Just as expected, it abandoned the crying baby instantly — switching prey with the brutal logic of a predator — and chased her.
Her feet slammed against the dirt, kicking up dry leaves and dust as she tore through the clearing. Branches clawed at her arms, vines whipped past her face, but she didn't stop. Couldn't stop.
Behind her, the beast of a snake slithered in pursuit, dragging its bulky body through the forest — crushing roots and snapping branches thicker than an arm as it chased after her. She could hear the various sounds of things breaking, its hissing, and the grotesque slithering that sounded like wet stone grinding against bone.
Lavayla's scalp tingled, and she ran faster. Her heart pounded like a war drum in her chest — thud-thud, thud-thud — each beat louder than the last, echoing in her ears like thunder trapped inside her skull. It was all she could hear. All she could feel. Her pulse was a riot, a panicked rhythm that screamed run, run, run.
Lavayla was not a runner, but right at this moment, she ran like she'd never done before. Even compared to professional runners, her speed right now surpassed theirs. She was thankful she jogged every morning and went to the gym regularly, because if not…
Lavayla didn't know how long she'd been running — stumbling, sprinting, slowing, then exploding forward again — her body switching into desperate bursts of speed every time the python's hiss scraped too close behind her.
Her feet had to be a bloody mess as stones and thorns cut through her flesh, though she couldn't even register the pain. And the forest made everything harder — rotting trees creaked ominously overhead, their trunks hollowed by age and decay. One snapped with a sharp crack, crashing down just behind her.
She ducked instinctively, barely avoiding a falling branch that splintered against a nearby rock.
Then the ground turned treacherous — slippery terrain coated in moss and slick mud. Her foot skidded, and she nearly lost her balance, arms flailing as she caught herself against a tree trunk. Her palm scraped bark, but she didn't stop. She couldn't. Behind her, the python's body slammed through the underbrush, its hiss rising in pitch — furious now.
She pushed forward, but the vegetation fought her every step. Vines tangled around her ankles. Thorned branches tore at her arms and legs, leaving angry red welts. She had to run through it all, without stopping.
Time passed, and just when Lavayla thought she was definitely going to die — if not in the stomach of the python, then from exhaustion or the terrifying forest — a pleasant but high-pitched ding rang in her ears. A shimmer appeared in her vision, spreading outward until it formed a transparent rectangular high-tech screen, followed by:
'Hello, new host! Hope you are having a great day~ I'm your assigned system!'
'My official name is Wild Genesis. I know, it's dumb. But sigh~ I can't change it ever. I never use it anyway, so just call me Nessia~ It's nice to meet you~!'
The feminine teenage voice rang in Lavayla's head as she ran, breathing heavily, and she almost tripped when she felt the python's breath behind her — making her heart skip a couple of beats.
"Fuck! What is that? Who the hell is speaking shit in my head?!" Lavayla yelled, staring at the screen showing the last words the thing in her mind had said.
Was she fucking hallucinating now?
The system, as if just realizing Lavayla's predicament, made a sound of surprise before a clapping noise echoed in her mind.
'Wow, I always choose right. Despite the beast chasing you for almost fifteen minutes, you're still alive and running. This is a great start to our mission in this world, host! You've got to keep this up for the upcoming mission!'
A scowl formed on Lavayla's face. If she weren't running for her life, she would have cursed the thing in her mind to hell and back. Still, she snapped, "Are you fucking crazy? What the fuck are you?! Why are you in my head? If you don't fucking explain all this shit—"
'First, I know you are in a situation, but do not talk to me like that. Now, I will say this only once, so listen well. I'm a system. Call me Nessa. You are my host in this world, and you will be given tasks or quests to complete, get rewards for them, and obtain points which can be used to buy things in my system mall to improve your life in this new world.'
Lavayla wanted to ask more questions, but she almost crashed into a tree, so she focused and instead asked, "Is that all?! That's nothing."
'Well, that's what you get for now, host. I'll explain it to you later.'
'Now that the introductions are over, here's your first mission in this new world~!'
Ding!
[MISSION: Escape from the Dreadcoil python and save the beastbaby.]
[Duration: You have 25 minutes to escape the Dreadcoil python and 1 hour to save the beastbaby.]
[Reward: 10,000 points for completing the missions. 4,000 for escaping the dreadcoil python and 2,500 for saving the baby, plus 2,500 welcome points!]
[Good luck!]
'Alright, host, there's your mission. The dreadcoil python does not live in this forest. Its natural habitat is far from here — wide, open terrain where it can move freely without trees blocking its path. It doesn't like tight spaces, dense jungle floors, or tangled roots. Normally, it would never enter a place like this.'
The system's tone was like it was reading from a high school textbook, just indifferent.
'It only came here because it's starving and picked up the beastbaby's scent. That's why it's acting desperate enough to chase prey it usually wouldn't bother with.'
'Its power is in its strength — bone-crushing coils that can snap a horse's spine in a second. But it's extremely slow and has poor eyesight; vulnerable to fast, agile prey. Which is why it hasn't eaten you yet and why you're still being chased.'
'Though your survival chances dropped by 20% in the last four minutes and your stamina has fallen to 42%, your heart rate is unstable, and muscle strain is increasing, rest assured! Your system is here, and I'm one of the best~! Able to turn an unfavorable situation into a favorable one and a dead end into an open space~!'
Lavayla wanted to curse. She wished the system had a physical body so she could squeeze the life — or whatever counted as life — out of it. She wondered if the shitty thing had hit its digital brain somewhere.
Despite her thoughts and frustration, the system continued. 'Alright, you have only twenty-five minutes to escape the python and an hour to save the baby. But realistically, host? If you continue running down this path, you won't be able to save yourself from a gruesome death, not to talk of saving the baby.'
"Then what the hell should I do?!" Lavayla yelled, voice cracking with fear and frustration. She gasped as she kept running.
'What else? Turn around and go back to the path you came from. Pick the baby on your way and go straight. I will tell you when you make it there. And can you not yell? You can just speak in your mind and I will hear.'
'Oh shit, the baby! Wait— You can hear my thoughts?'
'Not your innermost thoughts. Now turn around that large tree and run!'
'W-what?!'
'Ugh, the tree on your left — the one wider than the python behind you — so it can't cut through it or bypass it to surpass you. This is your only chance. Just follow what I say and turn!'
'Okay.'
Immediately, Lavayla did as the voice instructed. She planted her foot hard into the soft soil, using a jutting root as leverage, and pivoted sharply to the left. Her body whipped around, momentum nearly throwing her off balance, but she caught herself with a palm against the thick trunk. The massive tree acted like a natural barricade — its girth so wide the python would have to loop around it, costing precious seconds.
The beast hissed in fury, its heavy body slamming into the tree with a dull, meaty thud before it began the long, slow process of curving around the trunk. Leaves rained down from the impact. Lavayla didn't wait; she shot forward through a narrow gap between two boulders, the terrain too tight for the snake's bulk to squeeze through quickly. Every twist, every tight turn bought her more distance — a few meters here, another few there — until the python's hisses grew fainter behind her.
'Good job, host! Now just follow what I say and you will reach the beastbaby~! Clap clap!'
'You are insane!'
'No, I'm sweet and lovely! Now, I will be counting numbers and telling you what actions you must take to safely run through the obstacles and reach the baby in the shortest time possible.'
Lavayla didn't know how she would be able to follow its orders, but she decided to trust the system. At least she had gained some distance, so she steadied her breathing and readied herself.
'We're starting… 1-2-3-4-5 — Leap!'
Lavayla hurled herself over a thick fallen log just as the ground dipped beneath it.
'1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9… Duck!'
She dropped instantly, sliding under a low tangle of branches that would've clotheslined her.
'1-2-3-4-5-6 — Move to your right!'
Lavayla swerved sharply, dodging a jutting rock just as she felt the air shift behind her — the python forcing its massive body back onto her trail.