A few seconds pass as I lay on the floor, unconscious from the pain.
Is this how I'm going to die—cold and dirty in some forest?
I open my eyes slowly. The first thing I see is the dark sky, where only a few stars shine.
My gaze drifts around. I see the bus where Kaen was standing moments ago—but he's gone now.
I look to my left and see the hound creeping toward me, its eyes locked on me.
I'm going to die. What could save me from this beast?
It steps closer until it's right in front of me, its head hovering over mine.
I can finally die, and this life will end for good—everyone will move on.
The hound is so near that I can feel its breath.
Then my phone buzzes in my pocket. I hear the ringtone I saved for Lune.
The special ringtone I only gave her. It has to be her. There's no other explanation.
I need to save her. She's probably alone. I can't die before I make sure she's safe.
I look at the hound. it's still distracted by the ringtone. I grab the broken staff with my right hand.
The hound realizes I'm still alive. It turns its head and opens its mouth wide, ready to bite my head off.
[Hollow Braveheart Lvl.1] activated.
A surge of power shoots through me. I've never felt this strong in my life.
My grip tightens around the staff until my knuckles turn white.
I aim at the hound, which is close enough to bite my head, and with a strike that surprises even me, I hit it.
The hound jumps back as I thrust the makeshift spear into the spot where its right eye was.
My arms are covered in its blood.
Fuck. Got my weapon—I need to run.
The hound keeps a cautious distance of about three meters.
I slowly rise, keeping my eyes on it, one hand behind my back to make it think I still have a weapon.
It works. The look in its eyes changes—not bloodlust anymore, but hesitation.
I step backward, maintaining eye contact. The silence is deafening. The only sounds are my steps and the hound's, mirroring mine, holding its distance.
I can't take my eyes off it—or it'll jump me. But if it realizes I don't have another weapon capable of harming it, I'm finished.
Wait. Didn't I take the safety hammer?
I reach into my pocket, hoping it's still there. I feel the cold plastic in my hand and grip it tightly.
"I got the hammer… but can I even defeat this thing with such a small weapon? It's just a little hammer, but it has a pointy tip… maybe it can do something. I need a plan. I needed it five minutes ago. Come on… think, think dammit."
Then it clicks—a light bulb in my head. I take a few slow steps back. The beast keeps the same distance. Its claws scrape the ground, making a terrifying sound. Blood drips from its mouth. My heart is hammering in my chest.
I'm at the end of the bus. I don't dare take my eyes off it as I prepare my plan. I inhale deeply, then exhale and leap to the side, out of the hound's direct line of sight. I roll on the wet ground and luckily land on my feet.
I turn quickly toward where I just stood and pull out the safety hammer. I lift it above my head, gripping it with both hands until my knuckles whiten, and wait.
The maneuver takes maybe two seconds—but two seconds could be too long.
I hear the hound approaching, its paws pounding against the ground, its breath heavy and ragged.
Not even two seconds later, the beast flies out from the corner, now less than a meter away.
The final part of my plan begins. The hammer is raised high. I look the hound in the eyes and bring the hammer down with all my might, every ounce of my body in a single strike.
The crack of impact is horrific. The hammer's tip drills deep into the hound's skull, blood shooting from its eyes. I pull the hammer out and strike again, then again, again, and again—until its head becomes an unrecognizable mush.
A message appears:
[1x Hound Rank D Slayen][Reward: 1x Level][Open stat window to allocate stat points][Hollow Braveheart deactivated]
The power leaves my body. I lean back against the bus and take a moment to breathe. My ribs ache, but besides that, I feel no real pain. Slowly, I stand and move toward the door.
"I just need a place to rest for a few minutes… maybe find something in the bus that can help me."
I walk through the broken door and see the blood smeared on the windows. I feel like I'm going to vomit—blood mixed with intestines isn't a pleasant sight.
I make my way to the first seat and take a moment to breathe.
A few minutes of silence go by. The smell of blood is lingering in the air, my hands and clothes are stained with the blood of the beast.
I wipe my hands on the bus seat next to me. They don't go completely clean, but it's better than nothing.
I stand up and start to look around in the bus. I first look by the driver's seat in search of anything useful like a backpack or something like that.
I don't find any bag, but I find a first aid kit. I open it and stuff as many bandages into my pockets as possible. Besides a few bandaids and bandages, there was nothing in there.
I move further back in the bus and look under every seat to find anything useful, but come up empty-handed. The only thing I take is another safety hammer from the wall.
"That wasn't a useful search at all. I think I got to hit the road empty-handed," I say in disappointment.
Then a thought comes to mind. I got a message earlier about a stat point and a level up.
I open the stat window and before me appears the same stat window as before.
[Profile Summary]
Name: Lucius ThornLevel: 2Race: HumanClass: UndefinedTitles: None
[Stats]
select one stat to enhance by one
Strength: 6 +Dexterity: 4 +Vitality: 5 +Intelligence: 7 +Wisdom: 8 +Charisma: 3 +Luck: 4 +
[Skills]
Hollow Braveheart: a surge of power flows through your body but it comes with consequences
Fighting Experience Lv.1: When fighting a race you've faced before, gain +1 Strength, Dexterity, and Vitality. (Races fought: Humans, Hound)
'What should I select? I think it works like a video game, but I am not really sure what stat I should take. The most intelligent idea would be to pick dexterity or vitality, but I don't know how vitality would work. Would I just have more endurance or how would that work? The rest kind of explains itself, but strength could also be a good choice. I think that would give me the most out of this, but I need to be fast, so maybe dexterity.' I think for a while, still being undecisive.
"Yeah, I got it. I put it into dexterity. It makes the most sense for now."
I press my finger on the plus right next to dexterity and suddenly a message appears.
[dexterity +1 successfully leveled up]
The message disappears after a few seconds and then my eyes land on the skill section.
"What does 'a surge of power flows through your body but it comes with consequences' even mean? Is the consequence exhaustion or what? I don't really know. Maybe I find that out in the future, but it is pretty accurate. I felt a surge of power flowing through me."
I close the menu and make my way out of the bus again. My body feels a little bit more agile, but not significantly. Maybe if I had that beforehand I could have dodged the attack from Kaen, but probably not.
I step on the road and look in the direction of the next city, the one where I need to go to save Lune. I can't even imagine what happened to her. I need to know if she is still alive.
I pull out my phone and look at the message that I got from her earlier.
[Lune: hurry up to me it's not safe out there just come as fast as you can and under no circumstances follow the military they are not friendly]
I read the message once and then again. It seems like she is safe for the time being, but I don't know for how long. But what did she mean with don't trust the military?
[Lucius: are you safe I come as quick as possible]
I think about what way to go. Do I follow the road ahead or run through the forest? Up ahead is a small village. I don't know if I should go there. If she said the military isn't friendly, they could also be there.
I think for a moment and then decide the route through the forest should be faster.
'I just need to cross it and then I should be at her house. I hope she can hold out for that long.'
I move to the left side of the street and step into the dark forest. I try not to make too much noise while still walking as fast as possible.
The only good thing is that the hound came from the other direction. Let's hope that stays that way.