Elias's leg hit something on the ground, and he staggered forward, landing hard with a thud.
The impact knocked the air out of his lungs, leaving him gasping as he sprawled on the cool, damp earth.
For a moment, all he could do was lie there, his chest heaving as the shock wore off. Groaning, he pushed himself up, his fingers sinking into soft soil. Blinking, he squinted as his eyes adjusted to the sudden brightness.
The world around him was unrecognizable.
Towering trees stretched high into the sky, their thick canopies forming an almost impenetrable veil of green.
Sunlight filtered through in scattered beams, dappling the forest floor in shifting patterns of light and shadow.
The air was warm and heavy with moisture, filled with the rustling of leaves and the distant calls of strange creatures.
A sharp, earthy scent filled his nostrils, a mix of damp wood and moss.
"What…is this place?" Elias muttered, his voice shaky as he hauled himself to his feet. His head spun with confusion, but one thing was certain...he wasn't where he had been moments ago.
He glanced down at himself, startled to find his tattered street clothes replaced by a fitted leather tunic and sturdy boots.
A short blade hung from his belt, its hilt rough against his palm as he touched it.
The change was unnerving, and his hand moved instinctively to his chest. There, under the armor, the faint hum of the Aether Core pulsed, steady and deliberate, as if it were alive.
It was a rhythm he was yet to grow used to, it still filled him with a mixture of awe and unease.
"I guess I've finally entered the game," he muttered, his voice tinged with disbelief.
A sudden rustling in the bushes snapped him from his thoughts.
His body tensed, muscles coiling like springs.
His hand went to the blade at his side, though he gripped it awkwardly, unsure of how to wield it.
The sound grew louder, closer, until the undergrowth parted, revealing a creature that sent a chill down his spine.
It was the size of a dog, but that was where any similarity ended.
Its body was covered in black, spiked scales that gleamed in the faint sunlight.
Glowing red eyes burned with predatory hunger, and a low growl rumbled from its throat, vibrating through the air.
The monster's claws dug into the ground, carving deep furrows as it crouched, ready to pounce.
A soft chime echoed in the air, and a translucent screen materialized before him.
< Ding!!
[Welcome, User 223]
[User: Elias]
[Quest unlock]
[You are faced with your first monster.]
[Zero monsters killed.]
[Objective: Defeat the Lesser Hound or die trying.]
[Reward: Hidden]
Elias stared at the words, his breath hitching. "Wow. What a cool way of announcing my death," he muttered bitterly. His knuckles whitened around the blade's hilt.
"There's no way I can take this thing down. I'm being sent to my early grave."
The creature growled louder, its glowing eyes narrowing as it crouched lower.
Every instinct screamed at Elias to run, but his feet remained rooted to the ground.
Then, the Aether Core flared to life, sending a surge of energy through his body.
The warmth spread quickly, chasing away some of the fear. In the back of his mind, a whispering voice resonated, clear and commanding:
"Fight."
Elias's grip on the blade was clumsy, his fingers slicked with sweat.
His heart raced, pounding so loudly in his ears that it drowned out the forest's sounds.
The hound's growls deepened, its muscles tensing like coiled springs. It lunged, Its claws tearing into the dirt, flinging earth and leaves into the air.
Panic overtook him. Elias swung the blade wildly, sidestepping at the last second.
The steel edge grazed the creature's side, and it let out a sharp, high-pitched screech, its momentum carrying it past him.
Elias stumbled backward, tripping over roots and nearly losing his footing. His hands trembled as he faced the creature again.
A thin line of blood oozed from the shallow wound, staining its black scales a vivid crimson.
The hound snarled, its movements more erratic now, its fury palpable.
Its glowing eyes locked onto him, promising pain.
Elias's chest heaved as he tried to steady his breathing, each breath shaper than the last.
He could feel the creature's hatred radiating towards him, as if it wanted to tear him apart just for wounding it.
He couldn't run; the creature was too fast. He couldn't reason with it; it was a monster. He had only one choice.
Try to kill it to survive!
The Core pulsed again, sending warmth through his limbs. His terror dulled slightly, replaced by a strange, unnatural clarity.
The world seemed to slow, the rustling of leaves and the growl of the hound fading into the background. His breathing steadied, and the whispers returned, guiding him
"Anticipate. Move. Strike."
The hound charged once more, its claws tearing into the earth as it barreled toward him.
This time, Elias was ready. He watched it's movement intently, noticing the slight twitch in its hind legs.
When it lunged , he sidestepped with more surprising precision, the blade slicing up in a diagonal arc.
The strike connected, the blade edge carving a deep gash along the hound's side with a sickening crunch.
Elias felt the vibration travel through the hilt into his hands, sharp and jarring, as though the weapon itself recoiled from the violence.
Dark blood oozed from the wound, thick and viscous, painting the steel a deep crimson.
The creature howled, its voice a mixture of rage and agony that echoed through the trees.
It stumbled, its claws scrabbling against the forest floor, but it didn't falter. Instead, its glowing red eyes burned brighter, filled with unrelenting fury.
The sound of its guttural snarl sent a chill crawling up Elias's spine, his breath hitching as he realized the monster wasn't done.
It whipped around with terrifying speed, its black, spiked scales gleaming under the sunlight. Dirt sprayed in its wake as it charged again, low and feral, its claws tearing deep grooves into the ground.
Elias barely had time to react. He stumbled back, raising the blade instinctively, but his grip was clumsy, his stance unsteady.
His mind raced, every instinct screaming at him to run. And yet, the Aether Core pulsed within him again.....warm, insistent, pushing him to stand his ground.
The whispering voice returned, calm yet unyielding: "Focus. Strike."
Summoning all the courage he could muster, Elias sidestepped just as the creature lunged, its snapping jaws missing him by mere inches.
He swung the blade again, this time with more precision, his movements guided by a strength that wasn't entirely his own. The edge sliced clean through the hound's side, carving deeper into its scaled flesh.
The creature let out a final, ear-splitting shriek .....a sound so raw and piercing that Elias's ears rang. Its body convulsed, stumbling forward before collapsing onto the forest floor in a heap.
The air grew still, the only sound was the labored rise and fall of Elias's chest.
For a moment, he couldn't move. He stared at the creature's prone form, half-expecting it to rise again.
Then, slowly, it began to dissolve. Wisps of black smoke rose from its body and drifted into the air, leaving behind only the faint metallic tang of blood.