"Ah....that was...."
Breathing heavily, I fell down on my knees and supported myself by pressing down my hands on the soft green grass. I felt confused, dazed and proud. I mean, I just killed two enemies that was clearly stronger than me, in less than five minutes! But at the same time....
I felt strange during the fight. It's as if my body moved on its own. I wasn't thinking of anything besides murdering those two animals with my own two hands. Which isn't how I normally behave. Wasn't I full of fear just before the fight? One moment of Fury and I....
My eyes widened in enlightenment.
"Wait a second...."
I settled down on the grass and summoned the game-like interface before me once more.
Physical attributes: —
Power: [7/1000]
Speed: [9/1000]
Stamina: [7/1000]
Agility: [8/1000]
Flexibility: [6/1000]
Balance: [10/1000]
Accuracy: [3/1000]
Interesting. I didn't gain that many levels. I suppose fighting isn't as effective as actual training. Also, the vine maneuver I did seemed to have added quite alot of levels into Balance, Flexibility and Agility. That's a good thing. I prefer being coordinated like that.
Then, I turn my head further upwards.
Fury Counter: [27/1000]
My eyes widened, a bright smile spreading across my lips.
'I knew it! So at that moment, I was likely in The Zone. After all from what I remember, being in The Zone stacks Fury into the Fury Counter. This means.....im now able to use my Blessing? I just have to learn how to use it intentionally now.'
I felt giddy and excited. Now that I have taken this step, how far away I am from being able to manipulate my innate spirit at will? Definitely not far. That's for sure. I can feel it my bones, already! Okay, maybe that was me being a little delusional....but a man can hope, right?
Let's check the other rewards I got from that fight.
Titles: —
Achievements: [1/1000]
I reach out and click on Achievements, but I furrow my eyebrows at what I see. I couldn't quite make of it. The Achievements I haven't attained is all blury and there is a "???" Where the name should be. I guess that makes sense, considering I haven't unlocked them yet. What's the purpose of the Achievements? Just something to add for shits and giggles? I doubt it.
After searching for awhile, I managed to find "Barbaric Warrior" before clicking on it.
Barbaric Warrior: [You must kill two foes significantly stronger than you, using nothing but your bare hands.]
'Oh, right. I did do that, didn't I?'
I chuckle softly and scratch the back of my head, reading the description of the Barbaric Warrior Achievement a few times. There doesnt seem to be anything the achievement could do. I check a few times, even reading it more than once, but I couldn't find anything. Perhaps I'll learn in the future. For now....
My stomach groaned in hunger.
"I need to eat."
A dark smile spread across my lips as I turned my head towards the corpse of the bear and snake. Finally, some food. Before dismissing the Screen, I checked one last thing.
Player Counter: 105,678,103.
Kill Count: 2.
I was a bit surprised by the lack of people that died today compared to the start. At the beginning, around 13 million lost their lives. More than that. However now, barely 50 did. Im not sure if that's a good thing, or a bad thing. It's a good thing since many helpless people have likely found a way to survive, but definitely not for much longer. It's a bad thing since this Mulligan could take much longer that necessary for me to grab the grand prize.
'Ah, why am I even thinking about this? I need to go harvest!'
With that thought, I stand up on slightly wobbly legs and Balance myself by leaning against the trunk of a nearby tree. Then, I started walking forward and stopped right before the corpse of the grizzy bear. It was horribly mangled. If one doesn't even look closely, they wouldn't have even be able to tell what animal this was. That's what I did to it.
'Am I this crazy?'
A hollow laugh escaped my lips, but died down as I noticed something strange. The skin of the corpse seemed to be glowing. Creeped out, I took a step back in shock. I glance beside it and realized the same was happening to the corpse of the snake too. They both kept on glowing brighter and brighter, until....
It suddenly stopped.
"What was that...?"
I now felt hesitant to eat that meat now. Who knows what just happend? Is it some part of The Mulligan? Or did someone far away use a strange blessing to posion it to get me as a kill? Aren't I being too paranoid?
Once again, my stomach groaned in protest. It didn't care. All it needed was some food.
After pondering for a few seconds, I shrugged and walked forward, stopping before the corpse of the grizzy bear once again. Then, without hesitation, I plunged my spear right into the corpse of the bear. Twisting and turning for a moment, to check how hard the skin was. It seemed after dying, the blessing automatically activated. I could tell by the absolute lack of the defense it hard earlier. Even without my physical attributes being boosted by The Zone, I was able to carve out some of the meat for myself.
Eventually, I grabbed my haul and carried it over my shoulder. It was difficult for a frail and weak man like me, but I have no choice. I need to head to the bonfire as soon as possible. As I thought that, my mood immediately soured....
"Isabella...."
I muttered that name bitterly. How dare that bitch just abandon me? Use me as bait? After everything i has done for her? No, hold on. I shouldn't be getting angry over something so childish. I would of done the same in her situation, plus, she doesn't know me well enough at all and I don't know her. It makes sense she did that.
'But that doesn't quell my Fury! Im gonna kill her the next time I see her.'
Will I?
I was interrupted from my thoughts by the sounds of soft footsteps approaching me from the direction I was facing. Hidden behind a tree, Isabella poked her head and stared at me in astonishment.
"You.....you're alive?"
She blurted out. Meanwhile, I felt pure anger. She didn't think I'll survive, did she? Did she come here to desperately eat meat leftover from my corpse? What a disgusting piece of shit...
I dropped the meat to the ground and held out my spear.
"How dare you abandon me like that?! You're gonna pay for it with your life!"
Isabella seemed shocked by the sudden turn of events, even a bit rattled and fearful. But I didn't care. I just rushed forward and raised my spear, pointing it directly towards her neck.
'You'll be my third kill.'