Chapter 5

“Grrr!”

The man felt the wolf’s hot breath and stench slam into his face, but it was too late; he was already falling backward, pushed by the massive wolf’s weight.

“Gah!”

He crashed hard onto the ground, tumbling, yet desperately pushed the wolf’s neck away with his hands, trying his best to avoid being bitten. He tried to strangle the wolf, but his fingers slipped, and the wolf’s sharp teeth lunged for his neck.

“Damn it!”

Thanks to pushing the wolf’s neck to one side with all his might, he avoided a bite to the nape, but he couldn’t escape having his face and forearms clawed by the wolf’s talons. A metallic scent of blood instantly stimulated both the man’s and the wolf’s senses of smell.

The man’s eyes shot open in pain from his torn facial skin, and the wolf’s savage nature exploded at the fresh smell of blood right before its nose. Only then did the dying bonfire catch on new kindling, flaring back to life, but neither the man nor the wolf had time to pay attention to such a thing.

“You damn son of a bitch!”

The man pushed the wolf’s neck with his elbow and furiously pounded the wolf’s body with his right hand. However, his punches, thrown without proper stance or distance, inflicted no harm on the wolf and only drained his own energy. In contrast, the wolf continuously aimed for the man’s neck with its sharp teeth. The man realized that if he kept resisting like this, he would be the first to tire.

He stopped swinging his fists aimlessly and fumbled in his pocket. He intended to use the knife attached to his multi-tool, but it must have fallen out during the struggle with the wolf, as he couldn’t find it. He waved his hand, hoping to grasp something, but couldn’t even find pebbles or branches, let alone sand.

Just then, the wolf shook its head violently, dislodging the arm pushing its neck, and lunged its teeth towards the man’s neck. A moment of desperation! As the man urgently raised his empty hand, the wolf’s teeth mercilessly bit into his forearm.

“Aargh!”

A pain far more agonizing than when the monstrous rat bit him intensely stimulated the man’s pain receptors. No, the pain was secondary… The chilling sensation of the wolf’s teeth scraping against his arm bone momentarily sent the man into a panic.

However, once the wolf tasted blood, it had no intention of letting go of the prey in its mouth. Amidst the man’s painful struggles and cries, it was at that very moment that the wolf’s glistening nose, biting his arm, came into his view. His actions were faster than his thoughts. Or, to be precise… the man only realized what he had done after biting the wolf’s wet nose with his own teeth.

“Yelping!”

Startled by the unexpected blow, the wolf shrieked and recoiled from the man’s forearm. Only then did the man spit out the soft, bloody mass from his mouth and get back on his feet.

“Ugh…”

Clutching his right arm, which was soaked with the wolf’s saliva and blood, the man stood up and looked at the wolf rolling on the ground, pressing its nose area with its one good paw.

“You damn son of a bitch…”

Filled with rage, the man looked around and picked up a long, sturdy branch from the newly gathered kindling. He approached the wolf rolling on the ground and forcefully stepped on its neck. The wolf tried to avoid the man’s foot and get up, but the man’s foot happened to land on its good front paw.

“Crack!”

A chilling sound of bone breaking reached the man’s ears, and he let out a cheer. Was the stepping position bad? Or was it due to his increased strength from leveling up? For the man, the reason why the wolf’s leg broke instantly didn’t matter. What mattered now was that this damned wolf, which had put a hole in his forearm, was now unable to escape even if it wanted to.

The man forcefully kicked the wolf’s belly, which was rolling on the ground and trying to avoid him by moving its hind legs, as if kicking a soccer ball. The full-force soccer kick accurately lodged itself into the wolf’s abdomen with a sound like beating a leather drum.

“Yelp!”

The wolf shrieked like a wounded dog, but the man continued to kick its belly relentlessly. And finally, when the wolf couldn’t even scream anymore and started gasping for breath… he gripped the stick he was holding in reverse and plunged it down towards its soft belly.

However, perhaps because the stick was blunt, the wolf’s belly wasn’t pierced. Instead… with a snapping sound, the wolf’s ribs broke. The man, consumed by frenzy, wildly stabbed the branch down. Unaware that his palms were tearing from the rough surface of the branch, the man frantically plunged the branch down, and after six or seven consecutive plunges, the wolf’s belly finally couldn’t endure it and was pierced.

As the sensation of the branch piercing the wolf’s belly transmitted to his hand, the man suddenly came to his senses. He immediately realized he was quite a distance from the bonfire and quickly returned to the side of the brightly burning flames, which were emitting white smoke.

“Hmph…”

As his mind cleared, the pain in his forearm began to throb anew. His face, scratched by claws, also burned, but it was nothing compared to the wound on his forearm, which now had a hole in it. The man grimaced in pain and examined his lifeline, the bonfire. And… only after confirming that he could rest easy for a while did he turn his attention to the outcome of the battle happening over there.

The two-on-one fight between the saber-toothed tiger and the wolves had shifted again while the man was fighting for his life against one wolf. One wolf that had been biting the saber-toothed tiger’s spine had already disappeared somewhere, and the saber-toothed tiger was entangled with the remaining wolf that stubbornly clung to its neck.

The saber-toothed tiger staggered, struggling desperately to shake off the wolf. But as time passed, the saber-toothed tiger’s movements became increasingly sluggish, and finally, after another hour, it stumbled and collapsed. The wolf, clinging to the saber-toothed tiger’s neck, remained motionless for a while, as if dead. Instead, it showed slight movements of twisting its body a few times, similar to when it bit off the flesh from its rump, merely indicating it was alive.

And… as the man watched anxiously, another hour passed, and only then did the wolf stagger to its feet. However, it stumbled and walked only a few steps before collapsing completely. Its body convulsed, so it didn’t seem to be dead. The man looked at his phone. Remaining time: approximately thirty minutes. The surroundings, which had been pitch black, were now gradually getting brighter.

The man looked at the dead wolf with the branch impaled in its belly like a flag on the opposite side. Then he looked back at the last remaining wolf, gasping for breath. His hesitation didn’t last long. The man immediately approached the dead wolf, pulled the branch from its torso, and then walked towards the wolf that was collapsed and gasping for breath.

The wolf noticed the man’s approach and bared its teeth, growling. But the man mercilessly kicked the wolf’s side with all his might.

“Yelp-yelp-yelp!”

Hearing the wolf’s pained screams once more, the man felt exhilaration. No, this was a sensation too intense to simply be called exhilaration. It was a thrill that made every hair on his body stand on end! The man involuntarily trembled and kicked the wolf’s belly again with all his might. The wolf, which had been tumbling around like a ball, soon couldn’t even scream and was barely clinging to life, gasping for breath.

Only then did the man raise the branch he was holding. The last remaining wolf stared blankly up at the branch, stained with the blood of the other wolf. The man’s gaze met the wolf’s yellowish eyes for a moment… but he didn’t hesitate and plunged the branch down towards its belly. This time, he immediately felt the sensation of the hide being pierced at his fingertips. The wolf gasped for air, then lolled out its tongue and went limp.

The man gasped for breath… then began dragging the scattered corpses one by one closer to the bonfire. As he finished cleaning up… the allocated time had already run out.

Tutorial started. 4. Protect the bonfire.

• As darkness falls, the beasts of the forest begin to target you. The bonfire will be your only shield to protect you. Guard the bonfire until morning so that it does not go out. (Remaining time 00:00) -> Completed! Reward: A little experience -> Do you want to claim your reward now? (Y/n) _(Warning) Unclaimed rewards will be automatically deleted after 7 days.

“…”

Although “a little” had changed to “some,” that alone gave the man great exhilaration. Of course… thinking about the desperate struggle of the previous night, “some” felt like nothing. Though, if he had had proper kindling, he wouldn’t have had to suffer.

“Whew…”

As he pressed Y, a familiar light enveloped his body, and his injuries healed. Scars would remain, but for now, just the healing of the wounds that had been gnawing at his mind was enough to be grateful for. As his level rose, the congratulatory message arrived again. Hoping for a proper card this time, the man claimed the reward.

Congratulations! You have acquired the skill card ‘Bloody Mess’. : Skill cards can be equipped in a card slot to use their abilities.

• Do you want to equip the skill card in a card slot? (Y/n) _ [Click here to check detailed card information.]

“…”

However, once again, the man’s expectations were dashed. The ‘Bloody Mess’ card he had acquired before had appeared again.

“Whew…”

He let out a deep sigh, shaking with frustration… and then light streamed from his body again.

“Huh?”

What in the world? He had just leveled up moments ago. He was momentarily bewildered, but the man could easily guess the reason. Perhaps… defeating the wolves and the saber-toothed tiger had also been calculated as experience points. The man claimed the reward again. This time, fanfares rang out.

Congratulations! You have acquired the skill card ‘Bloody Mess (R)’. : Skill cards can be equipped in a card slot to use their abilities.

• Do you want to equip the skill card in a card slot? (Y/n) _ [Click here to check detailed card information.]

“Crazy…”

But contrary to his expectations, the moment he saw the name ‘Bloody Mess’ again, the man despaired. It wasn’t like he had a vendetta against ‘Bloody Mess’… How could he keep getting this one card repeatedly? The man grumbled and was about to close his phone… when he suddenly realized that this message was slightly different from the previous one. This ‘Bloody Mess’ was indeed ‘Bloody Mess’, but unlike before, it said ‘Bloody Mess (R)’.

The man checked the detailed card information.

Card Information Name: Bloody Mess (R) Level: 1Lv Experience: 0 Grade: Rare++ Category: Skill Growth: Late Bloomer (Medium) Attribute: Fire Effects:

1. 30% chance to induce fear in enemies on successful attack
2. Regeneration rate increased by 10%
3. Attack power increased by 5% Cost: 20 Seed: 5 slots