17- Change in Character  

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As I was trying to gather some strength and move, suddenly I heard a sound. Hearing that, I was startled and somehow, I got up and looked in the direction from which the sound came.  

As I was already in an extremely weak condition and poisoned, I was thinking about whether to hide or look at what it is.   

Realizing it was not safe to look, I moved to a nearby tree that was big enough to cover my thin and weak body.   

By exhausting my remaining strength, I got to the back of the tree and saw that the tree had a hole, big enough for a person to pass through. After I entered the hole, I saw that the tree was hollow and at least 2 people can fit in the tree’s internal area.  

CLICK   

After entering the tree, I sat down trying to recover my strength when, I heard that the sound which I had heard earlier, was getting closer.   

I heard the nearby bushes rustle and felt that some animal or human was moving in my direction. As I was in no condition to protect or even run, I tried to make no noise and even my breathing was slowed. I felt that the animal or the human was walking slowly as if almost staggering.   

The sound was getting close to the tree where I was hidden and prayed to God for blessing. Maybe the god heard my prayers, the sound passed by the tree and the animal or human did not notice me.  

I felt that it was moving toward the river.  

As I was hesitating if I should poke my head out of the tree hole to have a look or should I just keep quiet. I heard someone grunting. Now my conclusion was that it was a human.  

Actually, even if it is an animal or a human, it’s not good news for me. Because if it is an animal then, as they are violent and have good sensing abilities and physical strength, I will not have any chance of defending or running away from it. Or if it's a human then it would be more dangerous as humans are intelligent and it's hard to determine what they have in mind.  

(I know, I am a human myself but I had the basic pity for the living things and humans in my past life and till yesterday. But now I think it is better to adapt to the rules of this world and become cruel.  

It is better to be a cruel person instead of being dead.)  

So, if a human sees me, he or she might try to lure me and then attack me. So, anyway it is dangerous.  

And now due to my worst luck, it sounds like a human.  

if it is a human, then I have to take many precautions and try not to expose myself.  

As I was resting and trying to be quiet, I could hear the sound of the person. And it sounds like the human is a Male.  

As the sound of grunting continued, I confirmed it was a man, I felt that the situation became worse. Because a man is always more dangerous. (Well, to be honest, if I had zero chances of survival, I would rather die at the hands of a woman instead of a man. Yeah, think whatever you want to)  

Time slowly passed and I was recovering my strength, then I heard the system’s notification  

‘ding’  

‘-1 Hp’  

‘HP= 7’  

Seeing my HP decrease, I got panicked as I have wasted my time in here and was trying to think of a way to solve my problem and save myself. As I was resting, I felt that the sounds of pain or grunting stopped. I thought maybe the man went away, and to confirm it I slowly got my head out of the tree hole and looked near the river. I saw that there a was man, who had fainted near the river.  

Seeing that the man was lying near the river and didn’t move I thought he was unconscious; I was thinking whether he truly fainted or was acting.   

After a moment, I decided to get close to him slowly and if I notice any anomaly, I will run with all my energy as I can be sure that although I am weak and he is not much in better condition; and if my luck is with me, then I can surely run away and hope that he won’t catch up.  

As I was slowly moving toward the man, I did not notice any problem. I slowly got near the man and I felt relieved as the man was really unconscious.  

The man’s age looks like it must be around 25 to 30 years. he cannot be put into the ‘Middle aged’ category as he looks quite good and has a proper build.  

Now if you might think that, I would save him or something, then you are wrong. As I realized my past mistakes, I have learned my lesson and always maintain my vigilance and would not show any pity to this guy anyway. 

Because of him I lost 1 HP and wasted my limited time, plus it looks like he is an expert and he should be at a Demi-Human level. Since he got into the ‘dark forest’ he should at least be a strong cultivator.  

And looking at his storage ring, I am sure that he must be carrying good items, maybe I could save myself or at least try to increase my chances of survival.  

After hesitating, I decided to kill him as I don’t know where I am, but I can be sure if those bastards' friends of mine left me here then that means that they are sure that I will certainly die here which means I can calculate that the rate of survival here is low. And as my cultivation is gone, I can be sure that I am going to die sooner or later, so I need protection and need to save myself. And it's not like he can give me his belongings or help for no reason.   

Well, this is the world of cultivation duh!