The laughter died in his throat.
Evan pushed himself upright, every muscle trembling as delayed pain caught up. His chest burned where the wolf's claws had torn him open. He dragged a hand across the wound and came away slick with blood.
HP: 67 / 100
Bleeding: MINOR (−1 HP / 10 sec)
"So it's that kind of game," he muttered.
The forest did not answer. It watched.
The motes of blue light from the wolf's corpse finished dispersing, leaving behind something solid in the streambed. Evan forced his legs to move and crouched, ignoring the protest in his ribs.
LOOT ACQUIRED
Stormfang Hide (Poor)
Analyse(Passive)(Basic)
Cracked Essence Core (Unstable)
EXP Gained: 120
Numbers. Cold. Precise. Comforting in a way nothing else was.
He scooped the items into an instinctively summoned inventory—another small mercy. The rusted sword lay where he'd dropped it, its blade nicked and pitted.
ITEM: Rusted Iron Sword
Damage: 8–12
Durability: 14 / 40
Status: Poor
Better than bare hands.
The Hidden System Notice pulsed again, as if irritated he hadn't acknowledged it.
MARK OF INTEREST — APPLIED
Visibility to Higher-Tier Entities: +300%
Duration: UNKNOWN
Evan stared at the text until his vision swam.
"Marked," he said quietly. "By who?"
No answer. Just the forest, suddenly too still.
Even the river seemed to hush.
He opened his character sheet with a thought, hands moving on reflex now.
Level: 2
HP: 64 / 100
MP: 50 / 50
Stamina: 41 / 100
Attributes:
Strength: 11
Agility: 10
Endurance: 10
Intelligence: 10
Willpower: 10
Luck: 5
Unassigned Stat Points: 5
Skill Unlock Available: 1
Five points. One skill. The kind of choice that got people killed if they guessed wrong.
He exhaled slowly.
"Survival first."
He dumped three points into Endurance. Two into Agility.
Endurance: 13
Agility: 12
A faint warmth spread through his core, subtle but real. His breathing steadied. The bleeding icon blinked… then vanished.
Bleeding Status: RESOLVED
He didn't relax.
The skill window unfolded next, lines of text scrolling faster than he could read before slowing, filtering options as if judging him.
AVAILABLE SKILLS (CONDITIONAL):
• Basic Swordsmanship
• Sprint
• Pain Resistance (Minor)
• Predator's Focus (LOCKED)
• Storm Affinity (LOCKED)
Evan's eyes snagged on the locked entries.
"Storm affinity?" he whispered.
The system did not elaborate.
He selected Pain Resistance (Minor) without hesitation.
SKILL LEARNED
Pain Resistance (Minor) – Reduces pain feedback by 20%.
Note: Pain still indicates damage severity.
The ache in his chest dulled, not gone, but manageable. Sharp pain turned into information.
Good. Pain was data. Panic was useless.
He stood, testing his balance. The forest felt closer now, as if the trees had leaned in while he was distracted. The mark burned faintly at the back of his awareness, not physical, but undeniable.
Something could see him better now.
"Alright," Evan said under his breath. "Rules established."
Rule one: Death was permanent.
Rule two: The system lied by omission.
Rule three: Anything interested in him was above his pay grade.
He looked at the sky, committing its color to memory. No sun icon. No minimap. No friendly tutorial fairy.
Hardcore mode.
He tightened his grip on the sword and picked a direction that felt downhill. Water meant shelter. Shelter meant time. Time meant levels.
A new notification slid into view as he took his first step.
ENVIRONMENTAL WARNING
Region: Whispering Vale
Recommended Level: 5+
Current Survival Probability: 37%
Evan smiled thinly.
"Better than zero."
He moved into the trees, quieter now, every footstep measured. Each snapped twig sent his pulse spiking, but he didn't stop. Fear was weight. He learned to carry it.
Behind him, far beyond sight, the forest exhaled.
And somewhere even farther away, something ancient adjusted its attention, recalculating.
A new variable had entered the system.
And it was learning fast.