BOOM!!
A thunderous explosion tore through the stillness of the night, sending startled nocturnal creatures scurrying in every direction as they turned their eyes toward the source of the sound.
At the same time, an unusual lion leapt swiftly onto the treetops, its gaze fixed on the dissipating flames in the night sky.
The evening breeze carried with it a foreign scent — the acrid smell of gunpowder and smoke — and the lion committed it to memory.
In a flash, the beast jumped down from the tree. The moment its paws touched the ground, a wild surge of natural magic burst forth from its body. In the blink of an eye, the predator transformed into a tall, fierce woman with a long, black ponytail.
She wore a beast-hide top that covered only her chest, exposing her sun-kissed skin. Fur-lined guards protected her forearms, and a necklace made from fangs hung around her neck. Her eyes, sharp and alert, scanned the area in silence. Wild tribal paint marked her face, a signature of primal power.
Around her hips was a skirt crafted from toughened leaves and adorned with tusks. She was barefoot, with fur-lined guards wrapped around her calves.
Athletic and agile, the huntress gripped a long spear tightly. She sniffed the smoky air — that explosion earlier clearly didn't come from anything in the jungle.
She was no stranger to the sound of explosive pinecones; she'd crafted weapons using them before. But that earlier blast had a different texture — it had a metallic resonance.
Nidalee narrowed her eyes.
Spear in hand, she moved like a humanoid lion, each step calculated with such efficiency that her movements seemed textbook-perfect — without wasting a sliver of energy or making the slightest sound.
Within her surged the spirit of the cougars, granting her not only the ability to shapeshift, but heightened strength, supernatural agility, incredible reflexes, and formidable magical power.
Guided by the scent, Nidalee quickly arrived at a camp alive with human voices. The scent of bonfires and cooking food lingered in the air.
Climbing a tree, she tucked herself into the canopy, her glowing eyes peeking out through the foliage. Below, she observed the camp.
Humans — outsiders to this jungle — sat around the bonfire, chatting and laughing. Massive saber-toothed beasts resembling giant cats patrolled the perimeter. They were apex predators — the same species responsible for her adoptive mother's death.
And yet... these once-proud hunters now willingly served humans.
No — something was off.
Nidalee shook her head. Not all of them were subservient. One man made a joke to a saber-tooth, and the beast responded with a menacing growl.
But when their eyes passed over a certain figure, everything changed.
Respect. Fanaticism. Awe. Obedience.
They gazed at him like he was their chief.
This figure? A young man in a dark-gray trench coat, lying on the ground, pinned playfully by a little girl with long blue twin-tails. She excitedly flailed her arms as she spoke animatedly.
Nearby was a strange iron-clad beast — part machine, part creature. It resembled a ruin-dwelling lizard but looked far more dangerous.
Nidalee frowned.
What are these people doing here?
But the thought barely formed before she crushed it.
It didn't matter why they came. They had to go.
This jungle was her family's hunting ground. There was no room for others.
They had to be driven out.
But first… she needed to observe more.
A skilled hunter must also be patient.
With a quiet breath, her wild eyes disappeared behind the leaves.
"Don't you want to see the rest?"
Jinx, still sitting on Duke's lap, blinked up at him. Duke, unfazed, gently pushed her forehead away.
The manic little gremlin grinned and popped a Chomper into her mouth, eyes gleaming.
"There's more?"
"There's lots more," Duke replied, reaching into his inventory. He had designed all this gear specifically tailored to her wild and volatile combat style.
This was just the start.
He pulled out a massive weapon shaped like a shark's head — a Hextech Heavy Blaster — and tapped the metallic snout.
"Hextech Heavy Strike."
"Powered by a Hex Crystal core, it fires concentrated beams capable of leveling entire buildings. The only downside is a brief cooldown after each shot."
"AWESOME!"
Jinx ditched the Chomper and pounced on the Heavy Blaster, only to realize she couldn't lift it.
"It's too heavy! I can't even pick it up!"
She pouted, cheeks puffed in frustration.
Duke rolled his eyes. "Did you forget what I do for a living?"
"You made more?"
"Of course. I also built a full-body Hextech Exosuit just for you. This isn't Piltover or Zaun — here, even the tiniest threat could be fatal."
"So I made you this."
From his inventory, he produced a sleek, blue exosuit.
"Part of my Tarot Armor series — this one is called [The Tower]."
"Tarot?" Jinx tilted her head, inspecting the gear. It was streamlined and form-fitting, with collapsed towers etched on the chest and back.
Sapphire tubing pulsed with unknown liquid. The helmet wasn't full-face; it exposed her mouth and chin, with oversized blue lenses covering most of her face.
The most striking feature was the oversized magic engine on the back and twin thrusters on the legs — designed for unmatched speed.
"The Tower," Duke explained, "is the only card in the Tarot with a negative meaning in both upright and reversed positions. Just like your name — unpredictable, dangerous, explosive."
"But its advantage?"
"Unparalleled speed."
"Jinx is jinx. This suit is your perfect match."
"What do you think?"
Jinx, face flushed with excitement, fanned herself with her hands.
"I LOVE IT!!"
"Can I try it? Can I? Can I? Pleeeeease?"
"Sure," Duke said. "No one's around anyway."
She followed his instructions to bind her blood and palmprint to the suit. Once the authentication was complete, the armor disassembled, floated around her, and seamlessly clicked into place — a design inspired by Tony Stark's legacy tech.
To Duke, Iron Man's blueprint was just another reference file.
Soon, Jinx stood fully armored — Heavy Strike on her shoulder, Electromagnetic Shock Rifle at her hip, and Chompers dangling from every hook she could find.
"WHO'S NEXT?!"
She yanked a Chomper, bit off the pin with a giggle, and tossed it.
The mechanical jaws of the bomb snapped violently as it scanned with red lasers and slammed into a tree — BOOM! — sending splinters flying as flames engulfed the trunk.
While everyone else was busy marveling at her destructive power, no one noticed a crouched figure just behind the trees, narrowly dodging the blast and rubble.
Now covered in mud, Nidalee shook herself off and glared.
"Who throws explosives into the forest without warning?!"
These people clearly didn't belong here.
They had to go.
As that thought flashed through her mind, the air suddenly buzzed with electric charge — a beam of pulsing energy shot from the camp straight into the forest.
A poor night owl took a direct hit — its feathers scorched, body limp, eyes rolled back, letting out a pitiful screech.
Collateral damage.
"HELL YEAH!!"
Jinx whooped from the camp, slinging her rifle — newly named Fishbones — onto her back.
When she raised yet another bizarre weapon, Nidalee's instincts screamed.
This girl was wilder than the beasts.
"Where are these lunatics from?!"
She cursed under her breath and rolled, wrapping herself in primal magic.
In a flash, her body shifted again — nails hardened into claws, her skin sprouted golden fur, bones shrunk, her face transformed, and her hair morphed into a lion's mane down her back.
Her clothes, weapons, and trinkets were absorbed into her form as she fully returned to her lioness state.
She darted low through the underbrush, fast and silent.
The next second—
A Hextech energy beam sliced through everything in its path. Jinx unleashed Fishbones with savage joy, defining what "suppressive fire" truly meant.
Nidalee struggled to dodge between each flash. Even a graze could mean death.
At the same time, Pride's mechanical eyes lit up red. He growled.
"Father, I detect magical energy."
Duke turned. He had embedded Pride with enchantments during his last modification — now capable of detecting magical currents.
Duke put on Edith and switched to infrared vision, scanning the trees beyond where Jinx was firing.
In the heatmap view, a lion darted through the forest — fast, elusive, and far stronger than any normal beast.
"That can't be…"
(End of chapter)
We're still in the early chapters fam! and to everyone who's joined the Patreon, thank you so much! 🙏Your support truly means the world. You're the reason this story keeps growing, chapter by chapter, world by world. I promise to give it my all! more content, more depth, more epic moments, to make sure your support is always worth it. You're part of the foundation that keeps this universe alive.
🔹 Hexcore Initiate – 15 chapters ahead
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