Novak slowly followed the bear’s tracks. Since it was abnormally heavy, even someone inexperienced could see the deep tracks in the mud.
After a while, he found a nearby hunter’s cabin. The wooden structure seemed old and abandoned, and it looked like the bear had made its lair inside. Novak could hear the beast's chewing trhough the broken wall. Since it had just consumed two humans, it was certainly going to sleep and digest. He decided to wait until then.
The sun was slowly setting, and Novak stared into the distance. He knew that this was a foolish thing to do, and he was risking his life for no reason. That bear could maul him to death before he had time to react.
In his 43 years of life, he had never found passion. He just kept moving forward, hoping that one day he will find something that gives him joy. For many people, that’s either their profession, their hobby or their loved ones. He tried to be a mechanic, a policeman and later a journalist, but none of those jobs made him feel anything. He had hobbies like fishing, hunting or martial arts, and he did like them. But it was not something worth dedicating his life to. He tried to have relationships or just casual sex, but he always ended up leaving. If he didn’t understand himself, how could he find someone who does?
Now, for the first time, he felt excitement. When that snake’s final struggles were ended by him, he felt good. The beast wanted to kill him, and he wanted to kill it. In those moments, that is all that mattered. It was simple, primal, stimulating. He wanted to explore that feeling, so all he felt when thinking about the battle ahead was excitement.
He left his backpack against a tree, discarded his improvised crutch and took his boots off. He wanted to be as quiet as possible when approaching the lair. He briefly considered wearing the Basic Tunic from earlier for some extra protection, but he decided against it. It was covered in fresh blood and would give his position away.
Gripping the Hunter’s Shortsword, he slowly made his approach. The cabin’s wall had a hole in it and its front door was broken, so he could see the bear sleeping inside. Without making a noise, he fought through the burning pain in his left leg and got as close as he could. Despite his best efforts, the wooden boards made a creaking sound, and the bear twitched.
Novak felt a rush of adrenaline, and without waiting any longer pounced on the bear’s head. Before it had time to react, he stabbed the bear’s neck on the side as hard as he could. Pushing with all his strength, the sword penetrated the layers of skin and fat, but the bear’s contracted muscles prevented him from cutting any deeper.
Howling in pain, the bear stood up and tried to mangle the pest that dared to attack it. This bear was the king of the forest, and even other predators respected its territory. However, Novak held tight and mounted the bear, trying to push the blade even more. The mutant beast was enraged and stood on its hind legs, trying to shake him off.
Seeing that he was about to fall, Novak gripped the shortsword with both of his hands and let his weight pull the blade downwards, along the bear’s neck. Blood gushed from the wound and infuriated the bear even more. The massive animal retaliated with incredible speed and slashed Novak across the chest. Its claws almost shattered his bones, but in its weakened state the bear’s attack did not kill him. Fighting the pain, Novak pierced the shortsword through the same wound again. The bear’s swipe exposed it to this attack. This time, Novak managed to penetrate deeper and slashed the bear’s jugular. With a crash, the beast fell to the floor, unmoving.
[You have reached Level 3]
[You have reached Level 4]
[You have reached Level 5]
[Please assign 6 attribute points]
[Melee Skill increased from 0 to 1]
[Achievement Unlocked]
Fight while heavily injured and live to see another day.
Constitution: +5 (Permanent)
Item gained: Healing Potion
A rare potion that rejuvenates the body.
[Unique Achievement Unlocked]
Be the first to defeat an elite beast 20 levels above you. Try not to get yourself killed.
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All primary attributes: +2 (Permanent)
Passive ability learned: Vanquisher
Unique Passive Ability
You thrive in danger. Killing elite beasts will now grant better rewards and may sometimes grant permanent attribute points. More danger, more rewards.
Passive ability learned: Inspect
Common Passive Ability
You can now inspect mutant beasts to learn more information.
All this information flooded Novak’s brain. His heart was still racing from the battle, and the intense pain from his chest assaulted him like a burning iron. A small bottle holding a red liquid materialised in his hand. He knew this was the healing potion, so he drank it without hesitation. It did not stop the bleeding, but he was already starting to feel better. He limped to the front of the cabin and retrieved his rucksack and belongings, then went back inside. Using some bandage from the first aid kit, he wrapped it around his chest as tightly as he could. Next, he looked for the brown pouch that he learned to expect from a kill. Sure enough, it was there. He opened it and found two items inside:
[The Reaper’s Jacket]
Unique Item
Blunt damage reduction: 25%
Sharp damage resistance: Medium
Dexterity: +5
Perception: +5
Chest Coverage: 100%
Stomach Coverage: 100%
Arms Coverage: 100%
Legs coverage: 80%
A black leather trenchcoat with great coverage and aesthetics.
[Active Ability Book: Sharpen]
Common Ability
Doubles the sharpness of the blade you are holding.
Activation cost: 5 Stamina; Consumes 1 Stamina every 2 minutes
Novak was too tired to deal with this now. He put everything away and started preparing the sleeping bag. After travelling through worlds, going through two life and death battles and coming out heavily wounded, he was exhausted both physically and mentally. As soon as he finished unrolling the sleeping bag, he fell into deep sleep.
The next morning, Novak woke up to the light of the sun on his face. His chest was itchy, so he took off the bandages to change them, but to his surprise the wounds were gone. They were replaced by a set of fresh scars. Standing up, he also realised that his leg was fully healed now. Such a potent potion, he was certain it would be rare. He would be more careful in the future.
Next, he examined the area and found that no wild animals had approached. It would be a while before the beasts of the forest approach the bear’s lair. It was safe for now. Having learned the Inspect ability, he could now see that the dead animal was a Level 25 Elite Black Bear.
That was really reckless of me.
Novak was famished, so he pulled out a can of cooked beef from the rucksack and dug in. The supplies he took from the unfortunate campers would only last him for a few days, so he had to start thinking about food.
While eating, he thought about his attributes. Last night, he could have avoided the wounds if he had enough strength to push the blade all the way the first time. Thus, he decided to add 4 points to Strength and 2 points to Dexterity. His reaction speed would also help to keep him alive.
He then tried to equip the Reaper’s Jacket and the Basic Tunic.
[Warning: Items that cover the same areas will not stack attributes; only the top layer will count. This rule does not affect System accessories.]
Novak placed the Basic Tunic back into the rucksack. Right now, it had little more use to him than a rag. He then strapped the Hunter’s Shortsword to his waist and learned the Sharpen ability. It seemed that despite being reckless last night, he made a lot of gains. The vanquisher ability was very vague, but it would definitely show its worth in the long run.
He thought about the achievements he received. It seemed that this System gives generous rewards to those who fight. Furthermore, the Vanquisher ability came from a unique achievement.
Does that mean I'm the only one who can unlock it?
Novak gathered his things and left the cabin, as there was nothing of use inside. The mutant bear was a huge source of food, but he did not have the means to prepare and transport it now. Feeling better equipped, he was no longer afraid of the river. Even though he might face some danger, the river would sooner or later lead to civilisation. Even so, he decided to avoid the campsite and not risk running into a pack of wolves or some other predators.
Novak walked along the river for a while and soon stumbled upon an interesting scene. A man and a woman were running towards him with terrified looks on their faces. Behind them, a huge crow with a wingspan of over 3 meters was giving chase.
“Run for your life!!”
The man shouted at Novak in English, which made him feel relieved that he would not have to deal with a language barrier. Since this world had diverged from his around 100 years ago, languages did not have time to evolve in different directions. He could speak German, Serbian and English confidently.
Looking at the crow, his Inspect ability showed more information.
[Level 5 – Mutant Crow]
Uses its sharp talons to inflict heavy injuries.
Novak unsheathed his blade and started running towards it. With his current strength of 18, his top speed was almost 25 km/h, much faster than the average man.
The crow sensed danger from him and sped up, trying to swoop down and attack Novak with its talons. However, it posed almost no threat to him. When the bird was in range, he sidestepped and slashed down with his sword, decapitating it in one clean strike. Blood gushed out and painted the ground red.