Cold, unforgiving stone pressed against his spine.
James bolted upright, his lungs burning as he gasped for the thin, crisp air.
Moss clung to his fingertips, damp and smelling of ancient decay.
Where was he?
Ruined stone pillars towered over him, jagged teeth biting into a dark, twilight sky.
Memories flickered like a dying television screen in his mind.
He remembered a sterile office, the harsh red glow of a crashing stock ticker, and the sudden, crushing squeeze in his chest.
A massive heart attack should have been the final chapter of his life.
Instead, he was lying on a circular altar carved with foreign, glowing runes.
Hovering directly in front of his eyes was a sleek, semi-transparent blue interface.
"Deckmaster Protocol initialized," a flat, synthesized voice chimed inside his skull.
"User: James. Class: Duelist. Please register your starter deck."
James stared at the floating text, his analytical mind immediately kicking into gear.
Panic was a useless variable; he had learned long ago that fear only clouded mathematical calculation.
He looked down at his left forearm.
A metallic, dark-grey gauntlet was fused to his skin, humming with soft, rhythmic energy.
Slotted inside the gauntlet was a deck of thick, metallic-edged cards.
He drew the top card, his fingers trembling slightly as he felt its texture.
It felt incredibly real, heavy and cool to the touch, yet a strange holographic sheen played across its surface.
"This isn't Earth," James muttered, his voice raspy and dry.
"System scan complete," the mechanical voice inside his head reported.
"Local environment identified: Seinfall. Threat level: High. Initiating tutorial simulation."
Before he could process the name of this new world, three glowing portals opened ten paces away.
Green-skinned creatures crawled out of the light, snarling and brandishing jagged daggers.
Goblins.
Their eyes burned with orange malice, and their breath came in rapid, guttural wheezes.
James took a step back, his back hitting the raised edge of the stone altar.
He looked at the cards in his hand.
Five cards in total, each displaying a detailed illustration and numerical values for attack and defense.
"A closed system," James whispered, a familiar sense of calm washing over him.
"Everything is governed by rules. Let's see how rigid they are."
He selected a card showing a warrior in heavy plate armor.
"Summon Vanguard Knight," he commanded, pitching the card forward.
Light erupted from the card as it dissolved into a shower of white particles.
A towering figure materialized in front of him, clad in shining silver armor and holding a massive tower shield.
Silver-plated armor gleamed as the knight stood motionless, a perfect wall between James and the simulated monsters.
One of the goblins shrieked, leaping forward with its dagger raised high.
It drove the blade straight toward the knight's chest plate.
Instead of a sickening squelch of metal tearing flesh, a bright blue geometric grid flared at the point of impact.
Metal stopped exactly three inches from the armor.
A low, electronic hum vibrated through the air.
"Damage absorbed," the system droned. "Absolute Safety protocol active. Zero lethal damage permitted."
James stepped closer, his eyes narrowing as he analyzed the grid.
No blood was spilled.
Every ounce of force was completely neutralized by the safety barrier.
"This is a children's card game logic," James murmured, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips.
"In a world where everyone else must fight, bleed, and die to level up, my systems protect me from harm."
He wanted to test the limits of this security.
He walked up to the second goblin, intentionally leaving himself wide open.
Claws lunged at his throat, its jagged teeth bared in a vicious bite.
Again, the glowing blue barrier flared, freezing the monster in mid-air.
He felt nothing but a gentle gust of wind against his skin.
"Vanguard Knight, counterattack," James ordered, satisfied with the safety parameters.
With a swift, mechanical motion, the knight swung its massive broadsword.
Steel sliced through the leading goblin.
Instead of severing limbs, the sword strike triggered a bright yellow burst of energy.
Green flesh dissolved into light, leaving no blood behind.
Both remaining goblins rushed forward together.
James didn't flinch.
He drew another card from his gauntlet.
"Summon Archer Initiate," he said calmly.
A slender elf with a glowing bow materialized on a raised stone block.
Two arrows of pure light hissed through the air, pinning the remaining goblins to the ground.
They exploded into harmless pixelated mist.
"Simulation complete," the mechanical voice declared. "Combat proficiency: optimal. Deactivating sandbox."
Blue light faded, leaving James in the quiet, dimming light of the ruins.
Silence fell over the ancient clearing.
He took a deep breath, the damp air filling his lungs.
He finally felt in control.
Back in his old life, a single unpredictable variable—a corrupt business partner—had ruined his entire career and reputation in a single afternoon.
He had lost everything because he couldn't predict human greed.
Here, everything was beautifully predictable, governed by strict mathematical cards.
A sudden, deep growl shattered his train of thought.
James froze, his muscles locking up.
That sound didn't originate from his system.
It was too deep, too guttural, vibrating through the very stone beneath his feet.
Heavy footsteps crunched on the gravel nearby.
Out of the dense underbrush crept a massive, terrifying beast.
It was an Iron-Claw Wolf, easily twice the size of any wolf he had ever seen in pictures.
Midnight-black fur was matted with dried blood, and its eyes burned with a primal, rabid red light.
Most terrifying of all were its front paws, which were tipped with jagged, metallic claws that scraped against the stone altar.
This was not a digital simulation.
There were no health bars hovering over its head, no glowing pixels.
Rotting meat and wet fur rolled off the beast, making James's stomach churn.
It was a real monster of Seinfall.
James backed away until his heels hit the very edge of the stone altar.
His heart hammered violently against his ribs, a frantic rhythm that threatened to choke him.
"Calm down," he whispered to himself, his fingers clawing at his mental deck.
"Calculate the margins. Distance: twelve feet. Speed: high. Lethality: absolute."
This beast wanted to tear him apart and feast on his flesh.
There was no reset button here.
No loading screen.
Saliva dripped from its yellow fangs, sizzling against the ancient moss.
It bunched its powerful muscles, preparing to lunge.
James felt a sweat drop slide down his temple.
If his cards failed him now, he would be dead in seconds.
He had to trust the math.
Snarls echoed as the beast launched itself forward, a blur of black fur and iron claws.
"Summon Vanguard Knight!" James screamed, throwing his hand forward.
Light erupted from his gauntlet, forming the silver-armored knight just in time.
A massive tower shield rose to meet the impact.
Claws scraped against the steel shield with a sickening, heavy thud.
James closed his eyes, bracing for the sound of shattering metal and tearing flesh.
Shockwaves vibrated through the stone floor as the beast thrashed, its massive iron claws slamming against the shield.
Red warning text suddenly flashed in James's peripheral vision.
"SHIELD INTEGRITY: 45%. DEFENSE OVERLOAD IMMINENT."
Panic flared again, but James suppressed it with cold logic.
He had to adjust the values.
He reached into his mental deck and pulled another card, his fingers flying across the glowing interface on his gauntlet.
"Play Spell Card: Fortify!" James yelled, slamming the card into the active slot.
Golden light enveloped the Vanguard Knight's shield, reinforcing its structure.
"Shield integrity restored to one hundred percent," the system confirmed.
Stronger now, the knight stood firm, pushing the beast back.
Cruel, yellow teeth were clamped shut just inches from the knight's faceplate, but they were stopped dead in the air.
A brilliant blue geometric grid pulsed between them, absorbing the entire force of the impact.
This absolute safety barrier had activated.
Even against a real, flesh-and-blood monster, the digital rules of his card deck held firm.
Razor-sharp claws thrashed wildly, scratching at the barrier, but they simply slid off the glowing blue hexagonal tiles.
It could not touch him.
It could not hurt him.
Trembling, James let out a shaky breath, his legs barely supporting his weight.
He stared at the magnificent, bloodless shield.
This was his ultimate defense.
While other warriors in this brutal world had to risk their lives, trading blood for strength, he could fight from behind an impenetrable wall of safety.
Realizing its attacks were completely useless, the wolf stopped thrashing.
It backed away slowly, letting out a frustrated, low whine.
It kept its red eyes locked on James, as if trying to understand what kind of magic was blocking its prey.
With a final, angry snarl, the beast turned and vanished back into the dark underbrush.
James let himself fall back onto the stone altar, gasping for air.
His hands were shaking, but a manic, victorious smile spread across his face.
He had survived.
His rules worked.
As the Wolf retreats, the holographic Knight glitters with a glitched error code: 'SYSTEM INCOMPATIBILITY: LOCAL SOUL MATRIX DETECTED.'