Leaves crunched beneath Jax's back. The shimmering light that he fell through was now slowing disappearing.
That was the first thing he noticed.
Not stone. Not cold ruins.
Leaves.
He groaned and sat up, brushing dirt from his coat as sunlight filtered through towering trees overhead. Trunks thicker than cars rose in every direction, their canopies interwoven so tightly the sky was little more than broken shards of blue.
"…Okay," he muttered. "This is new."
No walls.
No soldiers.
No looming sense of imminent death.
Just a vast, ancient forest stretching farther than he could see.
Birds chirped.
Somewhere distant, something large shifted through undergrowth.
Before he could decide whether that was comforting or concerning, a translucent screen snapped into existence inches from his face.
Jax flinched back hard enough to stumble.
"What the—!"
The screen followed him.
Perfectly.
SYSTEM INITIALIZATION COMPLETE
Welcome, User
He stared.
"…Right," he said cautiously. "Definitely hallucinating."
He reached out.
His fingers met resistance.
Solid. Smooth. Cool.
"Oh."
The screen reacted immediately.
Physical Interaction Confirmed
Proceeding to Character Allocation
"Of course you are," Jax sighed. "Why wouldn't you be real?"
The display shifted.
CHARACTER ALLOCATION REQUIRED
Stat Points Available:9999+
Jax blinked.
Then leaned closer.
"…That can't be right."
He glanced down at himself. Same height. Same build. Same hands.
"Okay," he said slowly. "Let's test this."
He tapped Strength.
The number slid all the way to the maximum.
Strength: MAX
The available points counter didn't change.
Jax frowned.
He tapped Agility.
Agility: MAX
Still 9999+.
"…Huh."
He added Intelligence.
Then Endurance.
Then Luck, because—why not?
Nothing changed.
The counter sat there smugly, unchanged.
9999+.
Jax leaned back, hands on his hips.
"Well," he said. "That seems… excessive."
He hesitated exactly one second longer.
"Screw it."
He maxed everything.
Every stat. Every slider. Every obscure category he wasn't sure was even legal under the laws of physics.
The screen pulsed.
Proceed?
"Yes," he said immediately.
The forest dimmed.
The screen flickered.
Then—
ERROR
ERROR
Stat Allocation Exceeds World Parameters
"Oh, come on."
The screen shattered into cascading symbols—then reassembled into something new.
ADVANCED SYSTEM LAYER UNLOCKED
Additional Allocation Available
Stat Points Available:9999+
Jax stared.
Then laughed.
"You're kidding."
He wasn't kidding.
The stats reset—higher ceilings this time.
Jax didn't even pretend to be cautious.
"Round two," he said cheerfully.
He maxed them again.
Every. Single. One.
He hit Continue.
OCCUPATION SELECTION
Based on the occupation chosen, future abilities will be determined.
Finally, something normal.
"Okay," Jax said. "This part I understand."
He selected Adventurer.
A second later, the screen didn't advance.
Instead—
More options appeared.
Alchemist.
Artificer.
Commander.
Healer.
Knight.
Mage.
Merchant.
Necromancer.
Ranger.
Scholar.
"…Why can I select more than one?"
He tapped Mage experimentally.
It stayed selected.
"Oh."
He selected another.
And another.
By the time he was done, the list was completely filled.
Jax stared at the screen, then shrugged.
"Versatility feels important."
He confirmed.
The forest went silent.
Too silent.
PLEASE SELECT YOUR 2ND DIVINE ABILITY
Jax blinked.
"…Second?"
He scrolled.
The list was massive.
Abilities flowed past alphabetically.
Battle Insight
Beast Affinity
Combat Regeneration
Dimensional Pocket
"Wow," he muttered. "You really buried the lead, didn't you?"
He kept scrolling.
And then—
Two options sat beside each other.
Almost touching.
HAREM STAT & SKILL INCREASESIMMORTALITY – GROUP DURATION
Jax stopped.
"…That's an odd pairing."
He leaned closer, reading carefully.
Immortality.
Group-based. Conditional. Time-limited during combat.
His expression shifted.
"That's…" he murmured. "That's actually insane."
He wanted to read more.
To think.
To understand the implications.
Then—
The ground shook.
A roar tore through the forest, so loud it vibrated in his chest.
Birds exploded from the trees.
Branches snapped.
Jax spun just as something massive burst through the undergrowth.
Scales. Wings. Teeth the size of swords.
A dragon.
"Oh, you have got to be kidding me."
He ran.
Immediately regretted it.
His legs moved—but sluggishly. Heavy. Wrong.
NOTICE:Stats will not apply until all selections are finalized.
"NOW you tell me?!"
Flames scorched the ground behind him as he ducked, rolled, barely avoiding death by instinct alone.
The screen snapped back into view as he stumbled.
Confirm Selection?
"Yes!" Jax yelled, slamming his hand forward. "CONFIRM!"
The dragon's shadow swallowed him.
The screen pulsed.
Locked in.
And somewhere deep within the system—
Something clicked into place.