The blinding white light lingered, refusing to fade.
For a moment Alton thought this was it—Heaven, or maybe just the end. A quiet, painless exit from a life that had never really begun. Then the wind hit him.
He gasped awake.
An unbearable, bone-deep cold slammed into his body. "What…?" The word came out hoarse, barely audible over the howling gale. Snow whipped across his face as he opened his eyes. The ground beneath him was frozen solid, packed hard beneath a fresh layer of powder. A literal blizzard raged around him. Visibility ended at maybe ten meters—everything beyond that dissolved into a swirling wall of white.
"What the hell is going on?" he muttered, pushing himself up on numb hands. "Is this a dream? Some kind of sick prank?"
No answer came. Of course not.
Wait… am I in a coma? The last clear memory flashed through his mind: the truck's headlights, the impact that never quite landed. That had to be it. Some hospital bed, machines beeping, his brain inventing this frozen nightmare while his body fought to survive.
But the cold was too real. It clawed through his thin office clothes, stealing heat with every breath. Thinking became harder. Survival took over.
He scanned the whiteout. Nothing to the right. To the left—movement. A small shape huddled against the snow. A rabbit? No… it looked far too fluffy, almost unnaturally so, its fur thick and silver-white. It stared at him with curious, unblinking eyes.
A translucent blue window suddenly materialized in the air before him.
Snow Fluffy Rabbit
Level: 1
Skills: Explosive Dodging, Fast, Light
Like a game. Exactly like the winter survival games he'd sunk hundreds of hours into. The box even helpfully suggested he could craft warm gloves from its pelt.
The cold made the decision easy. Alton lunged.
The rabbit was impossibly quick. It exploded sideways in a blur of white fur, leaving him face-first in the snow. Another blue window appeared, offering skills:
Magnetic Punch – Pull enemies closer to your fist.
Predicting – Anticipate the enemy's next movement.
Fast Leg – Increased stamina and speed.
His fingers were already going numb. Without thinking, Alton selected Predicting.
Knowledge flooded his mind. Suddenly the rabbit's movements stood out with crystal clarity—the tiny shifts in its muscles, the exact path it would take to dodge. He feinted left, then threw himself right. His hands closed around warm, wriggling fur.
The creature kicked and scratched, tiny legs hammering against his chest. Alton had never killed anything bigger than a housefly in his life. But the freezing wind screamed louder than any guilt. He twisted hard.
Successful Hunt!
Rewards: Rabbit Gloves, Rabbit Meat
You have leveled up! Please choose your next skill.
The same three options returned, plus a new one:
Lightning Reflex – Dodge low-level (and some mid-level) attacks with enhanced reaction speed.
It sounded useful. He chose it instantly.
The gloves formed around his hands—soft, surprisingly well-made, and blessedly warm. Heat bloomed across his palms and fingers, pushing back the worst of the numbness. But the rest of his body was still freezing. He turned, teeth chattering—
And froze.
Dozens of the same fluffy rabbits had appeared from the blizzard, their small bodies half-hidden in the swirling snow. Every single one stared straight at him.