It was strange, really. Here I am, a former tramp, who died and was suddenly forced to participate in a battle royal for a second chance in life. Now, I am trying my hardest to survive in a vast jungle with a beauty by my side. Huh, if I explained this outrageous tail to my past self, he will burst in laughter without a doubt! Nothing could of prepared for this situation, but now that I am in it, I have to adapt.
Adaptability is humanity's greatest weapon, after all.
We both navigated the jungle, enduring the harsh heat and the sounds of our stomachs groaning for it's fill.
'Hush, now.....you'll be rewarded soon.'
I soothed my stomach and continued on my way, Isabella following closely behind. Right now, it would be best if we managed to attract a smaller animal. Something like a rabbit, or bird perhaps. Our plan is to avoid bears, tigers and snakes....Well, that's a given. There is no way we can survive in a fight against one of them. Atleast not without one of us dying, that's for sure.
No, wait....why do I care if she dies? I already found the lake, anyway. She has served her uses and it's painfully obvious that she isn't entirely being honest, either. The sequence of events leading her to finding me doesn't add up. Not to mention, when we reached the lake, it was strangely peaceful. So, how did she end up on the recieveing end of being chased by something?
I couldn't help but cast a suspicious furtive look towards Isabella, I opended my mouth to say something, but then stopped myself.
"I'm not much of a fighter, either."
Isabella faced me, unsurprised. Her eyes roaming my figure.
"No surprises there."
I narrowed my eyes in displeasure and scoff, but I didn't dare say anything. She was right, after all. Now in a much sour mood, I decided to check my physical attributes.
Concentrating, I once again summoned the familier game like interface before me.
Physical attributes: —
Power: [1/1000]
Speed: [6/1000]
Stamina: [4/1000]
Agility: [6/1000]
Flexibility: [4/1000]
Balance: [6/1000]
Accuracy: [1/1000]
Nothing much has changed, besides Speed and Stamina being increased by three levels. It seemed all that working has started showing signs, but it's hardly much of an improvement. Only three levels? For Stamina and Speed no less? I definitely need to make up a training regime, otherwise it's gonna take forever for me to have each and everyone of them reach a thousand. Im not even sure if I have enough time for that.
Will the game like interface even exist once The Mulligan is over? Let's say, hypothetically, I end up winning this battle royal. What would happen then? Will I even get to keep these super powers? Or will the game like interface and everything just vanish? That would be a little disappointing and I also doubt that's the case. The Mulligan must serve a purpose. It's creator— the voice, maybe — wouldn't have created it without a purpose, or for their own amusement. So, there must be a reason....
As i was pondering these thoughts, Isabella suddenly halted and turned her head, facing right. The faint sound of movement was heard from there and she looked alarmed.
"Whats wrong?"
I asked, feeling a bad premonition.
Isabella didn't turn around and face me. Instead, I heard her trembling voice....
"A–a bear! A grizzly bear has spotted us!"
Immediately as she yelled out those words. A shadow fell upon my face. It was much taller and bigger than me, it's brown fur a wild mess, it's teeth out, looking down at it's prey with clear hunger. For a moment, I was stunned into place by sheer horror.
Is this where I die? To a damn bear?
"S–shit!"
Isabella didn't hesitate for a second. She pushed me aside and was already running, using me as bait.
'That bitch!'
I gritted my teeth at the sudden turn of events, now directly infront of the 9 foot grizzly bear, staring down at me with hunger. I clench my spear and stare up defiantly.
"Rot in hell, you bastard!"
I was already rushing forward with the spear in hand to attack it, my eyes widened in an unnatural amount of fury. However, it was all futile. The bear easily managed to push me away using a single claw, slamming me into the trunk of a tree, the air escaping my lungs with a violent gasp.
'How is this even fair....'
The bear was strong. Much stronger than an ordinary one. It seems this thing was using it's blessing. Whether subconsciously or intentionally, it didn't matter. I was about to be on the recieveing end of a beating. I need to find a way to escape!
The grizzly bear lunged forward, a terrifying roar escaping from it's mouth, as it trapped me against the tree trunk with it's claws, that was big enough to ensure I wouldn't be able to wiggle out. Is this the end? Damn, Isabella! It's all her fault! That fucking bitch....
'Wait a second....'
I noticed something strange. The bear wasn't attacking me. It just kept me caged in, while drolling, staring down at me with it's usual fury. However.....it wasn't trying to eat me. No, it's clearly trying to. I can tell by the tense muscles, but for whatever reason, it's unable to. It can't eat me.
Suddenly, my eyes lit up in enlightenment.
'Since it's using it's blessing, this also means its curse was activated permanently!'
I get it now. It's not trying to eat me because it doesn't want to, but because it can't. From what I have gathered, perhaps it's curse prevents it from killing other living beings. What a fatal curse! Regardless, this is an immense stroke of luck. Atleast I won't be dying early in this battle royal.
Without wasting a second, I gripped my spear and plunged it down into the depths of the grizzly bear's claws, stabbing it ruthlessly over and over again. A painful groan escaped from the bear's lips, causing the grip to loosen ever so slightly. I didn't miss the opportunity to wiggle out slyly and jump back, making distance.
The wound, strangely enough, wasn't that deep. I had expected for quite alot of blood to be oozing out, but there is barely any. Clearly, it's blessing gave it some serious defensive capabilites. Atleast when it came to wounds. Not quite healing, but not quite tough skin either. Something else.
"You'll be my first kill."
For some reason, I felt a dark sense of glee, a wide smile spreading across my lips. Maybe it's due to my innate blessing, but at the thought of murdering this vile thing that dared to hurt me so severely.....it filled me with a sense of satisfaction, I rushed forward for an attack.
"Rawrrr!"
The bear simply roared in response, rushing forward, following my lead.
I didn't know how to use a spear. I had no battle techniques, either nor do I have any decent physical attributes. All in all, I was the weaker one here. But the thought that the bear itself couldn't kill me due to it's fatal curse, I felt a little reckless. In the end, if this thing can't kill me and I can kill it, what's the point in worrying?
The bear attempted to use it's superior size to pin me down, but I was pretty agile and had great balance. I may not be the strongest, but my agility is something I always prouded myself in. I didn't expect it to come in handy at such situations.
"Ahhh!"
I cried out, dodging a claw that threatened to pin me to the ground, before plunging the spear into the arm of the bear. The pain made it stumble back. I didn't waste the opportunity and kept on stabbing the same wound like a mad man. Well, I am the Knight Of Madness, a little bit of won't hurt, will it?
But then, the bear suddenly let out a strange sound, a sharp sound that caused my ears to become deaf momentarily. This left me stunned and frozen for a few seconds. Looking up, I noticed a slippery green snake that was pretending to be a vine earlier, wrap itself around the grizzly bear's neck.
'Allies?'
How could this be? Animals teaming up? Was that sound the way they communicate? Or was it the way the bear communicated with other animals nearby? Another ability of it's blessing? What a troublesome foe.....dammit, if only Isabella was here! Why did she run away like a coward? No, hold on. This can be a good opportunity for me to get stronger. I can increase the level of my physical attributes faster through fighting. That's also a form of training, right?
"Team up on me! See if I care! I'll kill you both!"
As I uttered those words, it seemed as if the world itself slowed down. I felt something change inside me. My body felt.....stronger, faster, more coordinated. But I didn't even focus on that— instead, before I knew it, I was already mercilessly attacking the two animals.
I was relentlessly stabbing the Leg of the bear, clinging to it, but the bear easily shook me off, causing me to stumble backwards. The wounds of it was healing. I quickly realized that it was because of the snake and it's Blessing, without a doubt.
"You! How dare you interfere with our fight, asshole?!"
Angry for no apparent reason, I was suddenly climbing up a tree. Quite easily, too. Honestly, even I didn't know what I was doing! Not until I reached a large branch of the tree and used a stray vine to swing myself towards the two animals. They weren't idle either, already moving once they realized what this crazy human was doing.
But it was too late, I smashed into them with a powerful force. The bear was sent tumbling towards a large boulder, but I paid it no mind. Instead, I roughly grabbed the slippery snake and began pulling on it from both sides, ready to snap it half from the force. With my sudden abnormal strength, that wasn't too difficult.
"Die, die, die!"
The bear was already standing up, slightly disoriented from the earlier attack. Even if it comes to save it's buddy now, it's too late. I had already snapped it in half. I heard a familier voice inside my head—
[You have eliminated Player 78,990,451.]
'My first kill...'
I smiled proudly, but of course. It wasn't over yet. Without bothering to take a second look, I was already rushing towards the bear. My spear was discarded— I didn't even realize that it was. I just assaulted the bear using nothing but my bare fists.
With sudden unnatural strength, I was tearing apart flesh after flesh of the poor grizzly bear that desperately tried to escape. It wasn't easy, of course. Even my own nails was sustaining damage due to it's tough skin, but it was fruitless because in the end, I successfully managed to reduce the bear to a quivering mess, of nothing but skin with barely any of it's fur left.
I towered over it with a grin.
"My second kill...."
And then, with my bare hands, I ripped the head of the bear off. The familier voice whispered inside my head.
[You have eliminated Player 10,356,000.]
[You have received the achievement "Barbaric Warrior."]