A Chance Encounter

Chapter 3: A Chance Encounter

Yuji panted heavily, his back pressed against a tree. His body ached, and his legs refused to move any further. He had been running for what felt like forever, but the goblins were relentless.

He had no weapon, no power, nothing to defend himself with.

The goblins surrounded him, their sharp teeth glinting as they snarled. Their crude weapons—rusted daggers, chipped axes—were raised, ready to end his life.

Yuji clenched his fists, his body trembling. There was no way out.

He had lost all hope.

Then—

BOOM!

A massive explosion of fire erupted in front of him. The searing heat blasted against his skin, forcing him to shield his face with his arms. When he looked up, the goblins were no more—only charred remains scattered across the ground.

Yuji's eyes widened.

What just happened?

His gaze darted forward, and that's when he saw her.

A woman stood there, breathing heavily. She looked around twenty years old, her long golden hair disheveled and streaked with blood. She wore a noble's outfit, though it was torn and stained from battle.

Her hands trembled around the wooden staff she held, its tip still glowing faintly.

Then, her body swayed.

Before Yuji could react, she collapsed.

"Hey!" Yuji rushed toward her, his heart pounding. He knelt beside her and checked her breathing. It was faint, but she was still alive.

She had passed out from exhaustion and blood loss.

Yuji cursed under his breath. He didn't know much about medicine, but if he didn't do something, she could die.

Without hesitation, he grabbed his shirt and tore it into strips. He quickly wrapped the fabric around her arms, pressing against the worst of the bleeding. His hands were unsteady, but he forced himself to focus.

Then, he noticed another wound—this one on her belly.

He hesitated.

His face burned with embarrassment, but he couldn't let that stop him. Carefully, he lifted her shirt just enough to see the wound. With as much respect as he could manage, he wrapped another strip of fabric around her waist, securing it tightly.

The bleeding slowed.

Yuji let out a sigh of relief.

She would live.

Now, he sat next to her, his mind racing.

What was this place? Why had goblins attacked him? And most importantly, who was this girl?

Before he could make sense of anything—

A voice echoed in his head.

"Welcome to the Game of Gods."

Yuji froze.

Then, a glowing screen appeared before him.

[Congratulations! You have obtained a skill.]

Yuji's breath caught. A skill? Did that mean he had powers now?

But before he could celebrate, the screen glitched.

[ERROR. ERROR.]

The text flickered violently.

[External presence detected. System hijacked.]

Yuji's heart pounded.

[System abilities rejected.]

[Swordsmanship—Rejected.]

[Magic—Rejected.]

[Combat class—Rejected.]

[ERROR. ERROR.]

Yuji clenched his fists. What the hell was happening?

[System failure. Retrying…]

[Failure.]

[Retrying…]

[Failure.]

Then, the text changed.

[System has assigned host an alternative ability.]

Yuji held his breath.

[Host has acquired: SYSTEM OPTIMIZATION (Rank: ???)]

[Host may use this ability with a cooldown period of 30 days.]

And with that, the screen disappeared.

Yuji sat there, completely lost.

First, the world had changed. Then, he had been attacked by monsters. Now, he had been rejected by the system?

He looked down at the unconscious girl beside him.

And then, he saw something strange.

Above her, floating in the air, were words.

[Basic Mage]

And beneath that—

[Eligible for Promotion: Supreme Mage | Witch of Fire]

Yuji's eyes widened.

He could see her class options?

What did this mean?

Before he could figure it out, the girl stirred.

Her eyes slowly opened.

She looked down at herself first, noticing that her wounds were bandaged. Then, her gaze moved to Yuji.

They locked eyes.

She blinked.

Then, she tried to sit up.

Her body was weak, and she almost fell again, but Yuji caught her arm and helped her.

For the first time, she got a good look at him—his shirtless torso, his toned muscles.

She blushed slightly.

But she quickly composed herself.

"…Thank you," she said.

Yuji scratched the back of his head. "No, no, I should be the one thanking you. If not for you, I'd be dead."

She said nothing for a moment, then sighed.

She glanced around the forest before turning back to him. "Why are you here? You don't seem to belong in this place."

Yuji hesitated.

"I… don't know," he admitted. "One moment, I was in my world, and the next, I was here."

Her eyes widened slightly. "You saw it too, didn't you? The sky splitting open… the worlds merging."

Yuji nodded. "Yeah. That moment."

She exhaled. "Then, you really aren't from here…"

A silence stretched between them.

Then, Yuji spoke. "What's your name?"

"…Lyra," she said after a pause. "Lyra Moonwhisper."

Yuji nodded. "That's a beautiful name."

She blinked before looking away. "…Thanks."

He smiled. "I'm Yuji."

"Yuji…" She repeated his name under her breath.

There was another moment of silence.

Then, she shifted uncomfortably. Something seemed to be bothering her.

After a while, she finally spoke. "We have to leave. This forest is dangerous. If a monster stronger than those goblins appears, I might not be able to fight it."

Yuji agreed.

But then, she turned to him and asked something unexpected.

"What is your occupation?"

Yuji frowned. "Occupation?"

She nodded. "Your system-awakened abilities."

Yuji's eyes widened.

How did she know about the system?