My reality was not so kind. In the few seconds I was distracted by the hope of survival, the wolf was already in front of me, its jaws opened wide revealing the beast's fangs. I could barely react, but I had managed to move just far enough to not have my head bitten off.
Unfortunately, that did not stop the beast's mouth from clamping down upon my shoulder and arm. I could hear my bones crack and feel blood seep down my body. My mouth opened as I tried to scream but only a short gasp of noise escaped before it was just a wheeze. It hurt.
The beast's jaws pressed together more and my vision became a blur. I could vaguely feel my limbs flailing about and occasionally smashing against the sand. It hurt. I recalled in a moment of dread that dogs do that thing where they violently shake their head when they've caught prey. Prey… At that moment, it was all I was to this wolf. It hurt. It seemed my little body was weaker than I expected. My flesh tore and bones snapped, my vision tumbled and a sharp pain smashed against my back. I was thrown into one of the many rocky walls of the terrain. As I slid down to a sitting position my vision faded in and out. I could barely think with the pain. It hurt.
It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts.
Why did it hurt? Because I was wounded. Why was I wounded? Because of the wolf? Why did the wolf hurt me? Because I'm weak.
How do I stop the pain? Get rid of what's hurting me. And what is that? The wolf. And how do we get rid of the wolf? Kill it. How do we kill it? Become strong.
My vision cleared. I didn't know if it was the last drops of adrenaline my body blessed me with or if my body had simply adjusted and accepted it was about to die. But with that newfound clear vision, I saw it. A small glimmer in the sand. It was a gamble, but I was going to die anyway.
As the wolf lunged to finish me, I let out a silent scream and shoved my hand into the sand, and gripped onto the glimmer. Pulling it out, I could see a simple, curved dagger now in my hand. If I had a voice, my scream would have grown loud enough to probably attract all sorts of predators. But with my silent declaration of final resistance, I rammed my arm straight into the lunging beast's mouth. I could feel the teeth and powerful jaws clamp down on my arm, bones creaking. An intense pain flooded me, but I completely ignored it as I felt the sweet warmth of blood trickle down onto my hand. The beast bled, and so, it will be killed. I thrashed my arm around, desperately digging the dagger into the soft inner flesh of this overgrown mutt. With every surprised whimper of pain it made, I grew more determined, with every trickle of blood I felt paint my hand, my smile grew wider. I may die, but I would take this fucker with me. I could feel my heart beating faster, as my body lightly bounced. Was I laughing? It didn't matter. I didn't know how long it took, maybe seconds? Minutes? But eventually, the wolf's jaw went slack. And the light in its eyes faded. It stumbled, before slowly falling limp on the ground. Causing me to tumble with it onto my back. At least I would die in the shade… That fucking goddess… In that moment I vowed to punch her in the face, should I get the chance.
But before I could close my eyes and drift away to my second death, a strange feeling of bliss covered my body, the cold that had been seeping in was replaced with a warmth I hadn't felt before. My chest rose and lowered, as my breath returned, and could feel my body again. Hahaha. What, because I won I get healed? Kill or be killed. Eat or be eaten? I get it now…. That goddess, she's a psychopath, isn't she? Was I just a reality show for her? Where she can cheer on and watch me suffer just to live until I finally die. Will she just get a new toy to watch when I'm finally gone? Hahaha…. That must be it… Why else would have I ended up in such an awful place?
[OS system initiating]
[Rock Knight Wolf - Level 45 has been killed]
[Calculating contribution and bonuses]
[Error]
[Calculating status]
[Error]
[Calculating status]
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
[Error]
[Readjusting calculation to accommodate error.]
[Calculating status]
[...]
[...]
[...]
[Success]
[Bonus EXP has been gifted due to solo-kill.]
[Due to [error] and influence of [N/A] starting abilities [copycat] and [shapeshift] have been reformatted to form [Right of conquest]. Please forgive the delay.]
[Calculations complete. Rendering Rewards.]
[Creating status window]
[Level up! - 2]
[Level up! - 3]
[Level up! - 4]
[Level up! - 5]
[Level up! - 6]
[Level up! - 7]
[Level up! - 8]
[Level up! - 9]
[Level up! - 10]
[EXP cap reached. Please choose a class.]
[Unnamed]
[Transmigrator: Juniper Westin]
[Level: 10]
[Class: None; Classes available]
[Core: Clear]
[Mana pool: Vacant]
[Body condition: child, malnuourished, starving.]
[Stats]
[Skills]
[Titles]
…What the hell was this? Was this some sort of joke? I couldn't help but laugh as I read this screen in front of me. This really was some sort of a sick game to that damn goddess. I let out a silent groan as I stood up and looked down, I no longer needed the bandages… but that didn't account for the new lack of undestroyed clothes…
I plundered around the destroyed camp finding some more clothes that roughly fit me. Then I stared at the wolf, contemplating if it was edible. I looked at my dagger, then back to the wolf. But before I could even think about trying to skin it, my entire body was filled with goosebumps. The slight breeze that had swept through the heat-hammered land had vanished, a terrifying silence left in its absence. A whistling tune echoed around me, being heard from all sides. It felt as if it was right next to me, yet so far away at the same time. As the gentle tune ended, a large screaming roar erupted, shaking the ground itself and my eyes shot up. I saw the wyvern that chased me previously soar above me, speeding past. My throat tightened, and I forced myself to breathe. I needed to get out of here. Whatever that whistling was, clearly was enough of a threat that even the wyvern reacted.
I ran to the wolf’s corpse, and using some rope from the destroyed camp, I tied a knot around the wolf's neck and began dragging it through one of the winding passageways. This area was a nightmare to traverse as a human. Endless swathes of stone-hard, lifeless dirt coated with sand, with occasional labyrinths of naturally formed stone spires and formations. You were either strong enough to walk proudly in the open hellscape, or you hid between the rocks until night fell, free from the sun's wrath.