[XP gained]
///
Blood burst across my veins. A warm rush that left me on my knees, panting for breath. I took a moment to collect myself. The cold snow on my knees sufficed to shock me back into action.
I rose and carefully approached. Strange knowledge encroached upon the sanctity of my mind. A weird overpowering urge that told me how I should walk, how I should approach the situation.
A strange set of absolute precision that marked my movements.
The most jarring difference was in my sight. I wouldn't say that I was blind, but I had my blurry spots.
That was all gone. Completely.
I could see clearly and wholly. The snow slowly floated down and I found myself able to see through it like it was some thin wall of smoke.
A bit blurred but that was all.
I took a closer look at the corpse. Examining it with an eye I didn't have just moments ago.
The weight of its body created a crater in the paved ground.
I had not noticed it in the preceding battle but it had grown worryingly close to me. So close that if I just reached out a little I may be able to touch it.
I toiled against the body, dissecting it with my bayonet. Small parts of meat were cut off and slung over my shoulder like my rifle had been.
Moments later I made my way towards the house I had taken for myself. My face was hit by the warm waves of air and I was even able to take my gloves off without the worry of frostbite.
I let out a breath of relief and placed my gloves over the fire to hopefully warm them up. Then I went and looked at the cabinet, hoping to find something more than just cans of assorted food.
The cabinet opened to reveal all sorts of spices. They were sealed tight so I was sure I could use them.
I used them to make a nice meal and an hour later I sat with my back against the flame with a stomach full of food. I was completely satisfied.
The timer had ticked down rapidly though. Before, I had a full day to kill as much as I could but now there sat only eighteen hours.
Six hours had already passed. I had been in this town for so long... really? For all that time I had only one measly beast to show for my efforts.
Sure, I was preparing and that counted for something. But... I should have been able to do more than that. I expected more of myself.
My head peaked out the window and was assaulted by a harsh snowstorm. I was able to see through and into the empty houses and streets. But that was all.
I could just stay here and wait out the storm. Maybe in the next few hours there'll be a break and I'd be able to hunt again.
I could wait... I really could. No one else would be suicidal and lucky enough to both choose the same difficulty and accomplish the same feats.
My eyes drooped.
I was going out... wasn't I?
Yeah, I was. Where would be the fun in staying here, doing nothing and hoping for luck to save me? Where?
Nowhere.
/./
[Gabriel]
[Lv1]
[Skills: Precision(MAX)]
/./
The air battered against the makeshift mask I had placed over my face. It covered everything except my eyes.
I wasn't able to find anything that could make goggles, so I didn't.
There wasn't much now that could block my vision meaning all I needed to do was endure the harsh breeze that tried to close my eyes.
I crouched down and placed my hand over the ground. There was a heavy layer of snow on the ground. But it didn't quite do enough to mask the giant trails of those beasts.
Judging by their intelligence it was safe to say that they were trying to hide out from the storm.
Even if I didn't know that it was really only a matter of following their footsteps to wherever the beasts were hiding.
A savage smile split over my face.
The hunter had become the hunted.
So I sang. A whistle of - "Bingo~"
With easy steps, so as to conserve stamina, I made my way towards the origin of the footprints. There were multiple sets each stacked on top of the other.
'Strange'
I thought to myself. Was it because this was a sort of tutorial? Maybe.
If these beasts hunted in packs then should I not have fought a couple dozen in my first and second fights. That's how it should be just judging by their behavior.
It was something to think about later. I had made my way to the origin of the footprints, and like my conclusion, they hunted in packs.
The final piece of evidence that had convinced me, despite the abnormality of the first two, was in the way they hunted.
Slow and precise. Like a human. But humans were pack hunters, would that not mean that they were too.
Yes, I had said they. There were two different beasts. One was the mountainous bastard who I was currently looking at. The other was what I would tentatively call a wolf.
It certainly cut the right figure. With fur and hide like that of a wolf. Fangs and the shape of one too. Just bigger. Way bigger than any wolf had the right to be.
When I was dissecting the bastard, I hadn't noticed it then, but now that I thought back to it there were injuries on the damned thing.
Dents that looked identical to the ones that the mountainous beast would
The bastard had wounds. On its back was a mark that seemed almost identical to the hoof that the other creature bore.
It left one conclusion.
Conflict.
I had seen neither hide nor hair of another species - and maybe it was my fault - but either way that meant that wildlife was sparse.
I looked upon the wolves I had hunted. That was right, wolves. They weren't the beasts I had fought first but wolves.
Why? Why would the wolves be where the beasts were.
It all came back to my latest conclusion.
Conflict.
Was there some conflict somewhere? Some splatters of blood I had failed to notice.
It was altogether just...
"Weird" I muttered to myself. I was really trying to go off of the behavior that a wolf should have and this just seemed way too weird.
It doesn't matter. It really doesn't. I could analyze for as long as I wanted to, I could study their behaviors and map out their interactions as much as I wanted.
I steadied my rifle against my arm. I searched among the pack for any that stood out, a certain lone wolf. Any that might be the leader.
After some scouring I finally found my target.
It was resting in place with its mate nearby. There were even some cubs too - super cute - I wasn't distracted. I was not.
There was some fear in the others eyes. Not just respect for boundaries but genuine fear.
I had to make a decision and this wolf was my best shot at scattering their leadership.
There was one more piece of evidence. The wolf down the end of my irons was the biggest.
My hands held the rifle steady. A certain precision within my breath and aim.
In.
Out.
The shot was fired. I pierced its brain, the bullet coming out the other side almost entirely clean.
There was no struggle. There was no useless suffering. Just another shot.
The leader and his mate were dead. All within a single second.
[XP Gained]
[XP Gained]
/./
My body leaped from tree to tree. I had no superhuman strength nor agility. It came purely from my bodily control
That skill of mine. It did so much more than could be explained.
I knew how I was supposed to jump to get to the next tree the moment I laid eyes on it. I knew how to maximize the force of my jumps without breaking the branches.
My body was even able to twist in the middle of a jump and fire off more shots at the pursuing wolves.
A ding would echo in my mind - reminding me of the game - and tell me that I had killed another.
Five bullets per clip. I had already gone through the last three in the minutes of my escape. It had pinged with a satisfying sound.
It wasn't a necessity to reload. But if I wanted to survive then I would have to as there was no way in hell I was going to engage in melee combat with a whole pack of those wolves.
I was not used to the action though. Not yet. It took me two whole seconds to fiddle with my pockets and reload the rifle.
The tree I stood on fell to the ground. Below me were the ravenous wolves. They had headbutted the tree to the ground in the scant seconds I was reloading.
I 'tsked' a cry of frustration and went back to the action immediately.
They had encircled me. Leaving no room for escape, but their error was in giving me enough time to orient myself.
Earlier I had wondered how effective I would be in melee combat. It seemed as though that would be tested now.
There seemed to be around twenty around me. Each of them encircling me with pinpoint precision.
I must not have been the only one feeling the pressure as one of the wolves pounced. With perfect precision I swayed back and tipped my rifle in such a way that the wolf impaled its own throat atop me.