Leo wasn't expecting much when he made that choice. He was just unwilling to accept his fate and was like a kid throwing a useless tantrum.

Unknowingly, it was that suicidal decision to fight and stop running that was going to save his life. Like this Leo mustered the little strength remaining in his body and stood up shakily.

As soon as he managed to stand up, he could feel his mana moving once again and a massive amount of power waking up within him and rushing through his body. It felt just like an adrenaline burst. However, Leo knew it wasn't. Instinctively, he knew that it was his innate hunter talent waking up.

[Innate hunter: When in a hunting state,

-All your stats and senses receive a 100% bonus.

-All your hiding and tracking skills will have their efficiency raised by 100%, and their cost halved.

-Your first strike when entering battle will inflict 200% damage.]

Feeling the power suddenly coursing through his body, Leo was surprised and couldn't help but ask himself how he entered the hunting state.

'The only difference is that now I want to fight the shaman.'

When he came to that conclusion, the killing intent Leo was feeling towards the shaman instantly thickened and he looked at him more defiantly.

With his heightened senses, Leo felt like the movements of the shaman were slower and he would be able to react if the shaman were to attack him again. He was even able to hear the calm heartbeat and light breathing of the shaman, showing how casual the latter was about this whole thing.

Also, when looking at the shaman, Leo would still feel fear, and his senses would scream at him to escape. From that it was clear that Leo was still far from being a threat to the shaman and fighting him would be foolish.

Leo wasn't a fool, while his confidence increased with the activation of 'Innate hunter', he wasn't planning to fight against the shaman. But he knew it was that will to fight or maybe to kill that was behind 'Innate hunter' activation. He couldn't just let it go or he would risk losing 'Innate hunter' enhancement.

While all he wanted was to use his enhanced abilities to create an opening to escape, his anger towards the shaman didn't disappear. Well, he wouldn't say no, if he could leave a cut or two on the shaman. To trick himself into believing this Leo just kept repeating ' I will kill him and escape' like a psalm. While it was difficult for Leo to trick himself like this, he managed to pull it off, and it was what allowed him to keep ' Innate hunter' active for as long as it mattered.

Additionally, to 'Innate hunter', Leo activated his two other skills.

[Dash:

Upon activation, increase your movement speed by 10% for 3 sec.

Cost:10 SP]

[Scratch:

Your claws are extra sharp. Attack with your claws deals 110% physical damage to your opponents.]

"You already made me lose enough time. Now come here, gru-gru," the shaman said as he looked at the defenseless cat and crouched to catch it. So, imagine his surprise when the cat once again attacked him, despite being sent to death’s door the first time he tried.

'Is that cat a fool?' This time the orc wasn't just pissed off, he was completely infuriated by Leo's defiance, and killing intent started leaking from him. However, what happened after was completely outside of the shaman's expectations.

He was completely caught off guard by Leo's sudden outburst, and before he could react Leo had already appeared in front of him.

ZOOM

SLASH….SLASH

SPLASH

Everything happened quickly, from the start to the end, it only took the time one needed to say 'Ah'. Not only was the shaman closer to Leo, but the latter also surged with a speed that was almost thrice his original, leaving the surprised shaman no room to dodge. In an instant, Leo appeared in front of the shaman and his claws cut through the shaman's face. The thick skin of the shaman offered no resistance and Leo's claws easily went through it.

Once Leo was done with giving the shaman his goodbye gift, he didn't hesitate and whizzed past him, feeling like a certain hedgehog.

"Hum!!!!?" the bewildered shaman muttered as his mind tried to understand whatever just happened.

"ROAR... YOU DARE!!!" a furious below once again reverberated through the cave, and an overbearing aura filled it. Quickly the furious shaman turned around to chase after Leo, only to find nothing but the dust left behind by Leo.

While the shaman was still dazed, Leo had dashed with all his might and managed to reach the exit just before the effect of 'Innate hunter' wore off. Immediately after Leo was overcome by an immense feeling of exhaustion, but he paid it no mind and continued running.

[Ding….]

[Congratulations

You have completed your first mission.

Completion grade: Normal

Do you wish to claim your reward?] The cold voice of the system sounded again.

'Yes, Yes. Do I even need to answer that question? Just open everything and please tell me you have something useful for me,' Leo quickly said as he continued to run, he could already feel the presence of the orc shaman furiously chasing after him.

[Yes, there is something.]

[Do you want to use item 'Teleportation crystal']

'Goddamnit, use it. What are you waiting for?' Leo roared in his mind; he was seriously pissed by the system’s antics at this point. If it continued like this it would be the death of him.

Luckily for him, the system quickly acted this time and he stopped running to look at his body that was now surrounded by a bright light.

"FUCKING CAT, WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU ARE GOING?" A deafening cry once again sounded behind Leo.

Leo turned around and looked at the orc that already caught up to him and was standing a few steps before him. The once-mighty shaman didn't seem so terrifying anymore, half of his face was drenched in blood, and he was so furious that his whole body was shaking. It was very funny to look at the orc that had lost all his composure and grandeur. At that point, Leo knew the shaman couldn't harm him, so he stood his ground and glared at the shaman.

'I will be back, and I will kill you. You better keep your neck warm till then,' Leo mouthed before disappearing in a bright flash.

A moment later Leo appeared inside another cave miles away from his previous location. This cave was smaller, and thankfully void of any inhabitants and immediate threat.

'Sigh, at last, I'm safe,' Leo muttered and the next moment he collapsed and fell into a heavy sleep.

***

"Hehe, oh yeah headshot! Ha, too easy," Leo laughed out loud after sniping a camper. Leo had always found that breed of players annoying, God knows how many times they screwed him up. So, each time he was given the opportunity to teach them a lesson, he always enjoyed it.

"Hum!! Oh~ would you look at that?" Leo said when he spotted a team rushing towards the building he was in.

"Let's give them a warm welcome," Leo smiled deviously while thinking about the possibility of succeeding in a team wipe.

"Leeooo~" unfortunately his fun was interrupted when his sister suddenly bolted into his room.

"What do you want, Anna?" Leo said, not bothering to look at her. He knew her, it was only when she wanted something she would call him like this.

"Oh~ why are you so cold with me? Can't your sister just come to stay with you? Could it be that your game is more important than me? You don't love your big sis anymore…" Anna said, trying to sound hurt. But there was no way Leo would fall for her ploy, not this time.

"One down… I'm not sure you want to hear my answer," Leo said as he continued to focus on his game.

"Aww, you are hurting my feelings. How can your annoying game be more important than your sister?" Anna said and put her head in front of the screen, showing her lovely face.

Without hesitation Leo pushed her head aside, earning an annoyed pout from her. "Hey, don't do that. You can't understand, Anna. It's the Call of Duty. The Call of my Duty. "

"Yeah, and your duty as a brother is to go out with me, now! Come on, we will have fun." She said and started tugging at his sleeve.

"Crap, you almost got me killed here. And it's no, I'm not going anywhere with you, today I am playing CoD no matter what you will say.... S***, where's that bastard?"

"Please, Leo~. I'm so bored." This time she went all out and gave him the puppy eyes, some tears even threatening to fall from her eyes.

"Non. No. Nein."

"Ha, you are the one forcing my hand, Leo. You leave me no choice." Anna shook her head,  looking like someone who was struggling to make a difficult decision.

'What's she up to now?'

"That girl, what was she called… Ah yeah Lisaa~, was it? What a beautiful name. You two seem very, very, very~~ close, right?" Anna said with a teasing smile.

BANG

GAME OVER. Both in-game and in reality.

'S*** I'm done for. How can she know about this?'  Leo's mind turned chaotic the moment he heard that name, he even forgot to curse her for making him lose his game.

"I'm sure someone would be interested in such news," Anna continued as she took her phone out.

"Big sis, what are you even talking about? How can I, your caring brother, not want to hang out with my sweet and beautiful big sister? I just wanted to finish this one game before we go. You misunderstood me. It's a complete misunderstanding." When he saw how the situation was going out of control, Leo agreed to his sister's request without hesitation. He was even shameless enough to act as if he was going to do so from the beginning.

"Hehe, yeah a misunderstanding, I see. How could I have misunderstood my brother? I am so sorry," Anna said, her eyes narrowed as she looked at Leo.

"Now, now let's go, we have already wasted enough time," Anna said and happily dragged him outside.

"Yeah, yeah I'm right behind you. So where are we going?" Leo said as he powerlessly followed behind her. He loved this sister of his, but she was too much sometimes.

"Let's start with the amusement park. And just so you know, I don't have any money," Anna shamelessly said.

Critical

'Damn it,' Leo cursed under his breath.

In the end, the afternoon wasn't so bad, not that he ever thought it would be. It was always fun to be with Anna. They spent a big part of the time fooling around in the amusement park, watched a movie, and pranked some people. It would've been a perfect afternoon if at the end Anna hadn't dragged him to a Cafe and shamelessly ordered some expensive dessert.

"Ah, that was so good, we should come more often," Anna muttered with a foolish and satisfied smile on her face.

"Tsk, what you don't pay for is always good," Leo grumbled before paying the bill and exiting the restaurant.

"Hehe, it is for a good cause, right? You didn't think I would leave you off the hook without compensation, right?" Anna smiled and stuck her tongue at him before walking towards their Mustang.

"Yeah, the good cause. I should have seen that coming," Leo said and followed her to the car.

"Ha-ha, why are you acting like you didn't have fun?" Anna asked as she started to play with her phone.

Leo did enjoy himself but there was no way he was going to admit it.

"I still believe that a CoD afternoon is better. And also, don't act like you care whether I had fun or not. You just wanted a driver and someone to leech off," Leo said and took a glance at her.

"Whistle, the weather is sure nice today," Anna said, not even bothering to deny his accusations.

"Shameless, just find a boyfriend already. It shouldn't be hard to trap someone with that face of yours," Leo muttered and started the car.

Anna didn't say anything. It was always like this when it came to that subject. His sister was beautiful, like really beautiful. Leo knew many guys that were going after her, some of them weren't even that bad. The only problem was Anna, she seemed to not be interested in starting a relationship. The reason why was a mystery, even for him.

The road was quite peaceful and the two of them didn't talk that much. Anna was too busy with her phone and Leo was focused on the road and was quietly enjoying the music.

"Hey, Leo~," Ana suddenly called and started recording him with her phone.

"Yes,"                                

"What does a deaf gynecologist do?" Anna asked.

"You!! Where did that come from?" Leo's mouth twitched when he heard that weird question.

"Just answer," Anna said.

"I don't know. Tell me," Leo said as he turned to look at her. He had an idea about the answer, but he didn't want to tell it.

"Hehe. Not telling," Anna said and turned away.

'Tsk.' Leo glared at her for a second. He was just about to turn towards the road when he heard her scream.

"Leo!! WATCH OUT," Anna screamed, her eyes filled with fear.

"Sh***!!!" Leo cursed when he saw the truck rushing towards them. He hastily tried to avoid it. Alas, it was too late.

SCREECH...BANG...TUMBLE….TUMBLE.

****

"Gasp..."