While continuing to chew and breath as normal as possible, Eli was holding off more panic. The tension and energy in his body was going crazy as his thoughts were racing. This was obviously a game-like system and games always have increasing and consistent challenges. Meaning he was going to have to keep going through this kind of struggle. He knew he was going to keep panicking and having trouble after every confrontation unless he could find something to push himself forward. A motivation that he could run towards when things got rough or a situation seemed impossible. And then, in his head it clicked, he needed to push himself for the world he has always wanted to live in.
The thoughts in his head started to coalesce and he was getting an idea, not a generalized idea, but the kind of eureka moment that scientists get when they finally master a concept. These ideas always created a pressure in his temples that felt like a needle entering his brain, but this time was different. This pain was sharper than any before and Eli fell to the ground again with his hands over his temples, teeth grinding and a low growling coming out as he writhed around. Then it just stopped as he finally had his path forward, at least for now.
Eli had dealt with many warlords, terrorist leaders and despotic dictators during his military career. Always from a psyops perspective, and some of these leaders in war torn countries held power just from being charismatic and being more educated. The thing that always bugged him though was the leaders who had such awe inspiring abilities to gather and motivate people were always the scariest. These groups would have a steady supply of suicide bombers and radicals that would follow their leaders orders, and be thankful for their opportunity to die for them. It was not unlike cultish behavior in that there was no logic or love involved, just blind obedience. He did not think a world without war was possible, but a world where bad powerful people would have to think twice about committing atrocities out of fear. A fear stronger than the fear they would inflict on their victims. He wanted to be that fear.
Ever since his time in Africa, witnessing the fear that the civilians of an area would be living in due to an unhinged leader with very loyal and devout followers. He would put that fear into the truly crazed and depraved people with power in this new world, he would be what makes them stop and consider if they were willing to pay for their war crimes. This would settle his mind from all the terrible things he has witnessed and done from his whole military career. Removing one dictator to be replaced with one just as ruthless but he is willing to play ball with American interests is something that keeps him awake at night. Seeing the intel of the mass graves from when the guy he helped put in power wanted a tighter grip on his country's people. He would sweat and bleed until he was strong enough to stop that from happening. His clear vision of the future rewarded him with a system window.
"Congratulations"
"You have coalesced your fate energy into a destiny, 'The Unease of Power'"
"Your destiny will guide the systems interference in your life to move you towards it"
"Destinies can be only be adjusted after major life events"
"A strong fate leads to a destiny, a destiny must be proven with hardship"
"You have been warned."
He stood with new determination in his eyes, but was snapped out of it when his leg didn't hurt as he expected, the muscles were tight but it didn't hurt like before. This new sensation was a mix of sore muscles from too much workout and having bruised muscles from taking a direct hit on the muscles. He could walk again and just as he was going to take his first step to get moving north he paid more attention to his surroundings and less on his own body and pain and noticed something odd about the clearing he stood in. Everything within 10 feet of where he was standing was smashed into the ground, in a perfect circle. Every plant, pebble, root, was pressed hard into the ground making it a perfectly flat circle that felt as hard as concrete and was about 2 inches lower than the surrounding ground.
Eli could not remember if that was the way this clearing was when he first found himself here, maybe this was what happened when someone gets kicked out of a tutorial. Just then a new window showed up.
"Time to reach the dungeon: 47 hours."
So one hour has gone by, he thought. It didn't feel like an hour but pain can warp your sense of time so he pushed those thoughts away and decided to get started. He looked north and took a step, and he was on his way. It didn't take long for the soreness to fade and he was able to move at a good pace, however, it didn't seem like his new world's new monsters were going to let him just walk by. Only 30 minutes into his walk and he came across another monster, but this one was alone, and it was a lot bigger.
"Red Razor-Tusk Boar Level 3"
"A red boar with razor sharp tusks"
The monster was just standing there as he came around a rather large tree. They both stopped and stared at each other for a second before Eli started to back away and go back around the tree. The boar took this as a starting gun and ran at him, if this had been a small monster like the beetle it would have chased him around the tree, but this boar was big. It stood at almost 4 feet tall and had to weigh 300 pounds or more, with Eli's slender frame this boar almost doubled him in weight. Since the boar was big, it missed him, clipping the tree and continuing for another 10 yards before it stopped and turned around. The boar and Eli locked eyes, it didn't seem angry or bloodthirsty, it looked like it saw him as entertainment and it readied itself for another charge.
Eli was scrambling around the tree trying to think of a way to attack this thing without getting hurt, ranged attacks were not something he could do so his only option was to get close. The first thing that came to mind were matadors from Spain, how they would dodge the bull at the last minute and stick it with a sword or whatever that thing was. He didn't have a sword, but he did have a fist that would do extra damage from his skills so he lined himself up a couple feet away from the tree and got ready to receive the boars next charge.
As it came at him, it took considerable will to fight the urge to move behind the tree right away, but he held on until it got right up to him. Just as it was 3 feet away, Eli ducked down and to the side, attempting to get a punch in with a smash on its head as it passed. He missed and only hit its rib cage but it seemed like a smash triggered because he heard a little crack when he made contact. And the boar was knocked off course and smashed into a tree that was a few feet away.
The boar struggled to get itself free when his tusks were buried deep into the tree it had run into. Eli could see wild panic in its eyes while it flailed around stomping and kicking all while pulling on the tree which didn't even seem to notice anything was happening. As the pulling continued he moved to the side of the boar, trying to find a place to punch it without getting hit by those crazy flailing limbs. Just as he was about to go in for the hit in the same spot he had hit before the boar came free of the tree and swung its head around towards him with explosive movement. Splinters exploded all around and some even stuck into Eli's skin, the boar's tusks were damaged, they were still sharp and cut a line across his chest causing blood to run down his body in a waterfall.
Eli jumped back and examined his wounds quickly then looking back at the boar to prepare for the next attack, it was panting heavily and it looked weary, like it didn't know what it was up against. But it had fire in its eyes too, a fire that said it would not stop until one of them was dead. This was the same fire that Eli was feeling but not of weariness or determination, Eli's fire was that same tension and panicky feeling from the last fight, but now it felt more like adrenaline. Like his body was filling up with energy and any part of him could explode at any moment, it was an uncontrollable wild energy that scared him and felt good at the same time. It felt like it just wanted out of him, out of his body, then he realized that some of it was leaking out where the cut on his chest was. The pain, tension and energy were slowly building, much slower than before, and he focused on the boar and decided that he would release it when he attacked next.
Something about the energy and tension in his body made him feel like he could break anything, win any fight, crush any opponent. Eli immediately recognized that this was not the way to stay alive in a fight and punched himself in his chest wound, hoping the pain would wake him up. To his shock and it would seem the boar's shock, this caused far more damage than he had meant it to, he didn't think that his skills would trigger on himself. Now he could look down and see his breast bone in the middle of his chest in places, but the pain pushed his mind into focus and he was able to snap out of his previous state and think clearly. He could keep it together while there was danger still holding death's scythe over his head, this boar needed to die so he could keep moving and come up with a weapon or at least a better plan for next time. After a few steady breaths he was ready for the boar, which was still panting hard like he had run a marathon.
This next move would end this, Eli thought, while trying to stay focused on the fight despite the hole in his chest causing him some crazy pain. Trying a similar tactic from before he rushed the boar planning to side step and hit it in the side again with a full smash using all the energy that felt like it was acid in his body as it built up. He ran forward and dodged to the side again as the boar charged, the boar seemed slower and like it was letting Eli hit him but he did not have time to stop and think. Eli struck out with his fist pushing his will into that energy so it flowed out with the hit, and did as much damage as he could manage. It was enough to kill it and then some, a 6 inch hole was in the boar like someone had scooped out his heart with a big ice cream scoop. The boar slid to a stop and Eli fell to a knee finally allowing himself to feel the pain from his damaged chest.
"Combat Completed"
"You have defeated a Red Razor-Tusk Boar"
"100 Experience earned"
"Congratulations"
"Experience level increased from 2 to 3"
"You have gained 1 free stat point"
After catching his breath he walked over to the boar and kicked it hoping there was going to be more healing pills in his loot.
"Would you like to loot: Red Razor-Tusk Boar?"
"Yes/No"
Eli selected yes with his mentally projected finger and the boar liquified before becoming motes of light that entered his body.
"You have received 100 system credits"
"You have received 'Boar Femur Bone Mace'"
"Items have been auto-looted to personal storage space"
Well it's not a healing item but a weapon cant hurt, Eli said out loud while he pulled it out of his inventory with his mentally projected hand and placed it in his real hand, and he inspected it closely.
"Boar Femur Bone Mace"
"Weapon - Common - Hammer"
"Requires weapon skill: hammer to use with node or class skills"
"Requires 3 strength to wield properly"
"While holding grants 5% bonus to blunt damage"
"While holding grants 1 Vitality"
This weapon seemed like it was just what he needed, it was a little longer than a foot with a knob on the end. It was heavily balanced towards the knob end, with a dull white almost grey color, but the most important part was that it felt solid in his hand. It felt like he could strike something with all his might and the bone wouldn't break. He took a couple practice swings with it and it felt heavy but controllable with the short length. Eli smiled thinking of the damage he could cause now and how much easier it would be to get to the dungeon before the system killed him. He started to relax and the pain from his chest made him tense again. He sat on the ground and thought about what his next move should be. He was on a deadline but there was still so much he didn't know about how this system worked. Eli used his bone mace to scratch his head as he thought, I should probably take a look at adding those free stats I have from leveling twice now.