Morning sunlight poured into the clearing of a forest.
Rex woke, groaning. With plenty of rest, he was excited for the day. After all, today was the day he would hunt.
Glancing around, he saw two young pandas, Kai and Yue, looking at him with the same enthusiastic eyes.
Meanwhile, the youngest male panda, Shun, was still pretending to be asleep—clearly nervous.
The young pandas looked fierce, their black-and-white fur covering their lean, muscular build, unlike the fat pandas Rex was familiar with on Earth.
Korr, their father and towering panda clapped his massive paws, grabbing everyone's attention.
"Alright, today marks the day you learn how to survive, kill, and hunt. This is your first step into the wild."
His deep voice carried authority as he stood tall, his gaze sweeping over them before he continued...
"All four of you will hunt alone, and I won't save anyone—you're on your own. Understood?" Korr questioned Rex and the three cubs with a glare.
To his surprise, everyone's eyes sparkled with anticipation rather than fear.
Filled with excitement, everyone cheered and soon left their territory, starting to walk toward the outer area.
They all lived deep in the inner region, deep into the woods where powerful beasts roamed—enough to kill Rex in a fraction of a second.
So he didn't dare venture into the unknown while being weak.
Fifteen minutes later, they could now finally see the weaker beasts in the outer area.
"Alright. From here on out, you're on your own. You have one hour to return. Now go," Korr declared, his gaze focused on Rex and the cubs.
Everyone nodded and dispersed quickly, vanishing into the dense forest.
The fallen leaves rustled as he stepped on them; the air was fresh.
Rex sprinted south, his eyes scanning the dense forest for any sign of a strong beast.
His face lit with excitement; one could see a small smirk on his face.
Minutes passed before he spotted a deer eating grass in a small clearing.
Its antlers pointed straight toward the sky—long and dangerously sharp.
Crouching behind a bush silently, he observed the deer's movements, planning his approach to take it down.
Since he didn't have any claws like the pandas, Korr had given him a small dagger, just sharp enough to pierce its hide.
Looking around, he saw plants and small tree branches scattered through the ground.
He picked a small branch and threw it near the beast.
The deer's ears twitched, and it absently glanced at the sound.
Seizing the chance, Rex stomped the ground and lunged forward to ambush the beast.
However, the deer was quick on its feet. It noticed and dodged Rex's attack easily, rendering it useless.
Now exposed in the clearing, Rex gripped his dagger tightly.
Watching the ash-gray deer standing at the same height as him, its eyes dark and beastly.
This is not Earth, Rex, he reminded himself.
The next moment, the beast locked eyes with him and charged fiercely, its deadly antlers aimed directly at his chest as if they had their own eyes.
He gulped. The beast charged, flaring dust as it stomped.
At the last second, Rex dodged the charge in the same direction the beast came from, as if two samurais were fighting in a showdown.
As he moved, Rex used his Kat-dagger, trying to injure it, but could only slightly wound the beast—just enough to make it bleed.
Blood seeped from the shallow wound, dripping onto the green grass.
The beast, now in pain and seeing its own blood, seethed with rage.
Maaah!
It stomped the ground and charged furiously. This time, it didn't run straight toward Rex; it zig-zagged its way.
…!
Rex's eyes widened. The unpredictable movements made it difficult to tell where the attack would come from.
Clenching his jaw, he braced himself and prepared mentally, steadying his legs to dodge while gripping his dagger tightly to attack.
He was ready for both. His heart skipped a beat.
The deer zigged left with great speed, pointing its antlers in an attempt to skewer him.
Rex leaped right and backed away. Unfortunately, the antlers still grazed his arm, drawing blood.
Rex gasped. "Damn, why is it so fast?" He complained of pain. He hadn't anticipated the beast could move like that.
Should I initiate the attack? he thought, narrowing his eyes in focus.
"HHRFFF!" It let out a sharp snort.
With a yes, Rex charged toward the beast, gripping his dagger tightly. The deer stood ready, its antlers prepared to impale him.
However, Rex stopped his charge mid-run and leaped sideways the moment the beast moved its head to strike him—like a bull would.
He rolled to the right swiftly and now found himself positioned near the beast's ribs.
As he moved, he quickly threw his dagger with all his strength, aiming for the deer's heart.
The deer instinctively twisted its head, trying to deflect the attack and injure him at the same time with its antlers.
However, Rex rolled back. The dagger struck true—not piercing the deer's heart as he wished but embedding deep.
Grrrnn…
The deer tried to charge, seeing Rex defenselessly sitting on the ground.
Yet, when the beast took its first step, it stumbled. With a heavy injury it couldn't move anymore, the deer just stood there, watching Rex with bloody eyes.
Rex's heart pounded, fearing the beast would gore him if it charged.
This was a risky move on his side.
Fortunately, even though he failed to pierce the deer's heart, it was a deep injury.
The beast staggered, blood pouring from the wound. Though still standing, its strength was waning.
The fresh smell of grass had changed into that of the metallic scent of blood.
Now, Rex just had to wait for it to die from blood loss.
However, Rex was not here to torment the beast so that he would give it a swift and painless death.
At least, that's what he thought.
Eyeing his dagger still lodged in the deer's body, he tried to retrieve it so he could end the beast's suffering.
But he had to approach cautiously—it was still alive, and a single swing from its antlers could injure him heavily—if not kill him.
Circling around, he searched for an opening to retrieve his weapon when suddenly—a loud roar echoed through the forest.
"It seems Kai's done. I have to hurry," he muttered.
Taking advantage of the deer's momentary distraction, he darted in and yanked the dagger free.
Although the beast noticed him, it wasn't fast enough to stop him.
Grrrnn… g-grrrnn…
The beast growled in pain, its weak legs giving in as it settled into a seat on the ground helplessly.
Its eyes asking Rex to end its suffering.
"I'll end this in a single strike," he boldly declared.
Rex raised his dagger, holding it in both hands, his eyes narrowed… focusing on the beast's heart.
…!
But then—his hands started trembling.
His heart pounded in his chest. A drop of sweat trickled down his forehead.
This was it. When he realized what was about to happen, He was going to kill—
A LIVING CREATURE!
He had lived with Korr and the young pandas for ten long years.
He had seen them hunt and kill countless times. To them, it was second nature.
But for him...
He swallowed hard as he gazed into the deer's fading eyes. While holding the dagger and knew it was in a lot of pain.
"Grrnn... huff…" The deer let out low growls.
"Maybe…Maybe…I can save it…Yes, Korr… Korr can definitely help. He—"
Rex panicked, The more time passed, the more restless he became
"Hooo." He closed his eyes for a moment before reopening them, taking a long, deep breath, he calmed himself.
"I should end it," he concluded, not letting his emotions run rampant.
As it couldn't…He noticed the blood loss, the once-green grass had long been dyed red with blood.
"It's hard… I don't want to do this, but I have to finish what I started. This is a dangerous world."
With newfound resolve—or perhaps just tricking his brain—he breathed in again, calming his nerves.
He gripped the dagger tightly. His hands still trembling!
forcing himself…
He closed his eyes and, without any second thoughts, pierced the deer's heart.
Feeling the flesh parting as the dagger sunk in. the blood poured on his hands.
The warmth of blood felt...Cold and Chilling!
Rex opened his eyes and noticed the Deer was not moving. It had been put to eternal rest.
He collapsed onto the ground with a thud, unknown emotions surging as he stared up at the sky, noticing a few beasts flying in the distance, their wings carrying them effortlessly through the sky.
The beast, However. Nothing like he had seen on earth
"This is a new world, Rex," he reminded himself, trying to suppress the turmoil in his chest.
Then, suddenly—
His eyes widened. A skill? From killing? He read the system prompt again. Or was it because it was my first kill?
Rex shook his head, Taking a deep breath, he said, "Status."
A familiar panel appeared before him.
[Name: Rex Tameroth]
[Age: 10 years]
[Rank: Mortal]
[Tamed living: 0/3]
[Tamed consciousness: 0/5]
[Taming points: 0]
[Subordinate Ranking: - ]
[Unique Skills: Eye of Tamer]
[Skills: ]
He could now see a new skill, [Eye of Tamer], added to his skill list.
He smiled faintly, looking forward to his new life in this new world.
He thought about [Eye of Tamer] and wanted to know what the skill did. Soon, a small description appeared on the system panel.
[Eye of Tamer - Can be used to get information regarding entities up to two small ranks above the host.]
"So... it's an appraisal skill" Rex murmured with a faint smile.
Despite everything, he couldn't help but look forward to what lay ahead in this world.