In the forest, Ethan was standing on his feet, though supporting himself with his blade. He was dying, and so was the Tripple-maw jaw bear. He cleached his fist, bleeding. A deep voice from within him echoed, fueling him, a sudden surge.
[WARNING!!! WARNING!!! WARNING!!!]
[WRATH OVERLOAD THRESHOLD NEARING: 30/30]
"if I die here...I will die screaming and I won't go alone"
[COOLDOWN COMPLETED]
[ABYSSAL LUNGE–READY]
[WRATH COST: 8]
He activated it again
FWOOOOOOM!!!
This time, he didn't aim for the chest or shoulder. He used the air dash to feint upward, then twisted mid-air, diving down instead. His sword tore through the beast's rear flank, right between the legs.
SLASH!
[WRATH EXPENDED: 8]
WRATH REMAINING: 22/30]
[CRITICAL HIT–]
[DAMAGE DEALT: 25%]
[ENEMY MOVEMENT SLOWED]
[WRATH +4 EARNED]
[Wrath REMAINING: 26/30]
"Hope you like that what ever bear that you are... It's either you die or I die... But let me tell you right now, I have no intention of dieing here. My journey hasn't yet started" Ethan said with confidence, tightening his grip on his blade.
The beast let out a horrific scream, collapsing briefly to one knee. But even in its agony, it spun its head, jaws open. Triple maws lunged.
Ethan barely evaded, but not enough.
The side of his abdomen was grazed by one of the beast's jagged fangs.
Blood sprayed.
[WARNING!!! WARNING!!! WARNING!!!]
[HP CRITICALLY LOW]
[HP: 1/20]
[STATUS: CRITICAL]
[WARNING!!!: SYSTEM AUTO-DEFENSE THRESHOLD NEARING ACTIVATION]
Ethan collapsed to his knees, vision Dimming. Eyes dimming white. But again, a pulse of primal energy through his vein flickered, and his eyes regained color.
The beast loomed over him, one leg trembling, blood pouring from its wounds.
Ethan whispered.
"...Not yet…"
He pressed the sword's tip into the earth. Then, he smiled.
"You're bleeding... just like me."
He pushed himself up. Final lunge. Final swing. The beast charged. Ethan roared. One final Abyssal Lunge.
The two forces collided. Steel and fang. Blood and wrath. Pain and purpose.
CRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKKKKK!
The silence after was eternal.
The forest held its breath.
Ethan stood with one knee on the beast's twitching chest, sword buried between its three jaws—deep into its brainstem.
[WRATH EXPENDED: 8]
[WRATH REMAINING: 18/30]
[CRITICAL HIT–FINAL]
[DAMAGE DEALT: 49%]
[STATUS: DYING]
Its eyes were dimming. Its body spasmed... then stilled.
[ENEMY DEFEATED.]
[+75 EXP GAINED.]
[EXP TO NEXT LEVEL: 75/100]
[WRATH: 30/30]
[HP RESTORED: 20/20]
[+2 ATTRIBUTE POINTS EARNED]
[ABILITY: WRATH INFUSION – UNLOCKED] [WEAPON BOND – INCREASED TO 12%]
[LOOT ACQUIRED: BEAST CRYSTAL]
Ethan collapsed beside the corpse, breathing raggedly.
Tears welled in his eyes again—but this time, not just for loss. This time… for survival.
"I did it, Kiddo…"
He looked up at the sky.
"I killed a Tartarus beast."
After taking thirty minutes of rest, Ethan stood. The fatigue was gone, his broken arm was healed.
"Again, it had healed me... I don't know what this system is... But as long as it helps me in my journey, I will welcome its help with all my might"
Ethan picked his sword and guarded it in its sheath. His first ever real fight, he won. He was glad but this was nothing compared to what was waiting him ahead and he knew that. Ethan matched through the forest and entered the village. He walked through the village, his direction, the village entrance. Not waiting longer, he left the village.
------------------
The sun barely peeked over the ragged mountain ranges as Ethan stood at the edge of the forest trail, a single satchel strapped to his back which he stole from a merchandise before leaving the village and the Abyssal System humming faintly within him. Behind him was the village, his old life and ahead was uncertainty, danger, and the Kingdom he sought, one of the five that housed a Knight Academy. He had no map, no companions, no guides. Just him and the primal resolve burning in his veins. He kissed Licia's pendant, as a last goodbye.
"Let's go…" he whispered.
His boots crushed dew-laden grass as he stepped into the forest. Trees loomed tall, like silent sentinels watching his every move. The air was thick with moisture and buzzing with insects, and somewhere deeper in the woods… he felt it.
The presence of Tartarus Beasts.
His system flared quietly, reacting to the pressure.
[NEW ENVIRONMENT DETECTED: WILD REGION — OUTSKIRTS OF THE FORSAKEN GROVE]
[POTENTIAL THREATS: CLASS I & II TARTARUS BEASTS]
[SIDE QUEST UPDATE: JOURNEY TO THE NEIGHBORING KINGDOM — 1/5 DAYS SURVIVED]
[REWARD: +150EXP, Unlock Travel Menu, Map Fragment(North)]
Branches snapped to his right.
He halted, eyes narrowing. Slowly, his hand went to the hilt of his blade. From the underbrush came a creature barely the size of a deer, but covered in mottled bone-like armor and having two glowing red eyes set in a canine-like face. It growled low.
[WARNING!!!: DANGER APPROACHING]
[WRATH CHARGE DETECTED]
[TARTARUS BEAST DETECTED – CLASS I]
[NAME: BONE-FANGED CRAWLER]
[HP: 40/40]
"Perfect," Ethan muttered.
He dashed forward, sword gleaming under the spears of morning light filtering through the canopy. The beast lunged, claws outstretched. Ethan sidestepped, dipped low, then—
"ABYSSAL LUNGE!"
A sharp boom echoed as he blurred forward, blade slashing upward and tearing into the beast's underside. A spurt of blackened blood hissed across the ground.
[WRATH EXPENDED: -8]
[WRATH REMAINING: 22/30]
[DAMAGE DEALT: 22%]
[STATUS EFFECT INFLICTED: INTERNAL BLEEDING]
[+1 WRATH GAINED]
[WRATH REMAINING: 23/30]
The beast staggered back, screeching. Ethan didn't give it time. He advanced again, striking its neck. Another clean cut. With a final yelp, it collapsed.
[ENEMY DEFEATED: +25 EXP]
[+3EXP EARNED]
[WRATH: 26/30]
[LOOT ACQUIRED: Bone Crawler Core (Class I), Beast Hide]
[LEVEL UP: LEVEL 1 > LEVEL 2]
[EXP TO NEXT LEVEL: 0/200]
He wiped the blade clean on his pants and moved on.
The forest was a test of endurance. By noon, the sun bore down heavy, filtering through cracks in the canopy, painting shifting patterns on the mossy floor. He drank sparingly from his waterskin, his senses always on high alert.
The deeper he went, the more grotesque the flora Became, fungus the size of a man's head, vines with thorns that glowed faintly, roots that moved slightly if you stared long enough. The corruption from Tartarus beasts had infected the land. But Ethan wasn't here to admire the cursed beauty.
He was here to survive.
Nightfall.
A fire crackled softly. Ethan sat under the curve of an ancient root, one leg bleeding from a previous scuffle.
A Class II serpent-beast, coiled and venomous, had ambushed him.
[ENEMY DEFEATED: +30 EXP]
[CURRENT EXP: 30/200]
He wrapped a rag tightly around his calf, gritting his teeth. His breath fogged. The forest was colder at night. Distant howls echoed, and Ethan knew sleep was out of the question.
The Abyssal System flickered quietly.
[SYSTEM TIP: WRATH SLEEP – The Host may meditate instead of sleeping to maintain awareness and begin WRATH cultivation.]
"Hmmm... The system is right. Sleep is for the peaceful," Ethan muttered, shutting his eyes and letting his wrath simmer. It wasn't rest. It was fuel.
[DAY ONE COMPLETED: +2EXP EARNED]
[CURRENT EXP: 32/200]
The first day in the wilds had ended.
Tomorrow would be worse. Maybe.