《Vagrant Resilient》 1.1 Caws fell from overhead. Scott coughed, and he awoke. All his muscles ached, and he groaned as he writhed in sand. He rolled to his side with a fierce groan, and he struggled to lift his eyelids. Even they were sore, and bright bronze light entered his quickly watering eyes. ¡°Oh shit. I can¡¯t fucking believe it.¡± Scott rose to his knees. He cupped his hands over his eyes, and he surveyed the beach. Rocks peppered the sand. A neon purple surf slid up the sand. A dozen feet out in the expanse of sea, the water was sapphire blue. Up the beach, foreign flora swayed in the sea breeze. The shade was black beneath the trees. He dropped to his back, and he laughed, and he thought of his last terrifying year. He¡¯d survived the cataclysm when it had first announced itself in the heads of billions of people as an event: a thing: The System. He¡¯d survived the black alien pillars which had appeared overnight. He¡¯d survived the monsters. He¡¯d survived the storms. He¡¯d survived the lethal panic of humankind. He¡¯d survived the constant strikes of red lightning until the moment that he had been struck. Instead of the constant stormy black sky which made him think he¡¯d never see the sun again, he gazed up at a cloudless blue sky. Birds circled far above. Scott recalled all the people that he witnessed disappear when they¡¯d been struck by red lightning. He thought they¡¯d just been blown to dust. The system had warned everyone on earth that they would be located and relocated. That¡¯s what the red lightning must have been for because¡­ ¡°Here I am.¡± Scott shut his eyes and took a deep breath. In the void of his mind¡¯s eye, a stream of sky blue text appeared. Level 1 Experience 000/100 Strength 10 Wisdom 0 Intelligence 1 Dexterity 5 Constitution 4 Abilities none Inventory 00/10 ¡°Oh shit.¡± Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. The list of statistics was then replaced with what seemed like a notification. Survive. ¡°Survive? Survive! What the hell do you mean survive? I¡¯ve been surviving for a year now!¡± Scott bolted to his feet, but when his muscles ached, he tumbled to the sand. Wherever he was, it was much better than the apocalypse on earth. Hunger and thirst had stretched time. Fellow humans had put as much fear into him as the monsters and the storm had. He¡¯d seen countless deaths, and he¡¯d narrowly survived only to find himself alone on a beach. Scott laughed. Compared to his last year on earth, this seemed like paradise. And with statistics? Levels? The shit from games? ¡°Half nightmare, half dream.¡± Despite every stiff muscle, Scott staggered to his feet. His shoes slid in the sand. His tongue felt dry, and he was parched. A long rumbling grumble bubbled in his gut. He jogged to the water, and he peered along the coast. There was nothing but coastland, flora which seemed tropical, and the expanse of purple sea then blue sea. He searched through the water where it was purple and shallow while he considered his stats. His stats made no sense. Zero wisdom? His intelligence was one? What was the intelligence of a bird then, if his was so low? Scott refused to frett. He would make sense of things in time. There was always an explanation. ¡°There we go,¡± said Scott as he gazed through purple water. ¡°And there¡¯s always fish in the sea.¡± Small fish, which Scott could not identify, darted around shells which looked similar to clam shells. They were each as large as a shoe. He plucked one, and it clamped itself in. Ashore, he grunted with effort for ten minutes of bashing it with a rock until the shell shattered. Sea water spilled from the broken armor. A few more bashes weakened the clam enough that it lolled open. Level 1 giant clam slain. 2 xp gained. Scott tore the slippery meat with his bitten fingernails and with his teeth. It had been three months since he¡¯d last had meat. Ah, what a delicious thing! And what a thrill it was that he earned his first experience points. The feeling was cut short as he thought of his home on earth, for the absence of a world encompassing storm was enough evidence that he was no longer on planet earth. So many people had died. Friends and family had either succumbed or been relocated by lightning as he had. Scott had spent the last year being salty about it, and ever shrewd and powerfully resilient, now it was time to live again. For that he needed was fresh water. Scott scooped the shards of the giant clam. Those with sharp edges he slipped into his back pockets. He climbed the beach, kept to the edge of the black shade, and jogged up the coast. Keeping keen, Scott mulled his stats once more. He found it odd that some things were at zero or nearly there. He really had almost no intelligence? The hell does that work? So he questioned his stats directly with as loud a thought as he could think. What is the wisdom stat? The wisdom statistic has a variable which ranges from 0 up. Wisdom is accumulated with experience: The child achieves wisdom the moment they touch fire. The wisdom stat ingrains experience for 24 hours after a stat point has been assigned: Training to punch for 24 hours after assigning a stat point to wisdom is equal to training to punch for 1 year. Applying a stat point to wisdom opens your mind. Plan your next 24 hours carefully: Warlords save their stat points for their time on the frontline. Scott frowned. He noted skittering crabs as he jogged on. As he kept focused and keen, he couldn¡¯t help but wonder why hos wisdom stat was at zero. His life was full of experience, and he knew there were fewer people more resilient than him. It made absolutely no sense. None at all. Why was his wisdom stat at zero? He asked, but received no response from the system. Scott¡¯s stat sheet: Level 1 Experience 002/100 Strength 10 Wisdom 0 Intelligence 1 Dexterity 5 Constitution 4 Abilities none Inventory 00/10 1.2 Scott stood at the edge of a stream of neon purple water. The stream intercepted the land, and the water flowed to the sea where it spilled its purple color under surf and over sand. Flying insects hovered above the water. An odd frog croaked and plopped in the stream. Scott knelt, and he dipped his fingers. The water was cold, and it trickled around his fingers. He wondered why it was purple, and he chewed his bottom lip as he frowned. He was thirsty. Tremendously thirsty. Ah, but how safe could neon purple water be? He cupped purple water and sipped from the bright pool in his palm. He tasted nothing but fresh water. It went down cold between his lungs, and he felt soothed. He laughed as he cupped another palm of water. It seemed potable. He had all he needed. The sea offered fresh food, and the land offered fresh water. What a place to wake up in! The sun was shining, there wasn¡¯t a cloud in the sky, the sea was as calm as a sea could be. Scott knew that fair weather wouldn¡¯t last. On the coast of such an expanse of sea, he was bound to see storms. He wondered how terrible storms on a new world would be. It seemed that the flora survived, for there were still trees and underbrush. Life survived here. Unless he built shelter, Scott worried he might not survive. He followed the neon purple stream inland. The banks of the stream teemed with flowers and leaves and fronds. He could not recognize a single plant. The trees were all foreign to him. Calls and birdsong echoed beneath the canopy. Purple caustics scribbled trunks and the underlayer of canopy leaves and along the myriad jungle vines. Mud sucked his soles, bushes resisted his passing, insects swarmed him. On he pressed, blazing up stream. The stream widened as he trekked. Even at its narrowest it could fit a handful of rafts. Scott clambered over a fallen tree. On the other side, after dismounting the tree, Scott froze. He gaped at the ground, and his eyes went wide. There, at the base of a thorny fern, lay a branch. ¡°Whoa,¡± Scott uttered. He reverently picked up the branch and held it out in a shaft of hazy sunlight. The wood was dark orange where it was missing its grey bark. The branch was as thick as a bottle of water, and it was nearly as long as a baseball bat. It wasn¡¯t quite straight, and a knot in the wood had caused a slight lump, but it was¡­ ¡°Awesome.¡± Scott knew what he had. His first weapon. He beat his own palm with it until he felt the sting and had to shake out his hand. He whacked a tree trunk with it, and the top of the tree trembled. Infinitesimal debris rained around him. An insect plummeted. He was pleased with his branch. He loved it. It was his branch. A legendary find. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. Spirit soaring, Scott continued following the stream. When he caught himself humming, fixated on his awesome branch, he quieted and kept keen. He could not afford to relax in a new world where a system that had put him and everyone on earth through a cataclysm still loomed. At a bend in the stream, the underbrush rustled a few dozen paces in the jungle. Scott halted and crouched. He gripped the branch in both hands, and he peered through the brush. The rustling drew near, and Scott felt that something knew he was there. Bushes trembled, vines swayed, long fronds bobbed. Scott lifted his branch above his head. A creature dashed out of the brush toward him. Scott thought it was a cat on first glance, but he realized it was only as large as a cat. It was a beetle with a fin down its spine. Scott brought his branch down upon the beetle. The first hit stunned the beetle in place, and it staggered. He rained blows upon it until its carapace cracked and yellow gore oozed from a gash in its abdomen. Level 1 scavenge beetle slain. 5 xp gained. ¡°There we go!¡± Scott marveled as he gazed upon the scavenge beetle. The massive thing induced a fright in him. His heart was beating rapidly, and his chest heaved with his breaths. He¡¯d done it. He¡¯d encountered his first monster. He felt powerful. Yes! Scott drank from the neon purple stream before continuing up alongside it. He focused on keeping keen. As he went, his grip on his branch slowly relaxed. His posture relaxed, and he didn¡¯t dart his gaze about as much. Relying on his ears, he blazed ahead. The sun was revealed through infrequent gaps in the canopy, and it seemed to be at zenith when he again saw it. Head tilted to the sky, he heard rustling. More than one scavenge beetle headed toward him. They rushed beneath the underbrush all at once. Scott beat them as he was forced back until he stood ankle deep in the water. The beetles bucked at the edge of the stream. One by one, Scott dashed in to beat them. One was larger than the others, and it took thrice as many thwacks to slay it. 4 level 1 scavenge beetles slain. 20 xp gained. 1 level 2 scavenge beetle slain. 20 xp gained. Scott frowned, and he rubbed his chin. He was excited to slay his first level 2 monster, but he worried. All the beetles seemed to have known he was there. They had come straight to him, and they had rushed to attack. Five beetles was more than he could handle. They had forced him back so far that his pants were soaked to the knees. He wondered if he would encounter more beetles the farther he traveled. What would he do if they swarmed? He had to be careful. Scott found himself grinning. Yes, he had to be careful, but he felt driven to level up. He was just about halfway to level 2, and he had no abilities. Scott¡¯s stat sheet: Level 1 Experience 047/100 Strength 10 Wisdom 0 Intelligence 1 Dexterity 5 Constitution 4 Abilities none Inventory 00/10 1.3 Branch by branch, Scott built a lean-to against a tree. He covered the branches with leaves until he thought they would keep rain out. Though he had taken the time to retrace his steps to the location where he¡¯d first found himself, it seemed far enough away from the beetles which seemed to sense him in the jungle. With daylight waning, Scott assumed that the time of day was similar to earth¡¯s. At night, the air was chill, and the breeze gently permeated his lean-to. Scott shivered, and he reflected on the past hellish year he had spent on earth. Whatever intelligence gad called itself the system had been there. Why hadn¡¯t he nor anyone he spoke with received the stats he now had? Why had he only received them in a much more peaceful setting where the monsters seemed like plush toys compared to the horrors he¡¯d kept hidden from on earth? He considered all the deaths he witnessed. He saw them over and over when he shut eyes to attempt sleep. Though those faces and scenes lasted in his mind, he didn¡¯t feel more phased than simply understanding that things were the way they were. It happened. People died. He lived. Tomorrow was a new day of survival. Or perhaps he was just a cold bastard. Maybe that was it. Scott closed his eyes and curled himself under his lean-to. The surf of the sea eddied. Foreign animals called, sang, screamed. In his dreams he wielded a powerful branch against a faceless system with mandibles that pierced his ankle. The pain felt so real, so intense, that Scott awoke. Beetles chittered around him. They bit his ankles and delivered enough pain that Scott bolted up and broke through his lean-to. He limped out of the brush and into thr starlit, moonlit sand. Beetles swarmed after him. Their glossy backs reflected the splatter of stars. Scott felt warm blood wet his sock. He felt the chill of the air in his wound. He realized that he had abandoned his branch, so he rushed for the rocks as the beetles came for him. He smashed them as they drove him across the sand. One by one, he bashed them until their shells cracked and until they oozed. The chittering died when the last beetle met its end. Sweat dripped from Scott¡¯s sand-freckled tresses. On his knees, with his grip white on his bashing rock, Scott caught his breath as notifications appeared. 15 level 1 scavenge beetles slain 75 xp gained 2 level 2 scavenge beetles slain Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. 40 xp gained Level 2 has been reached 1 stat point acquired Experience is 162/200 38 XP points until level 3 Scott smelled his own blood and sweat, and his grin opened his mouth to taste the rank air. He laughed, and he staggered to his feet. ¡°You fuckers,¡± he mumbled. He kicked the carcass of the beetle before him where flies were already gathering. He dropped the rock, and he wiped sweat off his brow with the back of his hand. He was disappointed that he could no longer safely sleep on the ground. Not without better fortifications. That left the trees. The canopy was thick with vines and branches. He would make it work. In the meantime, he was ecstatic to reach level 2. It had been so easy! Now? where would he allocate his new stat point? Strength? Yes. Unable to allocate stat point to strength. Body fortification required. Scott recoiled. He was baffled. Trudging his way back to his razed lean-to, he mulled the condition. He then asked the system what the deal was with the body fortification requirement. He received no reply. How could he fortify his body? No response. Where could he glean answers? No fucking reply! Having to need aid put Scott in a foul mood. Right now his survival depended on information he felt he might have to seek others out for. When the system had wrought havoc on earth, he had relied only on himself. That¡¯s how he¡¯d been able to survive until he was relocated! Scott found his site in the jungle. On his hands and knees, with eyes as wide as he could make them to make up for the dark of the jungle, he finally found his branch. He should have put it in his inventory. Why hadn¡¯t he? Doing so required less than a thought. The branch vanished from his hands, and he felt lighter. He could open his inventory in his mind, and he saw the branch within. His gaze wandered up the trees as he considered where he would sleep. He wouldn¡¯t climb tonight. Too late for that. A walk along the beach covered the time needed for adrenaline to ease out of his system. He found his thoughts racing. However much he wanted to avoid relying on others, he needed to find out what body fortification was, how to do it, and then he needed to continue leveling up. Things were not so bad at the moment, but he knew the system could unleash chaos in mere moments. This time, he¡¯d be prepared. Under a sky filled with cosmic gases of purples, oranges, and yellows; and myriad stars; and a moon which held a constant silver sheen; Scott ambled up the coast. The sky was so bright, he felt like he was looking at an enormous wall of marble freckled with cosmic noise. He gawked, yet he didn¡¯t feel humbled like everyone who¡¯d seen unpolluted skies seemed to feel. He didn¡¯t feel small, nor insignificant. He felt like he belonged. Losing himself in the woods of a new planet would do nothing to budge him from beneath the stars. How could he ever feel lost and small to such a greater constant? Beetles chittered in the jungle. Flora rustled, and spindly legs disturbed jungle debris. Scott withdrew his branch from his inventory. As he strode along, he slayed beetles between periods of gawking at the cosmos of his new home. This planet was his new world. Scott¡¯s stat sheet: Level 2 Experience 162/200 Stat point (1) Strength 10 Wisdom 0 Intelligence 1 Dexterity 5 Constitution 4 Abilities none Inventory 01/10 Awesome branch 1.4 Slaying forty scavenge beetles earned Scott 260 experience points. Overnight he surpassed level 3, and he was on his way from level 4 to level 5. He did not tire of smashing beetles as large as cats. Every gain of experience spurred him farther up the coast. 3 stat points went unallocated, and considered placing them in something besides strength for the moment. He asked to allocate his stat points in each stat, but the system notified him that he did not meet the requirements, which were all fortifications: of body, of mind, and of soul. Constitution required all three. Scott beelined for the surf. The sun was rising, whether from the east. He mused that the crest of morning blue in the sky was like an eye, and the rading starlit night was a lifting eyelid. He hoped the day would be clear of the elements and hoped that with a little more exploring, perhaps he could gain clarity on how to acquire fortifications. That was all he needed. Just a small stepping stone, something to piece it all together. White movement drew Scott¡¯s attention from the predawn sky. A humanoid skeleton lumbered down the beach. Scott backed away, alarmed. He thought that the bones seemed to glisten, like they were clad in druzy. The bones were so white! As if they had been cleaned and polished. Forget the beetle; a true monster drew near! Scott¡¯s branch popped into his hand, and he charged. Sand arced behind his heels. He watched the skeleton pause, and it seemed to lock its sockets on him. With all his strength, and a full stomach grunt, Scott brought his branch down on the skull. Wood cracked the bone then crushed the skull. Ribs snapped one by one as Scott followed through with his strike. As each bone shattered beneath the branch, it sounded to him like he was destroying a wooden xylophone. The skeleton fell to a heap. Scott knelt, inspected the remains, and he discovered that the bones were so white because they seemed to have been meticulously cleaned. Every piece bore slight hatches. Level 1 human skeleton slain. 50 xp gained. Human? A human skeleton? Scott realized he¡¯d been hoping to find someone¡ªa fellow human¡ªto help him with fortifications. However, it was the skeleton that made him wonder how humans were already here on this new planet. Were the dead also relocated from earth? Did humans exist on other planets? Scott gazed at the skeleton¡¯s tracks in the sand. ¡°Where did you come?¡± Under the sun and the warming air, Scott strode beside the tracks. As he went, he wondered if the skeleton had been traveling with purpose. Its tracks were beeline-straight. Perhaps a skeleton simply wandered. But the tracks curved along the sand, and it seemed to have avoided both jungle and sea. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. ¡°If the beetles might know of ny presence, did the skeletons know too? What else is there to know?¡± From the jungle, a large beetle stumbled out and scurried over the sand. Scott wrung the wood of his branch as he waited. He couldn¡¯t believe the size of this one. It was the largest by far, nearly the size of a truck tire laid on its side. Its wings were raised obtuse. Scott wondered if they were stuck over a weird bump upon its back. The wings fluttered. The beetle came upon Scott with a disjointed, jumpy gait. Scott whacked the beetle¡¯s face, whacked its back, broke its legs, then beat its back until its exoskeleton cracked. Scott saw his win, and he doubled his efforts to slay the beetle. Level 3 scavenge beetle slain. 30 xp gained. Level 5 has been reached. 1 stat point acquired. Experience is 502/1000 498 xp until level 6. Select new ability: Sand Affinity: All other abilities receive 10% improvement near sand terrain. Jungle Affinity: All other abilities receive 10% improvement near jungle terrain. Water Affinity: All other abilities receive 10% improvement near water. Lootist: Some items are made available to loot from deceased. Lesser Audial: Hearing radius increased by 10%, hearing sensitivity increased by 10%, 10% improved stereo imaging. Sunlight warmed Scott¡¯s teeth as he smiled. He tasted the salty sea air. He shook out his hands from the shocks he received through the branch he had wielded. Finally. The first realization of power. Which one would he select? The affinities would immediately be defunct until he garnered more. Looting was attractive, but not next to Lesser Audial. Lesser Audial has been selected. Scott¡¯s head rang. He crushed his eyes, and he massaged his temples while he ground his teeth. The ringing faded, and the pain abruptly ended. His eyes went wide. He saw in his mind that the jungle was a living thing. Leaves rustled where breezes passed in currents. By the sound of the rustling, he could see the currents in his mind¡¯s eye. The jungle bent to the wind¡¯s will. Bird feet scratched branches when they landed or kicked off. Meaty vines cracked together. Dozens of beetle legs punctured the jungle floor. In his mind¡¯s eye he saw sharp feet strike both the jungle floor and the sand because no other feet could make such sounds than skeletal ones. A shoe would crush the sand, not slice it. The surf of the sea never seemed more chaotic and as lethal and edge than it did now. Scott held his breath enough that it was shallow. He held two fingers to his lips in awe. He wondered if this was how bats saw, through sound so strong and exact that it forced images in the mind¡¯s eye. The dozens of beetles were heading toward him. The volume of their stabbing legs grew. A crowd of skeletons sliced the sand with their phalanges and metatarsals while their heels softly depressed the sand. Two hordes approached. Scott filled his lungs and wrung his branch with both hands. He would not flee and take them on little by little. Let them come. Bring the xp. Scott¡¯s stat sheet: Level 5 Experience 502/1000 Stat point (4) Strength 10 Wisdom 0 Intelligence 1 Dexterity 5 Constitution 4 Abilities: Lesser Audial Inventory 01/10 Awesome branch 1.5 Beetles flooded the beach. Skeletons ambled out from the jungle, and they made their way at their constant gait. ¡°Come on, come on!¡± Sand hushed beneath the beetles. Wings flapped with deep fluttering. Thoraxes creaked beneath clattering carapaces. Sand crunched beneath bones that creaked and rattled. Mandibles flexed wetly. The air whooshed as the two hordes conjoined and pressed toward Scott, and it whiffled around Scott¡¯s limbs as he braced into a crouch. He still wasn¡¯t used to a sense so keen. His own sharp inhale startled him as the beetles lunged at his ankles. As Scott bashed, screaming, he danced back step by step just as mandibles tickled his ankles. Their mandibles clicked together with wet slaps while skelton arms whipped the air. Sand hissed beneath the trampling. Beetles went still after Scott¡¯s branch broke their carapace and dipped in their guts. They were replaced in a flash by others that leapt upon him. Scott shoved them off as their mandibles snapped at him. They were faster than him, and with as many as there were, they climbed each other and his limbs. Scott cried out every time he felt biting stings clamp into his legs. The beetles weighed enough to slow his retreating dance, and they swarmed around him. He heard skeleton limbs whipping the air moments before they landed blows to his arm, his shoulders, and his back. Scott could not believe how hard they were hitting him. Where the hell did they get such strength! Ferocious bites to Scott¡¯s legs, and a savage bite on the skin at his spine brought him to his knees. Knife-like stings peppered his body. Skeletal hands gripped his limbs and squeezed. Skeleton hands rained blows upon his back or pressed him down. Scott felt like he was being stabbed in every muscle. He felt like he was being beaten by steel rods. Each blow echoed a deep thrum in his chest. Blood oozed out of his sleeves and over his hands, out of his shirt and over the hem of his pants, out of his jeans and over his socks, out from under his hair and over his face. The pain was bright, blinding, debilitating, but it was not enough to overcome his desire to level to great power. To fuck the system that destroyed his home planet. To fuck the system that made him needlessly suffer for a whole year. A whole fucking year! So with a mighty rise to standing height and with blood soaking his eyes, Scott swung his branch white-knuckled. With chewing mandibles stapling his flesh, and with bones cracking against his body, Scott shattered the skeletons to heaps. He bashed the beetles, ripped them from his flesh, and stained his branch in their ochre guts. They were no match for him. Pain was nothing next to resilience! 60 level 1 scavenge beetles have been slain. 300 xp gained. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. 12 level 2 scavenge beetles have been slain. 240 xp gained. 4 level 3 scavenge beetles have been slain. 120 xp gained. 34 level 1 human skeletons have been slain. 1,700 xp gained. Level 9 has been reached. 4 stat points have been earned. In the blood-mud red sand amidst white and black corpses, vapors rose from the stench of beetle guts, and fluids trickled down through wet sand. Scott stood red and stolid. The surf crashed. Blood trickled. His heart thumped at each wound. The rustle of jungle flora belied soft breezes. ¡°Would be nice if I could use my stat points.¡± Scott¡¯s voice, although murmured, still echoed in the jungle. He had enough strength to gaze at the jungle¡¯s edge, and he staggered as he turned. ¡°Recover.¡± With his branch dragging in the sand beside him, he trudged, limping into the jungle. The trees were thicker the farther he staggered. Flies dived in his clothes. They wrestled upon his blood caked skin. Stolidly, Scott paused at the largest trees. He nodded at one that was covered in several types of woody vines. His branch weapon vanished from his hand, and he gripped one thick vine and pulled. Scott pulled himself up. He kicked, and he grunted. Often he paused to breathe. He hefted himself onto several close branches, and he rolled to his back with a grunt. Over his harsh breathing, he listened to every drop of his blood that splashed upon a branch, smacked upon a leaf, or slapped the ground. Dried blood upon his face cracked when he grimaced. Flies found him. Mosquitos buzzed by his ears. Scott blinked when a mosquito landed upon his eyelashes. Through his anguish he thought of his great battle and his new ability. He¡¯d been able to hear his opponents movements. The air whooshed when something in it moved, and he¡¯d never realized how poor human hearing was until now. Could have fought blindfolded. Perhaps with training? Scott felt that his Lesser Audial ability was a powerful boon. If he could level it up, how powerful could it be? The fact that it was called lesser had to imply a greater audial. Scott swallowed which startled the Frenzy of insects at his neck. They landed right again. He had to continue his journey, but for the moment he knew that he needed rest and recovery. He closed his eyes and hoped that he wouldn¡¯t bleed out. Not today. Pain and sound were all that Scott felt he¡¯d become. His body throbbed. Above the buzz of the insects that swarmed him, a harsh fizz on insects permeated the woods from the site of battle. Scott realized that the radius of his hearing was much farther than ever. He knew he wasn¡¯t that close to the beach; however, the chaotic fizz still put images in his kind of millions of insects. Good thing he was up in the trees. The energy spent climbing had been worth it. Scott¡¯s breathing relaxed and evened. His blood ceased dripping. Exhaustion made him feel heavy. Scott clasped his hands over his belly. Branches dug into his back and neck and limbs. He fell asleep. Scott¡¯s stat sheet: Level 9 Experience 2862/3000 Stat point (8) Strength 10 Wisdom 0 Intelligence 1 Dexterity 5 Constitution 4 Abilities: Lesser Audial: Hearing radius increased by 10%, hearing sensitivity increased by 10%, 10% improved stereo imaging. Inventory 01/10 Awesome branch 1.6 Scott awoke, still in the trees. He broke the crust of blood over his eyes to open them. A single cough shivered his body, and he felt pain from every wound. His body throbbed, and he decided to lay there for at least another hour. He reflected on his battle, and his smile stretched his skin enough to crack dried blood at the corners of his lips. He did it. He beat two small hordes of monsters. Ah, it was so worth it! He was filled by the sounds of rustling flora, of the flapping of birds wings, of the delicate tapping of ants, of the surf of the sea, of footsteps in sand, and of sudden male voices. The voices came to him in echoes through the jungle. For a moment Scott was torn between the shock that he could hear voices so well from such a distance and the fact that other humans were around. His body was unwilling to move, and Scott knew it was better to keep things safe. He lay there and listened. ¡°This explains it.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no body.¡± ¡°It''s gotta be something from the new wave.¡± ¡°Whatever it is survived. Looks like they went into the jungle.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a biped.¡± ¡°Strange engravings for feet to have.¡± ¡°It could be humans again.¡± ¡°Humans can be annoying. It¡¯d be much better if it were golems again.¡± ¡°I¡¯d rather go up against humans.¡± ¡°Until they level up.¡± ¡°They hardly get the chance to. They¡¯re stupid.¡± ¡°Well this one¡¯s already gained enough experience to put them at level ten at least.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go after them.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s just report it. There¡¯s only one. Do you really want to spend days chasing it for meager experience?¡± ¡°Not really.¡± ¡°Plus they¡¯ll probably die before Carree hunts them down. They¡¯ve got nothing out here. They¡¯re not exactly brewing fortification potions out here. Even if they do level up, they¡¯ll still be weak.¡± ¡°Back to base?¡± ¡°Yes. You know what this means, right?¡± ¡°More to feed the beetles?¡± ¡°Exactly.¡± This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Sand shifted beneath each man¡¯s boots as they made their way up the coast. The moment Scott no longer heard them, he sighed. He mulled what he¡¯d learned: Other humans were nearby and on a base, Carree would hunt him down, fortifications came in potions, he wouldn¡¯t be brewing potions out here even if he had ingredients, he was part of a wave of humans that they considered to be like a wave of minions to cull. Scott judged the two men to be in their 20s by the sound of their voices. Their dialect he could not place. Something seemed inhuman in their timbres. The way they compared humans to golems had him wondering what race they were. All things were now possible. Scott closed his eyes. He knew he would soon have to worry about Carree. If Carree hunted humans down, he had to plan that he would be hunted down as well. He had to count on it. His only chance to take out Carree would be if they came alone. But he didn¡¯t have much time to recover from his stinging injuries. No matter. ¡°If I can endure, I can survive.¡± Scott groaned as he sat up. He grimaced, and felt all the dried blood on his body and in his clothes crack apart. Flakes of blood flitted down to the jungle floor. The pain wasn¡¯t too bad that he couldn¡¯t ignore it, he thought. So he had to plan quickly. Scaling down the tree reopened wounds along his sides and up his arms. Fresh warm blood trickled under his clothes. Sweating from the pain, Scott bolted for the beach. He collected the largest rocks he could find and stored them in his inventory, filling it to 10/10. Scott raced through the jungle. He defeated four level 1 beetles and earned 20 xp along the way. He often cast his gaze to the canopy, and when he spotted one whose branches were high that he could hide among, he raked the jungle floor of leaves and twigs. He scrambled for branches and hastily erected a lean-to. He shed his bloodied shirt, shoes, and socks; and he placed them neatly just inside the lean-to. Keeping keen, he flanked the tree and climbed it. In the crook of some of its highest branches, Scott positioned himself above his lean-to. He organized his collection of rocks by weight in size, and then he waited. Newly opened wounds began to close. Older wounds began to itch. His skin itched where blood had dried and cracked. Whoever Carree was would come for him, would hunt him down. Scott thought it would be a fatal mistake if he didn¡¯t heed that knowledge. He had to count on it. The sun moved, beetles skittered across the jungle, birds darted about, and Scott watched the jungle floor. His sensitive hearing had him wide eyed until night. Despite all his effort, Scott fell asleep. In his dreams he was a jungle. Skeleton birds and skeleton trees lived inside of him. He was a predator, and he was hunting a skelton bear. In the morning, when he awoke, he stirred as slowly as he could. His lean-to had been untouched. Drizzle tapped jungle leaves. Rivulets ran through his clothes and down his skin. Scott regarded the sky. Wispy clouds were drifting overhead. Sunlight ebbed in the jungle. Droplets sizzled under the touch of the sun. Scott couldn¡¯t help but feel restless. His last year on earth had proved to him that patience meant survival. Relying on his practiced patience, Scott kept keen and waited. His stomach grumbled throughout the day. Despite the humidity, Scott went thirsty. Throughout the evening, Scott dozed. Despite mentally chastising himself, he couldn¡¯t help it. So at night he lay wide awake. He listened to footfalls shift the sand of the beach. They paused, and then they entered the jungle. They happened at a pace that seemed tentative, Scott thought. Yes, patience meant survival. Scott felt his heart beat. Adrenaline bloomed in him. Scott¡¯s stat sheet: Level 9 Experience 2882/3000 Stat point (8) Strength 10 Wisdom 0 Intelligence 1 Dexterity 5 Constitution 4 Abilities: Lesser Audial: Hearing radius increased by 10%, hearing sensitivity increased by 10%, 10% improved stereo imaging. Inventory 10/10 Awesome branch 9 heavy rocks 1.7 Scott relied on what the two men had said: Carree would hunt him down. A figure moved quietly through the jungle below, and Scott assumed it was Carree. Carree paused nearly with each step. Scott frowned. He blinked rapidly. Was his mind playing tricks on him? The jungle seemed to come alive around Carree. Plants swayed in front of the figure, as if to conceal them, until they wanted to move forward. Then the plants swayed out of the way. Prior to earning his ability, Scott would have thought that Carree moved silently. With his new ability, he heard the soft soles of a boot press leaves together. The air perceptibly swished as the jungle flora swayed to aid Carree. Carree froze and deepened their crouch. Under the hood of their cloak, Scott could only see their nose. It pointed straight at the lean-to. Scott breathed as shallowly as he could over the five minutes that Carree spent still. Then they moved toward the lean-to. Carree¡¯s breath plumed slow and even. Daggers appeared in their hands as they closed in on the lean-to. They peered inside and then leaned in. Carree lowered their daggers, stood, and gazed about. Scott withdrew all his rocks at once and let them fall. Air whooshed as the rocks plummeted, and Scott hoped they would hit before Carree heard them. The first and largest rock cracked upon Carree¡¯s head. The rest of the rocks clattered together and thumped the jungle floor as Carree fell prone. Opening again closed wounds, Scott shimmied down the tree. He heard his own heart beat, and it was racing. He stumbled over to Carree¡¯s body, hefted a rock, and then he bashed Carree¡¯s head. Every crack, every thunk made new adrenaline bloom in Scott¡¯s belly. He gasped when he paused, panting, to gaze at what he¡¯d done. Carree lat unharmed. He turned the body over with a shove of his foot. Carree was a man. His head was intact, but he seemed unconscious. Scott dropped his rock, and he knelt to rip away the hood of Carree¡¯s cloak. Carree didn¡¯t respond, and in a pause, Scott heard Carree¡¯s relaxed breathing. ¡°How?¡± Scott whispered, and he gazed up at the tree where he had hid. ¡°How the fuck are you still alive?¡± Scott flexed his fingers. He screwed his face as he clamped his hands around Carree¡¯s throat. He squeezed while grunts escaped him in his effort to put strength into his grip. He felt blood rush to his face, and he couldn¡¯t believe how tough Carree¡¯s neck felt. Carree¡¯s chest rose and fell. Scott was baffled that his efforts were for nothing. He released his grip, and he unsheathed a sharp gasp from his lungs. ¡°Holy shit,¡± Scott said as he gasped. Carree coughed. Scott felt himself begin to panic. If Carree was this tough to defeat while he was unconscious, he would be untouchable conscious. He has to die! Scott slipped his arms beneath Carree¡¯s armpits. He hefted him, and he dragged him through the jungle and to the beach where he collapsed. Carree was still unresponsive, and Scott¡¯s panic had risen so much that it made him tremble. Carree could wake any second. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. Scott dragged the man by his feet through the sand, over the surf, and out until the water was thigh deep. He collected Carree¡¯s cloak tunic in a firm grip with both hands. Gritting his teeth, Scott pushed the man underwater, and he held him there. Bubbles breached and popped. The sun reflected on the crests of waves, and Scott squinted his eyes against the blinding light. Small fish speared the water. Bubbles collected upon the surface. Carree¡¯s limbs floated. Scott could not believe how difficult it was to hold a body underwater. He found himself second guessing his actions. Scott was firm in reminding himself that the system had killed his neighbors, friends, and family. It had tried to kill him. It had relocated him to a land where this man had gone out to hunt him down. It was him or Scott. Bubbles moved through the water, single-file. Their pops were increasingly loud, and Scott grunted long and low to keep Carree¡¯s head underwater. He felt like he was fighting not only unnatural buoyancy, but Carree¡¯s unyielding will to live. ¡°You son of a bitch!¡± Scott said. He braced himself for a final muster of strength. Level 48 Lynan slain. 142,000 xp gained. Level 11 has been reached. 3 stat points have been acquired. Experience points now reset to zero every level. Level 17 has been reached. New abilities and evolutions have been made available at levels 10 and 15. Select new ability or evolve current ability: Earth Affinity: All weapons and armor receive 10% improved durability. Lootist: Some items are made available to loot from deceased. Tree pads: 10% improved grip and adhesion when climbing. Affects hands and feet. Regeneration: Wounds heal 05% faster. Wild Digestion: Absorb 10% more nutrition from wild foods. Waves slapped Scott¡¯s pants. Water sprayed in his face. The sun still bounced off the water. He thought for but a moment before deciding. Lootist. New abilities and evolutions have been made available at levels 10 and 15. Select new ability or evolve current ability: The same abilities appeared as choices except for one. Instead of lootist there was Strength Progress Multiplier: An extra stat point is allocated to strength when 1 stat point is assigned to strength. Progress under fortification is doubled. Scott twisted the corpse¡¯s tunic tighter. He closed his eyes. He wanted one thing, yet he needed another. Then there was his current location to consider. He had to go with tree pads. In his mind¡¯s eye, Scott was given the option to loot the corpse. He received a handful of potions, and a dagger. Scott wrestled the cloak off the body, and he pushed the corpse out toward deeper water. With his hand shading his eyes he surveyed the beach. He listened for beetles, skeletons, and Lynans. Most likely alone, Scott ventured back into the jungle. There was one thing he felt he badly needed. Oh, sweet sleep. Scott¡¯s stat sheet: Level 17 Experience 00,982/50,000 Stat points 16 Strength 10 Wisdom 0 Intelligence 1 Dexterity 5 Constitution 4 Abilities: Lesser Audial: Hearing radius increased by 10%, hearing sensitivity increased by 10%, 10% improved stereo imaging. Lootist: Some items are made available to loot from deceased. Tree pads: 10% improved grip and adhesion when climbing. Affects hands and feet. Inventory 07/10 Awesome branch Dagger 4 potions Soaked cloak