The moment Evander’s feet hit the ground on the other side of the city wall, his instincts screamed at him to move. The open space was a threat, the star-lit expanse a stage under an audience of countless celestial bodies. Without wasting another second, he darted into the sanctuary of the nearest forest, its looming shadows a welcome shroud from prying eyes.

The world immediately changed. Gone were the cemented paths and artificial lights, replaced with a carpet of foliage and the deceptive glow of the moon. His footfalls crunched on fallen leaves and twigs, the sound absorbed by the dense thicket, swallowed by the ancient woods. The air was heavy with the scent of damp earth and the perfume of nocturnal blossoms, overlaid with a subtle undertone of decay.

This is more like it, Evander thought, his pulse settling as the urban adrenaline wore off. This is a place where I can move unseen.

As his eyes adapted to the reduced light, the forest unfolded before him, a chiaroscuro tableau etched in silver and shadow. The silhouette of tree trunks stood like the bars of a colossal cage, their bare branches reaching up towards the velvet night, pleading for freedom from terrestrial bonds. Between them, an undergrowth of ferns and bushes swayed gently in the wind, the dark leaves rustling like whispered secrets shared with the moonlit air.

In the distance, an owl hooted, the mournful cry punctuating the symphony of the night. A quiet rustle in the undergrowth suggested the presence of smaller nocturnal creatures, their unseen bodies moving stealthily in search of food or perhaps fleeing from a predator. The forest was alive with subtle sounds, an orchestral performance only heightened by the veil of darkness.

The nocturnal chorus was occasionally disturbed by guttural growls and eerie screams that echoed through the forest. Each one served as a chilling reminder of the monsters that prowled within these woods. Keep your senses sharp, Evander, he cautioned himself, This isn’t a simple nighttime stroll. This is their domain.

The mere thought sent a thrill down his spine. His hand subconsciously drifted to the knife hidden in his belt, its familiar weight providing a sense of reassurance. Fear did not dominate him, instead, it infused him with an intoxicating blend of anticipation and determination.

Once Evander’s eyes had adjusted to the obsidian canvas of the forest night, his movements took on a stealthy, predatory quality. He was like a shadow wraith, blending seamlessly into the blackened world around him. His breaths were slow and controlled, his steps calculated. Every sense was heightened, every nerve alert, attuned to the pulse of the forest.

He moved against the wind, ensuring that his scent was not carried ahead. Despite the darkness, he had a clear mental picture of his location, keeping track of the city wall that lay behind him, his lifeline to the relative safety of civilization. The wild was a maze, and he was both hunter and prey.

As he treaded deeper into the forest, a strange grunting sound reached his ears. The noise was coarse, unrefined, distinctly animalistic. His heart quickened. This is it, Evander, your first encounter, he mentally steeled himself.

Moving towards the sound, he navigated the undergrowth with the grace of a wildcat. Every leaf, every twig was a potential alarm, but he managed to avoid them with a dancer's finesse. The grunting grew louder, more frequent, guiding him like a crude beacon through the sea of darkness.

Finally, he spotted his quarry. Bathed in a stream of pale moonlight that had somehow managed to pierce the dense canopy, a large pig-like creature snorted gleefully, oblivious to the predator lurking in the shadows. It was gnawing at something near the base of a tree, lost in its gluttonous delight.

Evander took a moment to observe it. He assessed its size, its movements, its behaviour. He noted the thick hide, the strong muscular build, the sharp tusks.

With one last deep breath, he launched himself at the creature. The world seemed to slow down as he leaped towards the unsuspecting beast, his inscribed knife glinting ominously in the moonlight. There was no room for doubt, no second for hesitation. His heart pounded in his chest, its drumming rhythm matching the cadence of his leap. He aimed for the base of the creature’s skull, right where the spinal column connected to the brain - a swift, merciful kill.

His knife found its mark, sinking deep into the beast's flesh. The creature let out a choked grunt before falling silent, collapsing onto the forest floor. It was a clean, instant kill. The forest returned to its nocturnal symphony, barely missing a beat.

Without wasting a moment, he got to work extracting the magical core he knew resided within the creature. He delved his hand into the warmth of the creature’s body, his fingers closing around a small, hard object lodged near the base of its brain. As he pulled out the magical stone core, a triumphant smile tugged at the corners of his lips.

With the magical core safely stowed away in his backpack, Evander paused a moment to glance back at the slain beast. The thought of leaving the remains behind without making full use of it seemed like a waste, but his current situation allowed no other choice. A sigh escaped him, barely a whisper against the rustling leaves of the forest.

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Tapping into his internal space, he found the tangible form of experience gained from his recent kill. Redirecting this experience into the reservoir of his strength, he could almost feel his muscles responding, becoming just a bit more defined, a bit stronger. His current stats flickered across his mind: Strength 0.95, Dexterity 0.6, Stamina 0.4, Intelligence 1.2.

With a renewed sense of purpose, Evander moved deeper into the night-shrouded forest, his senses hyper-aware, body primed for the challenges that lay ahead. The forest seemed to awaken around him, full of concealed creatures that lurked in the obscurity of the undergrowth.

He crossed paths with a host of unusual fauna as the night wore on. There were Glimmer Moths, creatures the size of small birds that emanated a soft, phosphorescent glow. Their wings were delicate like parchment, adorned with a mesmerizing mosaic of patterns. Though beautiful, they were venomous, their dust capable of inducing a paralysis that was deadly to most predators. But Evander was swift, he struck fast, extracting their cores before the toxins could affect him.

There were Thornbacks, reptilian creatures that bore a striking resemblance to turtles but with spiked shells and sharper claws. They were slow but heavily armoured. The first time he encountered one, his knife barely made a scratch on its shell. It took some quick thinking and acrobatics to flip it and strike the vulnerable underbelly.

With every kill, every extraction, he gained more experience, learning and adapting on the fly. He discovered that his Strength attribute rose steadily, and his movements became more fluid, more precise, enhancing his Dexterity. He could feel the increase in his Stamina too, his recovery times decreasing, his endurance climbing.

Evander's decision to return home was abruptly interrupted as an invisible prickle trailed down his spine. A sudden shift in the air, a slight rustling from behind him, and the wilderness around him seemed to hold its breath. His instincts were screaming at him: danger!

Emerging from the inky curtain of darkness came a pack of creatures that seemed to be stitched together from nightmares. They were vaguely feline, their lithe bodies held low to the ground as they stalked forward, their eyes glowing like pairs of emerald orbs. They had elongated fangs that seemed to glint eerily, and claws that dug into the earth like miniature daggers.

This isn't good, Evander thought, reaching for his backpack and pulling out his firearm. He felt the cool, familiar grip in his hand, the magical inscriptions on its surface pulsating with latent energy.

The creatures seemed to taste his scent in the air, their noses twitching, their eyes narrowing. And then they sprang. It was like a wave of shadow and teeth rushing towards him, a living nightmare in the heart of the wilderness.

Evander fired the first shot. The spell-infused round blazed through the night, a comet of destruction that found its target. One of the beasts yelped and was thrown back, its body arching in the air before thudding into the underbrush. Yet the pack did not falter. They continued their assault with a renewed ferocity.

Move! His mind commanded, and he obeyed. He weaved between the trees, his feet barely touching the ground as he tried to put distance between him and his assailants. His gun barked in his hand, the magical rounds searing the air as they sought their targets.

The night was filled with the deadly dance of predator and prey. The haunting cries of the feline creatures were punctuated by the ear-splitting crack of his firearm. It was a macabre symphony of survival.

Evander felt a hot streak of pain as one of the beasts managed to rake its claws across his arm. But he retaliated with a swift roundhouse kick that sent it sprawling. Gritting his teeth, he quickly took aim and shot, the magical round turning the beast into a fireball.

He found himself backed against a giant tree, his breaths ragged and quick. But there was no time to dwell on pain. He spotted a few more of the creatures, circling him, their eyes glinting ominously.

Panting, he steadied his grip on his weapon, sweat sliding down his forehead and stinging his eyes. Stay focused, Evander. One shot, one kill. That's the only way out of this.

The beasts charged, a blur of muscle and fangs. Evander emptied his firearm into the onslaught, each pull of the trigger sending a spell-infused bullet that tore through flesh and bone.

The battle seemed to stretch into eternity, each second a confrontation between life and death. But eventually, the growls and snarls of the creatures died down, replaced by the heavy silence of the forest.

With the last of his strength, Evander pushed himself off the tree trunk, his breathing labored. His eyes scanned the area, spotting the fallen bodies of the beasts.

Underneath the hazy veil of pain, Evander's mind was still sharp, remembering the trove of curative potions he'd discovered in the delivery system back home. He rummaged through his bag, fingers clinking against the glass vials before they clasped around the one he needed. The liquid within was a vibrant green, shimmering like an emerald under the meager moonlight that filtered through the thick canopy of trees.

It looked innocuous, and yet, the instructions were explicit. He was to apply it directly to his wound and then consume the rest. His brow furrowed at the seemingly illogical directive, but he was in no position to argue.

The sensation of the potion on his raw wound was a strange, chilling contrast to the fiery agony that he'd been bearing. But it was the act of drinking the rest that truly challenged him. As the liquid slid down his throat, it was a horrific symphony of revolting flavors, something akin to raw garlic drowned in a sea of expired milk. His stomach churned, and a wave of nausea threatened to empty its contents. Hold it together, he silently urged himself, clenching his fists as he forced his gag reflex into submission.

By the time the retching subsided, he found himself in the relative quiet of the aftermath, his breathing steadying slowly. The potion, despite its horrifying taste, seemed to be working. The throbbing pain was slowly subsiding, replaced by a dull ache.

Evander turned his attention to the creatures, pulling the cores from their lifeless forms. He felt the familiar tug of experience filling him, yet there was a bittersweet note to it. This was no easy victory, and each core was a grim reminder of that.

With each extracted core and each passing minute, the realization of his time constraint was slowly sinking in. The journey back, the swim through the bay, it would be impossible to accomplish before dawn. His plan had not accounted for a lengthy battle or the time it would take to extract the cores.

Well, there's no helping it now, he thought resignedly.