It was amazing. It was much better than the walls! I knew there was an outside but this was amazing! The trees towered so high branches and leaves of many colours obscure my view. Bushs litter the ground amid the piles of leaves and smaller trees I could see the top of. I reach down and touch the ground. The grass felt so soft like a fluffy pillow it was amazing!

I hear a small growl. I turn around slowly observing the bushes and trees wondering where something could be hiding. Then I feel it. My stomach growls at me again.

“Wow, who knew the most vicious part of me was my stomach?”

How do I get food? I slowly ponder. Raw food is bad so how do I get food? berries and nuts don’t sound very appetising so what should I do? I guess I have to learn to cook unless I want to eat berries and nuts. But first things first I need meat. I look around. Before picking a direction to head in.

I slowly walk through the bushes crouching low, getting more nervous every time I stand on a branch or a patch of dry leaves. But up ahead I can hear my prey. A small rabbit, eyes dark as the night sky but with fur as white as snow hops through the grass ahead of me. The rabbit enters a clearing. With the help of [Silent movement] I managed to avoid notice of the rabbit waiting for my chance. I see the Rabbit pause ahead just inside the clearing. When I am just meters away, I lunge thrusting forward with my fist in the rabbit’s direction. I feel my fist connect. It is by no means a well placed strike but it works. I see the rabbit tumbling forward. As soon as I steady myself I look to where the rabbit was. The rabbit was slowly righting itself. Slowly picking itself up. I prepare for another strike. Then I see it.

At the edge of the clearing you could see a river. More of a stream but a source of water nonetheless and next to it…

Next to it was a skeleton.

I stare in horror. How or what could have done it? The skeleton is just bones, not a semblance of flesh left. The only thing on the bones is the dark red blood of the person. What looks like the skeleton's pack lies next to him and near one of his bony fingers lies a dagger. It is covered in blood but unlike the blood on the skeleton it is a bright red. I quickly glance over to the rabbit to see if it is still there but it is long gone. A small amount of blood litters the ground where it fell. I turn back to the skeleton. Maybe the human had food? I rush over and open the pack. Inside sits what I assume to be dried meat and a canteen of water. There is also a small cyan blue box with a lid tightly sealed shut. A thin chain stopping it from being opened. I quickly snatch a part of the dried meat out of the pack before tearing it in half and shoving it into my mouth. I slowly chew. I don’t know what food tastes like but I hope it’s all not like this. After eating all the meat not leaving a scrap left I grab the canteen and tear the cork out before downing half of it. Satisfied and with a full belly I grab the canteen and walk over to the stream before filling it. I notice something in the water.

“Is that my reflection?”

I have long golden hair falling over my shoulders. My eyes are a dark amber red and I have a slim build. I have pale alabaster skin and long pointy ears.

Satisfied I put everything back in the pack after trying to bust open the box that would not break open. Then I slip the pack over my shoulders and grab the knife. Time to find out what happened to the skeleton and to find more food.

I run as fast as I can dashing round trees leaping over rocks and other obstacles but the howls keep getting closer. I now know what happened to the skeleton. Wolves! When I saw them it felt like their eyes were boring into me. As I used [Identification] on each of them I was already turning. And what I saw was terrifying.

[Wolf - Lvl.2]

[Wolf - Lvl.1]

[Wolf - Lvl.3]

[Wolf - Lvl.2]

It felt like they were toying with me. They let me get a head start and it felt like whenever they were right behind me they would slowly get further and further away before closing in again.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

I knew I was at the end of my stamina. I had managed to lose them a few times allowing me to catch my breath but I could see I was coming towards a massive cliff and the wolves were spread out behind me. No going back, no going forward. The only possible way out of this situation might be up. If I could get into the branches the wolves might not be able to get me and if I could get high enough they might not even find me. Still sprinting I swing my gaze around here and there looking for a branch low enough I can leap onto but high enough up they can’t get me.

I hear the soft sound of an animal stalking through the grass. I freeze slowly twisting my entire body around to face whatever it was. I draw my knife out just in time to see a rabbit bound out of the grass before seeing me, turning tail and dashing off. I feel like I have seen that rabbit before. But right as I am puzzling over where I could have seen the rabbit before I hear another howl.

“Oo Oo OOOooooooooooooo”

My eyes instantly flick forward looking for a tree branch or anything to keep me alive. My eyes snap towards the tree branch right above where the rabbit was. I sprint to it. The branch is high up just barely in my reach if I jump. But it is big enough it won’t snap under the pressure of my weight. As I near the branch I leap into the air wrapping my arms around the branch. I slowly haul myself up, my heart pounding. Any second a wolf could leap at me from out of the bushes and my short journey would be over.

When I finally manage to get my entire body on the branch a sigh of relief escapes my lips. But my heart froze when I heard it. The sound of feet trampling grass and this time I knew it was not a rabbit. I could hear it sniffing the ground. Slowly getting closer and closer maybe It couldn’t find me in the trees. But I highly doubt that. As long as it did not just keep going it would find me and it would be over.

I wait. Breathing while necessary felt like it was gonna kill me. I could almost see the wolf now. Its front paw was just in my view. It was standing exactly where I had been moments ago. It slowly entered and when I used [Identification] my panic only increased.

[Wolf - Lvl.3]

The highest level of the bunch. It’s the size of a small horse with dark grey fur that seems to blend into the darkness. Maybe if I could take it down but that would be impossible right. It was level three and I was level one. I did not know how hard or how much more powerful leveling up made you but I assumed it would make it much much harder for me to win. The wolf was now just below me looking at where I had leaped from the ground onto the branch. It would not take it long to realise what happened. Now was my only chance and I had to take it.

Drawing my knife I hop off the tree. Dagger in hands legs in a v-shape I fall towards the wolf knife pointed down while clutched in my hands. I reach it in less than a second. Landing right on the wolf in a sitting position I start viciously stabbing my knife into its neck. Blood covers my knife as I keep stabbing. The wolf tries to shake me off but I manage to cling on legs wrapped around it until finally it falls. As the body falls to the ground, blood already pouring out of the various wounds a blue screen or a notification I have learned to call them pops up.

[You have killed a Wolf - Lvl.3]

[You have leveled up Elf from Lvl.1 - Lvl.2 ]

[You have gained 3 stat points]

“What” I say aloud

I leveled up. I was now level two.

“Status”

[Elora]

[Race: ???]

[SubRace: Elf - Lvl.2]

[Stats:]

[Stat Points: 3]

[Strength: 5]

[Agility: 8]

[Vitality: 4]

[Stamina: 5]

[Wisdom: 7]

[Skills:]

[Skill slots: 1/3]

[Identification] - Lvl.1

[Passive Skills:]

[Innate Skills/Passive Skills:]

[Silent Movement - Lvl.1]

[Night Vision - Lvl.1]

I stare. I leveled up. Can I upgrade my stats? How do I upgrade my stats? It’s probably like everything else.

“Add three stat points to agility”

It went up it was now at eleven

[Agility: 11]

Some might say it was dumb but. If I can get away from them before they can attack me or so I can attack first it’s a win. But anyways, time to get out of here I guess. I turn around to start running away from the directions I can hear the other wolves howling. But something happened as soon as I started running. I felt much faster. Probably because I put all my points in agility and because It makes up such a large amount of my agility. The only problem was I tired out just as quickly. Thanks to my increased agility I managed to get away. But I still managed to attract the notice of lots of wildlife as I made my not so quiet getaway. I did stand on a stick or patch of leaves every few seconds or so.