Ethan slowly moved his gaze to the left as the tearing and crunching sounds continued, frantically trying to think of his next move. He understood that he was too close to the source for him to turn and run away. The wind could betray his position at any given time, deciding to shift its course toward whatever beast was making munching on its prey.
Please do not be some monster, he thought to himself as he finished turning his head. At first, he saw a small clearing, the tree line he was standing in, ending some five meters away. Then his gaze locked on the gruesome scene taking place further away.
A giant beast, partially hidden in the shadows, was quietly munching on something barely resembling a deer. Ethan had seen wartime planes up close in the museum when he was little, humbled at their size. The beast, however, was on an entirely different scale.
The size of the beast’s enormous head barely registered in his mind as he struggled to accept that something resembling a cat could grow so large. Then, as the creature opened its maw, its size capable of devouring a small mini-van, Ethan suddenly felt very small.
Then came the crunching sound as the beast’s fangs, the width of a telephone pole, bit into its unfortunate prey. They easily tore through whatever pelt, muscle, and bones the deer-like creature had, ripping a chunk out.
Looking at the deer’s neck, Ethan saw a black goo dripping out of the monster's mouth instead of the red blood he expected to see. A foul smell filled the small clearing, hitting Ethan’s nose a second later. As for the monster, Ethan observed that it did not mind much as it continued to munch on its prey, eyes half-closed.
The creature continued enjoying its meal, consuming the deer whole. However, as the seconds moved on, its red eyes popped open as if feeling someone was observing him, locking his gaze with Ethan’s. Then, after a second’s pause, it roared. The sound was so loud that Ethan’s ears popped as birds and other animals took off, making all manner of noises.
Ethan did the only thing that made sense to him as his heart sped up and his back broke in a cold sweat. He turned on his heel and took off running, turning his back to the predator, uncaring for what he had heard on the Discovery channel. His mind was occupied with one thing - getting away fast. The impression of the enormous beast and its maw filled with black blood - still fresh in his mind.
Shit, shit, shit, he thought and continued to run, not daring to look back, keeping his eyes straight ahead. He tore through too many bushes to count, scratching his naked form in various places. The pain from the scratches was not enough to break his primal response of flight. Any fallen trees found in his path were swiftly jumped over, the awkward jiggling of his naked form not slowing him down for a second.
Ethan sprinted at full speed for five minutes, not encountering a soul, likely scared due to the roar of the giant monster near the vicinity, before he stumbled out of the forest. Surprised at the sudden change of scenery, he slipped on a wet patch of grass and fell face-first into the mud. Flopping over, he turned to face the sky and tried to catch his breath. The sprint took more out of him than he initially thought.
Then, he noticed a blinking yellow spot in the left corner of his vision, next to the thin bar of red. Focusing on it, he thought, What the hell? A familiar grey window popped up, promptly providing him with answers.
Health: Full
Stamina: Critically low
Mana: [locked]
“Great, I am a video game character now,” he croaked with a heaving breath, trying to make sense of what the windows meant for his immediate well-being. Well, it makes sense that my stamina is critically low, given how shitty I feel now. Good to know that the thing is accurate, Ethan thought, wishing the window away.
After a moment, when he stopped feeling as if he could throw up, he noticed that the stamina bar in the corner of his vision improved from a blinking spot to a short line.
He slowly got up, looked back to the forest he had rolled out of face first, and listened. No sounds made it out from the tree line, making him think that the beast had not followed him, deeming him unworthy prey to catch, given the colossal deer it had already in its maw.
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Wild tigers the size of an elephant? That can’t be right. Am I tripping? he thought as he turned back to the small clearing, a sizeable dark patch catching his eye where the bushes seemed to part.
With no immediate danger in sight, he crossed the clearing, looking to the sides. He crouched next to the hole in the bushes and carefully parted them, finding a small cave that could barely accommodate him if he crouched down low. “Better than nothing,” he commented dryly, slightly happy about finding a more or less safe place.
He moved into the cave, crouching low and walking with his hand outstretched, hoping any previous residents who might have lived there had long left. Then, after a couple of meters of scraping his back against the wet stone, his hand touched something wooden.
“A door,” he mused, rubbing his hand against the wooden material, trying to find a handle in the darkness. “Why the hell would there be a door in a random cave in the middle of nowhere,” Ethan whispered as his hand found a protrusion on the slightly moist surface.
He pulled the handle, and nothing happened. “Great,” he said, louder than before. Then, trying to push the door, it came open, and he fell face-first on the hard stone floor. It is becoming a thing now, he thought, getting up and rubbing his aching forehead, noticing painful scratches all over his body.
Raising his gaze, he was met by something unexpected. A dim light came from the room's corners as if the rock itself glowed, giving off a yellow hue. Ethan slowly stood up and turned his gaze around to examine the chamber. A worn wooden table sat in the middle of the small room with a couple of simple chairs.
Glancing at the walls, he found several wooden crates in a jumbled mess. He turned to the nearest wall and touched the stone. How did they carve the rock so smoothly, he thought, thinking back to the stone kitchen top he had back home.
Ethan took a couple of steps in and slowly walked around the room, noting that no one was occupying it, likely the space abandoned to time. Then, moving over to one of the crates, he carefully took the worn wooden lid and coughed as a heavy cloud of dust hit his nose.
“God dammit,” he said, coughing and backing away from the cloud he had raised, waiting for it to settle. Once the air was clear, he peeked inside the crate, surprised to see one thing that changed the course of his day - some clothes.
Touching the fabric, he noted that it resembled cotton. The dark grey shirt he had picked up was simple, with no buttons or laces. The craftsmanship left something to be desired and seemed rough compared to the fabrics he was used to, but he took what he was offered and pulled the shirt on, uncaring of how dusty it was.
Looking back in the crate, he noticed a simple pair of pants that he promptly pulled on, both pieces of clothing fitting him loosely. No shoes? he thought, feeling the cold stone floor under his feet, rechecking the crate. But, alas, he was out of luck as the box was empty, with only a layer of dust at the bottom.
Continuing his search, Ethan opened the rest of the crates and noted they were empty; his hope of finding boots squashed. He looked around the room again and saw that it was devoid of anything useful, likely because it was abandoned for longer than he was alive if the thick carpet of dust on the floor was of any indication.
He looked to the corner of the room where the light shone from and moved closer to inspect what it was. If this place has some electricity, then it is my ticket out of here if I can find where the power is coming from. Once at the corner, he saw that the glow was coming off something that looked like a crystal. At a closer inspection, another window popped up offering an explanation.
[Light crystal] (item, unranked, common)
A crystallized source of light.
“What the…” he said, waving at the window next to the crystal. He reached out toward it and tried to pry it off the wall, promptly succeeding. He observed the crystal and noted that it barely weighed anything and did not emit heat. Really, a rock that is glowing? How is that possible? he thought, clutching the item.
He looked around the room and saw that three more such rocks were hidden in the corners of the walls and decided to grab two more, just in case he would need them later on. He put them in his pockets and looked at the desk in the middle of the room.
He walked up to it and decided to check the drawers, pulling one of them. It immediately crumbled under his touch. “Great,” he commented and peered inside the desk, finding it empty. Then, understanding that there were no weapons, food, or other things useful to him in the room, he noticed a door to his left.
With a light source in hand, Ethan went to the second door and observed it. It was made of simple wood, with dark metal bars holding the planks together. Touching it, he noted that it was fully preserved and did not crumble like the desk drawer. How did you not decay over time? he thought and looked back at the desk, noticing he had left the entrance to the room wide open. “We cannot have that, can we,” he said to himself and went to close the smaller door.
Then, he walked back and put his hand on the cold iron handle pulling it, noting that it was unlocked. “What is the worst that could happen?” he asked no one in particular, pulling the larger door open.