Level up!

Ethan pressed himself as far back into the burrow as he could, curling up tightly, his entire body trembling from exhaustion and pain. His breathing was shallow, his chest tight, but he was alive, just barely.

Pain ravaged his body, and he had several injuries from which he was actively bleeding. At this rate, even if the wolf did not catch up to him, he would die.

To make matters worse, the wolf's growls echoed loudly above him. The damn thing was still there. It had already started clawing at the roots, trying to get in. He did not have much time.

He looked around to see the dead end of the burrow staring at his face. He couldn't even move further in. He couldn't crawl out of the other end or something like that. Every single thing was working against him.

Panic and dread filled him as his vision started to darken. He couldn't focus. The edges of his sight blurred, and a wave of dizziness crashed over him, pulling him dangerously close to unconsciousness.

His breathing grew ragged, the pain in his body more intense with each passing second. Blood seeped into the dirt beneath him, his injuries bleeding freely now that the adrenaline had begun to fade.

The sound of the wolf clawing at the roots above grew louder, more frantic. The damned beast was relentless. He had no strength left to fight, no energy for another desperate escape.

And even if he somehow survived the wolf, his wounds would kill him before long.

I can't die like this. What the fuck was happening?

His mind swirled with panic, and then, as if in response to his desperation, the glowing interface flickered into view again.

[Ding! You have killed a small spider]

[Ding! You have gained experience points]

[Ding! The entity small spider has been added to your summoning list]

Ethan stared at the glowing notifications. A spider? What the hell?

He did not understand how this thing even got added to his list. What did it mean by summoning list? Could he summon the worm and spider now? He was not in a mental state to think clearly about anything.

"Just explain it already, damn it!" He shouted, wincing in pain. His gaze landed on the cobwebs around him, which made him look down.

Even as he did, slightly moving, another notification chimed in.

[Ding! You have killed a small spider]

[Ding! You have gained experience points]

[Ding! The entity small spider has been added to your summoning list]

And then another.

[Ding! You have killed a small spider]

[Ding! You have gained experience points]

[Ding! The entity small spider has been added to your summoning list]

[Ding! You have killed a small spider]

[Ding! You have gained experience points]

[Ding! The entity small spider has been added to your summoning list]

[Ding! You have killed a small spider]

[Ding! You have gained experience points]

[Ding! The entity small spider has been added to your summoning list]

[Ding! You have reached the limit of your summoning capacity. The other beast souls have been released]

[Ding! Level up!]

[Lvl 1> Lvl 2]

Then, all of a sudden, a warm wave of energy surged through him, flooding his veins with life that chased away the cold grip of death. It was as if he had been submerged in sunlight.

Ethan let out a gasp and opened his eyes, only to see his torn flesh knitting back together in slow motion.

His wounds, which had been bleeding profusely, were now healing. The gashes on his arms and chest closed up, leaving behind faint scars as the warmth continued to surge through him. The pain, once unbearable, started fading.

Soon, the warm energy dissipated, and he was left behind, whole and healthy. Ethan let out a sigh of relief. His injuries were completely healed. He was not dead yet, and he could finally think clearly.

Now how the hell was he going to get out of here? He could hear the sound of the wolf's claws still scratching at the entrance of the burrow. The damn thing was relentless.

And his surroundings were still the same. He was trapped inside this burrow with just a single entrance/ exit that was now guarded by a rabid, sadistic wolf. Was there any chance he could actually kill this thing or even harm it enough for it to let him escape?

Ethan thought about it, and sadly, he could only shake his head.

Nope. There was simply no way. The thing was insanely strong. Unless he gained some sort of superhuman strength or magic... like that healing that came out of nowhere...

Ethan's brain immediately went to the bizarre blue screens he had been seeing. As soon as he thought about the blue screen, the notifications once again flashed in front of him. This time, he went through everything with a clear head. This was his only key to survival in this new world.

As he went through everything, the first thing that stood out was that he was now a summoner of some kind, meaning he could summon beasts?

At least, that is what he deciphered from his limited video game knowledge. All of this system notifications and the experience gained and level up worked very much like a video game. So he decided to think along that angle.

The second thing was that he was sitting on a bunch of cobwebs, which explained how he had killed the spiders and unknowingly added them to the so-called summoning list. And before, he had squished a worm, and that was also added to his summoning list.

So anything he killed would be added to his summoning list?

Ethan took a deep breath. That kind of sounded awesome. Especially if he could kill something like that wolf waiting outside for him. Then he could summon it and make it fight for him anytime he wanted.

However, he needed to kill it first. For now, he only had a pitiful worm and a bunch of spiders on his list. What was he going to do with them?

Wait, if there was a system and everything along with level up and experience gained, then there should also be a status screen? Once again, another screen popped up in front of him as soon as he thought about it.

[Ding! Status Screen]

Name: Ethan Rutgard

Age: 18

Class: Limitless Summoner (SSS-grade)

Rank: F

Titles: Hidden Class Awakener

Health: 100

Mana: 100

Strength: 10

Agility: 8

Constitution: 7

Intelligence: 6

Wisdom: 7

Free Attributes: 5

Core Skill 1: Limitless Summoner (Passive): All beings killed by you are yours to summon.

Core Skill 2: Summon (Active) Consumes the required mana to summon a bound being.

Bonded beings: Green worm, Small spider, Small Spider, Small Spider, Small Spider