Chương 3

The sounds of her screams and her struggles reached my still-conflicted ears, but I kept repeating to myself that there was no other choice. I had no chance against that snake. It was faster than me, stronger than me, and its fangs would have punctured straight through me with zero resistance. Looking down at my shaking hands, I told myself to get a grip and keep moving. The snake may still come after me after being done with the woman. I looked ahead but had no idea on where to go.

Everywhere I looked, there were trees. I had to make a decision and move swiftly before that snake remembers me again. That side looks darker! Now that I took a few seconds to really observe my surroundings, I could notice that straight ahead the forest seemed to somehow get darker and gloomier, whereas to the left going along the clearing, the sunlight seems to be shining through the trees a bit better. More visibility is always good.

I started moving towards the brighter direction, still completely out of breath, as I realized that I could no longer hear the woman's voice. I quickened my pace, looking behind me constantly, dreading seeing those monstrous yellow eyes again. I should get something to defend myself with. Looking around, I saw a thick stick that seemed sturdy enough for a good whack or two. Might not do much against that snake but it's something at least.

Stick in hand, I kept moving as the seconds passed by in silence and my breath evened out a bit. As the adrenaline left me, my back and shoulders started hurting. Must be from the fall. My mind constantly played back the snake encounter. Could I have done anything differently? Was there anything I missed? Yes! I did miss that first crack of the twig snapping. I should have known to look in the trees as well, but if nothing else, I learned something.

I was now constantly looking around at eye level, close to the ground, and amongst the trees as well. That woman is probably dead by now, isn't she? If I'm being honest with myself, how quickly I made my decision doesn't come as much of a surprise to me. I have known for quite a long time that I think and react differently than most 'normal' people. My mind wandered to the time when my grandfather died. He had been living with us for four years at the time, as my mother did not wish to put him in a care home.

He had partial dementia, was blind in one eye, and could barely walk the few steps from his bed to the living room without help. He went to sleep one night, and just simply never woke up. Everyone around me reacted 'normally' – crying, hugging each other, not knowing what to say, or offering empty words of comfort. I was only eight at the time, but I remember my only thought of learning about his death was 'what a nice way to die'. Nothing else.

Even as the weeks went by, I didn't get sad, or remember how he used to coddle me, I just went by my life. Though I did notice how everyone was reacting so differently than me, and I remember that was the time I started realizing that maybe I am a bit different. As I got older, I kept noticing similar things. A child would be about to fall down some stairs, every adult or even any surrounding older kids would immediately react and try to stop the fall. I would just keep observing.

If the child fell, I would just think, 'Oh, he fell' and move on. Nothing really affected me. It was like my emotions were dialed down to one. Instead, logical thinking made sense to me, and what I did earlier did make logical sense. I didn't have a chance against that thing. I ran. The scream still lingered on in my mind though. I had to repeatedly force it out of my mind. Maybe we could have worked together to somehow overcome the snake? I doubt it.

That thing was at least 15 meters long; it would have toyed with us. Also, she didn't look like someone who could fight or help me escape something like that. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. I don't want to be put in that position again. Next time, I'll move first instead of reacting second. Something in the back of my mind suddenly tingled and I paused, looking around. Something is different.

It had been about five minutes since I left the clearing with the snake and the woman. Something has just changed, but what? I tried understanding what my mind was signaling to me, when it suddenly dawned on me. I can hear birds! The eerily silent forest was now alive with birdsong and the faint buzzing of insects. Did I cross some kind of threshold? Had the snake claimed that clearing at a part of its territory? Suddenly, a barely perceptible rustling sounded out ahead of me.

I stopped immediately, and ducked down behind a tree. My heart started hammering again. Is it another snake? Or the same one? But that one should be behind me. Please let it not be something worse than the snake. I heard the rustling again, and before I could think again, the source of the sound came in sight. With long ears moving about constantly and its nose high in the air sniffing, it was a small white rabbit. Relief flooded through me at the sight of something small and familiar.

It has a horn on its head, is this the famous horned bunny? I have read about similar creatures in stories, most of them are harmless and treated as fodder for the masses. Maybe I should hunt it down? It could possibly unlock something. It sounded like a good theory, though I was worried about getting injured by its horn. A deep, bleeding wound could be a death sentence here. I'm still not sure how badly hurt my back is. I should do something though; I need to start figuring things out.

I started creeping closer, body low and stepping as carefully as possible. My heart was hammering away, adrenaline making my mind hyper-alert. The rabbit was preoccupied with something at the base of a tree; I think I should be able to get it if I step in from its blind spot. Thwack! A club smashed into the rabbit suddenly! I froze for a heartbeat but immediately acted and crouched behind a tree.

I saw a small, green, humanoid creature with a wide grin showing its small pointed teeth, step out from behind the tree the rabbit was just at, snickering gleefully at its kill. Where did that come from? Does everything in this forest move silently?! … And is that a goblin? I looked around, chastising myself for being zeroed-in on the rabbit. I shouldn't have forgotten to be aware of my surroundings. I could neither see nor hear anything, apart from the sounds the goblin was making.

I looked back and saw that it had started tearing into the rabbit, its back was towards me and it had discarded the club to its side. Should I…? Just about a minute ago I had failed at my novice attempt at hunting something. But this thing is completely focused in on its kill. My mind circled as I kept looking around, still finding nothing else in the vicinity. The goblin was making short work of the carcass. It's now or never! I stepped out from behind the tree, my stick in hand and a basic plan in mind.

I moved forward slowly and carefully, eyes still moving about, checking every nook and cranny I could see. My movements were as silent as I could possibly make them, even breathing lightly. The goblin, oblivious to its surroundings, was enjoying its feast, making gleeful noises with every tear of flesh. As soon as it was within reach of my stick, I swung as hard as I could straight for its temple. The impact was immense! My arms shuddered from the feedback as the goblin let out a strangled cry and fell to its side.

Immediately letting go of my stick, I picked up the far sturdier club and smashed it down on the goblin's head again. The goblin whimpered with the second blow, but I could see it was still moving, trying to get its bearing. It's surprisingly resilient. I smashed it again with the club and kept swinging till its head was completely smashed in and it was no longer moving. Chest heaving and arms shaking, I looked around, but the forest remained as silent as ever.

I stepped back, waiting eagerly, but I was left wanting. No screen popped up, no bell sound of the notification, nothing. I tried thinking about my Status again, still nothing. So, killing something isn't enough. I'm missing something. I circled around the carcasses as the smell of fresh blood rose in the air, eager to get away before something else arrived. I kept moving, the club with blood smeared across it gripped tightly in my hand. At every step I felt like I was about to have another encounter.

Even though the forest was still calm, every second felt wrong. The trees seemed to be getting sparser up ahead, maybe it was the end of the forest? Or perhaps another clearing? I stopped and listened, but the birds were still chirping, insects still buzzing, not like the eerie silence back there. With nowhere else to go, I continued on, as the trees noticeably started to get sparser, the sunlight shining and reflecting off the grass clearly now. Is that a house? I could see some kind of structure up ahead.

I halted, thinking about this new discovery. The first sign of civilization, that's good. But that also gives rise to its own set of dangers. Let's take a look for now and then decide on what to do. I stepped forward slowly, eyes observing every little detail and ears straining to catch any sound that may drift towards me. Up ahead, the tree line ended, and as soon as I reached close to the final tree, I heard the bell sound again. Ding! Congratulations!

You have successfully navigated your way through the Forest of Beginnings and have reached the designated safe area for tutorial iteration # 52783. You will now have access to the System. Would you like to review your assessment through the Forest of Beginnings?