The verdant forest lay wrapped in an uneasy silence. The songs of birds had faded, leaving only the rustle of leaves to accompany the footsteps of Daniel and Elise. They advanced with caution, each bound to their task: he, gathering the medicinal herbs of his quest; she, alert for the beast she had sworn to slay.
Suddenly, Elise froze. Her delicate ears twitched, her emerald eyes flared with instinctive alarm. A ferocious presence was hurtling toward them with devastating force.
"Watch out!" she cried, shoving Daniel aside with lightning speed.
A violent gust tore through the air, shattering branches in its wake. Daniel hit the ground, raising his gaze just in time to see the earth tremble under the weight of a monstrous figure.
The Armored Serpent of Rombi had emerged. Towering and grotesque, its colossal body stretched for meters, clad in gleaming black scales that shone like forged metal. Its yellow eyes glowed with predatory hunger, while its forked tongue lashed through the air, tasting their presence.
Daniel's chest tightened, his pulse hammering in his ears. So this is the creature tied to Elise's mission…
The serpent hissed, a guttural roar that shook the undergrowth, before coiling itself, preparing to strike.
Elise moved swiftly, her bow already in her hands, her posture fierce and unyielding. She was ready to protect him.
But Daniel, still on the ground, clenched his fists. A fire blazed within his mind, sharp and unrelenting:
No. I will not remain in the shadows. I refuse to be some background character. And I will not let my waifu be the one to save me. It is I… who must protect her.
The conviction roared through him, igniting his very blood. His body trembled with a strange, burning heat, as though power itself was awakening within.
The serpent lunged, maw wide, venomous fangs flashing like daggers.
And Daniel, eyes ablaze with newfound energy, surged to his feet. His spirit roared with defiance. This was the moment—
the turning point where fate would no longer drag him behind,
but where he seized it with his own hands.
---
The air shuddered in the wake of the Serpent's lunge, leaving a heavy silence. At first confused, Daniel felt a dull heat rise from his core — like an ember stirring beneath his skin. As the beast recoiled to strike again, he slipped out of its path with instinctive grace; the serpent's shadow crossed the spot where he had stood only heartbeats before.
Around him, the air seemed to thicken. A golden glow, at first faint like a breath, curled around his arms and torso; then the light swelled, forming an aura that shimmered like heated metal. This halo was more than color: it was a presence, fierce and magnificent, reshaping his silhouette. In those moments it felt almost like a possession — not evil, but fierce: a new will threading itself through him like a promise.
His normally calm eyes hardened with a cutting light. Daniel's face set — not with hatred, but with a savage, clear resolve. A voice, lower than his usual tone, seemed to echo from his chest — as much a certainty as a command: Act. Do not back down.
He rose, breath short, and met Élise's gaze. "Don't worry, my…" — a crooked, audacious smile — "my waifu, I've got this. Stay back." His voice was fed by the golden light, each word warmed by the power coiling in him.
Élise's brow drew together, arrow nocked and ready. "What? Daniel, have you lost your mind? That's a Rank A creature — it will tear you apart. Fall back!" Her tone trembled with concern beneath its steely edge, trying to bring him back to reason.
Daniel shook his head, calmer than before. A short, almost incredulous laugh escaped him. "Watch," he said. "I'm going to one-shot it. One strike. After that, you can say you fought at my side — and maybe, if you want, you'll be part of my harem." The jest was bold, almost irreverent, yet the will behind it was no mere bravado.
Élise rolled her eyes, half scandalized, half amused. "Your arrogance will be your undoing, boy. I don't accept those kinds of… promises. Focus." She loosed an arrow, not to kill but to distract — a precise tactical shot that made the serpent turn its head, granting Daniel the opening he needed.
He inclined his head slightly in silent thanks, then drew a deep breath. The light around him intensified, as if every fiber of his being were calling for strength. His hands closed, and with a sharp snap the air itself seemed to obey: a golden streak burst from his arm, coalescing into a blade of pure energy — short, razor-edged, white-hot within its golden shimmer.
The Serpent, taken off guard, convulsed. Daniel surged forward with cold precision. The golden blade cut through the air with a whistling cry; it sliced through scale like a blade through cloth, lighting the shadows with a blinding flare. A bestial roar rent the forest as the reptile slammed into the earth, a wide, black gash scoring its flank.
Dust settled. The serpent panted, wounded — but far from defeated. Dark beads of blood ran between its steel-like scales, and its eyes burned with a new, furious intelligence. Élise stepped forward, bow ready, staring at Daniel with equal measures surprise and respect. "You… you actually hit it. How did you do that?" she asked, her voice threaded with admiration and worry.
Daniel, still bronzed by that golden glow, felt fatigue wash over him but also a quiet pride. He set a hand to his chest, feeling the warm pulse of that new essence. "I don't know everything yet," he murmured, humble in the face of what had just happened, "but I know this: I will never be the man who only watches others act."
Amid the aftermath — scrapes, hisses, the wind sending up the scent of crushed herbs — a fragile alliance had been forged: the elf who protected, and the novice who rose to claim the hero's place. The forest, silent witness, cast its shadows over two figures bruised but resolute.
---
The clash of scales and the serpent's hiss thundered through the clearing. Daniel, panting, unleashed blow after blow, yet each strike barely left a scratch on the monster's armored hide. His fists, his bursts of golden energy—it was as though he were striking a living fortress.
The beast glared down at him with its cold reptilian eye before lunging forward in a brutal sweep. Daniel barely dodged, his breath caught in his throat as sweat trickled down his brow.
This isn't possible… he thought, his heart pounding. In every anime I've ever watched, the hero always one-shots the rank A monsters! Why can't I? What am I missing? Don't tell me… I'm nothing more than a background character here…
Another roar tore through the air. The serpent struck again. But before its crimson maw could close around him, a firm hand yanked him backward.
—"What the hell are you doing, idiot?!" Elise shouted, her emerald eyes blazing. "Do you want to get eaten alive?!"
Daniel blinked, stunned by the sheer strength in her grip. Her left hand pressed hard against his shoulder, while her right arm braced him from the other side. In that sudden closeness, he felt his face flush with heat. Unfortunately—or perhaps inevitably—his gaze slipped for a fleeting second, landing where her chest rose and fell with her quickened breath.
His throat went dry, his heart stammered, and he tore his eyes away, cursing himself. No… focus, Daniel! You're not here for this. Pull yourself together.
He drew in a sharp breath. And then—strangely, as though his body obeyed a command he hadn't spoken—his consciousness tore free from reality.
The battlefield dissolved into silence. Time itself seemed to freeze. Golden flames that once whirled around him hung suspended mid-air. The serpent's scales ceased to shimmer, locked in place.
Daniel stood motionless, his body still there… but his mind had drifted into another space entirely—an undefined realm, like an inner world, a hidden dimension waiting to reveal its truth.
---
Time remained frozen. Neither the wind blew, nor did the golden flames flicker. Only Daniel could still move in this halted world.
And suddenly, a light burst forth from his body, blindingly bright, almost overwhelming. It focused, shaped itself, and then materialized into a graceful figure: a young girl with a celestial aura.
Her hair, pure blonde, floated as if bathed in sunlight, and her amber eyes seemed to contain infinity. She tilted her head slightly, and her soft yet resonant voice cut through the silence.
—"My name is Lysandra, goddess of this Earth. I have been sent here to guide you, Daniel, so that you may fulfill your dream."
Daniel furrowed his brows, his tone gruff.
—"What?! Seriously? You're only showing up now? Where the hell were you from the start, huh? Because of you, the readers think I'm useless! Do you know how many times I almost died?!"
The goddess, hitherto serene, narrowed her eyes. Her voice became icy.
—"You are insolent for a mere mortal. Do you even know who you are speaking to?"
—"Yes, yes, I know, a goddess. But you're all the same in anime! Always showing up late, always acting mysterious. I'm sick of it. So stop pretending and give me more of your power."
The golden flames around her intensified, a sign of her growing anger.
—"Insolent! Couldn't you at least say please?"
Daniel froze. Then, adopting a contrite expression, he lowered his head.
—"Fine… please. Help me, I beg you. I want to be the main character of this story. My creator… no, the author wants me to be the master of this universe. So please, grant me this gift."
At these words, he fell to his knees, his hands clasped like a child praying in desperate hope.
Lysandra studied him for a long moment, her golden eyes shining with a wrath tempered by pity. Finally, she gave an enigmatic smile.
—"You are a brute… but your flame is sincere. Very well. I shall grant you my blessing."
In that instant, her body shimmered and dissolved into a rain of gold, merging back into Daniel's own form.
Then, time resumed its course. The roar of the serpent echoed once more, the flames began to whirl again, and the battle entered its second phase.