A rabbit leapt forward, mouth agape and prepared to bite down on its prey. Another pair hopped close to the ground, aiming at the legs.

  Virgil stepped back and with an overhead strike, used the shaft of the spear to slam the beast into the ground.

  As he retreated backwards, he spun his weapon in both hands before stabbing down at the second monster, impaling it as it attempted to take a bite out of his shin.

  As the sun began to rise that morning, he awoke and decided that in order to survive, he had to be more knowledgeable about handling his new weapon.

  He had done some basic exercises, like pushups, sit-ups and running in place, and also spent a large amount of time practicing thrusting, swiping and moving nimbly with his new weapon

  Once he felt confident enough in his handling, as well as getting used to his enhanced body, Virgil decided to try and complete the mission that the system gave him earlier.

  He had come upon a pair of the rabid rabbits, and took the pair down without much difficulty.

  The rabbits were quick little bastards, but Virgil realized that he was just as quick, and it seemed his reflexes had improved as well.

  As he used some leaves to clean off his spear, he remembered something that he read on an earlier pop-up. Something about gaining access to ‘system statistics’?

  He still wasn't sure what exactly this ‘System’ was, but he assumed that whatever it was caused these massive changes to Earth, so it must be unbelievably powerful.

  As the words ‘system statistics’ passed through his mind, a new window popped up.

  Name: Virgil

  Race: Human [Earth-1213]

  Rank: Two-Star

  Personal Stats:

  BODY: 24

  MIND: 22

  SPIRIT: 25

  AFFINITY: NONE

  “Huh. Well that's interesting. I wonder how this ‘system’ came up with these numbers. Also, interesting that it can work just by thought. How about…quests?”

  A new window appeared with only one short, but familiar paragraph.

  Conquer this challenge, and begin your path of ascendancy.

  OBJECTIVE: Kill 10 monsters

  REWARD: Skill of choice

  Kills: 6/10

  He carefully made his way back towards where he had first met the little murderous monsters. Virgil was a bit more confident in his ability to handle the beats, but was still a bit nervous.

  It would be his first official challenge in this new world. Even with the enhancements from the World Fruit he had consumed, he didn't really have any experience in hunting, especially not with a spear.

  After nearly an hour of walking through the dense forest, he came upon a small pack of the mutated rabbits.

  They seemed to be feasting on the carcass of a large, furry animal. They used their small, dagger-like teeth to tear bits of flesh off of the dead animal.

  Virgil’s mind couldn't help but run wild with the thought of him becoming their next meal, but he quickly shook away the intrusive thoughts.

  “No point in overthinking now. I’m already here & gotta see this through if I’m gonna survive.”

  Virgil didn't fully understand exactly what was happening on Earth. Whether it was some sort of invasion or large scale experiment, and whether it was localized or worldwide, he had no idea.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  What he needed was more information, and being stuck in this giant forest all alone wouldn’t help, so getting stronger and finding other people seemed like his best bet.

  He positioned himself behind a large bush, staying hidden as he watched the rabbits. He only counted 5 targets, and was about to move to attack before he saw something strange.

  The ground behind the group of creatures began to come apart, and two large paws emerged.

  What came next caused Virgil's eyes to widen in a mix of amazement and a bit of fear.

  The ears are what he saw first. Large rabbit ears, about the size of one of the normal mutant rabbits, rose from the ground. They were soon followed by the large head of an unnaturally oversized beast.

  Its face was not too dissimilar to the other smaller beasts, except for its teeth. A pair of dangerous looking teeth stuck out from its closed mouth, curving upwards and looked to be about 4 inches long.

  The creature used its strong arms to push itself out of the ground, and Virgil got a good look at its entirety.

  “What in the ever-loving hell is that…” he whispered to himself. His grip tightened on his spear and he held his breath as he watched an abomination of evolution appear.

  The creature seemed to be the love-child of a bunny and a small bear. Its head mostly resembled the other rabbits, apart from the protruding teeth and the blood red eyes. Its body was covered in white, dirt-covered fur, and looked pretty muscular.

  The beast stood on its hind legs, and sniffed at the air. It seemed to be a couple feet shorter than Virgil, but was still nearly double the size of the smaller rabbits.

  Virgil gulped nervously as he observed the new creature. Doubts surfaced to his mind as he considered his chances of survival. He had no experience in hunting large creatures such as this one, and one misstep could end his life.

  He shook away his doubts and fears and took a breath. He had to flex his hands to stop them from shaking.

  “If I can't succeed here, then I won't stand a chance when things get truly dangerous,” he thought to himself.

  And with that affirming thought, he began to think of a strategy to eliminate the herd.

  “Taking them down individually would be the best way to clear out the group, but separating them will probably be a challenge,” he thought, as he slowly circled around the group at a distance to get a better view of the group.

  As the herd continued to feast on their food, Virgil considered the best plan of attack. He knew a straight up fight would be way too risky, and trying to separate the group would probably be difficult.

  But before he could think of any valid strategy, the large bunny bear - or Bunbear, as he decided to call it - turned its head in Virgil’s direction, raising its snout into the air and inhaling.

  A new popup appeared suddenly, and Virgil quickly scanned the text.

  UNIQUE QUEST:

  Kill the Bunbear Matriarch: 0/1

  Reward:

  Unique title

  Upgrade shard

  Unique ability

  Virgil quickly read the window and willed it away with a thought.

  “Well, that's good motivation, I guess.”

  He slowly backed away as he realized the beast probably picked up on his lack of a proper shower.

  The Bunbear sat up from its feasting position and slowly made its way in his direction, lumbering on all fours and continuing to sniff at the air.

  He did his best to stay hidden behind the large bushes, but as the beast got closer and closer, a reckless idea popped into Virgil’s head.

  The Bunbear was only a few feet away from Virgil now. It slowly walked towards him on all fours, continuing to follow Virgil’s trail.

  When it was around 2 feet away from Virgil’s hiding spot, Virgil decided to gamble on a last minute strategy - a surprise attack.

  He moved forward, spear held tight, and the pointy end aimed at the head of the beast.

  Due to Virgil’s enhanced speed from the world fruit, the beast didn’t get the chance to react.

  Virgil thrust his weapon forward in one hand, and the tip of his spear shot forward, striking the beast in its left eye. The blade sunk deep, burying itself halfway before the beast flinched backwards and roared in pain.

  Blood began to pour out from the wound as Virgil pulled his spear back, dyeing the beast’s white fur a shade of pink.

  Virgil took a few quick leaps back as he watched the beast paw at its now missing eye. His heart was racing a mile a minute, but despite the danger, he couldn’t keep the smile from his face.

  The Matriarch’s head rose, and it's one good eye stared daggers at Virgil. It cocked it's head back towards the sky and it let out a roar that echoed throughout the forest.

  The loud roar caused Virgil's vision to waver slightly, causing him to wobble a bit. The Bunbear took advantage of the moment, and barreled forward, closing the distance and swiping a claw at Virgil.

  Virgil’s eyes never left the beast as he rolled to the side. He followed up with another thrust of his spear, landing a deep cut on the beast's chest.

  The Bunbear let out a grunt as it landed, and continued its charge as Virgil did his best to keep a good distance.

  Behind the now standing Bunbear, the smaller creatures continued their feast, luckily not paying any mind to the ensuing battle.

  As Virgil continued to retreat, he felt his foot snag on something as he began to fall backwards.

  The Bunbear quickly reacted to his fumble, and with surprising agility, the Bunbear leapt sprang forward barreling through the air as it dove towards Virgil with claws outstretched.

  “Holy f-” he gasped, as he tried to move to the side to avoid the blow. But he was just a second too slow. , narrowly avoiding the initial dive by the large creature.

  But the beast quickly followed up its attack with a swipe of its large claws, leaving a trio of gashes on Virgil's chest.

  The fresh wounds burned, causing Virgil to grit his teeth, but he refused to falter. His mind spun as he tried to come up with some way to survive this and complete his quest.

  He suddenly had a crazy idea. One of those “high risk, high reward” gambles.

  He leapt backwards, putting a couple feet between him and the Bunbear. The Bunbear growled as it slowly lumbered towards him. Virgil backed up until he felt the trunk of a tree on his back.

  Taking a few deep breaths, he bent a bit lower and dug the butt of his spear into the dirt at the base of the tree.

  “Here we go,” he muttered, as the Bunbear crouched low, and shot towards him, leaping forward with its claws outstretched and jaws wide.

  Virgil kept his spear steady, and at the last moment, let his spear go and rolled to the side.

  The Bunbear, unable to stop its forward momentum, could only watch as the spear entered through its open mouth, and pierced through the other side, impaling it through the head completely.