The wind whistled and howled as the sky approaches its twilight.

With my back against a tree and my right arm still bleeding, I stood before ten wolves with razor-edged fangs.

Thankfully, my HP wasn't dropping uncontrollably as usual, making it easier for me to focus more on the battle against the wolves.

"F*** it. I can't believe Jasmine lied to me," I fumed in rage.

*Growl!*

[Wolf: Level 2.]

[HP: 20/20.]

One of the wolves growled a lot louder than the others, taking the lead to close the distance between us.

While feeling lethargic, I sluggishly assumed a battle stance.

It appears the wolf could see how exhausted I was because it howled and rushed towards me with its claws ferociously extended and its fangs, baring in full display.

Unlike the impatient previous me of a few days ago, my experience point had increased significantly more now.

It had gone beyond three hundred point range in the last few hours I had been grinding both kobolds and goblins.

This means now I have a stat point for the first time.

Good for me.

I had been extra cautious in battling against the monsters due to my injuries.

My current targets were wolves and, just like the kobolds, they were also level 2.

The only major difference between the two was the fact that the kobolds were a lot more nimble than the wolves.

The leaping wolf aimed for my solar plexus, but I deftly reacted with a fierce plunge of my sword straight to the wolf's cranium.

*Squelch*

The sword penetrated deep into its skull with a squelching sound, releasing a ton of crimson liquid from the wolf's mouth and eyes.

Instantly, the wolf's movement halted, it howled in despair but quietened down almost instantaneously.

-20

It was dead.

[Ding!! Dead!! Target was jabbed to death. You have killed a wolf. 20 damage was inflicted on Target's HP. Dropped item: 5 gold coins. You have gained 10 exp.]

Some wolves drop wolf pelts, others drop a wolf fang or a claw, while a few of them drop gold coins.

I noticed the experience points gained from level 2 beasts were similar to that released by a level 1 player.

Whereas, the goblins only provided me with five experience points since they were level 1 monsters.

I glanced towards my health bar once again.

[HP: 7/10.]

'Good. I still have plenty of points left,'

My actions and timing have been a lot more calculative than before.

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It could almost be described as absolute.

Surprisingly, I am currently fighting a lot better today than I did a few days ago.

It feels surreal but amazing as well.

Maybe it's due to my experience point, or it might be proof of my hand-to-hand combat skill proficiency improving.

Either way, my movement seems to be more thought-out now.

The remaining wolves dashed forward as well.

With swift and precise movement, I handled all nine wolves easily on my own.

Thwacking and prodding every single vital organ of the wolves until I was the only one left standing and drenched in blood.

Of course, the blood belonged to the deceased wolves.

My hand and sword are now tinged with the blood of the wolves as well, dripping and plopping on the grass blade.

The queasy smell of iron filled the surrounding air.

Looking at the blade I held in my hand, it felt heavier than before.

I felt exhausted, and my stamina felt drained, but I was still standing purely on the thought of seeing my loved ones again.

The heavy sword I held dropped from my hand and vanishes into thin air.

Its durability had reached zero, hence why it vanished before contacting the ground…

Crafted weapons could never last long in this game.

It was the same sword Jasmine crafted for me. Before now, I used it against the goblins and kobolds I fought against all day for the past nine hours, so it's understandable why the sword vanished.

After all, it had several cracks already.

*Clap* *Clap*

Jasmine appears in front of me, clapping her hands with a grin.

"I knew it. I told you, you could do it," She walks closer to me with her hands clamped behind her back.

" I knew you could handle all those wolves on your own,"

" You knew?" I asked, annoyed to hear those words uttering out from her lips… "I almost died just now,"

"But you didn't,"

"And what if I did? What were you going to do, huh? Would you bring me back to life?" I stumped towards her in rage.

"....."

"Ugh!! That's it. The deal is off. I'll try getting the potions on my own. You can look for another loser to partner up with you. Good luck lasting more than a week together,"

"Where are you going?"

"Away from you!" I retorted. " Anywhere else is better than where you are. You're insane! Who partners up with someone in a game filled with killers and murderers in the first place?"

"...."

"Moreover, how can you call this a partnership when you always abandon me to handle the monsters on my own,"

" I was only trying to help you,"

"Help? You call that helping?"

Whenever we entered a cave filled with kobolds, the plan was always the same.

It was simple and direct.

Provoke the kobolds, draw them out of the cave, then ambush them with a surprise attack.

But rather of it being a collaborative effort, it turns out I'm the one doing all the work.

Still, the plan worked, but I'm the one always left alone to handle the kobolds on my own.

It wasn't easy doing this, especially with one hand bandaged in a sling and another barely able to handle a sword properly.

Then, we shifted our target toward wolves.

Just like the kobolds, the wolves move in a pack with five wolves in it.

We used the same strategy as for the kobolds, but rather than staying behind me, she always provokes other packs of wolves and brings them to me while I'm still preoccupied with facing a current pack.

And the funny thing is that she takes it as being fun to do all this.

But now, she's crossed the line, and I'm fed up with it.

Is this what she meant by allying?

If so, then I've had enough of this.

"I don't know about you, but I've got a mom and a sister who means the world to me, and I'm not going to spend the remaining 95 days risking my life for no apparent reason with you,"

"But we're here to have fun,"

"That's precisely my point!! People are dying and yet, you call this fun!! You're no different from the crazed elves who are just using this game as an excuse to satisfy their insane lust for bloodshed,"

"What?"

"You know what? I think you've got no one missing you back home, so you've created some kind of messed up idea in your head that this d.e.a.t.h game is a fun place for you to escape your messed up reality back home,"

"What?!" She exclaimed, her voice trembling this time around.

"I appreciate all you've done for me. Sincerely, I do, but I'll take my chances elsewhere. This isn't a game you play in an arcade. The players here are real people and if you can't see that, then you're just a sicko who loves to torment people before killing them. Who knows? Maybe that's what got you incarcerated in the first place,"

I added. "I won't be surprised if you were the one who got your sister killed as well,"

"Take that back,"

"Oh! I struck a nerve, didn't I?"

"Take it back." She repeated.

"No, I won't,"

Then a sword materializes before her.

She tossed it towards me.

"Pick it up,"

"Why?" I asked, but Jasmine crafted a new sword for herself.

"Take it now,"

"And what if I don't?"

"Then I'm going to kill you," She muttered.

________

The total number of players currently in the game: 78,362.

The number of deceased players: 98.

The total number of deceased players: 1,638.