The moon was now completely gone, leaving the sky a clear blue. Cole had been hiking for a few hours now, letting himself enjoy the sights of the peaceful forest. Although it had been rather nice to enjoy nature for a while, he was starting to get thirsty, and was also beginning to wonder what he would be doing for food.

Cole kept walking, and soon after, he heard the tell-tale noise of rushing water. “It must be a stream!" he thought, and quickened his pace.

The sound of flowing water grew louder, and he saw the trees begin to clear out, making space for the rushing current.

Upon arrival, Cole was met with the sight of a clear stream, flowing past him and into the distance. He instantly dropped to his knees, scooping up the cool, refreshing liquid into his hands and sucking it down.

“I never want to be thirsty again” he remarked to himself, shocked at how good plain water could taste.

When he had finally quenched his thirst, Cole got to his feet. He also finally realised what he was wearing. Instead of his warm puffer jacket and sweatpants, that were probably now ripped to shreds and mixed with the bloody paste of his body back on Earth, he was dressed in a simple set of clothes. A black leather tunic and some brown pants.

It was, in other words, the most generic fit he’d ever seen.

Getting back to his feet, Cole looked to his left. If he went that way, the stream seemed to widen out into more of a river, vanishing into the distance. Rivers were good. If this world was like the Vestria he knew, the developers had been careful to make it feel as real as possible. For this reason, they’d placed many villages along the river, to mimic the real world. Hopefully by following the river, he’d be able to find some form of civilization.

Keeping this in mind, Cole turned his head to the right to see what lay that way.

He froze.

There in the stream, no doubt searching for fish, was a huge beast. Its claws were the size of Cole’s arms, and he felt like its jaws would be able to snatch him up in one go. It was an enormous Greatbear, and while it was only a Beast level monster, just one step above the lowest level of Animal, to Cole in his newbie state it might as well be Titan level.

Cole stepped back slowly, keeping his eyes on the Greatbear. If it saw him, he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to come out of that encounter alive. Worse yet, this wasn’t an MMO. If he died, there were no second chances.

He continued stepping backwards, and just as Cole felt like he was far away enough to turn and run, it happened.

His turning foot pressed into a stick, and there was a loud CRUNCH.

Cole froze once more, petrified by his own stupidity, and inwardly cursing his foolishness. If the Greatbear had heard that noise, he was as good as dead.

He turned back around, back towards the bear, and froze for a third time.

They were staring directly into each other’s eyes, almost as if they were in a deadly staring contest. Cole didn’t want to move, he didn’t want to break the spell that fallen upon them, but he knew that this momentary solace could not last.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

He focused, bringing into his mind his three basic runes. His hands were far too shaky to draw the Runic Blast, as it was far more complicated than the other two, but he thought he could manage either the Strength or Speed.

But what should he choose? To empower himself with Runic might? Or imbue his strides with unnatural, magical swiftness?

The bear was lumbering out of the stream, hindered slightly by the slippery rocks that made up the banks, but he’d soon be able to pick up speed.

Cole had to choose. It was Strength or Speed.

Fight or Flight.

Cole chose to flee.

He reached to the inward power that he intuitively knew how to use. His finger began to glow purple, and he traced out the rune for Runic Speed as quickly as he could.

As soon as it was complete, Cole felt a burst of stamina enter his body, like he’d just downed 20 cans of Red Bull all at once. His legs took on the same purple glow as the rune, which was now floating just above his shoulder. It was glowing brightly, but slowly losing its lustre. Once that glow ran out, the rune would dissipate, and Cole would be a normal human once more.

He darted forward, kicking up the leaves and sticks behind him in a flurry of wind. The Greatbear, which had been only a few metres behind him, was now about 20 metres away in the matter of a few seconds.

Whooping with exhilaration, Cole pressed forward, keen to make the most of his limited time with the Runic Speed. He continued running, earning various scrapes and cuts along his whole body as he ripped through the bushes. He turned his head to check, but the Greatbear was now long gone, possibly having even given up its momentary pursuit in search of easier prey to catch.

Before long, the rune ran out, and Cole was back to his ordinary, slightly out of shape self. He buckled over, gasping for air. That run had taken a lot out of him. His legs felt like jelly, having run more than he probably had for years.

When he felt like he was no longer having an asthma attack, Cole looked up. His surroundings were much the same, more trees to his left, however the stream had considerably widened out, becoming a river proper.

There was a growl.

“Where did that come from?” he panicked, looking all around for the sight of another foe.

The growl sounded again, more forceful this time, and Cole paused, before bursting out into laughter.

His stomach was rumbling, no doubt a combination of his lack of food and the dash he’d just done. He thought for a second, looking around for a source of food.

“Maybe that Greatbear had the right idea” he mused, looking towards the river. There was sure to be some sort of fish in there. While Cole had never been a fan of any seafood back on Earth, he’d just about eat anything at this point.

He turned back, making his way to a small bush set further back into the forest. “I’ll need a fire first.”

Cole also wasn’t sure when he’d started talking to himself.

After gathering up some small sticks and leaves for kindling, he also managed to find a few large pieces of dead wood, that would help him keep the fire going to cook the fish.

After building a simple fire, tepee style, Cole picked some smooth stones from the river to create a ring around it, ensuring that he wouldn’t end up setting the whole forest ablaze. Once he’d done so, he searched for a certain type of rock along the riverbank.

Since his accident, Cole often found himself sitting at home with a heap of spare time. When he was feeling burned out from playing Vestria Online, he’d usually end up deep in some sort of internet rabbit hole, becoming hyper fixated on some niche community or hobby for a bit, with the vague hope of developing some sort of habit other than his basic shopping.

One of those times he’d spent a whole week watching survival videos on YouTube, despite never having any intentions of camping, he’d found it incredibly fascinating the different ways that humans could improvise to survive in the wild. Cole was incredibly glad he’d done so, as one of the videos had focused entirely on how to start a fire.

To do so, he need a sharp piece of rock, as well as something to strike it against. A flint would be best, but Cole didn’t think he would be that lucky. Instead, he would search for a piece of quartz. Although it wouldn’t work quite as well, he should be able to get enough sparks to get the fire going.

After a few minutes of searching Cole found it, a small piece of quartz lying right next to the water. He picked it up, and made his way back to the fire. Holding the sharp stone in one hand, and the quartz in the other, he struck them against one another.

Nothing happened.

There was a tiny flash sure, but nowhere enough to get the fire started.

Cole slumped, dejected, before he had an idea.

Focusing inwards, he traced the Runic Speed rune once more, this time focusing on his arms. Once again there was a surge of energy, except this time it was his arms that had that strange glow. They were practically vibrating with energy, and he took a moment to compose himself.

Cole struck the quartz, generating another small spark. He struck it again, and again, in quick succession, sparks flashing off the quartz and into the dried leaves. Because of how fast they were falling, the leaves didn’t have time to go out, and Cole could see them catching alight.

He continued striking, until the sticks had caught, before finally resting. It was good timing too, the Speed rune had just about run out once more, and he braced himself for the wave of fatigue he knew was coming.

His stomach growled once more, as if to remind him why he’d lit the fire in the first place.

Cole turned towards the river, where the sun was now hanging low, casting golden rays across its surface.

Time to catch a fish.