Fish slain!

  Fish slain!

  Fish slain!

  Fish slain!

  Fish slain!

  Fish slain!

  10XP (X6)

  “Provisions, check.”

  I slipped a wrapped bunch of fish into my pouch. They were folded together tightly inside a large leaf. Along with that, I had days worth of foraged nuts and seeds. The remaining hours of yesterday’s daylight had been spent fishing, foraging and cooking.

  “Weapons, check.”

  I pricked my finger with the sharp end of my sword. A little pinpoint of blood seeped out from the wound. The blade was sharp and the vines holding it to the spear shaft were fresh and strong.

  “Survival tools, check.”

  Compass and tender box. Everything a growing adventurer needed. All of my other tools were staying behind and so was Spot. I threw a glance at where the rabbit had disappeared this morning.

  “Still gone. I wanted to say goodbye at least. I guess, I’ll see em when I get back.”

  With everything checked and ready, I set off into the wilderness, northbound. First, I’d pass the stream for a handful of water, then gawk at the strange tower one more time, and, lastly, find my way back to the inscribed stone I’d found yesterday. From there, it would be off into the unknown.

  My heart overflowed with both excitement and anxiety. When my feet started to move, it was with shaky legs.

  Current Level: 8

  Current XP: 80/900

  I dismissed the menu as I nervously stepped up to the sun washed stone. My nerves were getting the better of me. I’d been procrastinating this next part for over fifteen minutes, pretending to read the sign, stretching, micro obsessing over my provisions and skills, but now there was nothing left to do but take that next step.

  Anxiously, I peered back the way I came.

  “Well, this is it. I either land on my feet or fall off the edge of the world.” In this new world, as far as I knew, the latter could’ve been absolutely possible.

  Disregarding that fear, I took my first step… then another… then another, until I was dashing through the unknown with newfound freedom.

  By midday, the stone was far behind me and I had become enamored with the sights and sound of the forest. There had always been something new to see back home, new little surprises to stumble on no matter how many times you passed by a usual spot or hunted a familiar area, but out here things were far different.

  For one, the forest trees turned from thick trunked oaks to strange, skinny white barks whose leaves were green on top but almost silver underneath. Their limbs twisted in beautiful arcs and elegant weaves that interlaced with each other. I had never seen anything like them before, not in this world or my last.

  And around them sprouted wild foliage, some of it barbed, some of it standing straight up like green pencils. The latter of the two sprung up like mini bamboo sprigs where, at connecting joints, grew little black berries the size of peas. I was too afraid to eat them. The color black usually meant death back home. I applied the same knowledge here.

  Things grew vastly differently in this part of the forest, popping up in strange colors and growing to odd sizes, like strangely gorgeous amber barked trees that spread their crimson leaves, too, into the chaos of the overgrowth. And though oak trees were rare in these parts, where they did grow, the trees were so massive and thick their canopies darkened the forest floor. With so much color and growth, my eyes had a hard time adjusting to it all.

  Another odd aspect was the growing strangeness of the animals I encountered. I thought the strangest thing I’d see in these woods were the goblins to the south but this far north there were a variety of outlandish animals I’d never seen before.

  For one, it was common to stumble upon herds of large four tusked boars with silver stripes, some bigger than ponies. I stayed far away from those.

  On one occasion, in fact, while I was watching a herd bustle through the far foliage, I heard the stomping of some massive beast echoing through the forest. Each step sounded like a mini thunder boom. When the beast finally emerged, I could hardly believe my eyes. It was a boar bigger than an elephant, silvered with age and bearing tusks as big as tree limbs. Not even a goblin would be so bold as to chase that thing down.

  I also caught glimpses of lemur-like creatures migrating through the treetops, but it was hard to tell if that’s truly what they were or if they were more akin to some kind of fat white squirrel. The fact remained, though, that the animals moved in such a large herd that I knew they were no ordinary woodland critter. Not to mention, the sound they made was horrible. It was like a thousand crickets chirping at once or a hundred fire alarms singing through the branches.

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  Behind every tree trunk or in every scratchy thicket something new was waiting to be found. It was all very exciting. However, with large and exotic prey came even larger predators.

  Around early evening, I stumbled out from the deep woods, exhausted and thirsty. My legs collapsed when I finally came upon a wide river splitting the forest in two.

  The waters were deep and from bank to bank the river was at least twenty feet wide. The surface glossed over in the sunlight, tantalizing me to just jump in and roll my hot body around in the cool water. Dropping to my knees, I resisted the urge long enough to palm water onto my face and around my ears, sighing happily as the heat was sapped away.

  “Oh, thank god. Water. I should’ve brought that stupid bucket with me. I don’t care how cumbersome it is. I’d kill for a bucket…” slurp “...full of water.” Finally, I sat back, my stomach sated too and heaved a couple breaths, glad to be off my feet.

  “Next time, I’m wishing for a bigger water horn.” I uncapped mine and filled it up. “I’m probably going to pay for not boiling this water.” As I corked it, I slung the water horn to the ground and started to kick off my sandals.

  “Oh yeah, buddy,” I said smugly to the river, “You’re mine.” Just before I ripped off my boarskin poncho, I noticed something off to the side of me… and it was big. I froze.

  From the corner of my eye I glanced over. The sight of it made my heart collapse in on itself like a star turning into a black hole and I wished I could do the same. There, to my side and watching me, was the largest cat I had ever seen.

  It stood as tall as me and was longer than an SUV from neck to tail. Black stripes broke up its odd green coat and, even odder still, patches of it reflected sunlight like fish scales. Its tail was completely feathered and twice as long as a normal cat’s tail should be. And its head resembled a tiger’s– no, a sabertooth’s with matching fangs to boot… fangs that it bared at me.

  Just a moment ago, it had been drinking from the very same river without a care in the world when, suddenly, I stumbled out and into view. Hidden in tall tree-like thickets, its camouflage was perfect. I didn’t notice a thing. With a broad tongue, it stroked up water by the handful until my voice finally caught its attention. Then, with a flick of its yellow eyes, broken by a slender black pupil, it spotted me, lunch, foolishly presenting myself as a meal.

  Now, it hissed, eyes staring with the psychopathic bloodlust of a killer. I was piss-myself scared, too terrified to move as it slunk towards me on thick paws that made no sound whatsoever.

  However, that was not the predator that would give me nightmares for nights to come. No, that prize would go to the thing that came crashing up from the river depths. With jaws like a tyrannosaur, some kind of reptilian monster bursted out from the water and, in a split second, snapped its jaws around the neck of the giant cat with deadly force. The beast howled and roared but had no time for anything else, as within seconds, the giant reptile slunk back into the depths with prey in hand. Then it was gone… and all was quiet.

  I stood shell shocked on the riverbank, completely frozen solid, hands stuck in the position there were in when I started undressing. Slowly, sense came back to my limbs and I snatched my stuff lightning quick and ran back into the woods.

  Only when I was far away enough did I jump into a thick shrub, heaving breaths, finally feeling safe enough to rest.

  And to think… only moments before, I was debating if crossing the river by swimming was the safest way to cross. That was settled now.

  The horrors didn’t end there. As night fell, I collected sticks in the dark for firewood. A fire back home always kept me and Spot safe. Except for goblins, all of the woodland critters hated fire. I assumed that even big things, like the night cat that had ambushed me that one night, would stay away from a campfire. Before I set up camp, though, I made sure to be far, far away from the river. Then, I piled on stick after stick.

  Soon, a crackling fire settled my nerves. Though sleep was the farthest thing from my mind, the warmth and sight it gave me would last until morning. Then, I could nap in a tree somewhere for a couple hours.

  As the night dragged on, however, the fire dwindled. Hesitantly, I dared to venture from camp, using a burning stick as my only failing light to scour the underbrush for fallen branches. By the time I returned I had only gathered a few sticks, but that was just enough to keep the fire going while I tried again.

  I stumbled around in the dark near the edge of camp. My makeshift torch had gone out minutes ago… and lucky for me it did.

  As I approached, there was rustling nearby and the sound of thick, heavy panting. Dropping the sticks I stayed low and quiet. Peeling back a thick leaf, I peered from concealment to see what had invaded my camp.

  One gleaming capped eyed shimmered in the dark. Black fur. Thick, sharp teeth. A maw scarred with pink lines that ran up to its forehead. It was more a warrior than an animal, but still, this warrior carried the form of a massive, muscled bear.

  With morbid curiosity, the beast wandered through camp, looking for the one who started the fire. Sweat glazed my forehead as I remembered that was me. Fear kept me from moving though, as the thought of any slight sound was too much to risk.

  The massive creature stomped through camp, confounded by the fire. Its good eye kept finding its way back to the flames obsessively. The beast circled it once, twice, three times, before deciding what to do with the odd glowing thing. Decidedly, the bear poked and prodded the campfire, eventually placing a meaty paw right into the center of the flame.

  I didn’t need to be a genius to know this was going to be bad. The bear howled, angered by the sudden rush of pain. With a mighty blow, the bear dashed the campfire out, spraying coals and embers across the woods. Furious, it continued the assault, stomping and matting the fireplace with glorious rage.

  Using the noise for cover, I finally broke my trance and dashed off into the night.

  Afraid something else would come hunting for me while I travelled in the dark, I instead found a thick bush to crawl under and hide in. I stayed awake all night, watching, listening… hoping I wasn’t something’s midnight snack come morning.