I was right, I didn't get any sleep during the night. Especially not after I saw the beast. It was a wolf, a big one. I mean about twice the size of an average wolf, and it's fur blended in great with the surroundings. I wouldn't have noticed it if not for the bushes next to it rustling.
Luckly it's day now and there doesn't seem to be a trace of any big creatures. I'm beggining to become hungry and I can see some berries on a bush nearby, hopefully they're edible.
I slowly climb down the tree, careful not to alert any predators lurking around. As my feet touch the ground nothing happens, seems I'm safe. I get to the bush without being attacked and gather as many berries as I can into my pockets and head back to my safety tree. When I'm about to climb up something catches my eye, a glint of something under some fallen branches. I move the foliage out of the way and am suprised to see an old dagger.
It's not clean by any streatch, it's rusty, dull, and chipped. It is, however, better than any protection I could probably scrounge up out here. This can help if anything like that wolf attacks. Though if something like that happens I'll probably still die immediately, but for something small this could help.
I climb up the tree and finish my very succesful forraging trip. My stomach grumbles and I eat a handful of the berries I got. They aren't good, quite sour, but I don't really have the right to be pickey. At least they help with the hunger.
I start thinking about my situation. I'm in annother world, alone. There are dangerous creatures around and all I have to protect myself is an old used dagger. And there is a gamelike screen telling me my stats and level. I can't do anything about the first, but I think I might be able to use the third to solve the second. If I have a level then all I have to do is get experience, get stronger, and get out of here. Now I'm sure killing that wolf would give tons of exp but I can't do that, so I should settle into the bane of gamers everywhere, grinding.
With that in mind I grab my dagger and once again climb down the tree, this time looking for prey. I find some in the form of small foxes, not baby foxes, but actual miniature foxes. I can tell by the fact that they have baby mini foxes, which are absolutely tiny. I wait for one of the adults to venture out of the den and come towards me. I grip my weapon even tighter in my hand, and when it gets close, I strike.
The creature yips as my dagger cuts into it, and I almost gag right then and there, but I hold it in. Soon the struggles die down I officially become a killer, it sickens me. But something deep down, something dark, is pleased, it scares me. However I can't give it to much thought as a white wisp comes off of my victim and flows into me.
You have killed Lv 1 Mini Fox
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That's it, that's all the screen tells me. It didn't even tell me how much exp I got, but I can kind of tell. That wisp was the expirience, I just know it. I can even tell that I'm a bit closer to... something. I assume that is me leveling up.
I have to continue, even if the thought of doing so makes me gag. I need to be stronger to survive here, and that means I need exp. So, gripping my now bloody dagger, I go back to the hunt.
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You have killed Lv 1 Mini Fox
Congrats, you are now Lv 2!
I did it, I wiped out the whole den. Even the babies, I didn't want to but they attacked me, and I had no other choice. But at least I got a level out of it, god I feel like a monster. Maybe the race shown on screen was right, I'm not really human. That would explain that dark part of me that is happy with what I did.
I head back to my tree, dagger in hand, and climb up. Once there I open my status to see what's changed.
Max Summers
Race: Human/???
Lv: 2
HP: 70/70 MP: 80/80 STA: 53/80
STR: 7 CON: 7 END: 8 AGI: 10 PER: 9 INT: 8 WIS: 8
Points to distribute: 5
Traits: Speedy (Bloodline)
The foxes couldn't really hurt me, their teeth were to small, but killing them did drain me a bit. Well now what? How do I put the points into a stat, maybe it's just like opening and closing the screens. Welp, here goes. 'Add 5 to agility'.
As soon as the points go in my whole body feels like it's floating. I can feel the white exp mist from earlier changing my body from the inside. My senses grow stronger, my thoughts clearer, and my body stronger and tougher. But the biggest change is that I can feel the control over my body increasing, like I can react faster and move smoother.
Soon the mist is gone, all used up. I check my stats.
Max Summers
Race: Human/???
Lv: 2
HP: 80/80 MP: 90/90 STA: 90/90
STR: 8 CON: 8 END: 9 AGI: 15 PER: 10 INT: 9 WIS: 9
Traits: Speedy (Bloodline)
While I still don't think I can beat the wolf, I do think I can go after some larger prey. But the night is here and the beasts prowl, so I decide to rest. I'll continue my grinding tommorow.