Chương 7: Two Minutes

Zander woke up, feeling well-rested and ready to start a new day. After stowing his rope, he climbed down from the tree uneventfully. At least there wasn't a surprise attack this time. At the foot of the tree, he ate some dried meat and drank a little water. Then he shouldered his backpack and set off, continuing to follow the direction indicated by the System. He covered a good amount of ground but didn't encounter a single beast. In a way, the silence was deafening.

However, that changed in the early afternoon: the wildlife noises returned. He could see insects scurrying through the undergrowth and small birds flitting through the canopy. He focused on one of the birds to identify it, and received a response from the skill: [Sapsucker - lvl 5]. Zander immediately redoubled his vigilance. Paradoxically, he found himself eager for his next battle with a beast. Much to his dismay, however, he made no interesting encounters before stopping for the night.

The birds remained high in the trees, appearing not in the least interested in him. After dinner, he worked on his skills for a little over two hours. He felt there was progress, even if there were no visible changes. At least, maintaining more than one skill activated simultaneously while keeping an eye on my Health and Blood Well already feels like second nature. He retrieved his phone from his bag and opened his note-taking app to add a new entry: Day 2: Not much happened.

There is some wildlife now at least, so no more unnerving silence. Still level 2. His day done, Zander put away his phone and climbed into a nearby tree. He strapped his bag to a sturdy branch and tied himself to the trunk, letting the newly returned chorus of the forest act as a restless lullaby. * Pale morning light piercing through the dense canopy roused Zander from his uneasy slumber.

He had struggled to truly let his guard down the night before, kept awake by the rustling undergrowth and the looming threat of an attack. Eventually, however, exhaustion had won out, and no attack had taken place. Like the previous day, he stowed his rope, descended from the tree, and ate breakfast. I have to start thinking about water and food. I didn't find any water source yesterday, and I'm not sure I'll find one in the near future. Hopefully, these trees have some sap.

Zander took his knife from his bag and set to work on the trunk of the nearest tree. He saw immediately that the bark was thick; it would take quite some time to reach his goal. He drove his knife into the bark at a 45-degree angle. The blade barely penetrated, but Zander repeated the action again and again to deepen the notch he had made. After what felt like an eternity, he managed to carve deep enough to make the sap flow. The reddish-amber liquid trickled down the trunk. Now to collect all this in my bottle.

He pulled an empty bottle from his bag, uncorked it, and pressed the rim against the trunk. This is too slow. Looking for something to speed up the process, he grabbed a dead leaf from the ground and used it to funnel the sap from the trunk into his bottle. A few minutes later, it was full. Lifting the bottle to his lips, he took a sip; the liquid was refreshing, with a subtly delicious taste. Not bad at all. I expected way worse. That's one less thing to worry about, I guess.

He harvested more sap to replace what he had drunk, topping off the bottle. He placed it back in his bag and set off once again, heading toward the Apex Predator. * Zander had been walking for a few hours when he stumbled upon his second squirrel. He focused his gaze, and the System-assisted skill triggered instantly. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. [Ironfang Squirrel – lvl 5] A level 5.

The last one had been level 3, and this one was significantly larger. Its grey fur bristled with aggression, and the oversized incisors protruding from its mouth glinted like polished steel. I need more power for this one, Zander thought. He immediately dropped his backpack and activated [Mind's Dominion] to transfer 10 points of Will into Might. It would take two agonizing minutes to complete the transfer. He just had to survive until then. The squirrel didn't wait.

With a piercing screech, it launched itself at him. Zander mentally triggered [Scarlet Gauntlet]. He felt the familiar drain on his Blood Well, and within two seconds, blood erupted from his pores, hardening into the hideous, bulbous red parody of boxing gloves that encased his hands and forearms. He raised his guard just in time. Clang! The squirrel's teeth slammed into the hardened blood of his left gauntlet. The impact was heavier than before, jarring his shoulder. This beast was stronger.

He gritted his teeth, forcing himself to maintain the mental thread of [Mind's Dominion]. Focus. Don't let the transfer break. He swung a counter-hook with his right gauntlet, but the squirrel was too fast. It kicked off his left arm, using him as a springboard to backflip away, its claws raking across his shoulder. Zander hissed. The pain was sharp but easily manageable; he had spent his whole life in pain, after all.

His Resilience of 20 made his skin tough, turning what should have been a deep gash into a shallow scratch. The squirrel circled, chittering. It lunged again, this time going low. Zander didn't try to dodge; he knew he couldn't outpace it yet. He slammed his gauntleted fists together, catching the squirrel's snout between the two masses of hardened blood. The creature thrashed, its iron teeth gouging deep grooves into the crimson shell of his gauntlets. One minute left.

He shoved the beast back, gaining some distance. His breathing was steady, but the mental strain of juggling combat and the stat transfer was not to be taken lightly. It felt like trying to solve a math equation while boxing. It was one thing to do it safely by himself, and quite another to apply it in a combat situation. The squirrel recovered instantly, darting up a tree trunk and launching a diving attack. It was a blur of grey and malice. Zander crossed his arms.

The squirrel collided with him like a cannonball, knocking him onto his back. The beast was on top of him instantly, snapping at his throat. Zander jammed his left gauntlet into the creature's open mouth, the mitten-like shape proving useful as a gag. The teeth clamped down, cracking the hardened blood. Zander felt the pressure on his forearm bones. Come on. Finally, he felt the shift. The mental dam broke, and energy flooded his muscles. [Mind's Dominion] was fully activated. His Might surged from 15 to 20.

Zander roared, the sudden influx of strength intoxicating. He didn't just push the squirrel off; he threw it. With a violent heave of his left arm, he launched the level 5 beast into the air. As the squirrel flailed, trying to right itself, Zander scrambled up. He didn't wait for it to land. He stepped in, winding up a massive blow. The squirrel hit the ground and pounced immediately, but the dynamic of speed had changed. Zander's muscles fired with explosive power. He met the squirrel's lunge mid-air.

His right gauntlet connected squarely with the side of the squirrel's head. CRACK. There was no resistance this time. The force of 20 Might, amplified by the hardness of the [Scarlet Gauntlet], shattered the creature's skull instantly. The squirrel was sent spinning into a tree trunk with a wet thud, sliding down into the dead leaves, motionless.

'ding' You have killed [Ironfang Squirrel – lvl 5]. For killing an adversary above your level, you receive 30 System Coins. Zander stood over the corpse, panting, his red eyes glowing very faintly in the forest shade. He dismissed the gauntlets, watching the red shell crumble away, and flexed his fingers.

"Two minutes," he muttered to himself, rubbing his bruised shoulder.

"I need to get that time down." He was about to go pick up his backpack when he heard more screeches. It seemed that the first screech of the now-dead squirrel had been a call for reinforcements.

"Fuck."