More wolves?

Ethan panted, out of breath. It worked. Shit! He actually did it. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. He had actually killed this monstrosity of a wolf by his own hand! What the heck?!

However, before he could savor this victory, several loud howls in the distance snapped him out of his thoughts.

He looked at the wolf's corpse in front of him, and his brain made the connection. There was a pack of wolves nearby. Shit. This was bad. There was no way he or his tiny spiders or the single wolf he had managed to kill could possibly hunt down a full pack of wolves!

His mind raced as quickly as his feet, searching for a plan, for anything that could save him. What was even the point of thinking now? It was time to run again! He had no idea where he was headed and simply kept running away from the direction he heard the howls.

Luckily for him, the forest seemed to be thinning down. He pushed his legs harder, his breath coming in ragged gasps. Finally, he came to a clearing. Maybe there was a settlement ahead? Could he really be that lucky?

It turned out he was. But he also wasn't.

Ethan skidded to a halt as he burst through the thinning trees and onto solid ground, his feet coming perilously close to the edge of a jagged cliff. His heart raced as he caught his breath, staring down at the scene below.

A village.

Nestled in the valley far below was a small settlement, its thatched roofs and stone buildings bathed in the soft orange glow of twilight. Smoke lazily drifted from chimneys, and he could make out tiny figures moving about. Civilization. Safety. It was so close… and yet, so far.

But between him and the village was a sheer drop that must have been at least fifty feet, plunging down into thick foliage below. There was no easy way down from here. He cursed under his breath.

Ethan's pulse pounded in his ears as he looked over the edge of the cliff. Fifty feet was way too far to jump without turning himself into a broken mess. His gaze flicked between the steep drop and the forest behind him, where the howls of the wolf pack became louder.

He no longer hesitated. With one last glance at the treeline behind him, he took a deep breath and made up his mind. He had no other choice. Either he tried the descent, or the other wolves would catch up and finish the job.

He ran toward the edge, lowering himself carefully until his feet found purchase on the first set of roots. The vines groaned under his weight, but they held—barely.

Slowly, painstakingly, Ethan began his descent. Every step was a gamble, his hands shaking as he grabbed onto vines and crevices, praying they wouldn't snap under the strain. His heart thudded in his chest, but he forced himself to stay focused. One wrong move, and he'd fall straight to his death.

His fingers dug into the rocky surface as he descended carefully, the roots and vines beneath him creaking under his weight. Each foothold and handhold became a life-or-death decision. 25 feet down. He still had half-way to go.

However, all of a sudden, the rock he had grabbed onto shook and then cracked under his weight.

Ethan's heart lurched as the rock gave way, sending a cascade of pebbles tumbling down the cliffside. His grip slipped, and for a terrifying moment, he was free-falling. Instinctively, he flung out his hand, desperately reaching for anything to break his fall. Unfortunately, there was nothing.

Crash.

Ethan's body slammed into the rocky surface below, pain exploding through his limbs as he tumbled down the remaining distance. He hit the ground with a sickening thud, his breath knocked from his lungs. The world around him spun, a blur of green, gray, and pain. For a moment, everything went dark.

Gasping for air, Ethan groaned and rolled onto his side, blinking against the dizziness. His whole body ached, sharp pain flaring in his ribs and legs. His vision swam, and his head throbbed. But somehow, miraculously, he was alive.

Alive and broken in many different places.

Ethan lay sprawled on the ground, unable to move his body even an inch.

His limbs felt like dead weight, his chest burning with every ragged breath. He tried to move his fingers, but even that small effort sent waves of pain shooting up his arm.

His body was battered, his ribs probably cracked, if not worse. His vision blurred in and out of focus as he lay there, staring up at the sky above, wondering if this was the end.

And then he saw it.

The notification.

[Ding! Quest Complete!]

[Ding! You have gained experience points]

[Ding! Level up!]

[Lvl 3> Lvl 4]

[Ding! You have gained 5 stat points]

[Ding! Your summoning capacity has been upgraded]

Ethan blinked, disbelief washing over him as the familiar glowing notifications floated in front of his eyes. Quest complete? Level up? Oh, that's right, he had that quest to survive. It looked like he had finally managed to get away from the pack of wolves, and the quest was marked complete.

A weak laugh bubbled up from his throat, but it was cut short by the stabbing pain in his ribs. The next second, a wave of warmth enveloped his body, and everything that was broken began to heal.