I slowly regained consciousness…again… I mean how many times can a girl get forced to go in a portal and be knocked unconscious in a day????
I just sigh, a little annoyed with whoever is in charge of the wacky portals before looking around where I had woken up. I noticeably was in a forest, and it was pretty quiet. I could hear birds chirping, squirrels scurrying in the trees and a beast growling behind me… wait a beast growling behind me?!
I burst up from the ground, fear coursing through me for the first time since I was initialized in this system. I run into the forest and quickly start scanning it as I sprint through, I need a stick, a weapon, anything. I can feel my heart speeding up in fear and as I'm running, I can hear the creatures' steps thudding behind me getting closer and closer with every step I take.
Thud. Thud. Thud. The creature's steps sound out from behind and still I see nothing, no weapon, no stick, not even another creature. Just trees trees and MORE FLIPPEN TREES!
I wish I had time to even just identify the thing following me, but I'm scared that if I turn around, I'll trip and fall or even hit my head on something.
The creature's steps sound close, too close now, it must be only two feet away from me at least. Then I see something and a tiny bit of hope blooms inside of me. There fifteen feet away is a branch barely hanging onto the tree it's connected to.
All I can focus on is just running as I’m counting down the distance from the tree in my head. 12 feet. 10 feet. 8 feet left but the things getting closer it must be only a foot away from me now, I don't know why it isn't pouncing on me, but I don't care I'm only 3 feet away now. 2 feet. 1…
Finally, I reach it, I yank the branch down and turn around to face the monster. I try my best to look as big and intimidating as possible just like you would do if you were attacked by a big cat or something back on Earth. Really, I only employed this strategy because it was the first thing that came to mind but thankfully it seems like it's working.
At minimum the beast is stunned by my actions and maximum it's terrified of the big bad giant stick wielding monster…. Ya that's a little too optimistic but give a girl some wins. Quickly I realize it looks similar to how rats did back on earth. Well, if you multiplied their size by 10 and added pointy fangs to their mouth. I shake my head reminding myself to get back on track and I quickly use my new skill identify and somehow actually it worked.
Ratling [Level 2]
I let out a slight sigh of relief as I read the identify result, since now at least I knew that one I really needed to level up and two that this Ratling isn't too far out of my fighting league.
By now the Ratling had snapped out of its stunned state and had started growling at me once again. Honestly even I was surprised it hasn't attacked me yet even though I was hoping that it wouldn't but I'm going to guess that Ratlings are really afraid of big things or aren't that strong in general.
We stare at each for seconds past the only sounds around us are the rustling of leaves, the birds chirping and the beasts growling. Eventually, which means a few seconds after I used Identify I decide I'm going to attack the thing before it attacked me.
I swung the thick branch at it without a second thought and somehow hit it square in the chest causing it to slide just a little from the force of the blow. Obviously, this just made it mad, with little to no damage being done by me other than it finally deciding it was ready to attack.
It rushed forward and I quickly backpedaled away trying to avoid its razor-sharp claws and teeth while also still swinging my trusty branch at it hoping that I would hit something that would hinder it just a little.
Unfortunately, I only got a couple of feet away from it before my back collided with a hard surface. I tried to glimpse behind me but all I saw was bark, which basically meant my back was to a tree. Amazing right?
I shake my head at my pessimistic thoughts and focus my attention back to the problem at hand. Ultimately, I conclude that it probably isn't going to go away unless I kill it. After I have this realization, I can feel my heartbeat faster as adrenaline fills my veins and my thoughts race as I try to figure out a way to kill it with just a branch.
Then I got an idea, it was pretty primitive, but I decided that I was going to smash its head in with the branch. The best, most creative plan ever I know! Thankfully it worked… in like two seconds… I got a little ding sound which I'm assuming means I got some exp or leveled up but instead of checking it I just stared at the beast that I had killed.
Some might have been traumatized from this occurrence, the occurrence that would probably happen again to them if the fact that I was jumped two seconds into starting is anything to go by. But me? Well, I was just dumbfounded by the fact that I was scared of the weak thing in the first place and super embarrassed that it took me like 10 minutes to kill it.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
I mean it took like two swings to its head to kill and I ran from it?! I just want to bury myself in a hole and hide for the rest of my life after that embarrassment. I probably would have but no one is actually here to have witnessed it other than like the birds that are chirping in the trees so I don't.
After I sort out those feelings, I come to the conclusion that I need to look at my notifications or whatever to see if I leveled up but I don't actually know how to do that. I just sigh, my shoulders dropping after realizing what I was going to have to do. I was going to have to say every single word for some kind of character sheet that I can think of.
Of course it's not an actual character sheet, instead it's like some kind of profile for me I think, at least that's how I always thought about it when I was playing mmorpg games. So, then the awkwardness began as I started saying out loud different random words.
“Character Sheet” “Profile” “Inventory” “[Status]” Thankfully the word [Status] works and a transparent blue-ish screen presents itself in front of me.
~Status~
Name: Kylira Mcrath
Age: 17
Race: Human
Level: 2
Class: N/A
Exp: [7/105]
Hp: [16/20]
Mana: [20/20]
~Stats~
Vit: 5
Agl: 5
Str: 5
Wis: 5
Int: 5
Free Stat Points: 3
~Others~
Skills [Expand]
Inventory [Expand]
Well, that's helpful I think to myself as I scan the box in front of me. Although I wonder if the Items I picked earlier are in my inventory or where I was portaled… I hope it's in my inventory because I really don't want to have to deal with trying to go back to wherever I was.
~Status~
Name: Kylira Mcrath
Age: 17
Race: Human
Level: 2
Class: N/A
Exp: [7/105]
Hp: [16/20]
Mana: [20/20]
~Stats~
Vit: 5
Agl: 5
Str: 5
Wis: 5
Int: 5
Free Stat Points: 3
~Others~
Skills [Expand]
Inventory [Unexpand]
Water Filter [x1]
Flint and Steel [x1]
I quickly sigh in relief because thankfully one thing has gone my way today and I see that I don't have to go find wherever I started because the items are in my Inventory. Then I look at my stat points, I have 3 available to put wherever and it really isn't much of a choice as I really don't want to die and right now I have absolutely no magic whatsoever so I'm assuming I don't need Wisdom and Intelligence.
That being said I decide to put 1 of each available point in each of the other three otherwise known as Strength, Agility, and Vitality bringing them up to 6 each. After I do that, I feel the urge to slap myself in the face… again. Why? Well because I didn't even try to identify the stats and see what they do because for all I know they do something different than what I'm used to!
I identify the stats just a tad bit awkwardly but before I could even read a single word I hear a high-pitched scream come from further out into the woods and I pause. The voice not only disturbs the birds that were hiding in the trees peacefully around me but it also sounds terrified… and young.
I only hesitated a second before knowing I had to go rescue whoever that was screaming because I have no idea if little kids are in this tutorial thing and if it is a kid I can't let them die without trying to help, my conscience just can't take it.
So, I run, I end up running a minute or two before spotting the person in question. The person is a young girl who must have been only 12 or 13 years old, and she was surrounded by two angry looking Ratlings who I proceed to identify.
Ratling [Level 3]
Ok, that one's manageable I think to myself before identifying the second one.
Ratling [Level 6]
That one not so much…
This is going to be so fun… yay… Why was I ever happy to be brought into the System again?