After the bleeding from my wound had lessened a little, I began to think about what I should do next, when my status screen appeared before me once again.
=== Status ===
Username: Zack Alder
Race: Human
Class: Mage
Level: 2
EXP: 40 / 200
Health: 11
Strength: 8
Agility: 4
Endurance: 4
Skills: None
Shop: Locked (Unlocks at level 10)
===
I stared at my status for a few moments, then focused on the experience points. It was clear that I could level up by killing monsters, which was very similar to the games I had known before.
I thought that I needed to level up as quickly as possible, aiming specifically for level ten, where the shop was supposed to open. Shops in games usually provided everything you needed: healing potions, useful tools, or items that helped you survive. I wasn't completely sure what this shop would offer, but just the thought of it gave me a glimmer of hope.
I looked at my stats again. They seemed… okay, at least as far as I could tell. Then my gaze stopped at my Strength.
It had increased by one point after I killed my first monster.
I wondered to myself: could adding just one point of Strength really make such a huge difference? Could it really double my power to this extent? I wasn't sure, but I had no other explanation for what had happened earlier, when I had thrown stones with unexpected force. This possibility was the only logical explanation I could think of.
I closed the status screen, realizing I had been thinking out loud without noticing it.
I muttered quietly to myself:
"I have to level up fast… so I don't die from this bleeding, or worse, get killed by another monster."
I paused for a few seconds, and then a heavy question crept into my mind, making my chest tighten.
"And if I die again… will I come back to life?"
I found no answer.
I exhaled slowly, looking at the ground in front of me, and added in a low voice:
"I hope… if I die again, I don't come back. I just… want to rest from this torment I'm living through."
For a moment, I stared silently at the ground, trying to calm my breathing, before I heard a faint sound… a rustling in the distance.
I froze in place.
I lifted my head quickly and looked around in every direction, searching for the source of the sound… but saw nothing.
I heard the sound again.
At first, I convinced myself it was just the wind, the friction of leaves, some passing illusion. But the sound didn't fade… it grew closer.
Closer.
A creeping anxiety spread through my chest like slow poison, and I immediately looked toward the fire. Without thinking, I rushed to it and quickly extinguished it, scattering dirt over the glowing embers until no trace of light remained.
I stood up immediately and headed toward the cavity I had found earlier. I ran as fast as I could despite the pain, entered it quickly, and began piling dirt over my body with trembling hands, covering myself as much as possible.
I sat there, curled up, my body shaking entirely, my heart pounding at a frantic rate as if it alone would reveal my position. Every breath felt louder than it should. And the sound… it was getting closer.
Then it appeared.
A creature emerged from the trees with terrifying silence.
Its eyes were completely white, round, shining in the darkness like two cold, lifeless moons. Its skin was pale, smooth, as if made of ice itself, reflecting the faint light of the sky unnaturally.
I saw it heading toward the fire.
It stepped over it.
And the moment its feet touched the ground…
The temperature dropped suddenly.
The air around me became harsh, painfully cold, as if the chill had crept directly into my bones. My breath turned to faint vapor, and my body shivered until I lost all control.
My heart pounded endlessly in my chest.
I turned my face away from it quickly and curled deeper into the cavity, pressing my back against the dirt, burying myself further until the earth surrounded me on all sides.
Then… I heard its steps.
They were slow, and each step brought a new wave of cold. I felt it crawling toward me, wrapping around my body, paralyzing my limbs one by one.
It came closer.
Closer.
Until I felt it right in front of me.
It paused.
Seconds passed that felt like an eternity. I didn't dare breathe. I didn't dare move. My body was completely frozen, not just from fear… but from the sheer cold. My fingers had lost all sensation, and my teeth chattered uncontrollably.
Then…
It moved away.
I felt the cold gradually lessen, and I heard its steps fade as it headed elsewhere into the forest.
But I didn't move.
I stayed there, buried in the dirt, my body rigid, my mind empty, and my heart still pounding violently.