Astrid regained consciousness. The bed under her was soft, but at first she had no recollection of going to sleep the night before. Then the memories of the previous day rushed over her like a tidal wave. She had almost died. Just to be sure there was no lasting damage, she pulled up her stats.

Health: 12/12

Stamina: 20/20

Mana: 10/10

Focus: 10/10

Spirit: 12/12

Relief filled her as she saw everything back at full capacity, and her health had also increased several points. So had her spirit.

She got out of bed and found that the cloak she was still wearing had been cleaned and repaired while she slept. Her dress, however, had not. Four jagged lines spanned most of the front, where the wolf’s claws had ripped through the fabric, now stained red with her own blood. There was no way for Astrid to mend the dress or even wash it, but since she had no others, she had to keep using this one.

The smell of food alerted her to the plate on the side table next to the bed. Sham must have left it there for her, since he was the only one who knew she was here. Maybe she was the only one who knew she existed. Had he been the one who put her to bed and healed her as well?

Deciding not to think any more about it, she grabbed the plate and took a bite. Once she was done, she would have to continue the quest Sham had given her, so she took her time. She was in no hurry to get mauled by monsters again. However, sooner than she liked, the plate was empty, and she had no more excuses to delay.

Outside, the sun had just started to rise, and the grass was wet from the morning dew.

Astrid made herself invisible and scanned the periphery of the barrier for an easy target. Another rabbit monster jumped around on its own, just outside the protective wall. Her new level in monster-slaying gave her the ability to identify it as a humongous hare in level one. Apparently, whoever named these monsters couldn’t tell a rabbit from a hare. The tips of its ears weren’t even black but the same light brown color as the rest of the creature.

Since she had made quick work of one yesterday, it would be a good place to start. She crouched low as she pulled her dagger free of the belt and took a step forward. This would all fail if she made any sound that alerted the monster to her presence, so each step was placed with great care, and her breath kept slow and even.

It was difficult to sneak up on a monster jumping around, and it took a while before she got into a position where she could carry out her attack. She tightened the grip on the dagger and sprang forward, plunging the blade deep into the back of the unsuspecting monster. It fell to the ground, dead.

Astrid received several notifications while retrieving her dagger from the carcass. However, she wasn’t going to make the same mistake she had made yesterday. After all, it had almost cost her her life. This time, she waited until she was safely inside the barrier before reading them. It only took her a moment to get there, as she hadn’t ventured far. The first notification alerted her to a new skill.

You have unlocked the stealth skill

Stealth is level 1 of 10

You now have the ability to move silently when focusing

Astrid wasn’t sure how she felt about this new skill. Sure, it was useful for her current situation, but it sounded suspicious. A skill gained from sneaking around would make other people wary of her if they found out. However, there was no way to get rid of an unlocked skill, so it would be a problem for her future self to deal with. At that moment, she had another message to read.

Quest update

You are surrounded by monsters and must fight your way out

Objective: defeat monsters 2 of 10

Reward: 10 large coppers

Astrid sighed. Had she really only killed two monsters? It felt like a lot more. At this rate, it would take her forever to finish the quest. She just wanted it to be over already.

Scanning her surroundings again for another easy target proved futile. No more humongous hares jumped around in the area. Instead, her gaze fell on a gray cat lying on a tree stump. This monster was called a ferocious feline and was also in level one, so it shouldn’t be too hard to slay. It was sleeping, and much smaller than the other monsters around.

After reapplying her invisibility, she left the barrier. Her new stealth skill gave her an instinctive idea of where she could step and not make any sounds, but it did slowly drain her focus.

The distance to the stump was cleared in no time. She raised the dagger and slammed it down, only for it to strike the wood where the cat had just been.

Where did it go? Astrid thought, glancing in every direction, desperately searching for the monster.

A sharp pain erupted on her shoulder, and she swung the dagger, hoping to land a hit on her attacker. The cat hissed, showing off a dozen sharp teeth that looked way too big for its mouth. Astrid attacked again, but the cat dodged to the side, so she only managed to graze its skin. The cat wasted no time before retaliating, and Astrid barely managed to avoid having her eye gouged out by claws as large and sharp as her dagger. This monster was fast, and if it hadn’t been for her level two running skill, she wouldn’t be fast enough to keep up.

Jumping back, she narrowly dodged the monster’s claws. Before it had a chance to attack again, Astrid pushed the dagger forward, stabbing the blade deep into the monster. It recoiled with a hiss, sending spit flying from between its oversized teeth. Then it leaped forward. Astrid lifted her arms up to protect her face, and the cat bit down on her hand with crunching force.

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"AAAH!” she screamed, shaking her arm, trying to dislodge the monster, but to no avail. Then she attempted to stab it, but the monster swiped the dagger away every time it got too close. At this rate, it was more likely her own arm would be stabbed. There had to be a way to get off the monster without losing a limb in the process. Then an idea came to mind.

With as much force as she could muster, she swung her arm and the monster into a tree. The impact sent shockwaves through her entire body, but the cat finally released its grasp and fell to the ground. To ensure it was not getting back up for a rematch, Astrid stabbed it in the chest until a message popped up. She didn’t bother to read it, as she knew what it would say.

Three monsters down, seven more to go.

This had to be excitement enough for one day, so she returned her dagger to its sheath and walked back towards the barrier. Her wounds needed treatment before they became infected, but she wasn't sure how without water, medicine, or any experience tending to wounds. The injury from yesterday had already been fixed when she woke up.

A weird grunting sound behind her made her turn around. A boar scraped at the ground just a few feet away, and its large tusk pointed right at her. Its eyes glowed with anger.

Without her ability to appraise monsters, she would have thought this was a regular wild boar. Most low-level monsters looked very similar to normal animals, so it could be difficult to tell them apart at first glance. Often, the only difference was that monsters were bigger, faster, or stronger. She identified this one as a beastly boar. Like the other monsters this one was level one too.

Astrid stood completely still, hoping the monster would disappear into the bushes again. It kept grunting and scraping at the ground, slowly stepping closer to her. She took a step backwards, and in that moment, the boar decided to charge. It moved fast, and Astrid had to dodge sideways to avoid getting speared by the tusks. Fighting this thing directly would end badly, so she set off towards the barrier at full speed. Her running skill allowed her to outpace most level-one monsters, but the boar proved to be the exception. Just before the monster reached her, she made a sharp turn, hoping the boar wasn’t as agile. It had, after all, worked for her last time monsters chased her. This time too, it bought her a few seconds, but the boar was already gaining on her again, and she was no longer headed towards the barrier.

Just before the boar got her, she jumped and grabbed onto a tree branch, pulling herself up and out of the boar’s path, and it charged right into the tree. Astrid tried to climb higher up the tree, but her injured arm, injured by several cat bites, gave out. The dazed bear cushioned her fall. Not wanting to give the monster time to recover, she stabbed it in the throat. It let out an anguished whine and began thrashing. Astrid wouldn’t be able to hold on for long, so she quickly stabbed it a few more times until it stopped moving.

On shaking legs, she stumbled off the monster's body, feeling lightheaded from the adrenalin rush. Her breath was labored, and her clothes were soaked in fresh blood. The feeling of it seeping through the fabric almost made her gag.

Ignoring the system message, she instead scanned her surroundings for threats. Her eyes widened as she spotted the two wolves walking towards her. Level two wolf-beast. That’s what her ability identified them as. With her current skill she didn’t stand a chance against that.

The barrier was still far away, so it was impossible to make it there in time. Since the wolves had been spotted, they gave up on their sneak attack and pounced. With nowhere else to go, Astrid used all her strength to pull herself back up on the tree branch. Her arm throbbed at the effort, but at least the wolves couldn’t get to her up here. They still tried, though, jumping and snapping at her feet, so she climbed to ensure she was out of reach.

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Hours passed, and still the wolf-beasts circled the tree tirelessly. Astrid didn’t know how much longer she could stay in the tree. Hunger and thirst plagued her, and the branch made her backside hurt.

Still, waiting them out was the only thing she could do. They were much too strong for her to fight, and she couldn’t outrun them either. Besides, eventually they would get tired and leave. At least that’s what she tried to convince herself of, but it was getting harder by the moment. Hot tears burned in her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. This was not the time to cry.

To get an idea of how much longer she could last, she checked her stats. Her health was recovering, but most of her other health stats were slowly being drained. It took a lot of stamina and focus to maintain her balance, and at this rate, she would run out before nightfall. Those thoughts only made her spirit drain faster. She shook her head to clear it. Despair wasn’t going to help her. She had to come up with a plan that could get her out of this situation.

Maybe the god of Deception would help her? It was after all his fault she was in this situation to begin with, and he had said she could ask. She discarded the thought immediately. Begging for his help would be mortifying, and he would likely deceive her in some way. He could not be trusted.

She glared angrily at the wolves below, who snarled back, baring their large, sharp fangs. The images of the gruesome fate of her family returned. Her resolve crumbled, and she swallowed her pride.

"Sham, if you can hear me, please help.” She waited several moments, but nothing happened. The disappointment was soul-crushing. This had been her last hope, and now she had no options left. Despite her best efforts, she would still end up dying alone in the forest. What had she done to deserve this fate?

A hiss caught her attention, yanking her out of her thoughts. As she saw the source of the sound, she froze in place. A snake, or more accurately, a venomous viper in level one. Vibrantly colored scales glistened in the sunshine that managed to get through the tree canopy, and large fangs dripped venom that sizzled and smoked as it hit the branch. It stared at her, ready to strike.

Where did that come from? Astrid thought as she slowly pulled her dagger from its sheath. She had barely gotten it out when the snake struck. Only her quick reflexes saved her from getting bitten as the snake’s fangs sank into the branch where her leg had just been.

Astrid scrambled to her feet, almost losing her balance in the process. The snake tried to wiggle its fangs free again, so now was her time to stab it, but she couldn’t will herself to do it. The short blade she wielded would force her hand far closer to the snake than she dared. Without an antidote, a single bite from this monster would be fatal.

Instead, she grabbed onto a branch above her and strained to pull herself out of harm’s way. Her wounds ached, and the strain made her arm muscles burn in protest. They threatened to give out at any moment, and still, she couldn’t pull her body up. The snake got free and launched a new assault at her dangling legs. She swung them violently, trying to keep them out of the snake’s reach. Somehow, a kick landed, and the snake flew off the branch.

Astrid let out a relieved sigh and carefully lowered herself back on the branch before collapsing against the trunk. Her heart hammered in her chest as she tried to regain her breath.

Below, a pained howl sounded, followed by growls and hisses. Astrid could barely make out what was happening below her, but it looked like a fight had broken out between the wolves and the snake.

Too exhausted to do anything other than rest, she tuned out the spectacle. Time passed in a blur until a message appeared. Opening it revealed a quest update, which was strange. She only had one ongoing quest, and it involved fighting monsters and not hiding in a tree. Did the snake she kicked count as a slayed monster? If so, she wasn’t going to complain about it. However, she didn’t dare go down and investigate.

She had just started to relax again when whines filled the air. It sounded different than the growls and howls she had grown accustomed to.

What now? she thought, glancing down. The wolf-beasts looked miserable. They lay on the ground, breathing hard, with blood leaking from their gums and eyes.

This could be her best chance to get away from the tree and back inside the barrier. Her health was fine, although her shoulder still ached. If she waited too long, she risked something worse coming by.

She imagined herself becoming invisible to the monsters. The finer details of the cloak’s abilities and limitations were still unclear, but she knew it had worked when she felt shivers running through her body. Quietly, she climbed down, worried that any sound she made would give her away to the monsters. Maybe that was why the invisibility occasionally failed.

She stepped down on the ground, just feet from where the wolves lay. Either they hadn’t heard her, or they were too weak to care. The barrier was close, and she set off towards it but then stopped. The two wolves behind her were the biggest threats around here, and they had murdered her family. In their current state, they couldn’t fight back, which meant if she was ever going to kill them, it had to be now. In a few hours, they would either be dead or recovered. The latter was unacceptable.

A level-two monster was, after all, still twice as strong as her. How had they even ended up in this state to begin with? Her best guess was that the snake had bitten them before it died.

Serves them right. A rage like she’d never felt before ignited inside her, fueled by her grief and despair. In a moment, it had burned away any trace of the terror, leaving nothing behind but her hatred for these monsters. She was going to slay the wolf-beasts.