Chapter 6

Leon followed the path through the forest, twitching at every sound. Then he chuckled. How common were wolves, anyway? He stiffened as a brown rabbit sprang out from under a bush to his left and he jumped back, swinging his sword. The rabbit stopped to look at him for a second before it jumped ahead. Its name was written in white, but it lacked a level. Leon breathed out and shook his head.

The bush rustled, and Leon readied himself. The rabbit appeared again, this time bloody and in the mouth of a fox.

Leon sprang forward, and the startled fox stopped for a few seconds before it started running. Before it got away, he managed to smack it over its head. The fox and the rabbit disappeared in a shower of pixels, leaving a stack behind. Leon crouched and looked it through. 10 coins, a fox’s tooth, and a rabbit’s foot. He looked at the two items. The fox’s tooth was a low-level crafting ingredient, but the rabbit’s foot didn’t show anything.

“Info, rabbit’s foot.”

A box appeared.

‘Rabbit’s Foot

It’s soft and fluffy.’

Leon looked up when the bush rustled again and pocketed the items. He could sort them out later. In the normal world, he hadn’t seen a lot of wild animals, but here, the forest seemed ripe with them. He readied his sword, but whatever was in there didn’t come out. He stepped forward slowly while keeping the bush at a decent distance. Whatever it was, it didn’t seem to want to come out. Leon walked toward Pura, then stopped.

If whatever was in there was dangerous, it could attack him from behind. He made up his mind and strode toward the bush. He swung the sword at the branches, hoping to hit whatever was in there, but all it accomplished was to push the branches aside. Leon held them there. A brown baby rabbit lay shivering amongst the roots and rotting leaves, its ears laying slick over its back.

“Sorry your mom died,” he said and let the branches fall down. He shouldn’t feel pity for something created through code, but something about the small creature’s shaking body made him push the branches aside again to pick it up. It was so small it fit in his hand and it quickly warmed his palm. “You’re alone, aren’t you?”

Its nose twitched as it cowered in his hand.

“I’ll take you with me for now, and when you’ve grown a little, you can return to the forest. How about it?”

He opened the backpack, half expecting it to refuse a living animal. Yet, it entered without a problem. He put the backpack back on.

“Inventory.” As he hoped, one of the slots contained the rabbit. “Info.”

A box showed up, displaying blue text.

‘Baby Rabbit (brown)

Rescued from a cruel fate by Leon. Can be stored until fully grown for food, or sold at the market. Requires one carrot per week to grow. Estimated time until fully grown: 8 weeks.

Special: Baby rabbit is horrified but awkwardly comforted by his mother’s severed foot.’

“Sorry, kiddo. I wasn’t the one who killed her.”

Leon closed the windows. If he ran into a wolf, or worse, or dropped the backpack, would it be okay? Probably. Potions and such should be okay, so the rabbit would be too, right?

He continued down the path. The quest had over seven hours left, but he didn’t know how much further he had to walk. He’d seen the tower while he descended, so that’s where he would aim. According to Yung, the tower was just north of Pura, meaning it couldn’t be too far.

When he’d walked for another two hours, he wondered if he should try to get a view of the tower. If he was close, he would have seen it through the treetops, but if he needed all this time to actually get there, climbing would mean he’d wasted time. He’d have to take the chance.

Leon chose a tree with low-hanging branches, put his sword in the inventory, and jumped up. He grabbed the branch, but the weight of his body was too much and he was forced to let go. He tried again. Same result. The third time, he finally succeeded. He threw a leg up and got a steady grip, then he climbed the furthest he dared. Even though he was more than a few feet away from the top, he could see the black structure ahead. He was closer than he’d hoped. He’d probably reach Pura within ten minutes if he walked normally.

With renewed spirit, he climbed down. He hung from the lowest branch when he heard what he’d feared. A snarl. He swung his legs up on the branch as the wolf launched out of the bush. The text ’Grey Wolf Level 2’ hovered over its head in orange letters. He couldn’t beat that, could he? The wolf from the tutorial had been bright yellow, and orange could only mean this one was stronger. But by how much?

Leon sat down on the branch, clinging to it with one arm and grabbing the sword from the inventory with the other. The wolf circled the tree, showing a wide set of fangs. Leon tried swinging the sword, but it hit the air a foot above its head. What was he going to do now? The wolf would tear him to shreds before he’d manage to hurt it.

The beast jumped, and Leon swung the sword. It hit it lightly over the shoulder, and it yelped. A box showed up.

‘You have activated ’Splinter,’ an attribute only wooden equipment possesses. Your enemy is enraged. Lasts until pulled out, or the enemy has died. Cooldown 3 hours.’

Of all useless things…

The wolf frothed at its mouth and jumped further up the tree, though it limped a little. Leon swung again and narrowly missed. The third time, he got in another hit on its head. It didn’t fall back but attacked again. Maybe, if it continued like this, he’d be able to beat it. Leon swung the sword after its head and hit the air. If he struck a bit harder, it would take less time. The wolf jumped, and Leon swung the sword. It hit, but the impact made him topple over. He scratched with his fingernails at the bark but didn’t get a grip. His back hit the ground. Leon’s vision blurred, and he groaned.

The beast launched at him, jaw wide, and he just managed to get the sword up to block its teeth. He kicked at the belly, but though it backed off, it was faster than the one he’d met during the tutorial. It was upon him before he got to his feet, and he fell again, forcing the sword up for protection. The wolf’s paws pressed onto his shoulders. Something wet sloshed down on his shirt. The smell of iron hit his nostrils. The wolf snapped at him, but with less energy than before. Leon tried to raise the sword, but it wouldn’t budge. He dared to look down for a second. The hilt stuck out from the beast’s chest.

It should be dead, so why wasn’t it? And how was the sword sharp enough to go through? Leon struggled to force it out, and the wolf threw its head forward. Leon shielded his face with his arm, and the fangs tore through his flesh. He screamed. The wolf’s claws sawed into his chest. Blinding pain shot through Leon’s body and his pulse echoed in his ears. He couldn’t die here. He couldn’t. Leon kicked at the body and hit the back leg. The creature didn’t seem to notice. Wasn’t it feeling pain at all? Was that what ’enraged’ meant?

The wolf let go of his arm and went for Leon’s neck. He had to live. He just had to, even if he’d lose an arm. Leon blocked the attack again, and white dots swam in front of his eyes when the fangs sank further in. He pushed back and kneed the creature. Finally, it fell back to its side. There was a small explosion of pixels and left was a small pile.

Leon panted and crawled toward it. He stopped as he noticed the small blue text boxes in front of him. When had those shown up?

’Status Effect: Bleed. Your health will decrease until you’re dead unless you sleep or use a bandage. Current health: 5 HP.’

The number ticked down to four while he read. His heart dropped. He only had one health potion, and this wolf didn’t give one. If he could use the health potion, he’d have some more time, but how much? He opened the inventory and used the potion. He felt a bit better, but the wounds still oozed blood.

‘You are Exhausted.’

‘You have slain “Grey Wolf Level 2” and gain 75 experience.’

‘You have leveled up! Here are your rewards.’

Leon closed all windows except the last one. He looked at the square in front of him.

‘Level Up!

You have gained enough experience to reach level 2.

These are your rewards for this achievement:

- 5 SP (influenced by NooB-title)

- Status Recovery

- Mystery Box

Would you like to accept or save these rewards?

[Accept] [Save]’

“Accept.” Leon cursed under his breath. He should have saved the potion, but he’d know that for next time. A bright light shone in front of his face, and then his arm and chest were covered in maggots. He sucked in a breath and shook his body.

‘Warning: Interruption of healing process will revert progress. Do you still wish to proceed? [Yes] [No]’

“No.” Leon swallowed and tried not to think about the bugs. Instead, he picked up the small black box in front of him. It was the size of a ring box and had a golden bow on top. “Info.”

‘Mystery Box

Class: Special

Gifted to players when they level up. No one knows what’s inside! It’s said that the rarity of the item inside is determined by the color of the box. The brighter it is, the more value it brings.’

Leon looked at the black box. Something so extravagant held the most common item? What would the white box look like? He shook off a straying maggot and pulled on the bow. Inside was a rag doll wearing a pink dress, pigtails, and blue button eyes. He took it out, and it grew in his hand.

“Um… info?”

‘Ragdoll

Class: Junk

It’s an ordinary doll.’

Leon raised an eyebrow. Really? First the wooden sword, now this? He pocketed it. At least he wasn’t bleeding anymore, and the maggots had disappeared along with the blood on his skin and shirt. Mystery boxes… they might be rare, but what was the chance of getting something good? Did he just get unlucky? He’d thought a rabbit’s foot meant luck, but luck wasn’t a stat in this game. Maybe they’d turned it around, so it gave bad luck. Might be better to throw it out.

“Inventory.”

He took out the foot, and a message popped up.

‘The baby rabbit is saddened by losing his mother’s only memento.’

Leon sighed and put the foot back in. This rabbit was going to be a pain to look after. Not only would he have to feed it, but he’d have to keep the rabbit’s foot as well. With the stuff he had before, four of the ten slots had already filled up. Hopefully, he could find both better equipment and a better bag in the town. At least the rabbit was safe.

He started walking and noticed the pile left from the wolf. He’d forgotten about it. He picked up the coins, earning him 10 coins, and a wolf’s eye that was slimy to touch, and also a crafting ingredient. He discarded it. If he was going to raise the rabbit and it actually saw what else was in the bag, he wouldn’t want to scare it more. Besides, the Grey Wolf would probably be one of the most common enemies in the woods, considering he’d already met two. He shuddered at the thought. Hopefully, he’d grow stronger quickly.

Leon started down the path again, making his way past trees and full bushes, listening carefully for more sounds. After fifteen minutes, he finally exited the woods. Before him laid a cobblestone path that lead to a stone wall with an open arch into the city. It seemed to lead there from a hillside area and disappeared down a downhill slope. On the other side of the road was a huge field with grown wheat that swayed with the wind, beyond which was another forest. That one was darker and thicker, like an evil twin to this one. When facing the arch into the city, Leon could see the great black building shooting up into the sky further ahead, but the base was completely obscured by buildings and the wall. It was much more enormous than he’d first believed.

Did Yung actually climb all the way to the top? It seemed impossible when he was this close, and then he’d have to take the whole main city into account as well. This was the south entrance while the tower base stood in the north. He swallowed. One step at a time. He had two years and rigorous training to do. Less.

But he’d do it. He had to.