Five hours had passed, and Zane’s camping had proved its worth. His level rose to level seven while the mage class rose to level five. He expected to see a possible new spell selection but seeing nothing popped up, he could only conclude that learning new spells wasn’t through class-leveling.

Despite no new spell, he did feel glad about the loot he had gathered so far. Thirty-five pieces of sapphires and thirty-three pieces of speed enhancer pills, the white pill that was dropped by the blue-maned wolf. True to its name, the pill doped the user speed by adding five extra points to agility which could last approximately five minutes max. Looking at them made him wonder whether he could sell these in the pawnshop back home. The sapphire might be possible, but the pill? No way he could sell it unless he wanted to be thrown inside a prison for life.

Might as well try it, Zane thought. The sapphire of course, and not the white pill. At least there was a way for him to make money through another world, and perhaps being financially independent wasn’t that far after all.

Zane left his camping spot. Noticing the bait didn’t really work anymore. The wolves probably figured out that it was a trap or it might be possible that they were scared over the big pile of dead wolves, seeing it as a warning sign.

Nonetheless, Zane continued his journey through the plains. A long unending walk and the absence of enemies only made it even boring for him. Yet at least he had the breeze on his side, making the journey more bearable. Despite living on the equator line, Zane wasn’t really good under the hot blistering sun. He was the type of guy who preferred under the shade rather than direct sunlight.

This is getting boring, he thought. Where the hell is the Devil Deer when you need one?

For a beast that ruled these plains, it was quite odd that he hadn’t seen any of those odd-looking horns. He had been itching on having a fight with that feisty deer, wanting to erase the humiliation he received from being scared shitless on that first trip.

A scream shattered the air. Prompting the man from another world to turn alert as his eyes searched for the source. His feet moved closer, treading carefully. Making sure he was off the radar, and not alerting whoever made that girl scream.

At the distance, a young woman was running from a man wielding a giant axe. It wasn’t a good sign for the lass. And whatever the axeman had planned for her, it was going to be anything but good.

Again, he faced another dilemma. It was the same as before on that day when he saved that office lady from suicide. It wasn’t like he was a selfless generous person as Zane was just a guy who didn’t want to bear the guilt of just being a bystander.

There’s only one guy. A guy carrying a big damn axe, Zane strained his eyes. Observing the menacing-looking bloke from afar. He weighed his option whether he could take him on or not. But deep down he knew. He didn’t have much of a choice. He used Hi-Analysis. Following the teaching of Sun Tzu; knowing thy enemy you shall not fear the result of a hundred battles.

[Gregor McClane][Lv.15]
[Class: Warrior(Lv.18]
[HP: 78/90]
[MP: 0/0]
[Strength: 71(+18)]
[Vitality: 45(+18)]
[Agility: 5]
[Arcane Power: 0]
[Perception: 6]

The axeman's stats made him anxious. He was having second thoughts about rescuing the damsel in distress. From numbers alone, he was outmatched. But then he slapped himself on the face.

“Get it together, Zane,” he talked to himself. “Someone is in danger and the least you can do is stall the warrior until the girl is far enough.”

He had a plan and he made his decision. Zane took aim and shot his spell. Force Beat slammed the warrior and hurled him into the air. While the damsel in distress was stunned, dumbfounded over the sudden turn of events. Then her eyes found Zane.

What the hell is she doing? Zane thought. As the girl should be running, and not stand there like a statue.

Zane waved his hand, and shouted in English, “run!”

But the girl didn’t budge. As she probably couldn’t understand what he just said.

“Ah, fuck,” Zane bolted. Sprinting over the grass, heading towards the girl. Yet from the corner of his eyes, the glint of a blade shimmered under the light of the sun. Zane dropped himself to the ground as something whipped past above him. Looking to the side, a hand axe dug halfway in the dirt.

“Axe throw? That’s kinda dope,” Zane was impressed. Getting up from the ground his eyes traced over the incoming warrior.

“Run, damn it!” he shouted, gesticulating frantically at the lass.

As if she understood the big arm motion of Zane, the girl finally sprinted towards the tree line.

The yell of the warrior approached. His war cry carried the desire of spilling Zane’s blood to the ground and making his head roll.

But a shot was fired. An invisible force slammed the warrior right in the face, staggering him on the spot, halting his testosterone-filled charge.

“What the?” Zane frowned.

The warrior bounced back almost immediately, snapping himself back from that daze state, glaring at the man that didn’t seem like a mage. He shouted in a foreign language. Which sounded rather familiar.

Is that Spanish? Zane asked himself.

Yet before he could say ‘hola’ the warrior closed the distance between them and swung his giant axe wide. Zane moved back, dodging the axe by a hairbreadth. And he continued to do so as the warrior pressured him down with an onslaught of deadly axe swings.

Zane picked up his speed, fleeing from the angry axeman. Despite having the upper hand in his speed, the range and the width of the warrior’s attack left him in a defensive position. His whispering lips reached its end, and he flung his arm as if throwing a curveball. And it hit. A clean shot right at the warrior’s face. Again, the warrior stopped dead on his track, feeling woozy over that sudden smack on his head.

Zane found his chance, and he pounced. The two ends of his taser met the skin of the warrior’s neck, and with a press button, the warrior felt it to the core. As if lighting descended on him, the warrior screamed lasting for a second before he plopped to the ground like a rag doll.

Zane followed through with the aid of his muscle memory, putting his dagger immediately at the neck of the warrior, readied to slit his neck open. Yet he stopped himself at the last second. Barely nicking the skin of the warrior’s neck as realization hit him hard. Shit, am I going to kill him? He asked himself. Looking at the spasming warrior, a human and not a wild beast that roamed these lands. This brief moment got him thinking, could he live with himself knowing he killed a person?

But a fist came before he could come up with an answer. A bone-crushing pain on the side of his left cheek sent him hurling in the air for a brief second before rolling on the ground. The pain rattled his mind and body. That single punch was enough to down his health points by a quarter. Getting up, his hands were shaking and his eyes glanced to the one that did it.

The warrior got up on his feet, shaking his head side to side. He grabbed his giant axe. Dragging it over to Zane with a pair of anger-filled eyes.

The lapse of carelessness cost Zane his greatest chance of ending it there and then. But now he had to fight. And whether he liked it or not, Zane had no choice other than to make this warrior bleed or even worse.

Gregor the warrior let out a battle cry that shook the plains. While a subtle light engulfed him for a brief second as the cry itself was a skill by the warrior. The axeman was readied for the second round, and Zane prepared for the worst. He was about to pop a speed enhancer Pill or speed pill in short, but he stopped at the last second.

From the back of the warrior, a figure emerged for an ambush. A clanking metal chain wrapped around the neck of the oblivious warrior. And by the time Gregor noticed, it was all too late. The metal chain tightened like a boa constrictor ending its prey. The wielder pulled it back, giving it all in ending the life of this warrior.

Gregor flailed his arms trying to reach whoever did this to him. Yet before he could grab the chain, a crack echoed. His arms fell limp and so did his body. The warrior hit the ground with a thud. While the killer panted for her breath, staring at what she did.

Zane saw everything. It happened so quickly that it ended in a flash. He glanced at the dead warrior, and then at the girl that was supposed to run. He approached her slowly, and he asked, “hey . . . You okay?”

But rather than a thank you, he received a growl like from a cornered animal. As the clouds moved, the sunlight shone brightly, and Zane finally saw what the girl really looked like.

“A furry?”