The rabbit's horn snapped off, lodged deep in Eve's stomach. She gasped, her face pale as her trembling hands instinctively pressed against the wound, trying to stop the bleeding. Shock paralyzed her, her wide eyes struggling to comprehend what had just happened.
The rabbit, its vicious smile twisting with satisfaction at its ambush, turned to flee. It leapt into the air, aiming to vanish into the woods.
But it never touched the ground.
I was already there, leaping after it with a burst of speed. I caught the creature mid-air, its small body thrashing violently in my grip as it tried to break free. Its desperate shakes only made my grip tighter. I stared at it with unrelenting fury, but I didn't kill it. Not yet.
Holding the rabbit firmly, I sprinted back to where Eve lay. My father was beside her, frantically trying to stop the bleeding. His hands were covered in blood as he pressed firmly against her wound.
"Keep pressing!" he shouted. "We have to stop the blood flow!"
Eve wasn't dead—not yet. Her breathing was shallow, and her face was ghostly pale. She was conscious, but barely, her lips trembling as she tried to hold on. Blood continued to pour from the wound, far too much for anyone to survive.
I dropped to my knees beside her, holding the rabbit firmly in one hand. Without hesitation, I looked into her fading eyes and said, "Eve, listen to me. Take the sword and stab this thing in the neck. If you level up, put every single point into vitality immediately. Do you understand me?"
She blinked slowly, then gave a weak nod. Her trembling hand reached out as I placed the hilt of my sword into her grip. Using what little strength she had left, she thrust the blade forward. The rabbit let out one final screech before it fell limp.
For a moment, everything was silent.
Eve's eyes fluttered shut, and for a terrifying second, I thought I had been too late. But then, the flow of blood began to slow. The wound in her stomach, though still severe, started to close—a small but miraculous sign of recovery.
I looked at my father, who was examining her closely. His expression shifted from panic to cautious relief.
"Incredible," he murmured as he removed the horn. "She's recovering so quickly. At this rate, the bleeding will stop completely within a day, and the wound should close in two or three. A full recovery might only take a few weeks."
He turned to me, his eyes reflecting both awe and exhaustion. "She's safe now, Sam. She just needs rest."
Relief washed over me, almost knocking the strength out of my legs. My father looked no less overwhelmed, and I could see the weight of his experience as a doctor etched into his face.
"This is a miracle," he said quietly, almost to himself. "A wound like this... I would've given her less than a ten percent chance of survival."
For now, she was alive. That was all that mattered
The atmosphere was suffocating. The group, still reeling from the events of the last few minutes, stood frozen in stunned silence. What had started as cautious optimism quickly turned into a harsh wake-up call.
Just five minutes into the forest, and death had already brushed against us. It was a chilling reality none of us could ignore. The sheer brutality of the world we had entered was written on everyone's pale faces and trembling hands.
After ensuring that Eve was stable and leaving her in Mom's care, my father stood up, his expression grim but resolute. He called everyone together for a meeting, his voice cutting through the oppressive quiet.
"As you've all seen," he began, his tone heavy with authority, "the situation is far worse than we anticipated. We need to come to an understanding—about what we should do, what we shouldn't do, and how we're going to survive."
His words hung in the air like a judge's verdict.
He turned his gaze to the man who had shouted and the woman who had screamed earlier, their panic having nearly cost us lives. They avoided his eyes, their faces flushed with shame. The weight of their actions—or lack thereof—was clear to everyone.
"What's done is done," my father said firmly, his voice softening but still commanding respect. "There's no point dwelling on it. What matters now is that we move forward with a plan. We need to be organized if we're going to make it out of this alive."
He paused, letting the words sink in before continuing. "The first step is to set up teams. Everyone will have a role to play, and we'll work together to ensure no one is left behind."
The group murmured in agreement, though the tension in the air remained palpable. It was clear that people wanted leadership, and for better or worse, my father had stepped into that role.
The discussion began, everyone, pitching in ideas for how best to organize. The goal was clear survive and make progress without unnecessary risks. After some deliberation, we agreed on a structure after we counted we had 121 people each having their role.
Scout Team: Their job was to move ahead of the group, mapping the safest paths and identifying potential dangers, Fast and observant individuals volunteered for this
Combat Team: This team would handle threats directly, slaying any monsters that posed a danger to the group. Unsurprisingly, I was placed here as the primary fighter, with Michael and Anne stepping in as backup.
Support Team: Responsible for maintaining morale, treating injuries, and carrying supplies. My mother, along with a few other practical-minded individuals, took charge of this.
Rear Guard: They would keep watch at the back, ensuring no one lagged behind or was ambushed.
Nate Looks around at the group "This is our plan, and everyone needs to stick to their roles. We've already seen what happens when panic takes over. From now on, we rely on discipline and teamwork."
He turned his attention to me. "Sam will lead the combat team. He's proven he can handle the threats we're going to face. Eddie, you'll coordinate with the scouts to find the safest routes. Everyone else, stay together and follow the plan."
I nodded, gripping my sword tightly. "Understood. I'll take point and deal with anything that comes our way."
The group exchanged nervous glances but ultimately nodded in agreement. There was no room for hesitation anymore. Survival demanded action, and this was the best we could do.
With the plan in place, we prepared to move forward. My father's leadership had brought some order to the chaos, but I could see the fear still lingering in everyone's eyes.
As we resumed our march, a man approached me with a friendly smile.
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Samuel," he said, extending a hand. "I've heard a lot about you. Please take care of me."
The man was Eddie, the leader of the scout team. I didn't know him personally, but I recognized the name. Eddie was a popular influencer on YouCube, known for his videos exploring strange and remote places around the world.
His experience in jungle trekking and scouting made him an invaluable asset in a trial like this, especially given the backgrounds of most participants. Coming from predominantly middle- to upper-class families, few people here had any practical survival skills. Eddie, however, was the exception, and it showed in his confident demeanor.
I shook his hand firmly and nodded. "Nice to meet you too, Eddie. I've heard good things about your work. Let's make sure we all make it through this together."
As we continued our scouting, we encountered more goblins. This time, there were ten of them. Without hesitation, I rushed forward, with Michael and Anne right behind me. Ten members of the combat team followed closely, ready to engage. We charged in, determination fueling our every move, prepared to finish them off quickly and efficiently.
Ding!
You have slain an enemy [Goblin: level 1]
Ding!
You have slain an enemy [Goblin: level 1]
Ding!
[Congratulations! You have reached level 3]
Ding!
You have slain an enemy [Goblin: level 1]
Ding!
You have slain an enemy [Goblin: level 3]
Ding!
[Congratulations! You have reached level 4]
As a result of the battle, I leveled up twice. I didn't even have a chance to distribute my free stats because of what happened to Eve.
We kept moving farther into the forest, fighting goblins along the way. If I'm not mistaken, we were already about 2 kilometers from the starting point. But we still hadn't found any sign of the tutorial town—just goblins. The goblins were weak, level 1 creatures with rusty knives, no different from human children, but the deeper we went, the more we encountered, and the groups were getting larger. The highest-level goblin we had found was a level 5.
By now, we had been in the forest for over eight hours, more than ten kilometers from where we started. The sky began to darken, so we decided to make camp for the night. We set up traps and alert systems as precautions. The survival kits only had food for three days, so tomorrow we'd need to start looking for food, because we weren't planning on eating goblins.
With everything calming down, I took a moment to open my status.
[SOUL RECORD]
Name: Samuel Barlow
Race: Human??
Class: Unassigned [Level 10 for available]
Title: Lucky Man 9, Early Access, The First of Skill Wleider, Barrier breaker,…]
Level: 7 [Tier 0]
[STATUS]
Strength: 8 [+50%]
Agility: 8 [+50%]
Vitality:9 [+50%]
Endurance: 9 [+50%]
Intelligence: 9 [+50%]
Wisdom: 10 [+50%]
Luck: 100 [+50%]
Undistributed Stats: 30
[SKILLS]: Mental power manipulation
[COMMON SKILLS]: language, mathematics, cooking, exercises,….Etc.
[TRAITS]: the Eye of ???, Unbound
After going through so many battles today, I had already reached level 7. With 30 stat points to distribute, I calculated that it was 5 points per level. I began to add the points, focusing my mind on where they should go. As I allocated the points, a surge of power coursed through me. At this rate, by level 10, I figured I should be able to lift a car with my bare hands.
[SOUL RECORD]
Name: Samuel Barlow
Race: Human??
Class: Unassigned [Level 10 for available]
Title: Lucky Man 9, Early Access, The First of Skill Wleider, Barrier Breaker,…]
Level: 7 [Tier 0]
[STATUS]
Strength: 15 [+50%]
Agility: 15 [+50%]
Vitality:14 [+50%]
Endurance: 13 [+50%]
Intelligence: 13 [+50%]
Wisdom: 13 [+50%]
Luck: 100 [+50%]
Undistributed Stats: 0
[SKILLS]: Mental power manipulation
[COMMON SKILLS]: language, mathematics, cooking, exercises,….Etc.
[TRAITS]: the Eye of ???, Unbound