After a few seconds, his eyes fluttered open. With a groan, he slowly but with unsteady motion, pushed himself upright, and sat there, dazed, as the eerie silence of the world settled around him.
‘What happened to me? The last thing I remember was the sharp pain in my head… and the world turning upside down… and then nothing…’
Suddenly recalling the events before his collapse, Akkeyito’s eyes widened. He hurriedly looked around, scanning his surroundings, before turning his gaze back to the spot where the void crack had manifested and torn through the sky.
His breath caught in his throat.
‘So... it wasn’t a dream…’ he whispered, his voice hoarse with disbelief.
Just as the weight of it all began to settle in, a cold, mechanical but beautiful voice echoed in his mind, sending a jolt through his body.
[System: System integration complete. Calculating internal memoirs…]
A chill ran down his spine.
‘Who?!!’ he sprained back, his body instinctively shifting into a defensive stance.
His sharp gaze swept across the forest, trying to find the source of the voice. But there was nothing, all he sees are the boundless towering trees looming over him.
His fingers curled tighter around his knife, his knuckles whitening. The air was thick, suffocating, pressing against his skin like an unseen force.
‘I know I heard something…’
Slowly stepping back. The ground beneath him felt heavier, as if the very earth was trying to hold him in place.
‘Was it just my imagination?’
He spare one more glance. But still nothing.
But just as he was about to relaxed..
A voice echoed in his mind.
[System: Host has been exposed to pure mana. Recognition granted]
[System: Calculating internal memoir successful..]
[System: Calibrating host status information… Acquiring records…]
[System: Calibrating host status information Successful]
A sudden cold sensation crawled up his spine. His breath hitched, and his body instinctively tensed.
The voice wasn’t coming from around him. It was inside his head.
And then, before he could react—
A translucent screen blinked into existence before his eyes, its glowing text hovering eerily in the dim light of the forest.
————————————
[Status Information]
Name: Akkeyito
Title: None
Job: None
Level: 1
Exp: 0% / 100%
[Attributes]
- Mana: 10 / 10
- Strength: 10
- Agility: 14
- Intelligence: 1
- Dexterity: 15
[Skills]
- Archery Lv.1
- Dismantling Lv.1
[Unique Skills]
- Growth Lv. ??
————————————
He jerked back in shock, nearly losing his balance on the cold grass. His breath hitched as his eyes remained locked on the strange screen floating before him.
Akkeyito couldn’t comprehend what had just transpired.
‘What… is this?’
A chilling sensation coiled around his spine, but he forced himself to stay calm. Taking a slow breath, he steadied himself and sat upright, his gaze fixated on the glowing text that now filled his vision.
Hesitantly, he reached out. His fingers passed right through the shimmering letters, like touching nothing but air.
‘Is this… real?’
Confusion furrowed his brows. In just one day so many strange things happen that is beyond what mundane humans are capable of understanding.
With cautious curiosity, he slowly began to read.
The words were clear, their meaning unmistakable, yet something about them felt foreign to him.
Unlike most people, Akkeyito had never encountered the concept of games. Living deep in the forest, far from modern civilization, he had no knowledge of status screens and levels.
‘Is this… some kind of magic?’
If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
He swallowed hard.
Knitting his brow, a strange unfamiliar sensation are coursing through his veins like subtle current. It wasn’t pain, nor was it discomfort, as if his body has grown stronger. Even his injuries on his shoulder now longer exist, what left in it is a visible mark of what once in there.
Looking towards the massive cracks in the sky. Akkeyito focuses as he thinks about all of what he encounters today.
‘Are this connected to the cracks in the sky? And also to that bear and wolf? Its too much of a coincidence for all of it to occur on the same day.’
After pondering over it, he let out a slow breath and shook his head.
Thinking about it endlessly wouldn't change anything not now, at least. He needed to prioritize understanding what was right in front of him.
With that, he shifted his focus back to the glowing screen, studying the status information to the best of his ability.
‘Level 1… Does that mean how strong I am? And if it increases, will my strength grow as well?’
His gaze traced the various attributes, his mind trying to make sense of them.
‘Strength… It represents raw power, right?’
That seemed straightforward enough. The higher the value, the stronger his body must be.
‘Agility and Dexterity… Those probably have something to do with movement and precision.’
They, too, seemed easy to grasp, but then his eyes landed on Intelligence.
His brows furrowed slightly.
‘Intelligence… Does it measure how smart I am?’
The thought was odd. How could a single number define something as complex as intelligence?
He scratched the back of his head, feeling a little lost. He eye the one that he most of all is confused about.
‘Mana… what’s that?
Unlike the other attributes, this one felt completely foreign to him. Strength, agility, and dexterity all made sense, but mana? He had never heard anything like it before.
'That voice even, said that I've been exposed to a mana...'
His mind raced for an answer, but before he could dwell on it further
A rustling sound came from the thick bushes ahead.
His instincts kicked in immediately.
With practiced ease, Akkeyito scaled the nearest tree, moving swiftly but silently. Pressing his body against the rough bark, he steadied his breathing, concealing himself within the dense canopy.
His eyes remained fixed on the ground below, muscles tense, as he waited for the source of the sound to pass.
The sound of footsteps gradually grew closer, each step unnervingly heavy for what should have been a normal forest creature.
Emerging from the thick underbrush was a deer or at least, something that resembled one.
Its body was covered in a coat of deep amber fur, but bulging veins ran wildly across its skin, pulsating in an unnatural, almost sickening manner. Its legs longer than any normal deer’s moved with an unnatural gait, its joints bending in ways that seemed off.
But what struck Akkeyito the most were its horns.
They jutted out in jagged, twisted angles, their blackened tips pressing dangerously close to its back, as if they had grown incorrectly warped, unnatural.
A chill crawled down his spine.
‘What… is that thing?’
Akkeyito remained motionless, his breath shallow as he observed the grotesque creature before him.
As it neared his hiding spot, the twisted deer came to an abrupt halt. Its elongated legs stiffened, its unnerving, veiny form standing eerily still beneath the dim forest light.
Then, it lowered its head.
Its nostrils flared, inhaling the air in slow, deliberate sniffs as if sifting through scents unseen to the human eye. The veins pulsating across its umber body seemed to throb with each breath, its unnatural form twitching ever so slightly.
With a slow, fluid motion, it lifted its head once more.
Its mouth gaped open, revealing a maw stained in a dark, tainted red. The sight made Akkeyito’s stomach turn. Its teeth are razor sharp and jagged. They were not the teeth of a simple herbivore. No... these were the fangs of a predator.
Fangs meant for tearing through flesh.
Akkeyito’s grip on the tree bark tightened.
‘That thing… it’s a monster.’
Hoping for it to leave, Akkeyito remains still as much as he can, and as if sensing his fear. The monster turns its head and looks directly at the spot where he is hiding.
A chill crawled up Akkeyito’s spine,
Then-
A peircing screech tore through the eerie silence of the forest.
‘Urgh!!’
Akkeyito’s hands flew to his ears, trying desperately to block out the deafening noise, but the sheer intensity of it rattled his skull. His vision blurred for a moment, his head pounding from the sheer force of the sound.
Before he could react further, the tree beneath him suddenly shook—a small tremor at first, but rapidly growing stronger.
His eyes widened in horror.
‘No way—!!’
CRACK!
The entire tree reeled, its thick roots groaning against the pull of gravity.
Akkeyito who lost his footing, has his body plummeting downward. With a heavy thud, he landed on the forest floor, he rolled to absorb the impact.
His body screamed in protest as he pushed himself up. Just as he steadied himself, he saw the deer shake its head, as if regaining focus after ramming the tree.
Then, its gaze snapped back to him.
A twisted hunger burned in its hollow eyes.
Without warning, it lunged forward with incredible speed.
Seeing this, Akkeyito kicked off the ground, dodging to the side just in time. He rolled across the dirt, then quickly pushed himself up, trying to break into a sprint, but he barely had a second to react.
The deer, having missed its target, twisted its body unnaturally, its legs bending at strange angles as it turned sharply.
Without hesitation, it charged again, its jagged horns barreling straight toward him.
‘How am I supposed to fight this?!’
After dodging the deer multiple times, Akkeyito's breath grew ragged, his muscles burning from the relentless movement. He desperately searched for an opening to escape, but the creature’s unwavering tenacity left him no chance.
Each time he evaded, the monster immediately adjusted, its grotesque limbs twisting unnaturally as it continued its relentless pursuit.
‘If this keeps up, I'll tire out before I even escape this damnation!’
His heart pounded as he forced himself to keep moving, dodging by mere inches. But deep down, he knew he couldn’t keep this up forever.
Taking a risk, he plunged his knife into the deer's body as he dodged sideways.
To his surprise, the blade sank in with ease.
The deer shrieked in pain, its body convulsing from the unexpected attack.
‘I can injure it! It might not be in the same league as the bear and the wolf!’
A flicker of hope ignited within him.
Instead of waiting for the deer to attack again, Akkeyito dashed forward, using his speed and mobility to take the offensive.
After a few seconds, the deer was now covered in wounds, struggling to stand from time to time.
Yet, its eyes still burned with ferocity, showing no fear of death—or perhaps, it simply lacked the ability to feel at all. Akkeyito seized the opportunity, moving swiftly as he closed the distance between him and the wounded deer.
With precise aim, he plunged his knife into its neck and slashed downward, a spray of dark crimson blood gushing from the deep wound.
He immediately backed off, staying cautious until the very end, refusing to let his guard down.
After a few seconds, the deer collapsed, its lifeless body motionless, finally signifying its death.
But before Akkeyito could even relax, the familiar mechanical yet beautiful voice once again resounded in his mind.
[System: You have slain a Level 5 Mutant Deer]