My legs finally remembered how to move.
The girl was still sprinting, stumbling through branches and roots. The silver wolf shook off the smoke, its growl echoing up the hill. It locked its glowing eyes onto her again.
"No you don't."
I bolted downhill.
Grass whipped at my ankles, and the slope was steeper than it looked. I half-ran, half-fell, arms windmilling like a disaster in progress. Each step felt way too fast, like gravity was helping me die quicker.
The girl tripped—
The wolf pounced—
"HEY!"
Was yelling part of the plan? I didn't know. But the beast paused, snapping its head toward me. Blue sparks crawled across the grass under its paws.
Up close, the thing was massive—
the size of a motorcycle, muscles coiled like steel cables. Its teeth glowed faintly, dripping something that hissed where it hit the ground.
Poison? Acid?
Great.
The girl scrambled behind a tree, shaking. She looked up at me like I was her only hope.
…Which was insane.
I'd thrown a rock once.
And that was pure luck.
My hand still tingled—like there was heat under the skin, waiting to burst out again. I stared at it, my heart pounding.
C'mon… do the thing again.
Nothing.
The wolf lunged.
I dove sideways as claws tore into the dirt where I stood. Its breath was hot and sharp, like I'd opened an oven full of knives.
"Bad dog!" I yelled. "Very bad dog!"
The wolf snarled in response, which seemed fair.
I grabbed another rock—bigger this time. My pulse hammered, sweat dripped into my eyes. I hurled it with everything I had—
Whiff.
The rock bounced off a tree.
Not even a spark.
"Oh, come on!"
The beast prowled closer, savoring the panic. Its tail lashed, blue mana crackling around it like lightning wearing fur.
Suddenly—
"Behind you!"
The girl's voice.
I turned too late.
The wolf jumped—claws outstretched—
Instinct kicked in.
I raised both hands—
FWOOOM—
A wall of fire blasted from my palms, erupting like a miniature volcano. Heat roared past my ears. The wolf was thrown back mid-air, rolling into the grass with a yelp as flames clung to its fur.
I collapsed onto my knees, gasping.
My hands smoked. The ground steamed.
The girl just stared, mouth open.
"H-How… did you…?" she whispered.
I stared at my hands too.
Yeah—how did I?
The wolf staggered up again.
Burned. Angry. Eyes glowing brighter.
It howled, shaking the leaves overhead.
It wasn't running this time—
It was ready to kill.
The girl whimpered. I swallowed hard, forcing my shaking legs to stand. Every instinct screamed to run—
But she couldn't.
The wolf lowered itself for another strike.
And I stepped in front of her.
"I don't know what's happening," I muttered, heart slamming against my ribs, "but I'm not letting it touch you."
The wolf sprinted—
A blur of silver and blue—
It leapt—
SHING—
A flash of steel.
The wolf froze mid-air.
Then fell.
A clean slice across its neck.
Blue sparks faded into the dirt as its body went still.
Someone stood behind it.
Tall. Cloaked. A sword reflecting the last sparks of magic. I couldn't see their face clearly, but the aura around them made the wolf look like a pet.
Their voice was calm, but cold:
"You two… step back."
I grabbed the girl's hand and pulled her away.
The cloaked figure flicked the blade once—clean—then sheathed it with a soft click.
The girl found her voice first.
"M-Miss Kara… thank you!"
Kara turned slightly. I finally saw her—
Jet-black hair tied back. Sharp eyes that scanned me like a puzzle. Light armor under the cloak. A warrior. A guardian.
"And who," she asked, eyes narrowing,
"are you?"
My throat went dry.
A nobody.
A confused student.
A guy who threw flaming rocks by accident.
But all that came out was—
"Ryo. Ryo Arata."
She stared a moment longer.
Then she knelt beside the wolf's remains, examining the scorch marks.
"That magic… doesn't belong to common folk."
I didn't know what to say.
The girl tugged on my sleeve, finally catching her breath.
"Thank you for saving me…"
Her eyes were big and trembling—
but full of hope.
"I'm Sera," she said softly.
Kara stood, blade gleaming.
"Both of you," she commanded,
"come with me. Althea Village is close, and this forest is no longer safe."
I glanced back once at the scorched earth.
The suns dipped lower, orange and blue painting the world in strange twilight.
This place was real.
Dangerous.
Alive.
And somehow, I had power here.
As we followed Kara deeper into the forest, I whispered to myself:
"So this… is Worldshift."
To be continued
Authors Note
Sorry this came late i was working on a visual for readers to watch on YouTube you can now watch it from the channel called NovaScript
I'll be posting visuals of every chapter hope you like it