Alvis was ready for more squirrels or any other forest denizens coming up to him. At least that’s what his posture would lead one to believe. Eyes fixed, branch in front of him and body in a ready position, he looked like a warrior ready to fight. Or maybe of a scared guy trying to convince himself that he could handle the situation. Maybe he could.
What he wasn’t ready for though, was when the squirrels came out. One by one, from the bushes on the ground, to those coming from the canopy.
[Juvenile Forest Squirrel – Level 3]
[Juvenile Forest Squirrel – Level 2]
[Juvenile Forest Squirrel – Level 3]
[Juvenile Forest Squirrel – Level 4]
[Adult Forest Squirrel – Level 5]
[Juvenile Forest Squirrel – Level 3]
When all the monsters were visible, Alvis froze, his eyes darting from one of the rodents to the next, but most of his attention fell on the large one coming down from a tree behind him. He slowly turned sideways to keep them in sight, and for a moment there was a standstill, where none of them spoke or moved a muscle.
After a short time, maybe a few minutes, probably just a few seconds, eyes darting, back against one of the trees, Alvis decided to speak up.
"I don't know if you understand me, I just want to leave the forest, I have no animosity towards any of you. So if you could please just show me the way out, I will be out of your..." he had to stop there.
The large squirrel, which reached just above his ankles, had started to lengthen its teeth like the previous squirrel he had fought earlier, and a dark red aura shone just menacingly around its body.
Following its lead, all the other squirrels had begun to lengthen their teeth as well, focusing on the prey in the middle.
With a pounding heart, Alvis tried to come up quickly with ideas to help him escape his current predicament.
I have to get out of here!
With trembling arms, he tried to think of a solution while keeping an eye on all the approaching squirrels, and as soon as his head landed on the smallest of the monsters, his eyes hardened and his shivering slowed down.
"Haaa!"
A water bolt suddenly exploded, hitting the level 2 squirrel, causing it to shoot backwards and open a path in the advancing monsters, giving Alvis an opportunity to rush out, which he took and ran like his life depended on it.
And it really did.
---***---
It was a strange sight in the middle of the forest. You could see a young man with blond hair, wearing a destroyed tank top, now a crop top and shorts combo, running around with jerky movements, often looking behind him, towards the ground or the tree branches.
Running as he was, he didn't pay too much attention to the path in front of him, considering that he had to look back and dodge to the side from time to time, as some small figures crossed where he was just a few seconds ago.
The man himself tried to turn around now and then and attack them as well, sometimes with the branch he was holding on to, which was effective but barely held as it was, broken in many places, short enough that he could have hit them with his bare hands for better results.
Sometimes, though, he would strike with a spell, a long stream of water shooting from his hands at the squirrels, making them disappear and clearing his path again.
He couldn't escape all the time, though, and during those times he would get hit, on his sides, his back, or sometimes his legs.
Luckily for him, no hits to the head had been successful yet, but the adult squirrel had come close a few times, forcing Alvis to turn and stare every time the big one disappeared for a while to keep an eye on it.
Fuck! At least they are not that fast, otherwise I would be totally screwed! That's not why I went to the gym, but damn, I'm grateful for it now. Forgive me treadmill, I was too hard on you. Hah...
His eyes showed fear, but only when he tried to dodge the big one, the other times, his eyes were focused, trying to catch one of the other squirrels and if he could predict their path well...
"Waterbolt!"
With a quick cast of the spell, one of the squirrels was hit in the flank, letting out a scream of pain and staggering uncontrollably to the side. Seeing that, a smile appeared on Alvis' face and he rushed over to the fallen squirrel.
However, this one was different from the first, as the squirrels were no longer alone, and if anything, they were even more dangerous. All of its brethren were still around, and they were of a higher level than his first kill.
Still, he was not deterred from going after it, and when Caution warned him that another squirrel was attacking him, he had no choice but to slow down a bit and block the interfering rodent.
But Alvis seemed to be impatient to get to the weak squirrel, not paying too much attention to the other monsters.
Have to take care of them, or this will end poorly. This is going to hurt… With a grimace, Alvis rushed forward.
He got hit by several glancing blows for his trouble, but as soon as he reached the small squirrel, he started to hit it with the branch, breaking it completely, but with something to show for his efforts.
[Ding!]
[Juvenile Forest Squirrel – Level 2 Defeated!]
Alvis kept looking at the text, but when a dangerous hit from one of the squirrels nearly knocked him over, he stopped looking at the System message, let out a low gasp, and winced at the remains of the little squirrel.
No levels this time. Damn, knew it was a possibility.
Not wanting to waste any more time, he scanned the area as quickly as he could and, finding an opening, started running towards it, only to stop when he sensed that something was wrong.
Wait, where is the big one?
As soon as he thought about it, he caught sight of the aura clad squirrel hiding behind a branch a little further on the path he had chosen, giving him goosebumps, and making him run the opposite direction.
Fuck!
---***---
[Ding!]
[Juvenile Forest Squirrel – Level 3 Defeated!]
[Ding!]
[Congratulations! You have leveled up!]
[New level: 3!]
[You have gained 10 free points!]
A while later, after using the same tactic once again to take down one of the level 3 squirrels, Alvis was still running from 4 squirrels, now with a bloodstained body and no upper clothing at all.
His movements were a little slower now, his breathing was ragged, but if it was any consolation, the squirrels were slowing down as well, the chase had gone on for a long time, and he was still standing.
The big squirrel's aura had dimmed considerably during the chase, and now it was barely visible, almost imperceptible.
With another warning from Caution, Alvis barely dodged one of the squirrels going for his back, but this time his luck seemed to have run out as he felt teeth digging into his flank, causing him to scream and fall to the ground, rolling over but still with a squirrel gnashing at his side.
In pain, Alvis raised his hands and tried to Waterbolt the rodent away, and it worked, but it left him even weaker than before, his eyes seeing double and his body refusing to listen to him.
Fortunately, before any more of them could attack him again, he regained enough clarity of mind to push himself to his feet and start running again.
Looking back, he let out a small sigh of relief as he saw the squirrels standing around the one he had just hit, just looking between him and the injured one.
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Then the big one's aura completely disappeared, and the other two squirrels grabbed the injured one and ran away from the spot, no longer pursuing Alvis.
Cautiously, Alvis watched this happen, but kept on running in the opposite direction of the retreating squirrels. He took one last look at the injured one, breathing heavily and clenching his teeth.
He brought up his Menu and went to Status.
Status
Name
Alvis Olsen
Race
Human
Class
None
Level
3
---
HP
34/150
SP
22/100
MP
7/150
Ah shit, no more mana... I guess that would explain why I felt so terrible. This chase went on for too long, health and stamina are also so low, this was way too dangerous... How was it again?
Alvis concentrated on the words once more, trying to figure out their meaning:
[HP: An entity’s Health Points, when they reach 0, the being dies.]
[SP: An entity’s Stamina Points, when it reaches 0, the entity passes out.]
[MP: An entity’s Magic Points, when they reach 0, the entity goes into shock.]
I would have loved to have finished off that last squirrel.
With a sad look and another look back, he couldn't see the squirrels anymore, which made him stiffen a bit, get goosebumps, and get back on his feet.
He started to walk away slowly, checking the bushes and the branches above for anything that moved, focusing on any small sound or movement he witnessed.
After a while, with nothing happening, he strained his ears as much as he could to check if he could hear anything as well, but with no sight or sound of the monsters, Alvis allowed himself a sigh of relief and after a minute went through his System notifications to check what he had gained from the pursuit.
It made him grin broadly as he read the lines one by one.
[Ding!]
[Congratulations! Skill level up!]
[Waterbolt is level 2!]
[Congratulations! Skill level up!]
[Caution is level 2!]
[Ding!]
[Juvenile Forest Squirrel – Level 2 Defeated!]
[Ding!]
[Congratulations! Skill level up!]
[Waterbolt is level 3!]
[Ding!]
[Juvenile Forest Squirrel – Level 3 Defeated!]
[Ding!]
[Congratulations! You have leveled up!]
[New level: 3!]
[You have gained 10 free points!]
2 level ups on the Waterbolt spell and 1 on Caution, in addition to the other level and points! Hahaha-
“ARGHH-“
His celebration was cut short when his flank decided to let him know of its condition, now that the worst was over and the adrenaline had left his system.
With careful movements, he looked down and pulled his arms away from it to see that it was bleeding. With a grimace, Alvis looked at it for a moment, feeling frustration rising in him.
Shit, I don't have anything to make a bandage with now.
He still had the shorts, and he did look at them, but skipped over them after seeing how filthy they were with blood and dirt and who knew what else...
He checked his surroundings and saw nothing useful, but through the still open status window he could see the HP dimming, and that gave him goosebumps all over.
I am losing HP from this.
Menu, Attributes
Attributes
Strength
15
Endurance
10
Dexterity
10
Perseverance
10
Intelligence
15
Clarity
10
---
Free points
10
He looked at the list, flipping back and forth between the Endurance and Free Points sections, his eyes pensive as he considered what to do next.
[Endurance: It measures an entity’s HP regeneration rate.]
[Free Points: An entity’s free points, to use and distribute them how one chooses.]
While he was still trying to decide how many points to put into Endurance, another HP point went down, leaving him with 32 current HP.
Deciding to give it a try and see if he could get away with half, he used 5 of his free points on Endurance, bringing his total to 15 and confirming it.
[Confirm?]
[Yes/No]
Yes, yes.
As he felt it take effect, the pain itself lessened slightly, Alvis settled into a concealed spot, inside a hollowed-out tree, to be sheltered by others while he was busy working with the System.
While waiting, let's check out the skills
Menu, Skills
Skills
Active
Passive
Waterbolt – Level 3 - A simple water spell that costs 17 mana per use.
Slightly more effective
Caution – Level 2 - More alert to your surrounding area and entities.
Slightly more effective
*LOCKED*
*LOCKED*
*LOCKED*
*LOCKED*
*LOCKED*
*LOCKED*
*LOCKED*
*LOCKED*
General
Inspect – Level 1 – Show basic information about entities you encounter
Level 3 and Level 2. Nice! Mana cost went down, and the new text says they are slightly more effective, but how much really... Whatever, something for later.
The other screen caught his attention again, and this time, even though it took longer, the HP still dropped by one, to 31/150.
Gritting his teeth, Alvis turned his attention back to the Attributes table and added the remaining 5 points to Endurance as well, then confirmed it.
Attributes
Strength
15
Endurance
20
Dexterity
10
Perseverance
10
Intelligence
15
Clarity
10
---
Free points
0
Feeling another short rush, Alvis decided to do a little scouting to make sure nothing was creeping up on him. He closed the System tables, got out of the hole, lowered himself to the ground, and making sure there was no danger nearby, he peered out from the cover of the tree, checking each side twice to make sure he hadn't missed anything the first time.
When no more squirrels, why did they have to be squirrels, or any other hostile or dangerous looking monsters were visible, Alvis crawled back into the hollowed-out section and opened Status again to check the HP situation.
Menu, Status
Status
Name
Alvis Olsen
Race
Human
Class
None
Level
3
---
HP
32/150
SP
25/100
MP
12/150
"Yes!" he murmured.
The HP had recovered, and now that Alvis was a little calmer, he lowered himself to check the wound on his flank and could see that the hole was only a little smaller than before.
Not that big, it is closing! Slowly, but it is happening.
After settling down for a while, Alvis stuck his head out again, found the position of the sun in the sky, noted it, and then lowered himself back down, flinching slightly when he hit the wound on an uneven part of the hollow.
As he stood there, studying the status screen, his eyes grew tired and began to close, but he fought them off, shaking his head, paying attention to the screen and what he could see from the hollowed area.
When the HP ticked to 33 again, however, his body betrayed him and lulled him to sleep.
---***---
A little later, Alvis woke up with a start, a bit confused as to where he was, and still groggy, he struggled to sit up, but remembered the wound at the last moment, thus saving himself the agony that might have followed.
Checking himself and blinking when he saw the state of the wound, Alvis prodded it gently with his hands, but was a bit surprised to see that about half of it was already closed, only dried blood and dirt remained.
Opening the Status window again, he could see that HP was more than halfway restored and MP was almost 100 points full.
Happy to see that the Endurance was paying off, Alvis focused on the MP and, seeing that he had enough, cast the Waterbolt spell around himself and used the pieces to clean himself up slowly.
Feeling thirsty, but still wary of trying the water to see if it was drinkable or not, he decided to postpone that decision for now and get a move on, following the eastern direction.
Judging by the sun, it looks like it's almost noon, still good to travel. Better to walk now that there is still daylight.
His mind made up, Alvis picked up a stone from the ground to make marks once more and searched for another branch to use as a weapon.
Good old stick, nothing beats that. He thought with a smile.
But none of the branches met his criteria. A bit disappointed, he moved on anyway. He used the stone to leave a few more signs indicating which way he had gone in order to avoid going around in circles. With that, he was gone.
He walked on for a while, still alert and scanning his surroundings, careful not to attract the attention of any monsters.
Finally, after passing through some bushes, he came upon something he had been seeking from the beginning.
A small path and many humanoid footprints.
Finally, some signs of civilization.
People... finally. He breathed a sigh of relief. But standing in the middle of the path, he had no idea which way to go.
After standing there for a while, looking in both directions, unable to tell one from the other, Alvis just shook his shoulders, trying to figure out which were the latest footprints and which direction they went.
Looks like to the right...
He scanned both sides once more, to check if he had missed any signs or anything else, then he just left it and decided to follow it for a while.
I can go the other way later.
Well, hopefully I won't have to go back. Here's hoping this is the right way... Let's just go. Daylight is wasting.
With the decision made, he moved on.
---***---
"Is it time?" asked a deep baritone voice, belonging to a figure lounging in a hammock, to another figure near him. This one was bigger compared to the first one, taller and more muscular as well, but there was no hint of arrogance or impatience on his face, only fear, as he looked at the lazing figure.
"Y-yes boss. The, uhh... 'mage' says we have to go now," the huge figure stuttered.
"Finally! FINALLY! I was really getting BORED! Time to play with our dear, dear Rangers!" With a spring in his step, he grabbed the big guy's shoulder, causing him to jump slightly and the first figure to grin even wider.
He gave him a simple pat on the shoulder and moved on.
"Let's go, boys! It's time to get some exercise!"