Chapter 2 • Fighting to survive
Moses woke up from a roar the shook the sky. He shot up into a sitting position. He facepalmed onto the interior cave ceiling.
Ouch..he rubbed his forehead. It took a few seconds for his brain to realize that the roar was far away from where he was.
Moose shuddered at the familiarity that he felt. It was a big chance that it was a gigantic demon bear he saw before. He felt bad for the prey it had encountered.
The fear in Moose's eyes turned into resolve. He was afraid, and he would turn that fear into strength. He would become the predator, not the other way around.
It had barely been more than two days, but his mindset had changed dramatically. This world was...dangerous.
The world described in novels were a fantasy. Protagonists that became extremely strong by going into the woods, killing beasts like harvesting wheat?
No, Moses had realized that there was a reason that cultivators went in groups when they returned into the woods. There was a reason that beasts were feared.
There was a reason why most people stayed inside their sects, only fighting weaker opponents than themselves. Beasts were savage and most of all, they saw you like food...
Moose had no supplies at the moment. He felt weak and was probably sick as well.
There was no hope in cultivating, His hope was to level up and escape the woods. But the problem remained...he didn't know where he was. What if he went deeper into the woods? Then death would be a certainty, he didn't think he would be able to defeat even the weakest demon beast.
He had to get strong enough to kill a demon beast, only then could he embark on the path to cultivation.
Moose brought his ax and readied himself. The area outside the cave was empty. He walked through the forest once again. Beasts attacked him from time to time, but nothing stronger than the panther that he had fought last time.
His arm was unusable for the moment. There was to much searing pain. Moose stopped in his trek as he heard distant voices close by. Cultivators. He didn't know if they were friendly or not, but he had to take the chance.
He slowly walked out from the bushes, with his hands in the air saying," Hey, everyone!" he didn't know what to say. Moose had never been in this kind of situation, neither was he a natural in terms of socializing. There was a reason he was a loner and a gamer in his past life.
As he came out from the bushes, his eyes caught sight of a familiar face in the group. Fuck. It was Jason, a bully from one of the memories.
He had once beaten Kain blue and yellow. The disciples were shocked to see Moose. His appearance was rather savage. The clothes were dirty and badly damaged.
Wounds covered his whole body, some mild some severe. His arm could be described in only one word: mangled.
Coupled with Moose's unkempt hair and pale skin from blood loss made him look like a wreck. The boy named Jason laughed. He was dressed in a white robe and had a steel sword stepped to his wast.
His eyes squinted, and he flashed an evil smile. Jason was a bit shocked himself Moose's current appearance, but he was happy nonetheless to see him here.
" Well, if it ain't Mr. Kain...?" Jason said slowly and brought out his sword from his scabbard. Kain had been an eyesore in Jason's eyes far too long. He was going to end him.
He is going to try to kill me... Moose feigned that he was afraid. He wouldn't have a chance if Jason activated his martial spirit.
Jason laughed even more and walked forward. He brought up his sword and said," Any last words?" The sword shimmered in the light that peeked through the thick treetops. Moose stammered and said," N-no...dodon't kill me."
That fear brought an even bigger smile to his lips. A fallen talent? He was just trash from the beginning. He was just trash that was betrothed to a swan whilst being an ugly duck himself.
The goodness in his life didn't love Jason back. He hated Moose for that and everyone that she had paid the slightest attention to would face his wrath. He didn't need his martial spirit for trash like that.
Just a Jason was enjoying the pure joy he was experiencing, Moose suddenly made a move. Before Jason had even reacted, he had swung his ax aiming for he's the neck. Jason's head separated from his body and flew in the air before falling on the ground...
Thump..thump...thump...
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Level up!
2 stat points
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The two other disciple's smiles had vanished. They were just lackeys to Jason. They were weak compared to Jason, and they enjoyed the suffering of others.
Moose felt a bit sick for killing a human for the first time, but somehow it didn't affect him at much as he thought I would. He had already grown accustomed to carnage.
His eyes zoned in on the other disciples. Moose quickly added all his stat points to agility. The added agility Increases his speed by a large margin.
With push a propelled himself forward and struck the first guy in the head before had the time activate his martial spirit: splitting his head into two halves. Brain matter splashed on both of them.
The last cultivator had snapped out from his surprise and fear. He activated his martial spirit. A large monkey made of stone appeared above him. His whole body became a size bigger, and gray veins appeared on his arms
Now empowered by his martial spirit, he unleashed a punch that landed on Moose's chest. The punch sent him straight into a thick tree.
Baam.
Moose coughed up blood and a piece of brain matter that he had accidentally swallowed when the second's disciple's head exploded... He spits it out in disgust, holding in the reflex to puke, and rose up from the ground.
With a spin, Moose dodged the second round of punches. The other cultivation snapped them in half with a right hook. If he hadn't added points to agility, he would have been dead by now.
Crack.
Moose was shocked. But in the end, even if his opponent was stronger and he was heavily injured. He knew that he would win because Moose was faster and more experienced.
His opponent was only someone who had cultivated in peace. Other than his martial spirit, nothing about him was remarkable.
Mose finally got behind the cultivator and slashed at his back. His ax made an inch deep wound. The young man tried to retaliate in vain by turning around, but was to late, as Mose had moved once again.
From the enemy's blind spot, he made a diagonal cleave, finishing his opponent by decapitation.
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Level up!
+2 stat points
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Level 10 achieved
+ random skill
This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.
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Mose felt like he was on the brink of death as he fell to his knees. An eerie voice appeared behind him and pushed a green pill into his mouth," What a good flower... HiiihihihiHi...I'll take him with me."
That was the last thing he remembered before everything became black.
He woke up lying on the ground. It took a few seconds for the synapses to transfer the images from his eyes to the brain. Where was he now? Moose was in a cell of some sort. He had shackles made from metal that bound him. They somehow sapped him of strength.
" You awake?" A middle-aged man flashed an evil smile and said," Good..you should feel lucky, you are now the lowest of slaves. The amusements of others...
" Who-whaat" Mose was groggy from just waking up. But from what the man had said and from what he could remember, he was pretty sure he was going to die. Was he saved by the one with scary voice?
What did that voice mean by seedling?
" Hahaha!" The man laughed even more," I'm not sure why you were chosen, but I'll give you an advice: last 3 rounds and you this might turn into a fortunate encounter instead."
There was a pause as the man looked at the injures boy" What a pity for a mortal..." he thought to himself.
The man continued and said," Tomorrow morning your match will begin...here!" he picked up something from his pocket and threw Moose," You need to be in optimal condition, so eat this..."
Moore caught the object. It was a pill, and he could feel the healing properties that radiated from it. He threw the pill into his mouth and swallowed it. He could instantly feel his limbs regenerate at super speed.
" By the way...you shouldn't even think about escaping"" the middle-aged man said in a low, threatening voice and snapped with his tumb.
A man clad in black clothes from top to toe appears though the shadows. He opened one of his eyes and sent a glare at Moses that made him suffocate.
After a few seconds that felt more like minutes, the man disappeared into the shadows again.
Moose gasped for air. Where the Fuck was he? He had escaped from the brink of death only to land in the middle of a wolf den. His intuition only told him that this was only the beginning.
Remembering that the last level-up reward -.the 2 stat points and one random skill - brought a smile to him.
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Want to generate a random skill?
Accept/decline?...
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He pressed accept.
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Generating...
Battle addict (*4) passive
Description: you learn skills and techniques quickly through combat.
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That's good...but it won't help me at the moment. He didn't dare to add attributes to the intelligence and wisdom since he still didn't know if they would be useful before the battle.
Moose calmed down and tried to focus. He tries to focus. Either agility, vitality, or strength.
He didn't know what was awaiting him. His intuition told him that it would be grim. Wha's best for survival? He had already put 4 stat points into agility, so he decided to increase his strength by 2.
Alone and cold, Moose waited in the cell. He didn't know what he should expect, but he was scared once again. He blamed himself for being overly stupid and overly confident. But...self-blame wouldn't get him far...
The next day he opened his eyes. He was determined to get through this no matter what. He would fight. Moose would survive. He wouldn't give up!
Two guards opened the cell door and dragged him through a dark corridor. He was blinded by the light as they dragged him out into an enormous arena. The floor was made of sand.
There was a chair in the middle of the room. They strapped him onto the chair. It was made of the same metal as the shackles, and he felt powerless once again, which made him unable to lift even a finger.
" Ahem," A childish voice broke the silence," So, begins the last round of the betting round."
" This baby boy was found in the outer parts of the Forest of Death. He was gravely injured but managed to kill 3 cultivators at the 4th, 3th and 2nd body refinement stage while being a mortal.." the voice explained before continuing," Any question?
" Humph, Mortal? I could rip apart demon beasts with my bare hands when I was 5 years old? How can we enjoy ourself if the battles are on such a low level?" an aged voice asked in a rude tone.
Senior Blood Asura, don't you know that all the geniuses the company had gathered were intercepted by the collateral effort of the 3 super righteous sects? Haven't you noticed the drop of talent in this gathering yet?"
Another sharp voice replied," Are you an idiot? And of course, you could kill demon beast with your bloodli--"
" Idiot?" Blood Asura intercepted the other voice," You fucking old hag, I was complaining about the quality of the amusement...Remember that time I beat you up 400 years ago? You begged to die mercy at that time!"
More and more voices began to add their opinions, and it soon became a heated discussion.
" Seniors, seniors!" the childish voice pleaded out," Please just finish the last betting round so that we can finish.
It took a few minutes for everyone to calm down. A few seniors had almost wages war against each other because of anger.
" Alright, let me continue telling about the goods..." the voice said before appearing in front of Moose. The wielder of the voice came from a maiden that looked like she was at the age of 16-17.
She was dressed in a black robe. Her eyes were likewise black in color with white irises, which shocked Moose. He had never seen such eyes before.
The maiden raised her hand, and a black spark flew out from her index finger. It burnt Moose clothes to ash. He became butt-naked. He felt extremely vulnerable as he felt several eyes zone into him.
They began a discussion and made several guesses on why he had such a large amount of strength for being a mortal.
Moose was humiliated. He couldn't see them, but he could hear them. He was like an insect to them.
He sat on the chair for a very long period of time. He was furious. He was so helpless that tears ran down his cheek. He couldn't get his arms to move due to the mystical energy to bound him, so he couldn't wipe them away.
Tears rolled down his naked body until they dropped in the floor. Seeing the suffering, the boy was experiencing, the seniors have had no chance of emotion. Some even found amusement in watching him suffer. Most were indifferent.
The maiden that had burnt his clothes flashed devilishly smile and continued," All right, we don't have all day. He shall face 3 challenges, if won, he shall be auctioned to the highest bidder as usual..."
" He shall face two demon beasts at the same time" she finished with before vanishing away.
" I bet 100 000 stones that he will win," said a voice Moose hadn't heard before.
"Humph, you think he will win.. I counter your bet with 100 000 coins that h will loose!" another one said proudly.
"100 000 for a victory, let's go for the dark horse."
All the seniors made their bets, and the stool that Moose sat on disappeared. He found that a simple steel ax had appeared in his right hand.
Two doors opened on each side, and a golden panther came from each of the doors. They were two meters in length, with a halt claw half the size of kitchen knives.
"Fuck..fuck..fuck.." Mose tried to calm down. He wiped the tears from his eyes. He tried to focus.
The panthers slowly circles around him. The first panther pounced. It was quicker than lightning and flashed by him. He pushed away from the ground. Due to being full of emotions, he slipped and didn't get far away enough.
A swipe from one of the data struck his face on the left side. Blood splashed the ground. Moose got up, and jumped once more, avoiding one of the cats. He could no longer see with his left eye. Arggghhh Fuck it hurts!
His pulse was in 180 as the next couple of minutes, dodging was all he could do. Moose deflected a panther's attack and spun around slashing the side of the panther in retaliation. He masses a deep cut its side.
While he was occupied defending the first panther, the second one ambushed him. The second panther's fangs ripped his back.
Moose screamed in pain and spun around and made an overhead swing that maimed the cat's left eye. Revenge.
He couldn't rely on his vision anymore. They had begun to use his blind spot: his left side.
The cats retreated and began to gather qi. They shot out a large wind blade. Moose's two passives had made him a fast learner and gave him a keen sense in battle.
Moose felt death upon him. Time slowed down. He was in some kind of flow. His body felt light. He didn't think. He just moved. Before he knew it, all the wind blades had flown past him.
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Bipp Bipp
Minute movements
Description: you know how to move and dodge attacks with minimal movement.
+ increases movement speed by 25%
+ 10% lighter when dodging
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Moses got his focus back propelled himself forward, leaping from the ground. His body felt light, and he flew faster than ever before.
The panther reacted by leaning forward as well. Moses Dodged the incoming paw by slightly leaning to his side.
He landed on the floor and tried to dodge the second panther, but misjudges the distance due to only having one eye. The panther bit down and ripped off of a third of Moose's left arm.
A horrifying scream echoed in the arena...the pain of losing a limb was unbearable. Fuck, fuck Fuck!... I want to live...I want to live...I WANT TO LIVE!"
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Bipp Bipp
Unyielding willpower
Description: born from the desire to live, this he shall never give up.
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Bipp Bipp
+ Fighting instinct level 2
+ Fighting instinct level 3
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Moose let out a roar and pushed forward with newfound power. The maimed panther growled and likewise pounced on him. Moose dodged and appeared at the side of the panther. He roared and implanted the ax in it's with all possible force that he could muster. It was finally dead.
He dislodged his ax and distanced himself from the surviving beast. The last panther growled and circled around him. He didn't have time to care about the reward even though it was something that he had longed for the last couple of days.
The second panther gathered it's qi once again. Moose added his remaining points to vitality. Both he and the beast ware out of breath. Once again had vitality saved his life.
The level ups helped himself recover just enough not to die, but he was still maimed and injures: His left face had 4 scars from the top to his chin. He had lost vision in his left eye. Moses left hand, and half his forearm was gone.
He was on the brink of death. But, he did not give up. The beast began to run at him. He accepted the challenge charged forward.
He and the beast fought teeth to toe. Both were exhausted and wounded. Finally, Moses landed the fatal blow.
Moose began to laugh. He screamed almost like he was mad," Fuck you all!" He threw his ax against the barrier. It didn't even make a ripple as it disintegrated against the barrier.
He fell down on his knees...Fucking hell...