By the third day, Kaito had established something resembling a routine.
Wake up at dawn. Drink from the stream. Eat mistberries. Hunt creatures. Absorb Genes. Return to the cave before dark. Repeat.
It was a simple existence, almost meditative in its repetition. But the nagging questions never left his mind.
On the morning of day three, Kaito sat outside his cave and stared at his stat screen, specifically at the section he'd been avoiding thinking about too hard.
**[Luck: 1]**
That number hadn't changed. Every other stat had increased through Gene absorption or titles, but Luck stubbornly remained at one—the absolute minimum.
"What does Luck even do in this system?" he muttered, poking at the screen. No helpful tooltip appeared.
He'd been lucky to survive that first wolf encounter. Lucky to find the cave. Lucky that the creatures he'd fought so far had been relatively manageable. But was that actual luck, or just probability? And if his Luck stat was truly that low, was his good fortune about to run out?
Kaito shook his head. "Stop overthinking. Focus on what you can control."
What he could control was getting stronger. Over the past two days, he'd killed seven Mistwood Wolves and twelve Mistwood Foxes. The fights had become almost routine—identify the creature, analyze its movement patterns, exploit its weaknesses, absorb its Gene.
His current stats reflected the progress:
**[Physical: 8]**
- Strength: 6
- Constitution: 6
- Dexterity: 11
- Speed: 10
**[Mental: 7]**
- Intelligence: 8
- Wisdom: 6
- Charisma: 3
**[Will: 7]**
He'd focused on Speed and Dexterity Genes, reasoning that being fast and agile was more valuable than raw strength when fighting alone. It was working—he could now dodge attacks that would have hit him on day one, could strike with precision that surprised even himself.
But he'd hit a wall.
The last three creatures he'd killed hadn't dropped any Genes. Or rather, they'd dropped crystals, but when he tried to absorb them, the system had given him a new message:
**[Gene absorption failed. Target Gene already integrated. Redundant Genes provide minimal benefit.]**
"Diminishing returns," Kaito said, recognizing the pattern. "I can't just farm the same low-level creatures forever. I need stronger enemies."
The problem was finding them. The Mistwood creatures were all F-rank, the lowest tier. He'd explored extensively around his cave but hadn't encountered anything stronger.
Unless he went deeper into the forest.
Kaito had been avoiding the forest's interior. From his vantage point near the cave, he could see that the mist grew thicker toward the center, the trees larger and more twisted. Something about it felt wrong, dangerous in a way that made his newly-increased Will stat scream warnings.
But if he wanted to keep growing, he didn't have a choice.
He gathered his supplies—his makeshift club (he'd upgraded from a branch to a solid piece of wood with a stone lashed to one end), a pouch of mistberries, and a crude waterskin he'd fashioned from leaves. It wouldn't win any survival awards, but it worked.
"Okay," he said, psyching himself up. "You're not the same person who stumbled into this forest three days ago. You're faster, stronger, smarter about this. You can handle whatever's in there."
He hoped he was right.
The forest interior was like entering a different world. The mist was so thick here that Kaito could barely see ten meters ahead. The trees were massive, their trunks wider than his cave, their roots breaking through the ground in twisted tangles that made walking treacherous.
And it was quiet. Too quiet.
No bird calls. No rustling leaves. Just his own breathing and footsteps, muffled by the oppressive mist.
Kaito's improved Dexterity helped him navigate the difficult terrain, but his heightened Speed was almost a liability—he had to consciously slow himself down to avoid tripping over hidden roots.
He'd been walking for maybe twenty minutes when he saw them.
Three Mistwood Wolves, but different from the ones he'd fought before. These were larger, their fur darker, their eyes burning with a more intense yellow light. And they moved together, coordinated, like a pack.
**[Mistwood Alpha Wolf (E)]**
**[Mistwood Wolf (F)]**
**[Mistwood Wolf (F)]**
E-rank. Kaito's stomach clenched. That was a full grade higher than anything he'd faced.
The Alpha noticed him immediately. Its lips pulled back in a snarl, revealing teeth like daggers. The two F-rank wolves flanked it, taking positions on either side.
"Three on one," Kaito said, backing up slowly. "And one of them is stronger. Great odds."
The wolves began to circle, working together to cut off his escape routes. Kaito's mind raced, analyzing. The F-rank wolves he could probably handle—he'd fought plenty of them. But the Alpha was an unknown variable. How much stronger was it? Twice as strong? Three times?
And fighting three enemies simultaneously with his limited combat experience was asking for disaster.
'Run or fight?'
His Luck stat of 1 whispered that running was the smart choice. But something else—maybe his increased Will, maybe just stubborn pride—made him plant his feet.
"I didn't come this far to run away," he said.
The Alpha howled, and the attack began.
The two F-rank wolves came at him from both sides while the Alpha held back, watching. Kaito had fought wolves before, knew their patterns. He dodged left, using his improved Speed to get out of the pincer attack, then swung his club at the nearest wolf.
But these wolves were faster than the ones near his cave. His club connected, but it was a glancing blow. The wolf barely stumbled.
The second wolf came in low, going for his legs. Kaito jumped—higher than he would have been able to on day one, his improved physical stats making the movement possible—and brought his club down on the wolf's back as he descended.
This hit was solid. The wolf yelped and collapsed.
But Kaito had forgotten about the Alpha.
It hit him like a freight train, coming from his blind side. Kaito felt the impact in his ribs, felt himself flying through the air. He crashed into a tree trunk hard enough to knock the wind from his lungs.
Pain exploded across his back and side. The club had fallen from his grip, lying several meters away.
**[Warning: Health at 60%]**
**[Constitution preventing critical damage]**
The Alpha stalked toward him, taking its time now. The remaining F-rank wolf circled to Kaito's left, cutting off any escape.
Kaito struggled to his feet, each breath sending spikes of agony through his ribs. His vision swam, but he forced himself to focus.
'Think. There has to be a way out of this.'
The Alpha was too strong to fight head-on. The F-rank wolf was a distraction, keeping him from focusing on the real threat. His club was too far to reach before they'd attack again.
But he had something else.
Kaito reached down and grabbed a handful of earth and stones. As the Alpha lunged, he threw it directly into the creature's face.
The Alpha flinched, shaking its head to clear the debris from its eyes. It wasn't much, maybe a second of distraction, but Kaito had learned that a second was an eternity in combat when you had Speed of 10 and Dexterity of 11.
He dove for his club, rolled, came up swinging at the F-rank wolf that had been circling. The creature hadn't expected the sudden aggression. Kaito's club caught it in the jaw with all the force his Strength of 6 could muster.
The wolf's jaw shattered. It fell, dissolving into light.
But the Alpha had recovered. It crashed into Kaito again, this time catching his shoulder with its teeth. Kaito screamed as fangs punctured flesh. Blood—his blood—sprayed across the misty ground.
**[Warning: Health at 35%]**
**[Critical injury sustained]**
**[Bleeding status applied]**
Kaito swung the club blindly, desperately. It connected with something—the Alpha's head—and the creature released him, backing off.
Kaito stumbled away, clutching his bleeding shoulder. His vision was starting to go dark at the edges. The pain was overwhelming, making it hard to think.
The Alpha circled him, blood—his blood—dripping from its muzzle. It knew he was done. This was just a formality now.
'I'm going to die,' Kaito thought with strange clarity. 'I made it three days. That's better than nothing, right?'
But even as the thought formed, another part of him—the part that had spent countless nights studying when everyone else was sleeping, the part that had pushed through exhaustion and doubt and fear his whole life—refused to accept it.
'No. Not like this.'
The Alpha lunged for the killing blow.
And Kaito felt something inside him snap.
Not break—snap into place, like a puzzle piece finally finding where it belonged.
The stone he'd been holding in his off-hand—he'd forgotten he was even gripping it—suddenly felt different. Heavier. More solid. More real.
Time seemed to slow as the Alpha descended. Kaito could see the individual droplets of saliva flying from its jaws, could see exactly where it would land, could see the precise angle and timing needed to—
He moved.
His body flowed like water, sliding under the Alpha's attack with a precision that shouldn't have been possible. His arm came up, the stone blade-like in his grip. He drove it upward with all his remaining strength, burying it in the soft flesh under the Alpha's jaw.
The creature's momentum carried it past him. It crashed to the ground, the stone still embedded in its throat.
The Alpha tried to rise. Failed. Dissolved into light.
Kaito collapsed to his knees, clutching his bleeding shoulder. His vision was fading fast.
**[Combat Complete]**
**[Enemies Defeated: Mistwood Alpha Wolf (E), Mistwood Wolf (F) x2]**
**[Multiple Genes Detected]**
**[Warning: Critical health. Recommend immediate healing.]**
"Heal?" Kaito laughed bitterly, tasting blood. "How? There's no healing in this stupid system—"
**[Emergency Protocol Activated]**
**[Gene absorption can provide minor healing effect]**
**[Absorb all available Genes?]**
"Yes," Kaito gasped. "Please. Yes."
Three crystals—one larger and darker than the others—flew toward him and dissolved into his body. The warmth was different this time, focused, purposeful. He could feel his flesh knitting together, the bleeding slowing, the pain receding to manageable levels.
**[Genes Absorbed:]**
**[Fragmented Gene: Constitution (E)]**
**[Fragmented Gene: Speed (F)]**
**[Fragmented Gene: Strength (F)]**
**[Special absorption bonus due to critical state]**
**[+3 Constitution]**
**[+1 Speed]**
**[+1 Strength]**
**[Health restored to 55%]**
**[Title Unlocked: Against The Odds]**
**[Effect: +2 Will when facing enemies of higher rank]**
Kaito lay on the ground, breathing hard but alive. His shoulder still hurt, but it was a dull ache now rather than the screaming agony from before.
He'd survived. Barely, but he'd survived.
And more importantly, he'd learned something crucial: he couldn't keep playing it safe. Growth required risk. Power required sacrifice.
The question was, how much was he willing to sacrifice?
As consciousness started to fade, one last notification appeared:
**[Days Remaining: 4]*