Two hours went by, and Zane was bored to death. Not to mention his stomach had been growling like a lion in captivity asking for food. I should have brought my phone along or even my Switch, at least I could pass the time easily without getting bored, Zane thought. Then his stomach growled. Who knows how many times it had been.

Relax, Zane, you better off up here than down there, he thought. And you won’t die from skipping lunch. Hell, you could even survive without food for weeks.

The waiting game went on, and he reached the ten-hour mark. His eyes were in a daze, and his back started to hurt with the unnatural position he had been sitting in. He even started to feel numbness on the legs as perhaps he might have been sitting there for way too long. Yet he knew he had to endure.

[Cooldown in progress]
[10:35:41]

The night had taken over for a while now. His sight barely saw a thing as the forest was like the embodiment of blackness, sucking in every light as he couldn’t see anything. Yet the shy moons hiding behind the clouds were kind enough to grace their moonlight over the plains. At least the plain was brighter for his eyes than the forest, not like it was any better since he couldn’t get down. With the night taken over, getting his feet on the ground was basically suicide.

There were eight hours left on the clock, but his eyes were showing signs of dozing off. He shook his head. Waking himself with a strong slap, and it didn’t work like on the TV.

Get it together, Zane. If you sleep, you die, he warned himself. Trying to stay awake. But his eyelids grew heavier with each passing second, and the cold night wasn’t helping, pushing him closer to falling into a dream.

Another hour passed. Zane’s mind grew drowsier. His vision darkened as his eyelids grew heavy. Slowly, the curtain closed, and Zane had lost. Gravity pulled him down and the sensation of weightlessness took over him for a few seconds. Then the ground embraced him.

Zane woke up. The moment he did his eyes widened, fear gripping him by the heart. A subtle ache was felt on his head, and yet he ignored it as him on the ground was the bigger problem. He looked left and right. Worrying for any monsters lurking in the dark. He was out in the open and the state of being defenseless scared the shit out of him. Scrambling on the ground, he got up and tried to climb. Yet he felt a shiver run down his spine. And he stopped. Gulping a mouthful, he grew nervous as his ears caught a noise coming from behind. Slowly he turned his head. Halfway in, his peripheral vision saw something, and right there and then, his heartbeat quickened.

A pair of yellow eyes stared from within the darkness. It was close, and it was getting closer. Hi-Analysis went to motion and he finally knew what stalked him within the dark forest.

[Blue-maned Wolf][Lv.5]
[Canine of the woods. A creature that lurks between the trees, hunting for its prey. Its blue mane is the product of a genetic defect that makes it too noticeable to its prey. Yet on contrary, its claws and fangs are sharper than any crude iron.]

The canine was lower in level than the Devil Deer, but a wolf of all things would always be a threat no matter its level. It pounced. Closing the distance between them in seconds. Claws and fangs sought for the prey of tonight.

Zane snapped out of it. And within that few seconds, he found the bloody knife hidden between the grasses. But it was too late. He screamed. His voice shattered the peaceful night of the forest. Sharp claws sunk right into the flesh of his shoulders as the blue-maned wolf pinned him to the tree trunk. The damn mutt really had the accuracy. Missing the part where his leather armor was as if it knew its claw wouldn’t easily pierce through the leather that easily. Then the drooling jaw went straight for Zane’s neck for the kill. But it stopped.

Out of sheer desperation, Zane kicked it by the balls, and the canine went jumping, spreading its hind legs in pain. His gamble paid off. Deep down he was grateful it was a male. His hand raced for the knife and snatched it by the hilt. At the same time, the blue-maned wolf recovered and pounced once more. Zane didn’t hesitate and stabbed the leaping creature by the underbelly. The canine dropped on him and bit him on the shoulder. They fell and tussled on the ground as its jaws mangled the leather that impeded its fangs. Zane screamed. Feeling the pain even though the leather protected his flesh. The grip on his knife went wild as he pierced deep into the wolf as his forearm went inside the creature. He made a mess out of the inside of the blue-maned wolf and seconds later, it went limp.

[You have leveled up to 3. Five stat points have been given.]

He pushed the dead wolf away as his hand grabbed the potion in his pocket. Luckily it was still intact. He uncorked it and chugged it down without hesitation. His injuries healed within seconds and he finally let out a breath of relief. And again death had come for him.

Turning his head, a few items floated above the dead blue-maned wolf. Too bad for him there was no potion. But at least one of them tugged his interest. “Hi-Analysis,” Zane said.

[Blue-Iron Dagger (1.5-Star). A dagger tempered from iron and the fangs of Blue-maned Wolf. A common combination of material favor by new budding blacksmiths. Quality of completion may or may not include additional effects. Attack: 10. Effect: 1% chance of inflicting critical strike.]

A subtle blue sheen glowed from the blade as if the dagger itself inherited the blue mane of the wolf. It didn’t look any different from your typical medieval dagger, but at least he was liking this trait of his. He doubted anyone could get this on their first try. Since he knew, the weapon drop rate was horrendous in those games he played.

While the other two things he looted were quite a variety. One was a gem, sapphire to be exact, big enough the size of a nail, and the other was a white pill, like one of those countertop medicines you could buy. He had the urge to use Hi-Analysis but stopped himself. Using it on the dagger was enough for now as he needed it more in identifying future threats.

He stashed these items in his pockets and held the new dagger in his hand. One dagger in each hand and the office worker looked like a crazed dagger maniac set on killing the innocent.

[Cooldown in progress]
[2:57:10]

The time was near, yet still seemed far. The accidental sleep he had really cut most of the time, and truthfully, he got pretty lucky staying alive in that defenseless state.

Zane opened his state and distributed his points.

[Status]
[Zane][Lv.3]
[Class: None]
[HP: 22/22]
[MP: 6/6]
[Strength: 8]
[Vitality: 11]
[Agility: 9]
[Arcane Power: 3]
[Perception: 7]
[Available Points: 0]

[Trait]
[Enhanced Drop Rate]
[Multi-Class]

[Unique Skill]
[Warp][Lv.1]

[General Skill]
[Hi-Analysis][Lv.1]

Going for the offensive route, three points went to agility, and two points went to strength. He realized he was powerless against those creatures in terms of physicality. And without firearms, he could only rely on himself for close-quarter combat.

Zane found himself back on the tree and the climb was easy with the new points in agility. Now came the waiting game. Waiting patiently for the cooldown and also waiting for his prey. Realizing he had a fresh carcass down on the ground, he thought he would use it for bait. It wouldn’t be long for the smell of blood to draw more lurkers of the forest as the fear he once had when fleeing from the Devil Deer was slowly getting replaced by the will of getting stronger. Not going to lie, he was still scared. But knowing he had a game-like system on his side bolstered courage in him. Not to mention his first official kill against a beast from another world was quite exhilarating as the adrenaline still pumped in his veins.

And the wait didn’t come long. Soon, two creatures on all four approached the dead wolf on the ground. They were the same breed. The blue-maned wolf that he killed, but seeing two of them immediately extinguished his will to fight. One was hard enough, but two? Might as well sign his death certificate early on if he was that stupid in going against two wolves.

Not to mention, the blue-maned wolves caught his scent while approaching. Growling at him, baring their fangs.

Well, so for much for the ambush, he thought. As he should have known that these sniffers had the keenest sense of smell. They were the ancestors of dogs for goodness sake. And it wouldn’t make any sense if they didn’t smell his sweaty body with blood all over his tee-shirt.

For the next three hours, Zane just sat and waited. But at least this time he had some company. The blue-maned wolves wouldn’t go even after eating their own kin, lingering around that tree, circling as if waiting for their chance to strike. They growled and howled. And before he knew it the numbers went up to four. Some started jumping. And their jaws snapped on empty air as they had no chance of reaching Zane, who was at the highest point of the tree. The office worker was just glad the wolves didn’t know how to climb.

Yet something strange happened. Out of a sudden, the blue-maned wolves just bolted off into the forest, leaving him alone for the first time. It was odd. Really odd. He wondered whether dawn was the reason they fled. Probably it was their time to get back to their den and rest. Then by chance, he saw something within the shadows, lurking behind a tree, closing into where he was from one tree to another. His eyes immediately followed it as his Hi-Analysis went to work.

[Sting Panther][Lv.20]
[The number one predator of Legan Forest. A feline with a black glossy coat, stalking its prey within the shadows. The moment it comes close, its stinger-like tail goes in for the kill, paralyzing the prey as it ends its kill with ease. Known to be excellent climbers.]

“Ah, fuck no,” Zane cursed. Shaking his head in disbelief. It was as if he was out from the frying pan and into the fire itself. He checked the cooldown, and it was close.

[Cooldown in progress]
[0:00:59]

Another minute left. The end of his lips curved upwards as the excitement of getting back home made him look at the big cat that was stalking him. Their eyes met. Staring at one another for a few seconds. And as if it was a signal, the Sting Panther raced towards the tree.

“Fuck!” he shouted. Getting up on his two feet. His eyes kept shifting between the cooldown timer and the approaching predator. And before he knew it, the Sting Panther latched its claws on the tree bark.

“Hurry up, damn it!” he shouted, going ballistic against the inanimate timer as the clock had forty seconds to go. Sweats rained down his forehead as his complexion was getting paler by the second. He could fight it. But the question was does he really has a chance against a level twenty beast?

[Cooldown in progress]
[0:00:35]

Five seconds went by, and the sting panther was right below him. Its red eyes stared at Zane as it didn’t make a sound or even a growl, and that sent chills down his spine.

He thought of retaliating. Taking the first shot as a stab on the panther’s face might kill it. But he stopped. The pointy end of a stinger lingered near the head of the panther as if waiting for an attack to come. As if it was readied for a counter, knowing a single prick was enough to do the trick.

The clock ticked, and he was running out of options. Looking to the side, he bolted and leaped without hesitation. He swung his dagger, and the blade pierced through the thick bark of a tree. Dangling on the neighboring tree by one hand, Zane climbed himself up as he noticed the panther dropping itself down and raced towards him. By the time he reached the top, he was panting for his breath as the predator sought his flesh and blood from below. It got faster, and within seconds, it almost reached Zane. He cursed out loud a few times then his sight fell on the timer.

Their eyes met one more time as Zane flashed a grin.

“Fuck you,” he said. “Warp Apartment 9116.”

Then he vanished.