Orion took in his surroundings and finally accepted how badly he had misjudged this place. The last half-hour in the Hunting Zone had taught him a few painful lessons. The first and most vital lesson was brutally clear. He had screwed up.
He hadn't brought a weapon.
Orion felt like a fool. While enjoying breakfast and walking by the lake, it hadn't occurred to him to ask for a blade. He had assumed this place would be crawling with slimes or other things meant to be hunted safely.
Not wolfish dogs with jaws wide enough to crush a skull.
The second lesson was that there was no "safe" way to grind Exp here. Without a weapon, every encounter was a gamble with his life.
Running a few hundred meters had left him gasping for air, which led to the third realization. If Orion wanted to hunt dangerous beasts or survive dungeons, he needed to improve his physical stats, not his Charisma. Like Strength, Endurance, and Agility, the stats that actually kept people alive.
His Level 1 body was barely better than an average human's.
He wanted to secure a future in this second life, maybe even become someone who wouldn't feel powerless again. The fact that Teacher Remy was watching him only added to the pressure.
"I need to get through this beginning phase quickly!" He muttered, gripping a jagged stone.
For the first time since opening his eyes in this world, his face held genuine, predatory concentration. The manic smile he had shown Seraphine resurfaced.
He threw the heavy stone with all his might. The moment it left his hand, he sprinted in the opposite direction.
Tiny bugs flew into his mouth and sweat soaked his tunic, but he ignored them.
He was rehearsing the same sequence over and over.
Throw. Run. Climb.
Orion raised his right hand and took aim again. He hurled the stone and bolted along the path he had mapped out in his head.
Imagining the growls of a dog pursuing him through the trees, he sprinted toward his designated tree and jumped.
He grabbed a short branch with his right hand to help him climb and pulled himself up with all his arm strength. Although climbing was much harder than he imagined, he learned more with every attempt.
Using all his might, he managed to rise through the branches. When he finally sat on a thick branch with no danger of falling, he leaned against the trunk in relief.
At that moment, he didn't have the energy to move an inch. He just wanted to return to his luxurious dorm, sleep in his giant bed and get help from the Teacher for leveling purposes.
There was probably an easier way out. But he took a few deep breaths and forced his sweaty body to move.
Thinking would get him killed. Moving wouldn't.
Orion picked up a large stick he had stashed among the branches. He held on tightly to the branch he was standing on so his moves wouldn't disturb his balance.
He swung it toward an invisible enemy below. "One, two... three!" He grunted.
When the three thrusting movements ended, he tucked the dull stick back among the branches. Then he hung down to reduce the falling distance and dropped to the ground.
That was all the preparation he could do. If he continued any longer, he would have no strength left to actually hunt.
Orion's Level 1 body was no different from an ordinary human's.
Desperate, he started walking among the trees. He had been planning and preparing for this despite his fatigue.
When he moved about 200 meters away from his 'trap' tree, he heard a low sound. It sounded like a mix of breathing and a dog coughing.
He stopped walking and silently entered the bushes near the tree in front of him. There was a wolf-dog sleeping alone ahead.
Bingo!
Encountering a single dog was a miracle. Everything was going exactly as he wanted.
He picked up a heavy stone the size of his palm and weighed it in his hand. Then, just as he had practiced, he leaped out from the tall bushes and threw it at the dog with all his might.
He immediately turned and sprinted toward his chosen tree.
Orion had only taken a few steps when he heard a yelp mixed with a growl from behind. Then, frightening barks erupted.
Spurred on by the sounds of breathing and paws hitting the dirt, he sprinted harder.
Although he had a head start, racing a dog was a ridiculous idea. He would never have tried such a plan if he didn't have to.
When the frightening two-meter dog lunged at his legs from behind, he threw himself off his planned path.
He snatched a small stone from the ground and tried to throw it at the charging dog. He missed.
He knew improvisation was sometimes necessary, but realizing stones wouldn't work, he focused on running.
The horrifying dog caught up to him again after a little parkour. This time Orion feigned picking up another stone to throw.
He actually had nothing in his hand. He left the slightly startled dog behind by circling a tree, never stopping his forward momentum for a second.
When it happened again, he tried to scare it with a stone once more. But seeing the dog wasn't afraid and kept coming, he used the trees to dodge to the side.
Whenever the situation got dire, he used the thick trunks to put distance between himself and the beast. The 30-second run felt like minutes.
Finally spotting the designated tree, he gained distance by running in a tight zigzag. He almost passed it because he approached from the wrong side!
His body was filled with extraordinary heat, sweat, filth and adrenaline. At that moment, he didn't care about anything.
The only thing that mattered was not getting his leg bitten while climbing.
He scrambled up in one go like a monkey and grabbed the stick like a spear.
He only had one chance for the first move and didn't know how he was still holding it together. Even he was surprised he could hold back and wait patiently.
Waiting in that moment of adrenaline required more willpower than taking action. While his trembling arms pressured him to move, he froze.
Below, the slightly bloody-faced dog barked and growled. This thing wasn't a slime and it could tear him apart.
"I would never be able to move so calmly if I hadn't died dozens of times…" He thought.
As the dog lifted its head as if to climb, he stopped thinking useless things.
Orion thrust the stick into the dog's mouth with all his strength. Leaning down on the branch he gripped with his legs, he drove the stick down a second time.
[Congratulations! You have learned a new "Active Ability"]
-Thrust
The sudden flicker of tiny text hovering right before his eyes startled Orion so badly he nearly slipped.
It wasn't just the visual distraction; a female voice assaulted the inside of his head. Her voice was disturbingly intimate.
He forced himself to ignore it and locked onto the dog below. It was making horrific, gurgling noises.
The only thing Orion's brain registered was a fast-talking voice saying something like "Congrat..."
It took his subconscious barely half a second to realize the messages were good news.
He gripped his makeshift spear tighter, preparing to strike again. But the wounded animal thrashed violently, managing to dislodge the stick from its bloody maw.
The beast scraped its mangled mouth against the dirt in a frenzy, emitting muffled, nauseating whimpers.
In any other situation, he might have pitied the poor thing.
Orion didn't give it a chance to recover. He leaped down from the branch, landing near the thrashing animal.
He grabbed a rock the size of a soccer ball and brought it down on the creature's skull without hesitation.
The beast stumbled and howled weakly.
Desperate for traction, it kicked up dust and dirt, trying to crawl away.
Orion didn't let up. He mounted the fleeing dog, using his entire body weight to pin it down. With grim determination, he slammed the rock into its head again.
And again.
Thud. Crack. Thud.
[Congratulations! You have learned a new "Active Ability"]
-Strike
The dog made a final, desperate attempt to snap at Orion's arms. Reacting on instinct, Orion dropped the rock and scrambled backward.
He grabbed his stick from the ground, deciding to finish it from a safer range. As the animal staggered, swaying drunkenly, Orion struck its head with the stick.
He hadn't realized killing something like this would be so difficult. Or this messy.
As the seconds ticked by, other sounds began to drift in from the forest. Orion swung the stick a few more times with all his remaining strength, tuning out the wet, crunching sounds.
The sight was disgusting, but the sounds the dying animal made were worse.
The adrenaline coursing through his veins didn't leave room for hesitation. The dog stopped moving. Orion immediately turned and sprinted back to his tree. He scrambled up the thick trunk, hauling himself onto a high branch. As he sat there, trembling with the aftershocks of the fight, he felt a wave of self-disgust wash over him.
Half a minute later, two dogs emerged from the brush. Then more.
Soon, a pack of ten surrounded the carcass below. They sniffed the dead animal, barking and howling into the air.
While the pack gathered below, Orion waited with bated breath for his reward.
He shoved his filth-covered hands into the pockets of his robe. They were shaking uncontrollably.
He glanced up at the canopy, checking for snakes or bugs. Once he was sure he was safe, he leaned back against the trunk.
A cold wind blew from behind, making him shiver violently. He was drenched in sweat, freezing and utterly exhausted.
But then, the text he had been waiting for reappeared. Everything else faded into the background.
[You killed 1 Wild Dog. +10 Exp]
[Congratulations! You have reached Level 2]