Liam opened his eyes to pain.
A searing, burning pain that clawed at his side.
He grunted and pressed his trembling hand against the open wound on his belly, feeling warm blood seep through his fingers. His breath came out ragged as he forced himself to look up.
All around him, chaos reigned.
Arrows rained down from the towering trees where elves in light armor leapt from branch to branch, loosing volleys of glowing arrows. Magic circles flared between their palms, raining down fire and lightning upon the humans below.
Soldiers screamed.
Horses panicked.
The smell of blood and smoke hung heavy in the forest air.
Liam stumbled backward and ducked behind a broken cargo wagon, its wooden frame splintered and its horse long since fled. A few other soldiers in worn, rusted armor hid there too, their shields trembling in their hands.
"NEED A HEALER!" a voice bellowed over the din. "FORMATION FIVE IS GETTING TORN APART BY ELVEN FIRE! WE'RE LOSING THE SUPPLY CARTS! WE NEED REINFORCEMENTS NOW!"
Liam turned his head toward the voice. A man with a scar across his cheek—probably the captain of this formation—was shouting into a glowing magic circle near his ear. His armor was battered, but his voice carried the desperate authority of a man who'd seen too many die.
Liam blinked, dizzy. His thoughts swam, unfocused.
What the hell… where am I?!
Before he could make sense of anything, an arrow whistled past and struck a soldier beside him. The man dropped instantly, lifeless, eyes wide open.
Liam froze, heart hammering. Confusion. Fear. Panic. Then—instinct.
Pure survival instinct.
He inhaled sharply, forcing himself to think.
Okay, Liam. Calm down. You're… in some kind of fantasy world—elves, magic, war. You're bleeding out, surrounded by people who look human enough. Not the time to freak out.
He clenched his teeth, trying to stay conscious as footsteps approached. A man in half-tattered mage robes crouched beside him, chanting.
"Regena Vitae!"
Light flared from the mage's palm, warm and soft, washing over Liam's wound. The bleeding slowed, flesh stitching faintly together—but only a little. The spell fizzled out before it could fully heal him.
The captain noticed and turned, fury in his voice.
"What the hell is a D-rank mage like you doing here?! Where are the healers?!"
The mage swallowed hard. "S–Sorry, Captain! The mage division retreated with the healers! They said they'd send reinforcements in abou—"
The captain grabbed him by the collar, roaring, "WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU JUST SAY?! So we're just bait to stall for time?! WHERE'S THE TELEPORTATION FORMATION THEY PROMISED US?!"
The mage's voice dropped to a trembling whisper. "...They… canceled it. Once they confirmed the elves were ambushing us."
The captain's expression froze. Then, slowly, his face twisted into despair.
Liam, half-conscious, listened to their shouting. A humorless laugh almost escaped him as he leaned his head against the wagon's side.
Great… just great.
I'm already dying, and I've only been in this world for FIVE minutes.
Liam looked around the battlefield.
Hundreds—no, thousands—of soldiers were scattered across the forest floor, huddling behind what cover they could find as arrows and spells rained down from above. There was no close combat here — only a desperate defense against an unseen enemy.
The elves had the high ground. From the massive trees towering overhead, they loosed volleys of glowing arrows and bursts of elemental magic that tore through armor and flesh alike.
The few remaining human mages fought back, their translucent spells flying upward like bullets of light — but they were firing blindly into the canopy. Not a single one of them could tell where the elves were hiding.
The forest itself worked against them. The branches above were so dense they smothered the daylight, leaving the battlefield shrouded in shadows and flickering firelight.
Liam swallowed hard, forcing himself to focus. He crouched lower behind the broken wagon. The pain in his side still throbbed, but it was bearable now.
The captain barked new orders, voice raw from shouting,
"Hold the line! Protect the supply wagons!"
A few soldiers rushed forward to reinforce the flank. Nearby, the same mage who'd healed Liam began chanting again, his hands glowing with faint runes.
Then, out of nowhere, a faint shimmer appeared before Liam's eyes—
a translucent screen, floating in the air.
---
[Name: Unknown]
[Race: Human]
[Level: 32]
[Rank: D]
[Occupation: Mage]
[Abilities: Regeneration (Apprentice), ???, ???, ???]
[Evaluation: A mage apprentice who still requires much practice to become competent.]
---
Liam blinked. "...What the hell?"
The screen flickered once, then vanished like smoke.
Before he could even process it, another flicker of light shimmered before his eyes. The letters this time were sharper—crisper—like the system had fully "locked on."
---
[Name: Unknown]
[Race: Human]
[Level: 45]
[Rank: C]
[Occupation: Archer]
[Abilities: Archery (Adept), ???, ???, ???, ???]
[Evaluation: A talented archer only a few steps away from promotion.]
---
The translucent text hung in the air, glowing faintly against the dim battlefield.
Liam followed its direction and saw a man crouched behind a shattered barricade, loosing arrows upward toward the treetops.
So… it's scanning people?
He exhaled shakily, heart pounding. The screen faded, but before he could collect himself, another appeared — this one tinted faintly green.
---
[Name: Unknown]
[Race: Elf]
[Level: 48]
[Rank: C]
[Occupation: Forest Sniper]
[Abilities: Nature Veil (Adept), Windstep (Adept), Archery (Expert), ???, ???]
[Evaluation: A skilled marksman who hunts unseen from the shadows.]
---
Liam's eyes widened.
He wasn't imagining it. This one… this one was an enemy.
Liam's eyes darted upward.
Through the darkness and tangled branches, a faint green outline flickered into view — a humanoid shape moving gracefully between the trees.
An elf…!
He froze. Even though the shape was blurred by distance and shadows, the system's faint glow marked it clear as day in his vision. The figure turned — and for a split second, Liam could feel its gaze lock onto him.
Then it raised its bow.
Panic surged through him.
"Shit!" Liam cursed under his breath and lurched to the side, half-limping, half-stumbling toward the mage beside him. He slammed into the man just as a sharp whistle cut through the air—
Thwip!
An arrow struck the ground where he'd been a heartbeat earlier, splintering through the dirt.
The mage grunted, knocked backward behind the wagon. "Ack! Watch where you're—!"
Liam didn't let him finish. He grabbed the man's shoulder, eyes wide and desperate.
"Listen! I don't care if you believe me or not, but I know roughly where the enemy's hiding! Just—just trust me, alright?!"
The mage stared at him, blinking through the smoke and confusion.
"What—how could you possibly—?"
"I'll explain later!" Liam snapped, cutting him off. His voice trembled, but his gaze was dead serious.
"I just want to live through this first."
The mage hesitated. Another explosion echoed in the distance — the screams of soldiers, the crack of burning trees. He clenched his jaw and nodded.
"Fine! Just point me where to cast!"
Liam peeked over the edge of the wagon, heart hammering, scanning the treeline where the glowing silhouette had been moments before. The air shimmered faintly with magic residue — his instincts told him it was still there.
He pointed. "There! Upper left tree cluster — second layer of branches!"
The mage's hands began to glow as he started chanting, the air vibrating with mana.
"Arcus Flare!"
A burst of fiery energy roared upward, smashing into the trees. The explosion lit up the forest, briefly revealing several elves scattering across the branches.
[Name: Unknown]...
[Name: Unknown]...
[Name: Unknown]...
[Name: Unknown]...
...
Liam's eyes widened as more green outlines flickered into view — five, no, Eight of them, all drawing their bows in unison.
His stomach dropped.
"Oh… crap."