The air, thick with the smell of ash and ozone, was the first sign he'd won. Ethan Carver stood on the crude watchtower, a structure of scavenged wood and desperate engineering. Below, Kael paced, no longer a mere wolf-pup but a sleek, silver-furred predator, his amber eyes scanning the treeline with a cold, evolved intelligence. The tutorial was over. Seven days of brutal, non-stop beta testing had ended, and the System had just pushed its first major patch.
[New Tier Unlocked: Tier 2 Summoning]
[Interface Updated: Access to Advanced Summons Granted]
[Quest Available: Establish a Base Camp - Reward: Enhanced Summoning Slot]
Ethan flexed his hand, the memory of the trial's final boss still a faint, electric hum in his nerves. The System had thrown a towering demonic figure at him, a high-level mob designed to test his limits. He hadn't won with brute force; he'd won with logic. He'd used the ravine as a natural trap, Kael as the perfect distraction, and the beast's own weight as the killing blow. The lesson was logged and saved: power wasn't about the size of your summon, but the efficiency of your strategy.
Kael let out a low growl, the sound a sharp data point in the sudden, unnatural quiet of the wilds. Ethan's gaze snapped to the shadows. The ambient noise of the forest had just flatlined. Wrong.
He descended the tower in a controlled slide, landing silently beside Kael. "Contact imminent," he murmured, his voice a low command.
The last week had been a crash course in resource management. His shelter was a patchwork of hide and branches, ugly but functional. The fire pit was shielded, its smoke minimized. His food—the last of a deer Kael had hunted—was rationed with cold precision. Weakness, he'd learned, was a debuff he couldn't afford.
As dusk bled across the sky, the treeline exploded. Three hulking beasts, all matted fur, glowing red eyes, and claws like rusty sickles, burst into the clearing. They were bigger than anything he'd faced outside the trial, a pack of elite predators drawn to the scent of his victory.
His mind didn't waste a nanosecond on fear. It was already running combat simulations, processing variables, and calculating win conditions. He couldn't outmuscle them. He would have to outthink them.
"Kael, flank left. On my signal, create a distraction," his order was clipped, absolute. The wolf vanished into the gloom like a ghost.
Ethan gripped a sharpened fire-hardened spear—his only melee weapon—and positioned himself near the ravine's edge. The beasts charged, their roars a wave of pure sonic force. He was the bait. He held his ground until the last possible second, then rolled hard to the right.
The lead beast, unable to stop its momentum, plunged headfirst into the ravine with a sickening crack of bone. The second hesitated, its tiny, red eyes trying to process the sudden change in battlefield dynamics. That was Kael's signal. The wolf shot from the shadows, a silver blur, his claws raking deep across the beast's flank.
The third one, the alpha, ignored Kael and lunged for Ethan. He sidestepped, letting its charge carry it past him, and drove his spear into the creature's eye socket with a brutal, efficient thrust. It shrieked, a sound of agony and rage, and crashed back into the darkness, bleeding and broken.
Breathing hard, Ethan stood his ground. Kael returned to his side, his muzzle stained red, but he was alive. "Mission accomplished," Ethan said, resting a hand on the wolf's head. The bond between them wasn't just a System mechanic anymore; it was a proven, combat-tested alliance.
He sat by the fire, feeding it just enough to keep the deepest shadows at bay. Survival was a solved problem, for now. But the new quest, Establish a Base Camp, was a logistics and engineering challenge. It required a long-term strategy.
[Hint: Seek the Wanderer's Journal for Clues]
The journal. He'd found it on the skeleton of the last person who'd failed this tutorial. Its faded pages spoke of a ruined outpost to the north. A pre-existing structure was a massive advantage. A base wasn't just a shelter; it was a stronghold, a command center.
His thoughts drifted, processing other variables. Potential assets. Two days ago, he'd spotted another survivor, a sharp-eyed scavenger named Lila, her movements quick and competent. Her knowledge of the local terrain was a resource he could potentially acquire. The thought of an alliance was a calculated one. The slow burn of building trust was a long-term investment that could yield significant returns.
For now, he would rest. Consolidate his gains. And plan.
[Summoning Slot Available: Tier 2 Unlock Pending]
[Status: Ethan Carver - Level 2 Summoner]
He closed his eyes, but his mind was already mapping the path to the outpost, running simulations, and preparing for the next level. The realms were an infinite, hostile system. And he was here to conquer it.