Three long claws flash into being on the screen, sharp, savage. I say the name out loud. Clawblood.
I close the system and look back at the boy on the deck and at Giel.
Hey, is everything okay, Giel calls. He checks the kid's wounds and says he is fine now. The boy looks at me with bright, hopeful eyes. You really beat him? he asks, voice full of excitement.
I barely hear him. I ask, What is your name?
Kad, he answers quietly. I am a weakling, Sal Rank minus one. That will never change, he says, head down.
You can still become a Sal, I tell him. You can get stronger. Just believe in yourself.
He thanks me. Giel grins and says you are probably already at my level, awesome. We have to spar sometime. I stare at him. I just fought for my life and he is already talking sparring. I do not say it. I nod instead. Yeah, okay.
The system pops up again.
Level 3 reached. Congratulations. New skill unlocked Wolf Strike.
I smile a little, then the next message freezes my blood.
Danger Quest survive
Start 3, 2, 1
The ship shudders. Kad and Giel stare at me. Kids scream what is going on. A massive bird dives toward the vessel. If it hits we will all die. The island is in sight, just ahead.
Commander Zeil leaps into the air, moving four steps through the sky as if walking on wind. He places himself directly in the bird's path and raises his arm to strike. But the bird does not slow. It speeds up.
Commander, get out of there, people shout. He does not move.
The bird collides with him. Blood sprays but it is not the bird's. The Commander is impaled. His entire left arm is gone. He plummets into the sea.
The bird twists into a destructive nosedive.
Silence spreads for a second, then a single sound builds into a thunderclap, and BOOM.
A thunderous crash. The whole ship shudders under the impact.
We are sinking, I think. I have to get off this thing. Giel, Kad, what do we do? I shout.
The bird circles back for another strike, this time from the side. I scream, We have no choice, we have to swim to the island.
We back up, run, and jump. For a heartbeat everything moves in slow motion, then reality snaps and we slam into freezing water.
Kad barely keeps his head above the surface. I am underwater, disoriented, cold. I kick up, break the surface, and gasp for air.
Giel is floating face down ahead. I swim like my life depends on it, haul him onto a piece of metal debris, and drag him toward the island.
Kad and I keep paddling until the shore is close. We pull Giel onto sand and I check his pulse.
He is alive, barely. Relief burns through me. The sun is almost gone, the sky a deep orange. We are soaked, freezing, exhausted. No flint, no matches, nothing dry to start a fire.
Then the system blinks in front of me.
NEW QUEST: Kill all bears (0/4)
I stare. Bears, now? Great. I still have twenty unused stat points, but there is no time to allocate them. No cover. No prep.
The forest answers before I can plan. Two bears charge through the underbrush.
Kad chokes out, Oh no, bears? What do we do, Mike?
Stay calm, I say. I have this.
Quest Kill all bears 0 of 4
Reward 1 Level up to Level 4
Reward 2 Portal Key Grade A
I move.
I rush the first bear. Three quick hits and it collapses, dead.
The second bear leaps at me with claws spread. I roll under it and explode up into a counterattack.
Wolf Strike, I shout.
A gray aura wraps my fist. The blow lands clean. The bear is sent flying into three trees. They snap like twigs. Dead.
Bears defeated 2 of 4
A heavier footstep comes from deeper in the trees. The air shifts.
A massive gray bear emerges. It has one eye, a long scar carving its face. Its aura hits me like a weight on my chest. Heavy, violent, wrong.
This one is strong, I whisper. The strongest aura I have felt so far.
I launch a surprise attack, leaping at it, but it moves with brutal speed. Its claws swipe. I try to block, but there is nowhere to go.
The hit lands. Pain floods my face. Blood warms my mouth.
HP 45
Hint Try using your abilities
Right. I shout Raaahh Wolf Strike and drive my fist into the bear's muzzle. It stings, but it is not enough.
System Boss Battle Initiated
The bear's aura flares black and heavy. It clamps its jaws on me and hurls me across the clearing into four trees. The impact is brutal.
HP 10
No, this is bad, I mutter, barely breathing.
The bear winds up for the finishing blow. My vision tunnels. I think maybe this is it.
A crash interrupts everything. A figure slams into the bear and knocks it away.
Giel. He is awake. He stands between me and the beast, grinning like nothing phased him.
You trying to kill one of my new friends? he shouts. I do not think so.
Kad screams, Giel, look at Mike, but Giel waves him off, Relax I got this.
Giel reveals his power. The ground trembles. Gravity bends to his will. He rips two trees free and hurls them at the bear, but it tears through them like paper. He follows with strikes, one, two, three, then the bear grabs him by the shoulder and throws him through the air.
He crashes on the sand near the shore, motionless.
Is this the end? I look at Kad. He is frozen. There is no way he can handle the creature. Everything depends on me now.
I force myself up, wipe blood from my nose, and glance at my status.
A new line flashes under my health bar.
The full moon has awakened
+20 bonus stats to all attributes
Blessing, even if only for tonight. My health begins to regenerate.
I roar, Now it is your turn, and I move.
With the moon surge, I am faster, stronger. I dodge the bear's claws, its fangs, its throws. I find an opening, punch its stomach, chase it down, and slam its head into the ground the same way I did the shadow knight.
I whisper, Got you, then my legs give out and I collapse.
I wake up in a small room. Three bunk beds line the walls. I'm on the bottom bunk and my vision is still fuzzy. Voices drift in—Giel and Kad talking nearby.
"Hey," Giel says. "So you actually survived. Man, I totally embarrassed myself out there. That could've been the end. But you're really strong. I wonder what rank you might be…"
"Today's our first official day in the base," he adds.
I rub my eyes. "What happened after I passed out?"
"Commander Zoio found us," Kad answers. "She's nice. Says she has a few questions for us later. But first, there's a big meeting in the cafeteria at 8:00. It's only seven now, so we've got an hour to look around."
"Alright," I say. "Wait—give me a second. I'll use the bathroom."
In the tiny washroom a message blinks into existence in front of me.
[ 1 New Message ]
Open? → Yes
Congratulations. You have won.
Both rewards have been claimed.
Level 4 Reached.