Chương 4: The Hunters

I was on my way to the Misfit city, but something felt odd; the forest somehow felt familiar to me. The animals and plants were both from the Jurassic Period. How was this possible? The Earth lost world was on this planet, Elysium. Suddenly, the Log popped up.

"Wait, an urgent quest? What! Why so sudden, and this time there are six..." Before I finished my sentence. They were here. A pack of velociraptors. They were circling me. I had no escape. Every possible escape path was blocked by a pack of velociraptors. I clenched my fist so hard my knuckles cracked. What the hell! How did I get into this mess? This is not even a penalty, and yet I am surrounded by a pack of velociraptors, most intelligent dinosaur species.

I don't think it's the right time to think about all that. I need to focus. How do I get out of this? Come on, think Nova. The largest one, the alpha, stepped in front of me. I need to stay calm. It lowered its head at me, sniffing me. Testing me. I didn't move. Didn't breathe or flinch. All I was doing was analyzing how to get out of this situation. Velociraptors… Velociraptors… What do I know about velociraptors? Come on, there has to be something I can do, right? I kept thinking. A flicker. Text appeared.

UNIQUE SKILL AVAILABLE: APEX PERSONA. (DO YOU WANT TO ACTIVATE?) Apex persona. I stared. Oh, right, the skill I got from killing the T rex. I didn't know what it did, How it works but there were no other options. I had to say it out loud for the log to work.

"Activate," I mumbled. The alpha tilted its head sideways as I spoke. It hissed at me as it was about to attack me. APEX PERSONA: ACTIVATED. TIME REMAINING: 00: 01: 00 The air around me grew heavy. And my heart started beating faster. THUMP – THUMP. Something awakened inside my chest. THUMP – THUMP. My heartbeat echoed in my ears. THUMP – THUMP. I could feel it. THUMP – THUMP. This terrifying presence growing within me. As if I were in a T-Rex body, I could feel the apex killer instinct within me.

I could feel the strength growing within me. The ominous aura surrounding my body. I looked at the pack and screamed. The familiar voice echoed through the entire forest. This time, there was no T-Rex. The voice came from me. The alpha and its pack were stepping back as if that roar had frightened them to the very core. The voices kept rushing inside my head, only one thought came into my mind, Kill. My limbs screamed at me, telling me to kill every last one of them. The vision changed.

I could see many different colors, including ultraviolet light. It was like my eyes were the T-Rex's own eyes. 00: 52 Time was passing by. I breathed heavily. Fifty- two seconds left. I controlled myself, controlled the instinct and didn't let it overwhelm me. The pack started retreating, getting away. A voice inside me said to chase them, hunt them down, but I had control over it. As soon as the pack retreated, I ran. My legs had gained insane amount of strength. I was able to jump higher. My speed got faster.

It was unbelievable. I felt superhuman strength within me like never before. I could sense animals nearby. Their voices, their footsteps, everything. That instinct was the hunger of killing. Everything was heightened. Every emotion that I had in that moment was almost gone. I could barely keep myself in this state. I felt I could lose myself in any moment now and let it have control over my body. But I knew that I had to withstand the pressure of its presence.

Even just a few seconds left, the pressure felt heavier each time. I kept running as fast as I can and the time had finally ran out. TIME REMAINING: 00: 00: 00 COOLDOWN: 04: 00: 00 Time was already up. My vision returned to normal. The presence was gone now. I stopped and breathed heavily. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. I was exhausted and could still feel the strain in my body.

"What was that…" I whispered. But suddenly, the display appeared again. THREAT DETECTED: PACK OF HUNTERS SPECIES: VELOCIRAPTOR COUNT: 6 INDIVIDUALS"What! This can't be real." It shook me. I was so sure that I had outrun them.

"They still followed me. Weren't they afraid? I remember them retreating." I could hear the footsteps closing in each second. What do I do? They could be here any second now. I quickly climbed the tree. The pack did not waste even a second and was here. I could see them beneath me. They stopped and sniffed at the spot I was at. They were carefully analyzing, scattering around. Somehow, they knew that I was nearby and I knew I was not able to use Apex Persona again because of the cooldown.

But do I want to experience that again? I was barely able to keep myself in that state. Besides, I doubt it would work again. They were intelligent enough to see through the deception and smart enough to follow me. I am certain Apex persona wouldn't work on them again. I moved slowly across the tree branches, trying not to make any sound. They were still looking everywhere. I carefully managed to hide away from their vision.

"Oh God… they are everywhere," I whispered. My eyes were on the alpha all the time. I carefully avoided its gaze and kept moving forward. I was certain I dodged and hid as best as I could. But didn't realize I was caught. Caught off guard, by another velociraptor. It just stared at me.

"Shit!" I whispered. I carefully extended my arm, telling it to be quiet.

"Stay..." I said as I looked into its amber eyes. It kept looking above, at me. Just staring. I had managed to calm it down somehow. It tilted its head sideways and blinked while keeping its gaze on me at all times. Suddenly, I felt vibrations.... It shook the whole tree, I somehow kept balance. I looked behind me and saw the other velociraptor had spotted me, too. It was trying to knock the tree to get my balance off. I realized the velociraptor, which I calmed, wasn't being aggressive for no reason.

Its focus was entirely on my movement. Like, it was watching over me and tracking me, so it knew where I'd go next. I had to think of something fast because that knocking definitely got the pack's attention. I looked ahead just near me, at the edge of my vision. The large bushes and just ahead of it was a flowing stream of water, like a riverbank. Thanks to my perception stat, I could analyze the environment better. Upgrading it was the right choice after all.

Those bushes were not that far, only just a few metres away. All I had to do was run across to the very end of this wide branch and dive into them. It's perfect, i f I somehow manage to make it there, it would buy me some time. Luckily these tree branches are wide and sturdy enough to withstand my weight, when I make a run for it. Since its a tree from Jurassic Era, it works in my advantage. I breathed deeper, Okay let's do this. I waited for it to turn, the moment it knocked the tree again. Now…

I ran across the wide branch while keeping my balance and ran as fast as I could. The velociraptor, which was staring, kept looking where I went. It didn't move but stayed. Its entire focus was on me. I finally dove into those large bushes, started crawling away. I heard the screeching voice. I knew it was the velociraptor calling its pack. It exactly knew where I went. I kept crawling away, not because I didn't have any other option. Because I thought of something.

I thought of the strategy that had the highest possibility of working.

"Just a little more," I whispered. I could sense they were in the bushes. The rustling of the leaves was telling me how close they were. I kept crawling, making sure I didn't make any noise that would give away my location. I crawled for a reason. I knew the rustling of the leaves would give away my location and where exactly I was, and crawling away would buy me some time. They were almost here. Within five to ten seconds, they would find me. I reached inside my bag and grabbed it quickly.

I looked— the leaves started moving. There was no time left. I shot. It was the only option. The flare came out of my flare gun and went by. It was enough to distract the pack. They chased it and I didn't waste any time. Just crawled faster, I knew they would see through my deception again. And I was right because I heard those high-pitched screech. Like they were annoyed and had figured it out. They were chasing faster. All of them kept running towards me. I didn't look back.

I stood up and started running at full sprint. They were right behind me. I was here. I jumped into the flowing stream of water. The pack reached the riverbank after ten seconds. It was enough to swim far enough from their reach. The alpha screamed in its screeching voice as I swam across. Then they all screamed. They were mad. Why wouldn't they be? I almost escaped by seconds. I looked back at them it was clear the pack was frustrated that I escaped.

Any predator would do the same when their prey escape from their grasp. I kept swimming across the other end of the riverbank… The river water was cold. If I stayed for ten to fifteen minutes, I would freeze to death. I managed to arrive at the other side of the bank. I was all soaked up. But at least my tools and supplies were fine.

"First the T-rex and now the pack of velociraptors. Are you trying to kill me or something?"

"What is this?" I asked A flicker. THE URGENT QUEST TRIGGERS WHEN THE LOG SENSES A DANGER APPROACHING THE USER. THESE QUEST ARE UNAVOIDABLE. THE USER MUST COMPLETE THE QUEST.

"Wait, so it wasn't a penalty…"

"I see." The Log has two types of quests. Regular and Urgent.

"So, this means that the urgent quest might appear any time, any place. It works on the surrounding situation," I said. It didn't flicker or move.

"I take that as a yes then." The log warned me about the danger that was approaching me. And by converting it into an urgent quest, it made it look like it was testing me. It made it look like it attracted the pack of velociraptors, but in reality, the pack found me. I don't know if I should thank it or not. It's not like the Log understands what gratitude is. The sun was settling down. I was hungry. I decided to camp near the river. It was the logical choice in case of danger.

SURVIVAL LOG URGENT QUEST: COMPLETED LEVELED UP: 13 EXPERIENCE POINTS: + 5 NEW UNIQUE SKILL UNLOCKED: ALPHA PERSONA I was confused. I didn't kill any of the velociraptors. I only escaped it, barely, and yet I leveled up and unlocked a new skill.

"How did I unlock a new skill? I thought it would require me to kill the species." The text changed. THE USER HAS COMPLETED THE URGENT QUEST. A UNIQUE SKILL UNLOCKS DURING THE URGENT QUEST.

"I see…" I leaned closer to the display.

"What is this, Alpha Persona?" I asked. THE UNIQUE SKILL: ALPHA PERSONA ABILITY: TAMING BEASTS FAMILIARS: 0"Taming, huh..." It certainly sparked my curiosity.

"Tell me more," I said. THE USER CAN TAME A BEAST AS PER THEIR CURRENT LEVEL. ACTIVATION TRIGGERS INDICATOR WHITE INDICATOR: TAMING SUCCESS 90 -100% YELLOW INDICATOR: TAMING SUCCESS 50-70% RED INDICATOR: TAMING SUCCESS 5-15% [NOTE: EVERY BEAST HAS THEIR OWN WILL TO CHOOSE IF THEY WANT TO BE IN THE USER'S PACK.]"So, it means even white indicated beast would be failed if they don't want to join my pack." It stayed still. Hmm… this is definitely different from the Apex persona.

"But what was that… That feeling…" I looked at my hands and curled up my fist.

"The Apex Persona I used just before. Tell me more about it." THE UNIQUE SKILL: APEX PERSONA ABILITY: USER BODY EVOLVES IN APEX PREDATOR FOR A FIXED TIME. TRIGGERS: EYESIGHT, PHYSICAL BODY ENHANCEMENTS, ABILITY TO HEAR AND SENSE ITS SURROUNDINGS. So, it activates just for a fixed amount of time.

"So, if I upgrade this skill the time increases?" THE UPGRADATION OF THE SKILL WILL INCREASE THE INTENSITY AND THE TIME. In a way, the upgradation will make me stronger. But I was barely able to —"What happens if I lose control of this skill?" IN THE EVENT OF THE USER LOSING CONTROL, THE USER WOULD ENTER A PERMANENT APEX STATE AND CANNOT GO BACK.

"What!" I was stunned. This would mean that if I use it again and lose control, I can never come back to my consciousness.

"Is there a way to avoid the permanent state?" TO AVOID PERMANENT APEX STATE, USER NEED TO UPGRADE: STRENGTH, INTELLIGENCE AND PERCEPTION STATS. I see… so if I had to use that again, I need to focus on these three stats.

"What about Alpha Persona? Are there any side effects?" THE ALPHA PERSONA ALLOWS USER TO TAME BEAST, IF THE NECESSARY STATS ARE LOW THE BEASTS COULD ATTACK THE USER ANYTIME.

"And what are the stats I need to upgrade for the Alpha Persona?" I asked. THE NECESSARY STATS REQUIRED FOR THE ALPHA PERSONA ARE: INTELLIGENCE, VITALITY, AND PERCEPTION. I need to be careful with upgrading my stats from here on out. I can't just upgrade any random stat.

"Open stats log." Text changed. NOVA STATS LOG STRENGTH: 10 AGILITY: 10 INTELLIGENCE: 10 DEXTERITY: 10 VITALITY: 10 PERCEPTION: 10 HEALTH POINTS: 1300 (AVAILABLE POINTS TO REEDEM: 1 POINT) Well, it's time to go beyond perfect ten. I think I should focus on perception for now, so I can sense danger. And to survive in this forest, I had to be alert every second. I upgraded my perception stat by one. It was the logical choice. I could feel my awareness increasing.

My perception, vision, and hearing increased their range. I moved my head around to see how far my perception stat had reached. Suddenly, my eyes looked at the river.

"What's that?" I looked in that direction; something had caught my eye just for a second. I frowned. It moved across the river. A shape stepped out from the trees. It was tall and perfectly still, unmoving. It was watching. Watching me.