I woke up sore and cold, still wedged between two branches, barely able to feel my arms.
My stomach was emptier than it was yesterday, but I didn't feel hungry anymore.
That was worse.
The system hadn't spoken again. The number beside my name still read [Level 1], but something felt different.
Maybe it was me.
I had survived my first day in this world—and that meant I could survive the next. If I was going to stay alive, I couldn't just hide and scavenge. I needed to hunt.
I needed a weapon.
The forest was still, but not silent.
I pressed my back to the rough bark of a tree and just listened. The rustle of leaves in the breeze. The distant cry of something—maybe a bird, maybe not. The scuttling of something small in the underbrush.
There was life here.
Which meant there was food.
I limped toward the stream again, the place I had found yesterday. My sneakers—barely suitable for a hike, let alone this nightmare—were damp and caked in mud. I could feel each step press through the worn soles. I missed my slippers. I missed my bed.
I missed my mom.
No—don't think about that. Not now.
I started with stones. I crouched by the stream and searched for the sharpest I could find. Something jagged. Something brutal.
One rock sliced my thumb when I lifted it.
[Primitive Tool Acquired]+1 Survival Instinct
The pain grounded me.
Next came the wood. I broke off a sturdy branch, testing it for weight. It bent but didn't snap. I dragged the sharp stone along its edge again and again, shaping a crude point.
Blisters rose on my palms. My fingers cramped. My stomach growled for the third time, but I kept carving.
When I was done, I wrapped the grip with strips from the hem of my shirt—my only shirt. It looked rough. Unbalanced. Ugly.
But it was mine.
[Weapon Created: Crude Spear]
Durability: 25%
Damage: LowAgility Bonus: +1
Hunting wasn't as simple as throwing a stick.
The first creature I saw—small, black-furred, glowing eyes—was faster than I expected. I stepped on a twig. It vanished in a blink.
The second time, I aimed and missed. The spear clattered against a tree trunk and snapped in half.
I didn't cry.
But I screamed. Just once. Loud and desperate, like I was trying to force out everything inside me. It didn't help. Nothing changed.
So I kept going.
I made another spear—better balanced this time. Watched how the creatures moved. Noticed how they sniffed the wind. How they avoided certain spots on the ground. I started to understand their rhythm.
I didn't feel smart. Just… sharper.
By the fourth attempt, I was crouched low in the brush, the tip of my spear resting against the ground.
My heartbeat slowed.
My breathing softened.
And when the creature crept close—close enough that I could see its breath in the cold morning air—I didn't think.
I moved.
The spear flew from my hand.
[Target Hit!]Vital Strike: +20 XP
It didn't die right away.
It screamed. Scratched at the dirt. Tried to run.
But I was faster this time.
I grabbed the jagged rock and ended it.
Silence fell again.
I stood over the body for a long time, just… breathing.
Shaking.
It was small. Barely enough meat for a single meal. But it was something.
I had done this. Me.
[Skill Gained: Basic Hunting]Tracking bonus: +3%Throwing Accuracy: +1
It wasn't just stats or numbers.
It was resolve.
Building a fire was harder.
I scraped rocks until my fingers bled. I nearly gave up twice, but I kept going—because the thought of eating raw meat in this place felt wrong. Like inviting death.
When the spark finally caught, when the dry moss lit and flame flickered to life…
I laughed.
I actually laughed.
[Milestone Unlocked: Firestarter]
Heat, light, and safety increase survival chance.+10 XP. +Comfort bonus.
The fire was weak. The meat barely cooked. But I ate every bite.
It didn't fill me. Not physically. But it fed something else. Something buried deep.
The girl who panicked yesterday was still here—but something inside her had sharpened.
She hadn't died.
She had changed.
And in this world, that was everything.