,” he muttered, glancing down at the pile of dead bears.

  His mind began to wander again, but before he could check his updated stats or focus on the next task, the ground beneath him suddenly trembled.

  A deep, rumbling sound. The forest seemed to shudder.

  BOOM.

  The earth shook, sending tremors through his legs. Birds scattered into the air. The very air around him grew heavy.

  Another growl.

  But this time, it wasn’t from the bears.

  From the mouth of a cave ahead, something massive emerged.

  A dragon.

  It wasn’t fully grown—not yet the towering, earth-shaking monster it would one day become. But still, it was a titan. Its scales shimmered in shades of liquid jade, glistening with an ethereal glow that seemed to reflect the very essence of the forest around it. Its eyes—golden, sharp, calculating—locked onto Shekhar, studying him as if weighing his worth.

  For a moment, Shekhar stood frozen. Not from fear, but from awe.

  “Finally,” he whispered, a grin tugging at his lips. “A real fight.”

  The dragon’s roar shattered the silence. It was deafening, a sound so primal it seemed to tear through the very fabric of the world itself.

  And then it charged.

  Shekhar barely moved in time.

  The dragon’s claws hit the ground where he had been standing, carving a trench in the earth with effortless strength. The shockwave from the impact nearly knocked him off his feet. He recovered quickly, his mind sharp, adrenaline pumping through him.

  He retaliated instantly, summoning three heavy swords from his inventory—these were no daggers. These were forged for moments like this.

  Daggers were for precision. Swords were for power.

  With a roar, Shekhar channeled his mana into the blades. The steel hummed with latent power as they glowed with the energy of the elements.

  “Let’s see if you can bleed,” he muttered, stepping forward.

  The dragon inhaled deeply, its chest swelling as it gathered its power.

  Flames.

  A torrent of fire erupted from the dragon’s mouth, a wave of heat that turned the very air to ash.

  But Shekhar didn’t retreat. He didn’t flinch.

  His magic barrier flared to life, shimmering in front of him and absorbing the brunt of the inferno. As the flames receded, he charged forward, swords crossed in an X-formation.

  He struck with all his might.

  The swords bit into the dragon’s side, carving through its scales. A gash appeared, dark, tar-like blood oozing from the wound. It worked.

  But before he could press the attack, a scream broke through the chaos.

  A high-pitched, human scream.

  His eyes snapped toward the source.

  A girl.

  Disheveled, terrified, sprinting toward him.

  Behind her—another dragon.

  “Damn it,” Shekhar hissed. His focus wavered for just a split second.

  And that was all the dragon needed.

  THWACK.

  The dragon’s tail lashed out with bone-crushing force, slamming into Shekhar’s side. The impact sent him soaring through the air, crashing into a boulder with enough force to shatter both stone and bone.

  Pain exploded through him. His breath hitched as the world tilted, spinning into darkness.

  Useless. Again.

  The girl stumbled toward him, trembling hands raised as she conjured a weak, fragile barrier—a pitiful shield against the might of dragons.

  Shekhar’s vision blurred. Why? Why was he always the one being protected? Why was he always too late?

  Memories surged. His mother’s bloodied hands. His father’s defiant last stand. His siblings’ cries swallowed by the darkness.

  And now, this stranger.

  “I swore... never again,” he rasped, his voice barely a whisper.

  But his body refused to move.

  Until—

  > Wake up, Shekhar.

  Remember who you are.

  The voice wasn’t his. Yet, it was.

  A deluge of memories flooded his mind—memories of not just this life, but others. His true self. The past he had forgotten. The power that had lain dormant, waiting for this moment.

  The air crackled with energy.

  A second barrier flared to life around them, dense with layered sigils pulsing with authority. The oppressive aura silenced even the dragons.

  The girl gasped, staring in awe as Shekhar slowly rose to his feet.

  His wounds began to mend, as though time itself rewound. His aura flared, wild and untamed, unstoppable.

  Lightning danced across his skin. His eyes glowed with the power of the ancient ones.

  He stepped forward, each movement a declaration.

  “This ends now.”

  With a casual wave, he summoned his ultimate skill.

  > Black Flame of Explosion.

  The forest held its breath.

  Then—obliteration.

  A tidal wave of dark flames erupted, devouring everything in its path. The dragons roared, but their cries were swallowed as their forms were reduced to ash.

  Silence followed.

  Heavy. Absolute.

  Shekhar staggered, the power drain immense. His body gave out, collapsing to the ground.

  As darkness closed in, the last thing he saw was the girl’s face hovering above him. Her eyes were wide, filled with something foreign to him.

  Worry. Gratitude.

  “Stay with me!” she cried, her voice trembling.

  He wanted to answer. But the darkness was too thick.

  > To be continued...