Chapter 2
With a loud bang, a young man rocking flamboyant attire crashed down like a meteor, his whole body wreathed in fire. The trees around him burst into flames in an instant.
This was the guy who tweaked the "Fire Breath" skill, known as Number 99, Jett Rourke.
He shot a smug look at the chaos around him, enjoying all the praise flooding the live chat.
[Number 99 is awesome! This ability is sick!]
[I bet it's "Fire Manipulation".]
[I bet it's "Fire Control".]
The guesses kept coming, but the system didn't show any hints.
Jett shot them a mocking look and said, "You idiots, my ability is 'Blaze'. It's different from your ordinary fires."
He dropped the name just to show off.
Since viewers couldn't guess something that specific, he was safe for the time being.
Meanwhile, I drifted down into a forgotten corner, landing softly on a thick bed of decaying leaves, quiet as a feather.
There was no sound, no light show.
I was just as ordinary as anyone could be.
The live stream camera didn't even bother to stay on me.
The live chat was peppered with a few sarcastic comments.
[What's Number 44 doing? He was typing nonstop just now, and now he's sprawled out like a dead dog.]
[I bet he picked some trash ability, or maybe he couldn't even edit his ability at all.]
[How funny, no way someone like that survives day one.]
Jett glanced at me, a smug smirk on his face. Then, with a few other guys packing offensive abilities, he swaggered off into the jungle.
Very good. No one paid attention to me. This was exactly what I wanted.
I patted the dirt on my body and began to check my surroundings.
In this primal jungle, the biggest threat wasn't the other contestant, but the beasts nobody knew about.
Just then, a blood-curdling scream came from not far away.
One unlucky contestant, too slow to run, had his skull obliterated by a towering black bear with one brutal swipe.
The smell of blood instantly filled the air.
Everyone turned pale with fright.
But I stayed perfectly calm and casually pulled a lollipop from my pocket.
I'd put it there before I time-traveled.
I slowly unwrapped it and stuffed it into my mouth.
The sweetness melted on the tip of the tongue.
No need to rush. I let things shake out first.
In my ability guide, there was actually a section made specifically for moments like this.
[Chapter 2, Section 7: If the user, Felix, faces a direct threat from any non-human intelligent creature (including but not limited to beasts, monsters, or aliens), any scent he emits, sweat, pheromones, or even the carbon dioxide from his breath, will trigger a 100% 'absolute repulsion' effect. To the threat, this shows up as an indescribable, overwhelming terror.]
In short, no beast would dare approach me.
In this jungle, I was basically the ultimate beast repellent on two legs.
Watching everyone panic and scramble for their lives, I wandered through the chaos with a lollipop dangling from my lips, like I was just strolling through my own garden.
Night fell. The jungle grew cold fast, and the roars of beasts rang out nonstop.
The surviving contestants gathered around the fire, shivering.
Everyone's face was filled with fear and exhaustion.
And I picked out a comfy tree, leaned against the trunk, and was almost drifting off to sleep.
"Hello, Number 44!" A voice broke my quiet moment.
It was Jett. He stood over me with his men, looking down like he was doing charity.
He sneered, "You look pitiful. Come with us, or beasts would eat you tonight."
One of his lackeys, a guy who could control vines, snapped impatiently, "Jett's showing you some respect by letting you join us, and you're just standing there? What, too scared to even use your ability, loser!"
The live chat began to hype things up.
[Jett got real leader vibes, actually knows how to take care of the weak.]
[Number 44 is just a liability. If I had, I'd ignore him long ago.]
[He is probably frozen with fear, hasn't budged at all.]
I lazily opened my eyes and glanced at them.
Join them? They just want a meat shield to scout ahead or keep watch for them.
I didn't even bother to reply. Just rolled over and went back to chilling with my eyes closed.
My move completely ticked Jett off.
He felt like his authority had been challenged.
He snapped, "Don't know what's good for you!"
Jett's eyes flashed with menace as a blazing fireball materialized in his palm. "Let's see what you've got, daring to act tough like this."
The fireball roared towards me, trailing a wave of scorching heat.
Gasps erupted all around. Everyone thought I was doomed.
So he finally couldn't hold back.
I still didn't move.
Right before the fireball could hit me, a deafening roar thundered from deep within the jungle.