Nathan's brain barely had time to process what was happening. The towering, black-skinned giant with glowing red eyes exuded a presence so overwhelming that every fiber of his being screamed RUN!
Without a second thought, his legs moved on their own.
"Shit, shit, shit, shit, SHIT!"
He turned and sprinted with everything he had, his heart pounding like a war drum. Adrenaline surged through his veins, overriding any logic or hesitation. His instincts were crystal clear—get as far away as possible.
Behind him, the ground trembled with each massive step of the creature. Even though Nathan couldn't see it, he could feel its gaze locked onto him. It wasn't attacking, but its mere presence sent waves of paralyzing fear down his spine.
His breaths were ragged. His muscles burned. But he kept running.
The landscape was an endless expanse of jagged black stone, illuminated by eerie violet light from the swirling sky. There were no trees, no buildings, no signs of civilization—just a vast, nightmarish wasteland.
"Where the hell is this?! This isn't the Tower of Genesis! There's no way!"
His foot suddenly struck something uneven. His body lurched forward.
Before he could react, the ground beneath him disappeared.
Nathan barely had time to let out a yell before gravity betrayed him once again. His body plummeted into a massive pit, swallowed by darkness.
Wind roared past his ears as he fell deeper and deeper. His limbs flailed uselessly, trying to grasp onto something—anything—to break his fall. But there was nothing.
A dull, sickening thud echoed through the cavern as his body crashed onto solid rock. The pain exploded through his back, his head snapped backward, and before he could even let out a sound—
Everything went black.
Nathan's eyelids fluttered open, his vision blurred by a soft golden glow.
For a moment, he thought he was still dreaming—or maybe dead. But as his senses slowly returned, he realized he was lying on the cold, rocky ground inside a massive cavern. A faint light seeped in from cracks in the cave ceiling, casting eerie shadows across the uneven walls.
No aching muscles, no fractured bones, not even a scratch. He vividly remembered crashing onto solid stone after falling from who-knew-how-high, yet he felt perfectly normal—no, even better than before. His body was warm, his mind was alert, and there was this odd, tingling sensation running through his veins.
And then—his skin began to glow.
A golden light radiated from his body, growing brighter by the second. His heartbeat quickened.
"What the hell is this?!"
Before he could panic, a blue window suddenly popped up in front of him, floating midair like a holographic display.
Hi! I'm sorry, but you've been summoned due to a Tower bug.
"...Excuse me, what?"
The text on the floating system window remained motionless, as if completely unfazed by his shock.
You were not supposed to be here. Your summoning was an error caused by an unintended system glitch.
Nathan sat up slowly, his glowing skin beginning to fade back to normal. His mind was racing.
"A... bug? You're telling me this wasn't some grand Awakening or divine selection, but just a damn software error?"
For years, people had dreamed of being chosen by the Tower, gaining powerful abilities, and rising to greatness. He himself had imagined a grand entrance into the Tower of Genesis, where he would receive an overpowered skill and embark on an epic journey.
He got isekai'd by a goddamn coding mistake?!
His face twitched. "So... can I go home?"
The window remained unresponsive for a few seconds before new text appeared.
Processing request...
Nathan's mouth fell open.
Unfortunately, due to the nature of this error, returning to your original location is currently impossible.
His fingers twitched. "...You've gotta be kidding me."
The window flashed again.
As an apology for this inconvenience, you have been granted the unique skill:
[Optimal Devouring] – Allows you to absorb the most useful trait from anything you consume.
Nathan stared at the message for a long moment.
Then, he slowly exhaled.
"...So you're telling me," he muttered, "that I'm stuck here, with no way back, because of a bug... but in return, I got a skill that requires me to eat things?"
The system window didn't respond, as if it had finished its scripted apology.
Nathan ran a hand through his messy hair, letting out a long sigh. "Man... I was just trying to buy some dinner."
He looked around the cavern. No food, no water, no idea where he was.
The only thing he had now... was a system, a skill, and a growing realization that if he wanted to survive, he would have to use them.