Survival Protocol

Aria’s breath hitched. Her body went rigid, but inside her mind was already screaming.

“…Nope! Nope, nope, nope!”

She had been frustrated enough with the buggy system earlier—but this? This was insane. Standing before her was a monster so far out of her league it felt like a cosmic joke.

Her eyes darted to the glowing text hovering above its head, and her stomach lurched.

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[Direfang Beast – Lv. 142]
HP: 12,000 / 12,000
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“You’ve got to be kidding me…! Level 142?”

Her voice cracked into the night air. Her own measly status screen was still fresh in her mind—Level 15, average stats, twin swords that could barely cut through boars. Normal monsters for her level were rabbits, slimes, maybe the occasional wolf if she was daring. Not this. Not a towering predator with claws longer than her arms and a level gap that could erase her existence in a single hit.

“Fuck! Fuck system!” she spat, cursing it again.

But the beast’s crimson gaze locked onto her. A guttural growl rumbled through its chest before it lunged, claws tearing the earth apart.

“Move!”

Her body obeyed on instinct, throwing her sideways just as the Direfang’s claws carved a trench where she had been standing. Shards of cobblestone exploded outward, one grazing her cheek. A red number flared across her vision.

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-87 HP!
HP: 333 / 420
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The impact alone had nearly taken a quarter of her life. Her lungs seized, breath ragged.

“I can’t fight this. I’m level fifteen. This thing could sneeze and kill me!”

But the Direfang didn’t care. It lunged again, jaws snapping.

Aria scrambled backward, twin swords trembling in her hands. Her grip was clumsy, sweat-slick, and her stance all wrong. She ducked under its strike, rolled, and staggered up again, dirt coating her palms. Every move was fueled less by skill and more by blind panic.

Her thoughts spiraled.

“I’m going to die. I’m really going to die here.”

And then—

A chime pinged softly inside her head.

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[Adaptive Protocol Triggered!]
Condition: Survive against a foe 100+ levels higher.
Reward: +5 Agility | New Skill Unlocked → Evasion Instinct Lv.1
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Heat flared through her veins, sharp and hot. Her arms tingled, her legs thrummed with energy. For a heartbeat, her body didn’t even feel like hers—it was faster, sharper, like someone had cranked up the settings on her reflexes.

The Direfang lunged again. This time, the swipe slowed in her eyes, as if the world had dipped into slow motion. Her body twisted before her brain could process, sliding under the arc of its claws with impossible precision.

Her swords clashed weakly against its steel-like hide, sparks scattering uselessly. It didn’t matter. She wasn’t crushed.

Her chest heaved, but her lips twitched into something close to a smile.

“I… I dodged it!”

The Direfang growled, pacing in a slow circle now, as if it sensed something had shifted.

Aria swallowed hard, sweat stinging her eyes. She didn’t know what this new “Adaptive Protocol” was, or why it had chosen her. But the message burned in her vision.

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[Survival is Progression.]
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Her blades steadied in her grip. Terrified, shaking, but beneath it… a spark. Something that wasn’t fear.

Exhilaration.

“If survival means growth…” she whispered, teeth clenched. “Then I’ll survive!”

The Direfang roared and lunged again.

Her body moved before she thought, twisting sideways in a blur. Dirt sprayed where she’d stood a moment ago. Her heart thumped wildly as her legs carried her smoother than ever.

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[Skill Evolved → Evasion Instinct Lv.2]
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“Already?” she gasped, stunned at the speed of her growth.

The beast’s claws raked the ground, gouging another trench. Dust and rock stung her skin. She staggered behind a fallen log, raising her swords though she knew they couldn’t pierce its armor. She slashed anyway. Sparks flared and vanished.

Meaningless damage. But not meaningless effort. Each dodge, each scrape, was burning something invisible into her muscles.

“I can’t kill it. But maybe… maybe I can survive.”

The Direfang’s next lunge came faster, but so did her response. She didn’t even think—she moved, rolling smoothly out of its path. The action felt preordained, like her body was two steps ahead of her brain.

Minutes bled together, stretched thin under adrenaline. Her lungs burned, her arms shook, her HP flickered dangerously low as claws grazed her. Potions dwindled one by one until only two were left.

Every mistake that didn’t kill her became data. Every pattern the Direfang repeated etched itself deeper into her instincts.

And then—the trees broke away.

Her boots skidded to the edge of a jagged cliff, mist swirling below. The drop vanished into endless white nothingness. Her stomach twisted violently.

The Direfang prowled closer, its growl vibrating the stone under her feet. Its eyes glowed crimson, hunger dripping from its every step.

Aria’s chest heaved. She couldn’t run. She couldn’t climb. Her only options were to fight… or fall.

The beast roared and charged.

Time slowed.

Her hands tightened on her swords. Her body moved with clarity that didn’t feel like hers. She dropped into a roll, blades flashing in reflex.

Steel kissed flesh.

A shallow line cut across the Direfang’s flank. It barely flinched, but the stagger in its step was enough—the monster skidded dangerously close to the cliff’s edge. Its claws dug deep, scraping sparks from the stone.

Aria didn’t wait to see if it recovered. She bolted, legs screaming, throwing herself into the underbrush. Branches whipped her face. Dirt tore at her knees. Her lungs threatened to burst.

She didn’t stop until silence replaced the monster’s roar.

When her knees buckled, she collapsed, trembling so hard she could barely breathe. Sweat and tears blurred her vision, dripping into the dirt.

The interface pulsed again.

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[Survival Achieved]
Reward Granted → Agility +5 | Evasion Instinct Lv.2
New Skill Available → Adaptive Reflex Lv.1
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Aria blinked at the glowing words, her breath ragged.

This wasn’t grinding. This wasn’t farming XP through kills.

This was something else.

Her hands shook as she touched her blades, still vibrating from that last clash. Terror still clung to her like a second skin, but beneath it pulsed something undeniable:

Thrill. The rush of progress. The knowledge that every near-death made her stronger.

She staggered upright, her legs trembling.

“I can do this,” she whispered hoarsely.

“I can survive.”

The forest rustled.

Her heart jumped.

It wasn’t the Direfang—it hadn’t followed. This sound was softer, slower. Deliberate.

Leaves shifted, shadows stretched. She felt it before she saw it—eyes, watching.

The system chimed again.

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[Adaptive Event Detected → Further Survival Required]
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Aria’s grip tightened on her swords.

Fight. Adapt. Grow.

She straightened, forcing her back tall. She wasn’t just a bug anymore. She was a survivor.

And if this world wanted to crush her, it would have to reckon with the truth: every trial only carved her sharper.

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[Survival is Progression.]
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The unseen presence lingered in the trees, patient. Watching. Waiting.

And the game had only just begun.