The first sensation Jonathan felt was deep, bone-chilling cold that cut through flesh and into marrow. Around him stretched a frozen tundra, endless white beneath a gray, sunless sky. Jagged ice spires jutted from the ground like cruel monuments, and the wind howled, sharp and merciless against his skin.
His left hand felt heavy. There was a sledgehammer there that wasn't there before. The hammer felt extremely familiar in his hand. It was the exact replica of the hammer he used when he was a teenager.
He shifted the weight and did a few practice swings while gripping it with both his hands. He hadn't done any manual labor since he started college. But some skills just never go away.
After checking his weapon, his attention went towards his belongings.
Jonathan had to move around a lot when he was a kid. There were times when he needed to shift to a different foster home within an hour. Somewhere down the line, he had made a habit of always carrying his absolute essentials.
Keeping the hammer on the snow, he rummaged through his pockets. He had his phone with him. It only had 47% battery left. There was no signal, not that he expected any. There probably won't be a charging port here. So, he switched it off to use later.
The flashlight had its utilities in a snow-covered area.
His pocket toolkit was still with him. It had 10 different tools with it, but none were threatening enough to actually damage something. The pocket knife might be able to do some damage against a mugger. But that's about it.
His wallet was also there, but he decided not to bother with it for now. Previously earned money has lost its value, so he didn't see any reason to bother with it. He never carried much cash with him anyway.
Jonathan's hand went to the inner pocket, and he brought out the last pieces of belongings that he had with him. A pack of Marlboro Red and a golden Zippo lighter. The lighter felt even colder with the freezing temperature.
The pack of cigarettes was unopened. He hadn't smoked for almost a year now. Now, he just kept the packet in case of a really shitty day. Many of his friends said that it was risky for an ex-smoker to keep cigarettes on their person. But Jonathan was confident in his resolve.
He hadn't had that much of a bad day yet, and he was hoping not to ever open that pack again. Quitting smoking was one of the hardest things he has ever done. Flushing all that hard work down the drain would be such a waste. Besides, he had no interest in tasting one-year-old cigarettes.
They would most probably taste like shit.
Unlike the cigarettes, however, he refilled his lighter once every month. He lit it up quickly, and a warm sensation went through his shivering fingertips. It was tempting for him to keep it lit, but he knew better. That would be a foolish way to waste gas.
With his cold fingertips, he put all his items back in their respective places.
Now that this was taken care of, it was time to address the elephant in the room, the blue screen in front of him.
[Welcome to Tutorial Zone: Frozen Tundra]
Objective: Complete the Trial of Worth or survive 30 days.
Primary Quest: Trial of Worth
Frozen Tundra is a place where survival is reserved for those who can endure. With its harsh climate threatening hypothermia at every moment and its arctic wolves seeking your flesh, mere survival is troublesome enough. But a trial without difficulty is no trial at all. Look towards the light and find your party. And only then, you might have a chance to survive.
— Eliminate 500 Arctic Wolves with your assigned party.
— Condition: Failure may result in termination
Reward: Variable. Calculated by performance.
Prerequisite Quest: Safe Zone
— Locate the light in the tundra.
— Establish access to Safe Zone (6 hours daily protection).
Reward: +2 Levels, 100C, Safe Zone Access.
Reminder: Arctic wolves are active predators. Exposure will cause hypothermia.
The system log somehow seemed quite clear and ambiguous at the same time. Jonathan still had a lot of questions regarding the task that had been given to him.
But before any of that, he needed to find the [Safe Zone]. Even with the heavy snowfall, it did not take him much time to find the direction of the safe house.
He could clearly see the bright light to his left. Judging the distance was a hard task in the midst of the heavy snow.
Jonathan's ears suddenly perked up as he heard the sound of howling in the air. Without wasting even a moment, he took off his tie and wrapped it around his dominant hand. System didn't provide him with any gloves, so this'll have to do.
Otherwise, the grip won't be strong enough for any kind of self-defense.
And judging by the howls, there might be a real possibility that he needed to fight. But that was not even the worst part.
The worst part was that wolves hunted in a pack. He might have a chance to defend against a single wolf, but against a pack, he was just dead meat.
He gripped the hammer even tighter as he started walking towards the light source. His shoe dug into the cold snow as his body shivered uncontrollably.
He was not dressed for traveling in the freaking North Pole.
Jonathan started slow. But as his body temperature started dropping, he picked up the pace. He even started using the hammer as a sort of make-shift cane.
The sound of howling never went away. Rather, as he started closing in towards the light source, it got even louder.
Jonathan mentally prepared himself for a fight.
As he neared the light source, the full view of the [Safe House] came into his sight. It would be wrong to actually call it a house. It was more like a small mountain. A mountain with an enormous light on its peak. There were no bulbs or anything like that. It seemed as if light was being projected without any source at all.
He couldn't outline the edges of the mountain due to the light. But as he got closer, he noticed the snow-covered mountain better than before.
Jonathan also noticed a tunnel on the right side. That must be the entrance.
The howling in the distance had turned into active growls somewhere down the line. He hadn't dropped his guard for a second, and yet he felt a bit nervous.
His attention was diverted elsewhere as a sudden high-pitched scream pierced through the air.
"Someone, please help me! Please! I don't want to die."
Jonathan's feet moved by themselves for a bit before he stopped himself. The light was even brighter, and he now had a clear view of what was happening.
The scream that came before was from a young man. No—he was still just a kid. Even with all the snow, Jonathan could see the unimaginable terror in the boy's eyes. He had a sword in his right hand and a scabbard on his left. he was already on the ground. The white snow under him took on a different hue than before as blood poured out of the deep gash on his left leg.
He flailed with his sword madly as he tried to get away from the attackers. A pack of white wolves, six wolves specifically.
Jonathan hadn't seen an arctic wolf in person before. But even he knew that in no way in hell were wolves that large.
Even though there was a slight variation among the six, Jonathan could say for certain that all of them were at minimal, his chest height. The largest one seemed even larger than him.
The sharp teeth on their faces curled up as they made a facial expression that seemed more like a sneer. Either they were playing with their food or they were being cautious to ensure that their prey didn't have a hidden card up their sleeve.
The big one stood by in the back as the comparatively smaller ones took charge.
Jonathan quickly thought of using the [Identify] skill to learn their levels.
[Arctic Wolf Pup- Level 5]
[Arctic Wolf Pup- Level 6]
[Arctic Wolf Pup- Level 5]
[Arctic Wolf Pup- Level 6]
[Arctic Wolf Pup- Level 5]
[Arctic Wolf Pup- Level 9]
Holy shit! That's a lot of levels. Also, how the hell are these monsters still considered pups?
Every instinct screamed at him to run. This wasn't his problem. The kid was already dead meat, and throwing his own life away for a stranger was the height of stupidity. But the System's words echoed: 'Find your party.' If this boy were a designated party member, his death now might doom the entire trial.
The safe house was only a minute away from their location. They didn't exactly need to kill the wolves; they just needed to survive till they reached the safe house.
There was no time for a good plan, only a desperate one: create an opening, grab the kid, and run. It was their only chance.
Jonathan's feet were already moving as he rushed towards the pack. His cold fingers wrapped around the hammer as he steeled his resolve.
The other pups were too bloodlusted to notice his footsteps, but the larger one noticed it immediately.
It didn't move a single inch from its position as Jonathan's sledgehammer crashed beneath the ear of the wolf at the very front.
He heard a cracking sound as the wolf was thrown away to the side. A strike with that much force and momentum would kill any human easily, and yet, Jonathan noticed that the wolf was still alive. It was down on the ground, bleeding heavily, but still twitching.
His brown eyes met the cold eyes of the large wolf, and an involuntary shiver went down his spine.
The kid was now right behind him. His breathing was still as irregular as ever.
Jonathan spoke in a hushed voice that screamed urgency,
"Hey, kid! If you don't follow exactly what I say, you're going to die."