Nate's surprise was quickly surpassed by panic as he saw several other figures moving towards him in the distance. Purpleheart tribesmen. Their thick furs and bone masks were very recognizable. Looks like I was being hunted by more than just a few beasts.

Not bothering to retrieve his broken spear or arrows, Nate flipped his pack on his back and ran off into the brush with his bow still in hand.

[‘Calm Survivor’ class effects are active. All Stats are doubled. All experience earned is doubled.]

If his class effect had initiated, then the situation was already pretty dire. Nate looked over his shoulder just before he disappeared under cover. Shit. Five men. Well, only four if I managed to kill that one.

Nate didn't know if his arrow had finished the job but the man was definitely having a bad time for sure. He had only caught a glimpse of the man, but he was falling to the ground.

Nate could hear the other men behind him moving through the brush as they broke into a sprint to catch up with him. They were only thirty feet behind him. The men didn't even stop to check on their fallen comrade. Nate knew that he was in trouble. He was outnumbered and they had a running start. He didn't think he had enough tricks to get himself out of this one. Not from four pursuers. He needed to reduce the number and get some distance.

Nate reached over his shoulder and grabbed a few arrows off his backpack. He moved some to his hand holding his bow while still on the run. He needed to attack.

Using a quick shooting technique taught by Rod, Nate paused and fired two arrows at the nearest man. As soon as the second arrow left his bow, he immediately started running again. Nate couldn't even see if one of the arrows had hit.

Danger. Nate shifted to the side missing a spear that had been thrown his way.

[‘Survivor’s Awareness’ has increased to Level 25]

He glanced behind. Only three chasing me now. He was happy that something must have hit the man that was right behind him.

Looking over his shoulder again, he felt a bit of relief. He had achieved what he wanted. Nate's pursuers were keeping twice the distance from him now. He turned and fired another arrow at the nearest man.

Nate continued running for a few minutes before he snuck a peek behind him again. Still three men. He must have completely missed with his last attack. Only three arrows left. One arrow in his hand and two arrows on his pack. Nate plucked the remaining two off of his bag while continuing to trudge forward through the forest.

Nate knew he had to make at least one of these arrows count. Fighting three men in hand to hand combat wasn't going to end well for him. He needed to make the fight as even as possible.

He looked behind again. One of the men had moved closer to him. He might be able to make the shot. He readied himself but stopped his action at the last second. It's a trap.

They knew he only had three arrows left. With no arrows, they could move closer to him without any worry. Then he would die. The arrows gave Nate distance and he needed as much distance as possible.

[Wisdom Stat has increased by 2]

[‘Fear Resistance’ has increased to Level 18]

Nate tried to think of a way out of this situation. Images of the map surfaced in his mind. He wasn't even certain where he was now. Maybe he could turn back to the Greyfor Tribe. They wouldn't let that happen. There was no way he could keep up his escape for a half day's time especially with the night so near. Night. The image of the map floated in his mind again.

[A skill, ‘Recall’, has been created]

[‘Recall’ has increased to Level 2]

Nate didn't have time to think about the skill, but he got the general gist of it from the image of the map that appeared in his mind again. He needed to find a way out of this alive. A rocky area on the map appeared in his mind. The Crags. He was told to avoid that place due to the dangers present. It's closer than the Bogwoods. Nate thought that the tougher terrain would give him more opportunities. But it also offered risks. If the rocky terrain was as rugged as described, then maybe it would give him a chance at losing these men.

[Wisdom Stat has increased by 2]

[‘Recall’ has increased to Level 3]

Nate shifted his run in the direction of the Crags. If he could prolong his escape for another hour, then he would reach the area just before nightfall. Night would be to his advantage.

***************

About a half-hour into his escape, Nate was starting to feel more pressure from the three men after him. Despite his continuous class bonus and the stat bonuses it offered, his risk hadn't lessened a single bit. The Purpleheart hunters must have finally realized his destination as they had started to disregard his bow and arrow to decrease the distance. Nate knew they would make a move before he worked his way into the depths of the rocky area.

He looked back and fired an arrow. Two arrows left. Nate glanced back again. Three men were still chasing after him but one had fallen back behind the others. Not a good shot, but it must have hit. Nate would settle for injuring them if he could. Anything that could give him an advantage.

Nate was starting to recognize slight changes in the terrain. Almost there.

Nate could hear steps closer than usual. Shit. One of the men had gotten within fifteen feet of him. If Nate paused to shoot an arrow, then he wouldn’t even be able to shoot before the guy caught up.

Nate pushed his speed to the maximum.

[Stamina Stat has increased by 1]

[Speed Stat has increased by 1]

Nate knew that even with the repetition of stat increases that he would start to tire soon at this speed. His mind spun trying to plan his path forward.

[‘Duality’ has increased to Level 19]

The landscape abruptly shifted in front of Nate with many towering jagged rocks protruding from the ground. Great. I’m in the Crags.

Then a spear stabbed right into his left shoulder blade. Nate could feel the tip of the spear scrape bone as he moved to keep the spear from hitting something vital. If he stopped, then the spear would go straight through him. Nate willed himself to keep moving and the spear tip pulled from his shoulder.

[Will Stat has increased by 1]

A quick look behind showed a man not more than 10 feet behind him. A bloody tipped spear in the man’s hand. He didn't throw it. Nate realized that the man had just extended the spear to make up the distance. The other two men were at least forty feet away.

[You have been affected by ‘Bleeding’ status]

[Your health will decline at a rate of 2 per minute until ‘Bleeding’ status removed]

[Health: 124/130]

Nate started to weave between the rocky protrusions in the terrain in an attempt to separate himself from the men.

I need to do something. Nate turned a corner behind a large rock then immediately turned around in a crouch. His bow fell from his hand and he faced the person behind him with only the arrows left in his hand. As the Purpleheart tribesman turned the corner in chase, he was surprised by Nate's unexpected pause. Even though he was surprised, the bone masked man still lunged with his spear as soon as he had seen Nate.

Nate shifted his body to avoid the spear coming at him, but the tip scraped the side of his face as he moved toward the Purpleheart tribesman. With all his strength Nate stabbed the two remaining arrows into the man's throat before fleeing behind some more rocks. It was a quick stab and run.

Nate moved between several rocks to create some distance but had to pause because of a system alert.

[‘Bleeding Resistance’ has increased to Level 28]

[You have been affected by ‘Bleeding’ status]

[Your health will decline at a rate of 1 per minute until ‘Bleeding’ status removed]

[Health: 109/130]

Nate reached over his shoulder to touch his back. It came away wet with blood. My fucking bag saved my life. Nate felt the hole from the spear tip as he tried to get out some of the supplies Sky had made for him.

The other two men must have found their downed comrade because Nate could hear cursing coming from behind the nearby boulders. The men were about 50 feet away.

"Where the fuck did he go?" One of the men yelled.

"I don't know but Hern isn't gaining to make it. These damn arrows have mutilated his neck," another deeper voice yelled back, "I can't stop the bleeding."

"Fuck. Elder Crow really screwed us," the other voice sounded.

"Ya. Just because his two sons were killed, he freaks out like this. I'd just have more sons and let it be," the deeper voice said.

"Hey, do you see that bastard’s blood?" the voice sounded again.

By the time that question arose, Nate had already covered his wounds. He was preparing to run again as he hid behind the nearby rocks. I hope that's enough bandage. If they have a blood tracking skill, Nate knew he would be in trouble. Nate turned to run but another pain shot through his leg.

[‘Pain Resistance’ has increased to Level 31]

[You have been affected by ‘Bleeding’ status]

[Your health will decline at a rate of 8 per minute until ‘Bleeding’ status removed]

[Health: 98/130]

"Got ya, " a voice sounded from his side as a spear entered Nate's thigh. The spear pulled from his leg and blood splashed out over the rocks. System alerts sounded but the action was so intense they were just disregarded.

"Don't die so easy. Hern's pretty pissed that you managed to draw his blood," the man said while stabbing the spear at Nate's other thigh. Despite the pain, this time Nate was prepared.

He moved to the side causing more of his blood to flow out of his leg. But the spear tip missed and scratched the rocks. Nate jumped forward and tackled the man. The two men tossed each other around in a frantic wrestle. They crashed around on some nearby rocks struggling to get an advantage.

Feeling the blood flow down his leg, Nate almost resigned himself to death. He wasn’t getting away this time. The others will be here shortly. My plan failed.

Then a weightless feeling caught both men by surprise. The two men had finally fallen to the ground but now they just kept falling.

Shit. This area was dangerous because of the deep rocky crags that littered the landscape. The rocks themselves weren’t dangerous, but the large crevices that the rocks hid were the true danger.

Nate fell into a darkness of the crevice scraping himself against the jagged rock walls. The other man had broken from his grasp but still plummeted alongside Nate. Both men bouncing off the walls on the way down into the dark.

The impacts between the rock walls had only a little influence over his speed as he crashed into the ground. Nate's body bounced two and fro as he fell.

Then, the air was knocked out of his body.

The impact sent a painful pulse through his body but he managed to retain his consciousness upon impact.

[You have been affected by ‘Concussed’ status. All mental stats have been reduced by half. Physical coordination is reduced. Vision impaired.]

[‘Concussion Resistance’ has increased to Level 7]

[‘Bleeding Resistance’ has increased to Level 29]

[Level has increased by 1]

[Health: 72/130]

[‘Concussion Resistance’ has increased to Level 8]

[‘Concussion Resistance’ has increased to Level 9]

[‘Concussion Resistance’ has increased to Level 10]

[‘Concussed’ status has been removed]

[‘Bleeding Resistance’ has increased to Level 30]

[You have been affected by ‘Bleeding’ status]

[Your health will decline at a rate of 6 per minute until ‘Bleeding’ status removed]

[Health: 62/130]

[‘Dark Vision’ has increased to Level 21]

System alerts rang out repeatedly as Nate stared up into the darkness of the crevice. His [Duality] skill was working to interpret the alerts while he paid attention to his soundings. Nate’s [Dark Vision] skill was also working hard to let him see his surroundings. With the horrendous pain, his mind felt scattered. Nate surveyed as much as he could to see if any immediate danger was around.

Nothing. He saw nothing in the darkness around him. But he couldn’t really see more than thirty feet into some the darker areas.

The burning sensation from the wound on his thigh drew his attention. I need to stop the bleeding. As Nate went to pull his backpack off, he experienced intense pain in his arm. It's broken. His body was in so much pain he didn’t even notice the injury.

[‘Pain Resistance’ has increased to Level 32]

[‘Duality’ has increased to Level 20]

[Health: 53/130]

I'm going to die if this bleeding doesn't stop. Having an idea, Nate struggled to pull an item from his backpack.

He ripped the packet apart and used a part of it to plug the wound on his thigh. This is going to hurt.

Nate pulled a strip igniting a spark. The flame from a fire starter burst from his wound. Then, Nate’s pain shot to a whole different level as the fire burned the wound closed.

[‘Burn Resistance’ has increased to Level 9]

[‘Pain Resistance’ has increased to Level 33]

[‘Burn Resistance’ has increased to Level 10]

[‘Infection Resistance’ has increased to Level 26]

[‘Bleeding’ status has been removed]

[Health: 42/110]

[Level has increased by 1]

The intense pain only lasted a second before it started to fade. Glad I only used a quarter of the fire starter. Nate felt his consciousness starting to slip and he struggled to keep his eyes open.

[‘Sleep Resistance’ has increased to Level 6]

With a slightly foggy mind, Nate struggled to sit up and look around. His whole body hurt but he needed to move.

[‘Sleep Resistance’ has increased to Level 7]

Nate didn't know what the other Purpleheart attackers were doing, but he assumed that they were still coming after him. I thought there were only three men but it seemed like a fourth one had still been lingering behind the others.

From the second he was stabbed in the leg to now, Nate knew no more than a few minutes had passed. Maybe they aren’t following anymore.

Nate looked around again. The ledge that he had landed on wasn't large enough to hold two men. Where did that one go? Looking down into the crevice, Nate couldn't see anything from the extreme lack of light.

[‘Dark Vision’ has increased to Level 22]

[‘Sleep Resistance’ has increased to Level 8]

Considering what to do next, Nate realized that he didn't have many options. He looked up towards where he had fallen. It's getting dark now. The sky above was barely visible but the grey light of dusk made its way through some spaces. Maybe they won't follow me in the dark.

Thinking over the situation, Nate could either try to climb out of the crevice where the Purpleheart tribesmen were hunting for him, wait here for them to find him, or climb down into the depths of the crevice and continue with his escape.

Feeling the throbbing pain from both his arm and his leg, Nate didn't know how he was going to move at all, but he knew for sure that he couldn't climb up. He pulled a few berries from his pack and popped them in his mouth. I guess down it is.