Life At Stake

About 7 feet tall, the monster loomed over Alex, looking down with a terrifying presence. A weird-looking creature covered in black, its back was massive, and its hands and legs resembled those of a wolf. Its face was like a hungry, nasty hyena with no eyes, and a lion's tail swayed behind it. Its mouth leaked saliva, dripping as it picked up Alex's scent.

When Alex activated his Sage Vision, his eyes began emitting a soft golden light. It wasn't particularly bright, but it marked the first time his eyes had ever glowed, adding an almost otherworldly aura to his presence.

Alex wastes no time and uses quick dash, leaping from one point to another trying to get close to the weird monster. 

The monster raises its claws towards him, Alex effortlessly dodges it and tries to hit the monster. But the monster was quick to respond and Alex had no choice but to back down.

"Close range isn't working I need to try something else" 

Alex attempted the same method as before, but this time, he outsmarted the monster. Instead of confronting it head-on, he swiftly moved behind it and grabbed hold of its tail.

Alex hopes to slam it on the ground or at least ruin the monster's position by pulling it's tails, unfortunately for him, the monster was too heavy.

He immediately backs down and now both of them are slowly moving round and round, acknowledging both of their strengths. 

In the next try, Alex manages to hit the monster but his jacket gets torn from the monster's sharp claws. The punch didn't hurt the monster at all. 

Alex was still extremely weak in terms of this world's settings even though he was quite strong as per the human standards. 

For the next 15 minutes Alex dodges the monster's attacks while trying to land punches. 

It was hard for him to attack the monster's pressure points. 

The monster slightly slips in the middle of the fight, Alex grabs his fist tight and swings his hands towards the monster's rectum. He managed to hit it somewhat but the claws went deep into his left hand.

Blood was leaking from his left hands, as he retreated 8 meters far and stopped the blood leakage with his right hand. 

'This is bad, this monster is way too fast and sharp despite his foolish appearance.'

The monster, enraged, charged straight at him. Alex was getting a little nervous as he was now on the defensive. 

He quickly grabs a handful of sand near him and throws it into the monster's eyes. But he forgot that the monster doesn't have eyes, but due to pure luck, the monster sneezes for a second. 

That second was more than enough for Alex to retreat. He quickly finds a well sturdy tree branch, breaks it with his right hand and charges at the monster. "This is payback for earlier" He stabs the monster in its legs. 

Alex quickly maneuvers towards the monster's back sitting on top of it, grabs his fist tight and starts hitting it with his hands. Each time he hits it harder and harder, to the point where his hands were totally red from bruises. 

The heat of the moment was so tense, Alex didn't realise he had broken a bone or two from his hands. 

Each impact made the monster scream louder in agony. Driven mad by the pain, it thrashed wildly and rolled on the ground in a desperate attempt to escape the torment.

But Alex had his grip tight on the monster's fur, determined to not let go.

The monster suddenly slammed its massive back against an old, towering tree. Alex, caught in between, was crushed by the force and lost his grip. He fell straight to the ground, gasping for air.

Seeing Alex fall, the monster quickly jumps on his top and tries to bite his neck, Alex manages to block its mouth with his hands. But the sharp teeths were now penetrating deep into his right hand. 

Nearby, Alex spotted a rock. He grabs it immediately, tightens his grip, and slams it into the monster's head. 

While the monster was disoriented from the hit, Alex jumped on top of the monster. 

[Quick Dash]

Hold the stone tight, raise it high and keep hitting it until it is weakened. 

The monster began running at an incredible speed, recklessly crashing into trees along the way. Alex, determined not to lose his chance, holds the stone with all his strength, refusing to loosen his grip or his focus.

The monster charged toward another large tree a few meters ahead. In the brief moment, Alex quickly removed his shirt, and covered it up onto the monster's neck, and pulled up the sleeves with full force. 

Right before hitting the tree, the monster slowed down and saliva was leaking from its mouth, desperately moving its arms, the monster struggled in vain, unable to break free. After a few minutes, it finally quieted down, its movements slowing as it seemed to give up.

[You have slain a Hybrid Hyena]

[You have gained 35 Exp]

Right when the message pops up, Alex loses his consciousness. 

[Vitality : 17] 

It system turned red when it showed up.

The entire place was a mess, broken trees were everywhere. It was a nasty street fight. Not even the world's strongest human could have won against this monster, that's just how the minimum standards of this mysterious world was.

3 hours later -

Alex immediately wakes up confused. 

"I just woke up but why do I still feel sleepy?" 

[Vitality : 291]

A crow was standing on top of the monster's body, it was staring straight at Alex and flew away the moment he turned his eyes towards the crow.

Alex didn't see it. Rather his whole attention was on the monster. 

"I'm sorry. If I didn't kill you, I would have been the one dead. May your soul rest in peace." Once he clapped his cheek, he started eating the monster.

By this point Alex was used to this wild life, he hardly felt any disgust eating anything. Even if it was an ugly hyena. Though still not confident about the Snakes. 

Trauma is a trauma for a reason.

After eating for 3 full hours, Alex was full. Blood was all over his mouth and his body. He looked like a serial killer.

"Let's see how much I have progressed"

_____________

[Player : Alex]

[Level : 2 (50/500)]

[Vitality : (291/629)]

[Mana : 1.9]

Stats :

[Strength : 27.3]

[Stamina : 30.9] 

[Agility : 46.6]

Skills : 

[Sage Vision : Level 2]

[Poison Resistance: Level 1]

[Quick Dash : Level 0]

[Fire Magic : Level 0]

_____________

"I'm still not confident to face any of those big three, the Spider, the Ancient Snake or that Serpent with these weak measly stats."

"I gotta look for a fine tree's branch for a weapon"

Alex continues moving towards where he left the sword. With my current strength I can at least lift the sword. 

'This place doesn't seem like humans would even come visit. That sword is my only hope in having an actual weapon and that also improves my strength and stamina.'

Soon he comes across a bunch of boulders stacked together. He could hear a cry from that place. It was a group of dark mysterious goblins like monsters, attacking a blue Panda. 

The Panda was using itself as a shield to protect its baby that was crying aloud in a corner.

Alex looks at the Goblins with an angry expression. The blood of the Panda was spilled everywhere, the baby Panda was hiding in the corners of the boulder with his mother's blood split even to his face.

Alex grabbed a stick he found lying in the middle of the road, his grip tightening with anger. He felt a surge of distress as he watched the goblins mercilessly attack a helpless mother bear. His eyes burned with fury, bloodshot and filled with rage as he stared down the goblins.

"I'll kill you all!"