Chapter 3: First Blood
Volume 1
Chapter 3: First Blood
I am alive! Somehow, I am still alive and get to see daylight again. My body aches all over, but I am still breathing and able to move despite the pain. Picking myself up, the only thing I find to complain about right away is that annoying text… annoying text! I hope this text tells me there is a respawn system in this world, so I won't be killed off.
Notification
Water Absorbed
+1 HP
+1 MP
+1 Strength
+1 Speed
+1 Stamina
+1 Dexterity
+1 Intelligence
Skills Acquired: Swimming Level 1 (Can the ability to swim), Underwater Breathing Level 1 (Can hold breath underwater for two minutes), Water Resistance Level 1 (Resistance to water element), and Water Magic Level 1 (Can use water magic).
Spells Acquired: Control Water (Can control water's flow, shape and strength).
Fish killed: 3
Level 2 Reached
+200 HP
+200 MP
+20 Strength
+20 Speed
+20 Stamina
+20 Dexterity
+20 Intelligence
+20 Skill Points
How am I so strong now?! I will not complain about the new skills and abilities, but the increase in my stats is too much for just a single level of growth. This must be a mistake. The world's gods messed up and gave me a broken stats system. I'm stronger than Elise now. Unless that is normal for people of this world, I might still be weak for a level two person. When Elise reaches level two, her stats will probably increase at a far higher rate. That might be the case, but the only way to know is to ask somebody. But first, I need to get out of this place.
Looking up, I see two steep cliffs on either side of me. There is no way I can climb out of there without falling, and now that it is daytime, I can see just how far I have fallen. I have no idea how long I have been down here, but it is safe to assume the others have already left since the sun has risen. I doubt they would hear me if they were still there or come to my aid, even if they did. They wanted me gone. Even Elise finally had enough of me after how much I slowed them down yesterday. I punch the side of the cliff in frustration causing the stone to creak. If only I had this power yesterday.
Looking around my location, I see only two ways to go: following the river upstream or down. Figuring it is my best option, I opt to go for the following the river downstream. One of the books I read said the best way to find settlements is to follow rivers downstream, so I hope that is true, and I remember it correctly as I set off. But I pick up the fish I killed, and before I go too far, I stop and check my belt, sighing in relief, finding it is still there. I also read about how essential knives are for survival, so I did not want to lose my own.
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Roughly two hours pass, at least. I think it has been two hours. It is hard to tell the passage of time without a watch or clock. But despite my trouble judging the flow of time, I am finally out of the valley I found myself in and enjoying a beautiful site.
Fields of green surround a large lake with water that looks crystal clear even from a distance. On the horizon, I see the capital city of this kingdom that the priests mentioned and a village between me and it. It is a large city, so I am sure someone there can point me in the right direction, even if it is not the capital.
I cannot help but smile seeing the city, but I wish it were closer. I may not be the best judge of distance, but it will still take me a few more hours of walking to reach the place. I quickly lose my smile when I realise how far away I still am. Right, I cannot stop now despite the distance. My best bet is to head to the lake, then follow along its shore until I reach the village and finally move towards the city.
Taking a step forward, I wonder if I can talk to someone in the village and get something to eat. It must be nearly lunchtime now, and I feel a little hungry. I do not have any money on me, so I would have to trade the fish I killed. If worse comes to worst, I can eat the fish, but I don't know how to prepare them. I hope they trade with me, or I will most likely be finding fish scales in my lunch after I fail to remove them all.
Reaching the lake takes only ten minutes, but I could be mistaken again since I do not have a watch. It is not hard to miss ever since there are only a few trees on the grassy plain, so I have no chance of getting lost. Now all I must do is follow the shore of the lake, and hopefully, I should reach the village in less than an hour. I can see the buildings in the distance but no… SNAP!
Slowly I turn my head and see my first monster emerging from the only pocket of trees and bushes insight. It must have been waiting for someone or something to come to the lake, and it quickly jumps out at me. Shakely I draw my knife coming face to face with a wolf the size of a horse. Its grey fur seems to sparkle as it shakes water from its coat while growling, showing off a row of razor-sharp teeth that are easily the size of my entire hand. With a growl, the wolf lowers its body getting ready to charge as claws the size of my wrist dig deeply into the ground.
"Easy there…."
I shake, putting my hands up. It is a long shot, but I do not like the odds of me beating this thing. If I am weak for my level, I doubt I would last more than thirty seconds against this thing.
"I'm not looking for any trouble, so how about we both go our separate ways?"
All I get in response is a loud growl from the wolf. I knew it was a long shot, but I was still disappointed to see the peaceful option fail. Seeing no other choice, I take a deep breath and prepare to fight. I am unsure what to do, so I copy a stance I saw in a movie and stare at the wolf while trying not to wet myself.
Suddenly, the wolf howls, and it feels like a strong gust of wind slams into me, nearly knocking me over. How can a single howl be so powerful? I might be lying on the ground now if it were stronger. But before I could overthink it, the wolf rushes towards me moving faster than anything its size should be able to.
I roll out of the way. I had no choice. If I had tried to take that charge head-on, the wolf's teeth would have shredded me. That or I would have been crushed by the sheer weight of the giant monster. I am quick to get back to my feet, but the wolf is quicker, and I narrowly escape a swipe from the wolf's claw, but I did end up with three new openings on my shirt. I stare wide-eyed at the wolf as I realise just how close I came to being killed, but the wolf does not let up, letting out another howl, nearly knocking me over when the force of the wind hits me.
The wolf attacks repeatedly, but each time it tries to bite me or cut me in half with its claw, I somehow manage to dodge it. Unfortunately, my clothes are not as lucky, receiving several tears from the wolf's claws. I would love to have some of that armour my classmates received right about now. I hope that this village has some clothes I can borrow because, at this rate, I will be naked soon.
I hit the deck, letting the wolf fly over me as it jumps, trying to bite my head off. This wolf is not pulling its punches and nearly stomps on me with its hind legs as soon as it lands. Luckily, I roll out of the way at the last minute. But when I return to my feet, the wolf attacks again. This is too much. I have to end this fight now before my luck runs out. Looking around, I struggle to devise a plan as the wolf relentlessly assaults me.
I sidestep to dodge another charge, then jump back to avoid the wolf's razor-sharp claws. There has to be something I can do to defeat this monster or, at the very least, escape with my life. I dive out of the way of another attack, coating my arm in mud as the ground starts to become wetter. I jump back once, twice and finally a third time as the wolf starts trying to land one deadly slash after the other with its claws. That was close. It nearly got me that time, cutting away the part of my shirt covering my stomach. I need to defeat this thing now before it kills me.
Pointing my knife at the giant wolf, I hope for an opening, but I feel I should just put the weapon away. It is not like the knife is helpful to me right now. Still, part of me refuses to let my weapon go, begging to keep it out while believing an opening will soon appear. In the end, I keep my weapon in my hand while jumping back, hoping for that opening to appear, but instead, I land in the lake's water.
Water! This might just be the opening I was looking for. I step backwards, drowning my feet in the lake, soaking my shoes and socks. This is it. If this plan does not work, I am as good as dead. It is risky. There are plenty of things that can go wrong, but I do not exactly have a lot of options here. I take a second step backwards, and the wolf stares down, hoping this works.
"Come on," I dare the wolf. "Come and eat me."
The wolf paces back and forth along the edge of the water, and I am starting to fear the monster might never take the bait. Finally, after what feels like an eternity, the wolf gets ready to leap at me, and I smile a little despite how scared I am right now. This will work. It has to work.
"That's right," I tell the wolf, preparing myself. "I'm right here waiting for you to sink your teeth into me."
It happens in an instant. The wolf leaps towards me, but I am ready for it, and this time, I manage to dodge the wolf easily. I roll in the water soaking the rest of my body, but the wolf fairs far worse than me as it struggles to stand in the lake. I am unsure if this is the right way to cast magic, but I have no other ideas.
"Control Water!" I shout while sticking my hand in the water and thinking of the spell I want to cast.
I do not know how to cast magic in this world. It would have been nice for those priests to tell us, but maybe that was the job of someone in the capital. I do not take any chances with casting this spell. I shout the spell's name, touch the water, and think of the spell, hoping one of those things is correct. Luckily for me, one of them was indeed the right thing to do in casting the spell.
The water around me glows, and my MP steadily starts to drop. Thinking of drowning, the wolf makes the water move as several tentacles of water shoot out of the lake and wraps around the wolf's body. It fights against the watery appendages. It bit one of them in half and slashed another with its claw, but more tentacles quickly replaced the ones lost and sealed the monster's face. The whines of the wolf break my heart, but I continue my spell, reminding myself how dangerous this monster is.
The wolf disappears beneath the water, and soon only bubbles floating to the surface are the only trace left of the wolf. I do not let up keeping the wolf held under the water for minutes until some text appears warning me my MP is about to run out. I end my spell reluctantly, and soon the wolf's body floats to the surface. Nervously I approach the wolf, still unsure whether it is dead. I poke the wolf and sigh in relief when I confirm the monster is dead.
Notification
Battle Ended In Victory
Giant Wolfs Killed: 1
Level 4 Reached
+400 HP
+400 MP
+40 Strength
+40 Speed
+40 Stamina
+40 Dexterity
+40 Intelligence
+40 Skill Points
That was close. Looking down, I saw my clothes torn to hell. I cannot help but feel it was some kind of miracle that I was not hurt in any way whatsoever. I noticed my MP was restored when I levelled up, but that good news still pales compared to surviving my first real fight. Unfortunately, my stomach rumbles, ruining the triumph of the moment, and sadly, I have nothing to eat. Well, I could eat the wolf or the fish… another rumble from my stomach and my mind is made up.
Grabbing the wolf, it feels oddly light as I drag it to shore. I dump the monster's body on the ground but leave it be for now as I busy myself finding stuff to burn amongst the group of trees where the wolf emerged from. It takes a few minutes of search, but I manage to find what I think is enough sticks and broken tree branches to start a fire.
I pile the wood together and find a rock. This is another thing I read about, so I hope it works. I pick up a rock and some small twigs before taking out my knife. I take a deep breath hoping this works, and to my surprise, it does. It took me a few minutes, and I nearly cut off my fingers, but I did it. I managed to start a small fire.
Notification
Skill Acquired: Fire Starter Level 1 (The ability to start fires)
That could have come in handy a minute ago. Those priests should have given us some basic survival skills before sending us out into the world. But now that the fire is starting, I have a much bigger problem than starting a fire. Looking over my shoulder at the monster's body, I do not know where to begin preparing the meat on its body to eat.
In the end, I decided to start with the fish. They are probably easier than the wolf to prepare, and I have seen chiefs breakdown on TV before. As long as I copy them, I should be fine. First, I think I need to… um, take off the scales. Taking at my knife, I try to copy the chief's actions only to tear into the fish. The good news is that I took the scales off… I just butchered the rest of the fish in the process.
The next part was more challenging. I didn't think it would smell so bad when I cut open the fish's belly to remove the guts. I feel proud that I didn't throw up after that. I slice the meat from the fish's body, leaving only the head, bones and a few pieces of the meat behind. It wasn't pretty, but I did it.
Notification
Skill Acquired: Butcher Level 1 (Can butcher animals and monsters)
Another skill that would have been helpful if the priests had given us some basic survival skills. I do not have a pan or anything similar, so I cook the meat on a stick hanging above the fire. I often have to cook for myself, so this is the easiest thing I have done all day. It is second nature to me to know when to turn the meat and when it is done. I can't help but miss my oven back home while I am cooking. This fire takes twice as long to cook the meat, and it is torturous to wait when I am so hungry, but I finally get the job done.
Notification
Skill Acquired: Cooking Level 1 (The ability to cook items)
Biting into the meat, I also find myself missing seasoning. It might not be terrible, but it tastes horribly bland compared to what I could have made back home. Still, it is enough to satisfy my hunger.
Notification
Fish Absorbed
+1 HP
+1 MP
+1 Strength
+1 Speed
+1 Stamina
+1 Dexterity
+1 Intelligence
I wished I had learned I could gain strength by eating sooner, or I had told everyone about this ability before they left me to die. It might have been different if they knew of this ability. I sigh as I finish eating and pick myself up. I should not be thinking about it. I need to get to the capital to be safe from those monsters.
Still, while I am here with a fire lit, I might as well use the wolf beside me. I don't know whether it is because of my new skill or that the wolf is easier, but the butchering job was much neater. It still wasn't pretty, but it was a significant improvement. The meat took just as long to cook, but hopefully, it was worth the wait.
Notification
Giant Wolf Absorbed
+100 HP
+100 MP
+50 Strength
+50 Speed
+50 Stamina
+30 Dexterity
+20 Intelligence
Skill Learned: Tracking Level 1 (The ability to spot and follow tracks left behind by animals, monsters, and people) and Danger Sense Level 1 (Can sense threats such as traps and ambushes)
With my lunch/power-up done, I start moving towards the village. I can see the village in the distance. I hope the people there can give me some spare clothes to wear. Looking down at my torn-up, blood-stained clothes, I hope they do not think I am some crazy serial killer and chase me off.