After falling into the pit of ashes, Alex found himself surrounded by a haunted and unsettling place, with the Dragon's fierce gaze locked onto him.
Alex quickly hid himself in the ashes, but the dragon didn't seem to buy it and began charging its attack. It unleashed a blast of fire toward the mountain of ash.
Soon, on the opposite end of the ash, something massive slithered to the top. It was an enormous snake. It took a direct hit from the dragon's flames and quickly ran away.
Luckily, the Dragon didn't seem to mark Alex as it went straight after the snake.
Was that the ancient snake? The so-called Titanianboa, or something like that?
It was absolutely humongous, nearly 30 meters long.
Realizing that it had been right next to him in the ashes, Alex shook in fear. What if there was another snake?
Just the thought sent chills down his spine.
A faint sound came from within the ash, and Alex's eyes widened in shock.
Out of pure instinct, he sprinted until he reached the base of the ash pile. Alex never looked back.
After running for nearly fifteen minutes, Alex finally put some distance between himself and the volcano, though ash still clung to everything around. On the other side, massive rocks, each as large as a three-story building, littered the landscape. He didn't dare glance down.
Even though he was nearly out of breath, Alex kept running until he was clear of the area.
Soon, he heard something strange from above his head.
[Congratulations! You have now become a player]
[Your Agility has increased by +0.3]
He felt the effect immediately, he had definitely gotten a bit faster. But his fear of the snake was so overwhelming, he barely glanced at the system screen that appeared in front of him.
At the edge of the ash field, Alex slipped through narrow gaps between the rocks, climbing wasn't an option right now. Besides, he didn't want to draw the attention of any predators.
Fifteen minutes had passed, and the rocks were only growing denser.
[Your Stamina has increased by +0.2]
Slightly calmer now, Alex finally noticed the message for the first time.
He starts to relax for a moment. 'Alright, there's no way that snake or dragon is still after me... at least not anytime soon.'
The dragon did made Alex's heart tremble, but the snake? That was a lifetime of trauma. Its sheer size and those cold, unblinking eyes...'I don't think I'll ever recover from that.'
Soon, a system window appeared out of nowhere.
[Player: Alex]
[Level: 1 (0/100)]
Vitality: (441/500)
[Stats:]
[Strength: 14.5]
[Stamina: 10.8]
[Agility: 17.9]
"A system screen? Like a game?"
All kinds of games were popping through his head.
"Am I dreaming?" Alex rubbed his eyes over and over, only to remember he wasn't even on Earth in the first place.
That realization hit hard, forcing him to accept the system and its nature almost instantly.
"Leveling up?" The words escaped his lips as goosebumps crawled across his skin. A chill ran up his spine, his body instinctively felt the strange, inexplicable excitement.
"Anyways…"
My stamina's the lowest...and it looks like agility is the highest? Well, honestly, I've spent my whole life doing cardio over anything else. I'm definitely faster than the average person. If I had to guess, maybe 9.5 is average for a human?
Anyway, if this thing's accurate, then it's basically my physical report card.
Alex focuses his gaze on the path ahead. The light grew dimmer with every step, and the terrain only became thicker and more suffocating.
Now, Alex could barely see anything. Just as he considered turning back, a loud explosion came from above. It was without a doubt, the Snake and the Dragon. Even though the tunnel was barely wide enough for him to squeeze through, he moved forward without hesitation.
The air was getting denser. Alex could feel the pressure building in his lungs.
[Your Vitality has increased by +5]
He didn't feel much different, maybe slightly better, but it was barely noticeable. His growing need to take a full breath was turning into a waking nightmare.
Soon, he heard a sound...it was the flow of water. But where was it coming from? Listening carefully, Alex realized it was deep inside. Should he turn back, or keep going?
Turning back was now impossible, the passage was far too narrow. Besides, going back meant certain death at the hands of either the Dragon or the Snake.
I'd rather die alone in this dark than face another one of those giant snakes.
Determined, he kept crawling through the pitch-black tunnel, relying solely on his sense of touch. Suddenly, he lost his footing and slipped, his body crashed hard onto the rocky floor below.
Now in an open space, almost like a cave, he could clearly hear the sound of running water. Surrounded by darkness, he had to stay alert, relying heavily on his hearing for any sign of danger.
"Status." Alex expected the system window to light up the cave, but nothing happened. The display offered no light, it didn't reflect off the ground at all.
'What a useless system.'
His body was covered in scratches, it wasn't surprising, given how narrow the tunnel had been.
Alex moved toward the sound of the water, slow and cautious with every step. Though he still couldn't see, he stared into the pitch-black void ahead, his instincts on high alert.
Suddenly, a sound vibrates in his ears, startling him so badly it nearly gave him a heart attack.
[Congratulations! You have obtained a new skill]
[Sage Vision: Level 0]
Moments later, Alex could vaguely make out the shapes of objects, though everything was blurry.
'This isn't much... but something's better than nothing. Still, if a beast showed up, I doubt I'd notice it in time.'
The more he walked, the clearer his vision became. After about twenty minutes, Alex could see everything, though only in blurry black and white. Still, he could now distinguish shapes and objects around him.
[Sage Vision: Level 1]
It was a scary cave with wolf spiders on top of the walls and extremely pointy stalagmites were all over the place. Luckily it was at least 12 feet. Wolf spiders aren't necessarily dangerous but considering this strange place, it could be lethal.
Thanks to Sage Vision, Alex moved even more quietly and cautiously.
Alex finally sees the steam of water by the end of the road. There were two different roads, left was from where the water was coming from and right was where the water was flowing. Alex was extremely thirsty after going through all that hardships.
If not for his newly obtained skill, he would've died instantly. Dangerous fish swam nearby, long, sharp teeth and dark green fins flashing beneath the surface. Their razor-like edges looked capable of cutting through anything.
The fish were around thirty centimeters long, but Alex had no doubt that they could've devoured his entire body in seconds, leaving nothing behind.
But what was even more shocking was by the edge of the sight, there was a gross creature eating those fishes. It was about 4 feet in height, long segmented and slimy, it was crawling all over consuming those fishes.
It was a GIANT LEECH!!