Isabella's legs burned, her lungs ached, and she was so close to collapsing face-first into the dirt again.
But the second she realized—
The thing chasing her had stopped.
She froze mid-stride, gasping for breath. Silence. No snarls, no heavy footsteps, no murder beast lunging for her throat.
Her chest rose and fell. Okay. Okay. We're fine. We're fine.
She wasn't sure what had been tailing her, but apparently, it lost interest. Or maybe it tripped over a vine like she did. Who knew? Either way, she wasn't dead, so that was a win.
Her legs gave out. She flopped onto the damp ground, arms spread wide, not caring that she was lying in dirt.
She was too tired to care.
Her entire body hurt.
Her feet were covered in scratches, her blonde hair was a tangled mess, and her stomach was making violent threats.
The last time she had eaten, it had been a five-star meal with imported truffle risotto, not… absolutely nothing.
She groaned, pressing her hands to her face.
"This is the worst day of my life."
DING!
A glowing screen popped up.
[The System has gifted you a Map!]
A folded piece of parchment materialized midair and fell directly onto her face.
She yelped, flailing as she peeled it off. "Are you kidding me?!"
Sitting up, she unfolded the map with shaking fingers.
It looked… ancient. Like something stolen from a pirate movie—yellowed, rough parchment, with curvy, unreadable text and weird symbols instead of normal directions.
At first glance, it seemed hand-drawn, with twisting rivers, jagged mountain ranges, and sprawling forests sketched in dark ink.
Some areas were labeled in a language she didn't understand, while others had tiny illustrations of creatures that looked way too large for comfort.
There were no street names. No arrows saying "THIS WAY TO NOT DYING."
Just a giant X in a vague forest area labeled "Lion Tribe."
But that wasn't the only marking.
Further west, there was something called "The Bone Sands."
To the north, "The Sky Cliffs."
And many more other strange names like near the bottom corner, in thick, ominous ink, a place named "The Howling Marsh."
None of those sounded like friendly vacation spots.
She squinted harder, flipping the map upside down, as if that would magically make it readable.
She blinked. "What kind of cryptic nonsense—"
She turned it upside down. Still unreadable.
She squinted. Rotated it again.
Maybe if she—
Nope. It was useless.
"You're kidding me," she muttered, shaking the map like it was a faulty GPS that would magically fix itself.
Nothing happened.
"Great. I'm going to die lost in the jungle holding a map I can't even read."
Then a loud, long growl rumbled from her stomach.
Right. Food first.
She squinted at the trees, spotting some oddly round fruit hanging from a branch.
It looked… normal?
A little too round, maybe, but not poisonous.
She staggered to her feet and yanked one down.
It was surprisingly soft, with a slight give under her fingers.
Huh. Maybe she was just being paranoid. Maybe this one was fine.
Maybe her luck was finally turning—The second her fingers applied a little more pressure—
BOOM.
A small explosion blasted straight into her face.
She shrieked, tumbling backward, coughing through a cloud of neon-green smoke.
Her ears rang. Her face stung. Her hair was smoking.
"What. The. HELL?!?" she screeched, wiping at the mystery substance coating her skin.
DING!
"Congratulations! You have discovered [Puffberry Fruit]! (A natural defense mechanism to deter predators.)"
She gaped at the screen, rage burning hot.
"A WARNING WOULD HAVE BEEN NICE!"
The system did not care.
Tears of frustration and exploding fruit trauma burned in her eyes.
Fine. Fine. That one was a bust.
She stomped further into the trees, ignoring the way her stomach clawed at her ribs.
A few minutes later—
Another fruit.
This one was plump, bright red, and most importantly, not exploding.
It smelled sweet. Edible. Safe.
No hesitation this time. She took a huge bite.
The second the flesh hit her tongue—
FIRE.
A wave of burning heat detonated in her mouth.
Her body seized. Her eyes bugged out.
Then—
"AAAAAGGGHHHHHHHHH!"
She hit the ground, rolling like a lunatic, clutching her tongue.
IT BURNED. IT BURNED. IT BURNED.
DING!
"Congratulations! You've discovered [Spice Bomb Fruit]! +1 Cooking Skill."
Cooking skill?!
"I DON'T WANT A COOKING SKILL, I WANT WATER!"
She scrambled to her feet, tears streaming down her face. She needed water. NOW.
Her gaze darted wildly.
Then—
Through the trees, she spotted a small river.
Salvation.
Without thinking, she stumbled toward it, nearly tripping over her own feet.
The water looked fresh, clear, cool.
She dropped to her knees and plunged her hands in—
Something moved.
She froze.
A swarm of dark shapes shot toward her hands.
Then—
BLOOD.
"OH MY GOD—"
She ripped her hands back as tiny, razor-toothed fish launched out of the water, snapping at the air.
One clamped onto her skirt.
She screamed.
She flung it off.
She ran.
She ran like her life depended on it.
Because it did.
The fish didn't stop at the water's edge.
No.
These demonic things had legs.
They were scurrying after her like wet, murderous cockroaches, their beady eyes locked onto her SOFT, VULNERABLE HUMAN FLESH.
"THIS IS A HORROR MOVIE. I AM IN A HORROR MOVIE."
She barely dodged a tree root, her lungs burning, her soul crying.
DING!
"You've discovered [Bloodtooth Fish]! (They really like soft flesh.)"
"THAT IS NOT INFORMATION I NEEDED RIGHT NOW!"
Her feet slammed against the dirt, legs pumping as tiny, sharp-toothed nightmares snapped at her ankles.
This was it.
This was how she died.