The bush exploded.
A blur of teeth, sinew, and unfiltered rage burst from the undergrowth with terrifying speed. It barreled through the ferns like a living missile, a flash of gore-flecked fur and blazing eyes. I dove sideways with a strangled cry, thorns slicing open my forearms as I hit the forest floor shoulder-first. Pain flared through my ribs like lightning, sharp and immediate. The breath fled my lungs in a choked wheeze.
[HP: -36]
I coughed dirt. My lungs seized. The metallic taste of blood hit my tongue. I rolled onto my back, stunned—and then I saw it.
A wolf—if that word still held meaning. Hulking. Diseased. Wrong. Its fur was patchy and gnarled, as if something inside it had grown twisted. Black-red veins webbed across its skin like barbed wire. Its maw foamed with spit. And its eyes—its eyes were the worst. Glowing like furnace coals, hateful and hungry.
[Enemy Identified: Corrupted Forest Stalker — LV27 | HP: 3200]
It snarled. The sound scraped along my spine like claws. A low, guttural rumble that promised only one thing: death. The stench rolled in with it—wet fur, rot, and the iron tang of blood. My body screamed at me to run, but I didn't listen.
I didn't think. I moved.
It charged in a blur of motion. My body acted on instinct, flinging itself backward. My boots skidded in the mud as I rolled, scraping elbows, vision jarring. By the time I got my feet under me, the beast had already circled. My fingers fumbled for an arrow, slipping once, twice, before finding purchase.
I had 12 basic arrows. Cheaply fletched, iron-tipped. Low-tier gear for a low-tier player. They'd barely scratch anything above a squirrel.
My bow felt heavier than ever. Not just from fear—but fatigue, pain, and the sheer weight of what stood before me. I could barely breathe. My arms ached from the strain of the draw. The air was cold and wet, and every inhale stung like knives.
Everything screamed at me to run. To flee. But something deeper anchored me.
I drew.
The beast moved like liquid violence, low to the ground, every motion coiled and deliberate. Its ears twitched. Its muscles tensed. I backed into a moss-slick tree. My breath hitched. The world narrowed to me, the bow, and the thing hunting me.
I fired—wild and desperate.
The first arrow disappeared into shadows.
The second struck, grazing its shoulder.
[Hit registered: 134 base damage — reduced to 26 (Level Disparity Penalty x0.2, Basic Arrow Modifier -20%)]
The beast barely flinched.
It wasn't enough.
The wolf lunged. I turned, but pain burst through my thigh like fire as claws raked deep. I screamed—raw and guttural. The sound ripped from me without thought.
[HP: -18]
I hit the ground hard, screaming. My leg throbbed. Blood flowed freely. My vision spun, edged in black. The cold soaked into my bones as I struggled to sit up.
The creature stalked closer, no longer rushing. Confident. Cruel. Its breath steamed from its mouth like smoke. I could see flecks of blood on its muzzle—my blood.
I tried to rise. My bow was still in hand. My hands trembled uncontrollably. I gritted my teeth. One knee down. One foot forward. My breath came in ragged bursts. I was dizzy. My head buzzed like a struck bell.
I drew again.
The wolf growled low and leapt, shadow and muscle arcing through the air.
I fired.
The arrow flew true, striking directly in the throat.
[Critical hit: 267 base damage — reduced to 53 (Level Disparity Penalty x0.2)]
The wolf reeled, blood pouring from the wound, but it didn't stop.
It tackled me.
We rolled.
I screamed, kicking, shoving, the stink of its breath in my face. I jammed the bow between its jaws and shoved. My vision blurred. I was losing.
Then—
[New Condition Triggered: Adrenaline Surge — Temporary Strength +25%, Duration: 10 seconds]
I wrenched free. Slammed my elbow into its snout. Rolled aside and fired another arrow into its ribs.
[Hit registered: 147 base damage — reduced to 29]
Arrows Remaining: 8
The wolf staggered.
Its breath hitched. Blood frothed. It took one last step.
I nocked a final arrow. Drew. Held.
Hunter's Patience Activated.
[Critical hit: 280 base — reduced to 56]
Arrows Remaining: 7
The arrow slammed into its eye. The beast collapsed to its knees.
But didn't die.
It twitched. Growled weakly. One paw dragged across the ground.
Then a voice, calm and clear—resonant like a bell across the clearing:
"Fall, beast."
Light surged. Not torchlight or magic, but something blinding in its clarity—refined steel and prestige. The brush parted like water as a tall elf burst through, clad in polished sapphire-encrusted plate that shimmered like moonlight on riverstone. He didn't run—he strode, each step deliberate, casual, impossibly confident. His massive two-handed sword, etched in ancient runes, crackled faintly with arcane energy.
I froze, stunned. For a heartbeat, I thought he was a cutscene.
With one sweeping motion, effortless as a breath, he brought the blade down.
SHLUNK.
The wolf's head rolled to the side.
[Enemy Defeated by: Player - Thaleth Brightbane]
[Shared EXP: +480 — Reduced due to contribution level]
I blinked. Shaking. Covered in blood. The armored elf turned to me, unreadable beneath his gleaming helm.
"You alright?" he asked, voice clipped. Then his gaze narrowed. "Wait… are you a quest NPC?"
He looked around, expectantly. Nothing happened.
No system ping. No dialogue prompt. Just me, kneeling in the blood and mud.
"…Huh," he muttered. "Weird trigger condition?"
Still nothing.
"Whatever."
He turned away.
[Level Up! — LV3]
[You have gained 4 attribute points.]
[New Skill Unlocked: Endurance — Passive regeneration begins when idle.]
Passive Skill Unlocked
Endurance
Type: Passive Skill
Effect: Slow HP and stamina regeneration when idle.
Description: The pain has toughened you. Now, even resting hurts—but it also heals.
System Note: "You've survived. That's enough—for now."
Breath Between Worlds
I knelt there long after he left.
Blood soaked my leg, thick and sticky. My bow trembled in my hands. The wolf's corpse was still sprawled in the clearing, its severed head resting beside its ruined body. I had nearly died. I would have died, if not for him.
I wasn't sure what hurt more—the wounds, or the shame.
He thought I was a quest trigger. An NPC.
And I didn't even correct him.
He stood right in front of me. Looked me in the eye. And still didn't see me.
Part of me wanted to shout after him, to demand that he turn back and acknowledge what I'd done—that I'd faced that thing and lived. But the truth was, I couldn't even blame him. I looked the part. Weak. Low-level. Covered in blood and dirt, kneeling in silence like a placeholder.
[HP: 7/160]
[Stamina: 3/110]
[Warning: Critical Health. Passive Regeneration Active. Recovery: +1 HP/min, +2 Stamina/min]
The numbers crawled upward. I sat in the dirt and watched them. That's all I could do. Every heartbeat sent a dull ache through my skull. My arms felt like iron rods. My breath came slow and shallow.
Four points. One level. One skill.
I opened my stats. The HUD flickered faintly, semi-transparent over the blood-streaked ground.
[Attribute Points Available: 8]
Even reaching for it hurt. I nearly passed out just lifting my hand.
I didn't hesitate.
+5 to Health. +3 to Stamina. The moment I confirmed the changes, warmth surged through my chest, barely enough to dull the pain—but it helped.
[HP: 58/210]
[Stamina: 34/140]
The haze behind my eyes thinned. I could breathe again. Everything still hurt, but it was a pain I could carry instead of drown in.
I looked at my remaining arrows—seven left.
I needed to move. I couldn't stay here. This was still a high-risk zone—way above my level. What was I even thinking?
God, stupid girl…
I pushed one hand into the dirt and forced my body to shift. Muscles protested. My wounded leg throbbed, but I managed to sit upright.
Where did that player go?
I turned my head slowly, tracking the broken foliage where he'd passed—his path was clear. He had headed northeast.
If he went that way, then…
Then he's hunting.
Which means I should go the opposite direction to reach the village.
I pulled my bow closer and exhaled through clenched teeth.
"I'm tired," I muttered. "This game is too much."
But I started moving anyway. One slow, agonizing step at a time.
Every branch seemed louder than it should've been. Every rustle in the underbrush made my stomach clench. I limped forward, one hand on a tree for balance, the other gripping my bow like a crutch.
"How is this even a game…" I muttered, breath shallow. "Realism at twenty percent...? No. I went full stupid. One hundred."
The pain didn't fade. It traveled with me, every movement reigniting old wounds, every breath a tight knot in my ribs. But the numbers were rising. My health. My stamina. Bit by bit.
I passed the corpses of two more corrupted wolves, both decapitated. Left behind like broken props. Players must've come through. Maybe that same elf. Maybe others.
The forest thinned. Shadows gave way to silvery twilight.
That's when I saw the ruins.
Tall, pale stone half-buried in ivy. Arches broken but still graceful. Carvings so delicate they caught the last light like lace. It was beautiful.
But I was too tired to appreciate it.
The air shifted.
I froze again, heart hammering. Footsteps? Voices? My bow half-raised.
Then I saw them.
Shelters. Small, elegant structures nestled among the trees. A few elven figures moved among them—calm, deliberate. Cloaks. Long hair. No rushing. No alarms.
Guards stood posted—heavy armor, halberds, and unreadable eyes.
I hesitated, swaying.