Kiin stared at the glowing blue screen floating before him like an annoying fly that refused to go away. The words changed again suddenly and the female voice reading out loud what was written.
[Task 1: Survive]
"• Locate a clean water source
• Defeat a beginner-level beast
• Collect 1 Gold (Reward: 40 EXP + 10 SP)
• Recommended: Basic Weapon"
He groaned.
"A recommended weapon? What weapon!? You expect me to kill a beast with my fists? Or maybe throw this bag or the water bottle at it?"
He kicked a nearby rock, instantly regretting it. "Ouch,.. damn it! It's clearly you don't want me to eat, you want me dead! Listen system lady just take me back home"
A smaller screen blinked into view.
[Map Activated]
" • Estimated distance to water source: 1.2 km
• Threat Level: Low
• Path: Marked
• Tip: Avoid thick bushes. Unscanned dangers."
"Hey! You forgot to add black glass that swallows everything. Are you even useful, annoying system" Kiin complained
A glowing blue trail appeared before him, hovering gently a few inches above the forest floor. Kiin took a deep breath and began to follow it.
"Are you sure it is safe system lady?" He asked but no answer came. "Of course, you only answer when you feel like it."
The forest was quiet, actually too quiet. The only sounds were the rustling of leaves, his own heavy breaths, and the occasional crunch of his sneakers against the dirt path. His body ached from the earlier escape, and his throat was dry as bone. Hunger gnawed at him, and his lips had started cracking from thirst.
"System lady, lady. I am tired, how far is the source of water?" Kiin asked with a tired face and a cracking voice
"Why did it have to be me?" he muttered, wiping sweat from his brow. "I was just reading a book… not applying to be its main character!"
Just when he was ready to plop down and give up, a distant sparkle of light caught his eye. The path curved and opened up into a small clearing and there, bubbling gently beneath a crooked tree, was a tiny spring.
"Finally, finally water. Oh sweet water, thank you, thank you system lady" Kiin sighed in relief and rushed toward it.
The water was crystal clear, unnaturally so, and the system even confirmed it.
[Clean Water Source Found: half of the task 1 completed]
" • Hydration Restored
• + Energy
• + Minor HP Recovery"
He drank like a dying man in a desert.
As the cool liquid flowed through his body, he felt slightly alive again.
"I should fill up my bottle, and why did you pack me a small bottle? Who would survive with this tiny bottle?. Anyway let me fill it up" Kiin talked and complained alone, the female voice not replying back.
But then, a low rustle behind the tree.
Kiin froze.
A shadow stepped out, squat and hunched. Its fur was mottled brown, patches missing as if it had been rolling in thorn bushes. Its eyes glowed yellow, teeth crooked like broken glass. It looked like some malformed combination experiment of a wild hog and a lizard. Small and somehow pathetic-looking.
[Target Detected: Grunkling – Beginner level Beast]
" • Threat Level: 1
• HP: 40/80
• Weak Spot: Underjaw
• Attack Pattern: Clumsy | Slow | Biting
• Bonus Drop: Beast Fang (Crafting Material)"
Kiin blinked at it.
"That's it?" he whispered.
The beast snorted and charged.
Kiin dodged instinctively, slipping behind the spring and grabbing a sharp rock the size of a large mango.
"No sword, no problem. Here eat my stone!"
The Grunkling stumbled, biting the air with clumsy lunges. Kiin darted in and smacked it on the side with the rock but it was not enough to kill, but enough to daze it.
[Critical Hit: Weak Spot Exposed!]
"Now's my chance! I'm doing this for food!"
With a yell that was more panic than courage, he slammed the rock under its jaw. Again. And again. Until the beast stopped moving.
Breathing hard, Kiin looked at the rock in his hand that was now filled with green liquid, he felt disgusted and even wanted to throw up. He rushed to the stream and washed his hands, and then looked at the now-silent system screen.
[Grunkling Defeated!]
• +40 EXP
• +10 Skill Points
• +1 Gold Acquired
• +Beast Fang x1
Skill Unlocked: Brutal Strike Lv.1 (Passive)
He grinned for a second. Victory never tasted so sweet, so amazing like this.
Another screen popped up.
[Current Points: 10 SP
• Gold acquired: 1
• Available for Use: Basic Weapon (10 SP)]
His stomach growled again, and another screen appeared:
[Food at nearest store: 5 SP/ 2 golds(1 Serving)
Warning: Starvation will begin in 8 hours.]
Kiin's face dropped.
"So I get points and gold for nearly dying... and now I have to choose between eating and a weapon?"
He groaned loudly, throwing himself back on the grass.
"This system sucks. So what level am I now?"
System screen appears:
[Level Progression:
• Current XP: 50 / 100
• Skill Points: 10
• Gold owned: 1
• Level: 0 - Rookie
• Title Unlocked: Beast Beginner/ Professional Runner LV. 1
• Skills unlocked: Basic evasion LV. 1"
Kiin groans again.
"Rookie? That's not even a level. That's an insult. I nearly got punched by a half-bald lizard pig for this?"
He opens the system store out of desperation.
[Basic Weapon Store]
• Rusted Dagger – 10 SP
• Blunt Branch Staff – 10 SP
• Pointy Rock on Stick – 10 SP
• Sharpened Tooth Necklace (Passive Buff) – 12 SP (Locked)
Kiin squints.
"Rusted dagger... Pointy rock on a stick... This store was made by a caveman. I just beat a beast with an actual rock. Isn't that already Pointy Rock tier?"
Still, his stomach growled. Reminding him of his hunger.
Then the system added a final line:
[Reminder:
• You will begin starving in 7h 52m
• Decision: Eat or Equip? You cannot do both due to low SP and gold]
Kiin stands there, eyes flicking between the weapon and food screens. His stomach rumbles like a thundercloud.
"Food first. What good is a dagger if I pass out mid-swing from hunger?"
He sighs and confirms food:
[Food Purchased – 5 SP + 1 Gold]
• Energy Restored
• Hunger Delay: 16h
A small pouch appeared in his bag. He opens it.
"Huh! Bread again?!"
A beat.
"…At least it's not moldy."