Roar echoed from the middle of the trees, causing the birds to flee.
Eugene, who attacked his enemy, the giant bear that was four arms tall, couldn't even scratch it despite the stone knife he had made.
The bear roared angrily at the stubbornness of its prey. It raised its claws and attacked the troublesome human.
Eugene, who saw the attack, quickly ducked, but the strike reached his chest.
"Hah... hah," he breathed heavily, having been fighting for half an hour.
He stood for a second, looking at the wound on his chest.
[Surface wound, focus.]
The bear, with its immense strength and solid body, was slow compared to Eugene's speed, which was five times faster than a human's.
With his inhuman speed, Eugene managed to dodge the bear's attacks that were enough to turn a human into mush.
[Aim for the eye.] the
Dodging the bear's claws, Eugene grabbed its head and climbed onto its back to avoid falling.
The bear, growing angrier, tried to reach Eugene, but Eugene, who was holding it by the neck, was out of reach of its claws.
[The right eye.] The guide's voice echoed in his mind.
Without hesitation, he plunged the knife with all his strength into the bear's right eye. With a muffled roar, the bear fell dead.
"Hah... hah," Eugene lay next to the bear, breathing heavily, his face covered in sweat.
"A twisted ankle and a broken little finger." He began assessing himself.
[You will heal in five days.
Damage absorbed successfully. How do you want to use it?]
"Bad news and good news... sigh," he muttered.
[You're the one who told me to leave the good news for last.]
"Yeah, yeah," Eugene sighed again.
"Alright... half for strength and the other half for speed," he said after a bit of thought.
After resting, he returned to his shelter by the river. After bathing to wash away the blood and sweat, he put on clothes made from the skins of wolves and other beasts.
After 500 meters, Eugene found the end of the forest but saw no trace of any creature. It was better to sit here until he found something that could help or make him stronger.
For this purpose, he ventured deeper into the forest.
The deeper he went, the stronger the monsters appeared. He managed to reach 700 meters inside the forest from his shelter. With the
"Alright, time to sleep." Eugene looked at the moon and slowly closed his eyes.
He wasn't worried now, as he had the
This was his daily routine.
------------
[...Wake up.]
...
[Wake up.]
The guide's voice echoed.
"Five more minutes, there's nothing." Eugene opened his eyes to see why the
But he only saw the stars and the moon in the black sky, so he went back to sleep.
[A nearby life form detected, possibly humans.] said the
"Damn... why didn't you tell me?" Eugene got up quickly. After days of living alone, he missed everything and maybe they could offer some help.
[To the right.] recommended the
He quickly headed in the direction the guide told him.
"Finally, humans... humans." He clung to the hope the
---------
"Dad... watch out." The son shouted to warn his father of the wolf's attack.
The man, or father, quickly retreated, holding a spear with a stone tip.
"Hah... hah," the man breathed heavily, beginning to assess the situation. They had gone out to find a place to hide from the chaos and terrifying creatures and found this forest and decided to camp near it, but were attacked by some wolves.
"I won't die here," he shouted as he charged at the wolf that attacked him before.
But...
A person suddenly appeared in front of him and killed the wolf with a blow to the head.
With the sound of breaking bones, the wolf fell dead before the stranger.
After the wolf fell, the panic stopped and everyone looked at him.
The wolves fled after seeing him.
"Am I that scary?!" Eugene wondered to himself, astonished.
"S... sir." He looked in the direction of the voice.
Everyone bowed.
Silence.
"We thank this great being for saving us," said the man closest to him loudly.
"What, what?!" It was Eugene's turn to feel shocked.
--------
"Who are you? And what are you doing here?"
After some confusion, "Order," the person closest to him seemed to be in his fifties with black hair and a short beard.
"My name is Paul, sir, and I am the eldest here."
"We were looking for a safe place to live."
The man replied.
"Aren't there cities or countries you can go to?!" Eugene asked in confusion and curiosity. Did they live in a village attacked by monsters, or did their country fall in a war?
"Country... city? What is that, sir?" Paul replied, completely puzzled.
???
[It seems they don't know.] the
After some questions to the old man, he learned that outside this forest, where monsters like giants, dwarves, orcs, and others lived, humans were the weakest and least numerous.
They were only 53 people: him and his son, 24 men, and 10 children and women, and they had not seen or heard of other humans.
"Alright, I understand, thank you for telling me," Eugene thanked him.
"No problem, I'm glad I could help you," Paul replied politely.
[Advice... it's better to stay with them.]
"Ah, yes, that's a great idea."
Eugene looked at them as they made shelters, children crying, women trying to calm them, and men feeding the poultry and cattle.
After contemplating a bit, he made his decision.
"Paul," he called.
"Yes," the old man replied quickly.
"Paul, I have a proposal for all of us. We now live in these difficult circumstances together, and I think we can cooperate to make our lives easier and safer. What do you think if we work together to build a strong community here?"
"I feel like I'll be a successful politician, haha," he said to himself.
Paul was bewildered by what the being who saved him said and told him he would go and tell the others.
Paul returned quickly, looking at him with an optimistic smile, then nodded in agreement.
"We are with you, sir, let's work together to build this better future."
Eugene began planning with them, using his knowledge and skills to teach them how to survive and utilize the available resources in the wild. While helping them develop their skills, he was also learning from them; they were one team striving to survive in a world full of challenges.