Looking at the twisted grin plastered on the bear's face, Jack felt a surge of terror but beneath it, something else burned. Anger.
Not just at the beast before him, but at himself.
At his own weakness.
At the thought of dying like this just as pathetically as he had in his first life.
"Why is this happening to me?" Jack's mind screamed.
"Why!?"
His fists clenched so tightly that his nails dug into his palms, the sharp pain snapping him back to reality. But it wasn't enough—not enough to drown out the suffocating weight in his chest.
The bear wasn't even taking him seriously anymore.
It no longer saw him as a threat.
It was mocking him.
A hollow, bitter feeling spread through Jack's chest something far worse than fear.
A sense of Worthlessness.
Jack had never been a warrior. He wasn't someone who had fought tooth and nail for survival.
No he had been a salaryman, grinding away in a world that never cared if he struggled, if he hurt, if he failed.
He had spent years trapped in an endless cycle, working himself to exhaustion under a boss who saw him as nothing more than a dog on a leash.
Obedient. Replaceable. Powerless.
And now, staring into the eyes of the grinning beast before him, he felt that same crushing helplessness.
But this time…
There was no desk.No deadlines.No orders to follow.
Only life and death.And Jack refused to die a dog.
His breath steadied. His grip loosened. The fear that had chained him began to crack.
Jack's eyes blazed with defiance as he took a step forward. His voice rose, filled with a fury he had never dared to unleash before.
"My whole life, I've lived without purpose. I was nothing more than a replaceable existence—a nobody! And I died like one!"
His chest heaved, his rage boiling over.
"But not this time!"
He lifted his gaze, locking eyes with the beast, his expression shifting from despair to determination.
"I don't care how strong you are."
"I don't care if I have to crawl, if I have to bleed."
Jack took another step, his voice now a growl of his own.
"I will make sure you never forget me."
The Storm Within the Mist
The demon bear's grin widened as it let out a deep, guttural growl. Then—it charged.
Jack barely had time to react. The monstrous beast lunged with terrifying speed, its claws aiming straight for his throat.
Jack leapt backward just in time.
The bear's massive body crashed forward, missing its mark. But before Jack could counter, his back hit cold stone.
A dead end.
Shit.
The bear wasted no time. It reared back, preparing to bring down a razor-sharp claw with the force to tear through bone.
Jack had seconds.
His instincts screamed.
Move! Fight! Do something!
Electricity crackled around his clenched fist as he summoned his newfound power. Lightning surged through his veins, coursing through his muscles as he poured everything he had into one strike.
With a roar of defiance, Jack swung—
CRACK!
His fist collided with the demon bear's jaw, a burst of lightning arcing through the air on impact.
The beast's head snapped back, its massive body staggering as a deep boom echoed through the chamber.
Jack landed, chest heaving.
Did that work?!
His moment of hope shattered as the bear's head slowly tilted forward again.
The damage was there—fractures forming like chisels in its thick hide.
But the bear was smiling.
Jack's stomach dropped.
A thick, chilling mist suddenly erupted from the beast's body, spreading like a living shadow. Within seconds, the entire chamber was engulfed, swallowing every inch of light.
Jack cursed under his breath. His vision was gone—completely blocked.
The bear had vanished into the mist.
Jack's breath shallowed. He forced himself to calm down, to listen.
To feel.
His newly awakened senses flared, picking up something—movement.
A presence, shifting through the fog, circling him like a predator stalking its prey.
Jack's muscles tensed. It's fast.
Then—it struck.
A flash of movement—Jack turned, but too late.
SLASH!
A searing pain ripped through his chest as the bear's claws tore through flesh, sending him flying.
Jack hit the ground hard, his body skidding against the cavern floor as blood dripped from his wound.
Pain screamed through his nerves. But he had no time to recover—
Another attack was coming.
It was still midair—following up, aiming to finish him.
Jack's mind raced. I can't dodge this.
A desperate thought flashed through his mind.
Then I won't dodge. I'll counter.
Lightning surged.
Jack gritted his teeth and, at the last moment, released a sudden burst of electricity from his entire body.
The lightning exploded outward—
ZAP!
The bear let out a sudden snarl of pain, its body seizing up for a split second, stunned.
That was all Jack needed.
He twisted his body, rolling and sliding as he came closer to the pond putting distance from the bear.
He gasped for breath, his chest bleeding, his limbs shaking.