Waiting was the worst part of hunting. And Sam had never been a good hunter. He’d had friends who talked about doing things like this, but he’d never really had the urge to go into the wild and shoot down animals. His relationship with guns was first as a shield and then as a weapon. He’d been forced to get shooting lessons after an incident at work. And after he got the Glock, it’d stayed in his holster most of the time. Now he was faced with a different life. One where he was expected to always be alert.

  He checked the EoM mark again, swearing at how slow it was. Since he’d decided to level up, he’d killed a small swift animal called a barag and a wild snake that almost strangled him to death. And all that had given him a measly thirty percent on the EoM count. He’d expected more. But perhaps it had little to do with what he killed, but how he killed it.

  He’d used a trap for the barag because it was difficult to chase around. He trapped it and stabbed it dead with his wooden spear. Somehow, creating the spear had given him a point on creativity. Which gave Sam another idea. He didn’t have to kill or defeat anything for attribute points. That was proven wrong on the second day when he made a slingshot from vines. That had fetched him nothing. Not even the trap he used for the barag.

  Now, he stayed hidden, staring at the lix taking a drink. Its fur was thicker than the other ones Sam had fought before. Lush too, dark and shiny in the noon sun. His heart raced with anticipation. Excitement pushed him to attack, but he stayed, waiting to see if there was another. Fighting two wild lixes together would be a stretch, but it would be better than being ambushed. He held his breath, hoping it couldn’t sense him. Sam counted and when he saw it turn from the stream, he stood up and pushed out from behind the small cluster of wild bush. The lix watched him, its eyes a deep sapphire. A low growl rumbled in its chest, sending a small shock of fear in Sam. There was something different about this lix. He’d thought it was different, but he meant only in appearance, but there was something off. For one, it had a horn protruding from the middle of its head, buried in a tuft of fur. When it moved, Sam saw the claws push out of its paw. He held his spear tightly, wondering if maybe he should have picked a different prey.

  Fighting with the Arkaz Snake had shown him how outclassed he was by some of the wild animals on the island. Still, when he saw the lix, he’d felt a whoosh of relief. He’d beaten two of this same breed before, how difficult could it be? His body still stung from fighting with the snake. Some of its venom had burned his arm, but a smear of Veena’s herbs had helped ease the pain there. Still, he reckoned he had to be careful.

  He approached the lix slowly, moving around it. They stared at each other, the lix carrying some kind of intensity that Sam had not felt from the other two he fought. There was none of the instinctual rage. It growled, as if amused that Sam would even think to approach it. Sam frowned, stopping briefly in front of it, and then drove forward. His dexterity was low, but his speed was still unnatural. His move pushed him closer to the lix and he jabbed his spear forward. The lix roared, the sound exploding out of it like an invisible storm. It slammed into Sam, pushing him back. He stared at it in shock, wondering what had just happened. The shock vanished when the lix pounced, its claws long and sharp coming for his face.

  Sam used the shaft of his spear to block the strike, but the force pushed him back. The lix landed and immediately roared again. Sam groaned as he was crushed by that invisible force again. His head echoed as if the roar was reverberating in his mind. His ears rang with unimaginable pain. He closed his eyes, grunting. He felt the lix move and his eyes flung open just in time to throw himself left, away from its charging bulk. It slammed into a tree behind Sam so hard the tree trembled. It growled, shaking its head and then it turned on him again. Walking slowly, as though stalking its prey.

  Sam weighed his options, cursed his stupid luck, and charged at it. He swung the spear ineptly and his heart rejoiced when he hit the lix on the side of its face, throwing it off a bit. He quickly followed that attack with a quick stab. But the lix recovered quickly, its mouth widening again for a deafening roar. Sam flinched and cursed when its jaw snapped shut and it lunged for him. That convinced him. He had to run. But there was no space for retreat. He leaped out of the way, saving his leg from the lix’s claws. It swerved, spinning almost instantly with its fangs bared to snap on Sam’s right thigh. He jabbed with the butt of the spear, but it only grazed the lix, going through its fur harmlessly. Sam hissed, breathing hard. , he told himself. He had to calm his racing heart. He was running out of breath.

  The lix snarled, enraged now. And Sam turned sharply, fleeing into the forest proper, in a clear space he’d die. He needed the cover of trees for evasion and sneak attacks. Just like he’d expected, the lix followed, almost on his heel. Sam broke his run sharply, something he’d learned after his fight with the barag. His legs ached and he almost crashed, but he pulled it off, gritting as he twirled, setting his spear out so the lix would run into it. But it was sharper than Sam gave it credit for. It evaded it, swerving left deep enough to mix the sharp end, and leaped at Sam. Then fell back and Sam lost the spear. It used all of its limbs to scratch at Sam, and he punched and kicked until they split up. Sam rolled onto his knees and the lix was up and ready to charge almost immediately. It roared again, but this time Sam was ready for the attack. He turned, fleeing for his spear. He’d felt it when he punched the lix. Its hide was tougher than the other two. It was no ordinary beast. He’d picked the wrong enemy for this hunt and now he had to flee or be ready to pay the ultimate price to kill it.

  The old Sam would have run. Or maybe turned and shot the lix, but Sam had hidden the gun with his leather bag because he was trying not to be that man anymore. He was trying to revolt against the chaos of this new world and to do that he had to dive into it, fully conscious of the possibility that he would be consumed.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  He found the spear, dove for it, and used the momentum to roll forward, gaining space between him and the lix. He got up and ran left, farther into the forest where his traps would help him. He hopped over the first, slowed to a stop, and turned to see if he’d catch the lix, but he ran over the vine so fast it missed him.

  Sam yelled, frustration harsh in his voice as he charged forward. The lix made to roar again, but Sam rammed into it, slamming it back against a large-trunked tree. It snarled and tried to scratch at him, but it wasn’t fast enough. Sam leaped back and thrust his spear forward, but the lix dropped and this time Sam was too slow to stop it from roaring.

  The force crushed him harder this time. He was too close, too slow. It blasted him off his feet, crashing him against a tree behind him. The impact took his breath away and for a moment all he knew was the ringing in his head. He groaned, scrambling blindly for his spear. Fear. Fear was tearing his mind apart and he wasn’t sure if that was an effect of whatever the lix was doing or just a result of his weakness. His vision returned just as his fingers wrapped around the shaft of his spear. Blood dripped down his face and a weakness overtook him. Fear, Sam thought. What was he scared of? The lix came at him, but not as fearless as it’d done before. Its eyes shone with hatred and its snarl came out through bared teeth. It was angry, but it was just as cautious… , Sam thought, .

  That didn’t mean he would win, but he had a chance. That was all he needed. He stood up, grinning. Blood stained his teeth.

  “I bet you didn’t expect it to be this difficult,” Sam said, moving slowly. “How wrong you were.”

  When he charged, he caught the lix’s hesitation. Sam feinted a jab and the lix swiped at the spear, but he pulled it back and swung. The shaft caught its face. The lix tried to roar again, but Sam quickly smacked it again. This one smashing its face perfectly. The spear shattered, but Sam had already rushed closer. It tried to veer off but Sam was all over it. He had to be faster, giving it little space to attack back.

  It tried to shove him, but Sam’s fingers found its fur, gripping it tightly. He tried to stab it but his hold on the spear was awkward. Although it was broken, it was still too long to stab with one-handed.

  The lix turned its head and snapped its jaw shut on Sam’s arm. He yelled and let go, shoving the lix away from him. The lix tumbled away, growling. Sam cradled his left hand, blood dripping from bite marks. He tested his fingers, relief flushing through him when he realized it still worked. He placed his foot on the middle of the spear and separated it in two. He swung the shortened spear, testing it, and grunted his approval. His bleeding arm felt heavy. He would have to be fast or he’d bleed to death. He contemplated running as he stared at the hooded eyes of the lix. He could lure it to another trap, but that had been made for a barag, and the barag was a smaller animal. That wouldn’t work for something as big and unnatural as the lix. That reduced his options to the one in front of him. He had to kill it. It was bleeding from where Sam smacked him with the butt of his spear, which meant its skin could be punctured, and it could be killed.

  He approached it slowly, bleeding hand extended in front of him. The lix snarled at him, but it didn’t move to attack. Sam waited for the familiar move, or perhaps it would use the roar. That would offer him a few moments to attack. He blinked, wiping blood from one eye.

  Then he rushed forward. There was a moment, just before he reached the lix, where the very thought that this was his end crossed his mind. Then the lix made to roar and Sam caught its throat and squeezed. He flung it back, slammed it down hard with all the strength his left hand could manage, and stomped on it quickly. It scratched at his foot, but Sam’s spear came down quickly. It glanced off lix’s fur and its paw scratched Sam under his chin. He cursed, pushing through the pain to stab the beast again and again.

  He kept stabbing, even when it stopped fighting. Its paws moved lazily against his arms, his shoulder. And when it stopped, Sam didn’t know. He could only think of not missing the chance. Only when his arm ached did he stop.

  He staggered away from its corpse, his breath coming sharp and hot. He fell back, his vision dim. No, Sam noticed, the sun was going down and the forest canopy was blocking out what little light cut through. He tried to calm his breath. His head was throbbing and the pain from the many scratches he suffered, old and new, burned.

  [Achievement log]

   —You have slain a Mutated Lix

   — +8 STR, +6 END, +2 WIS

  Sam stared at the message, waiting. That was quite the stat boost, but it wasn’t what he was looking for. He should have gotten more. His breath slowed to a calmer flow and the throbbing in his head had eased. He rolled, lifting himself to his knee. He groaned. His chest was on fire suddenly. No, not just his chest. Everything hurt. He fell back down, stretching. His mouth opened and although he wanted to scream, no sound came out. Had the lix poisoned him? Was this how he’d meet his end? He saw the familiar light of the System of Ascension’s message. He shuddered as a fresh wave of agony passed through him. Sam cried out, this time it boomed out of his throat. His vision swam in and out, and dark spots crowded the edge of when he could see.

  He lifted himself, arching his body. The burning settled slowly. He wanted to cry from the relief. An audible sigh pushed out of him and he felt wind on his skin again.

  [Achievement log]

   — EoM count exceeded!

   — You have leveled up! [Level 8]

   — All attributes adjusted accordingly

  Through the torture of injuries, Sam felt some kind of peace within. This has confirmed what he thought. EoM awarded points based on the severity of the situation. There might be some other requirement he still didn’t know about, but this was enough. Also, he’d been right about the lix being different from the others. He tried to push himself to his feet and stumbled back to his knee. I should rest here, he thought, but he knew that was a bad idea. If there was one mutated lix, there would be others. He wouldn’t want to be in the open for another of those monsters to find him.

  He tried to sense the power within him, but there was no difference. There was still much he needed to learn about the system, and essence. But this was a good first step. He crawled to a tree and used it to steady himself as he stood. He waited until his legs had stopped trembling and slowly made his way back to his hideout. He wanted to check his stats badly, but he held the excitement at bay. He needed to hide. There was another thing to worry about. Something he knew he had to prepare for, the night of turning. It was coming soon. He had to be as strong as possible. Or he’d spend most of it running.

  That means another fight with a monster like that lix. The thought shook him with dread. But he knew he wouldn’t be running away. Fighting with the mutated lix had shown him that it was possible.

  He could win.