It was supposed to be a day like any other. Well, it should have been so. Han and his group was supposed to venture out to find supplies, they were to scavenge anything that could have been helpful to people. Then they were to swiftly head back home.
Yes.
It was supposed to be a relatively easy, and simple task.
There was no way in which it was supposed to go wrong.
Surely... right?
Staring at the growling pack of dire wolves that was slowly backing him and his companions into a corner, Kim Han bit back the urge to let out a sigh.
'How did i even end up here...'
It was a profound question, really.
Unfortunately, he didn't have much time to ponder the details of the topic.
Why?
Because the moron standing next to him had lunged towards the pack of wolves, brandishing his sorry excuse of what looked like a sword.
A brief moment of hesitation from the group followed, silence enveloping the world like it was the most peaceful day ever.
Then the abandoned warehouse exploded into chaos. Han and his companions each drew their weapons, closing the distance between them and the beasts in one single instance. They knew, it was either attack first, or get cornered and eaten.
The moron who had moved first, Jack... or whatever, Han couldn't bother remembering everyone's name, brought his sword down in a brilliant wide arc, crashing into the skull of the wolf that was closest to them.
The poor thing didn't even have a chance to let out a whine before it got split in two.
He shook off the corpse from his blade, turning to face another one of the mana beasts.
The rest of the pack of wolves caught up a second later, a particularly large wolf, enraged at the death of its comrade, lunging towards him and snapping at his neck.
Now, usually this was supposed to go one way or another.
Either Jack easily defeats the mana beast, taking it down in one blow, or someone else steps in to do it for him. Why? Because after all, these were still fodder beasts. Dire wolves were not supposed to have any importance in any story, they were merely a stepping stone, training dummies for the protagonist and his companions to flaunt their power over.
People like Jack were never supposed to die to third rate beasts like dire wolves.
So when the sickening noise of bones being crushed reached his ears, Han almost tripped on his own step.
It was really hard to get used to the sound of someone dying, if he had to be honest.
A fountain of blood sprayed out from jack's now open neck, his body falling limp in a instant as the wolf tore into him.
Unfortunately for the beast, it didn't get to enjoy its meal for long, because the next moment, an arrow sped past Han's left ear, lodging itself into the wolf's head.
A terrible howl pierced the air as the battle descended into chaos, both humans and beasts falling dead as they tore into each other in a macabre party of violence. It was a dire situation, the hunters trying to stave off starvation, while the hunted tried to preserve their lives.
Han took a step to the side as one of the wolves lunged at his throat, carefully bringing his strangely pristine sword down, stabbing through the spine of the dire wolf. He jerked his sword upwards, throwing the dead wolf to the side as his eyes scanned the battlefield.
[ You have killed a mana beast, dire wolf ]
He had made to sure position himself behind the vanguard, to make sure that he got enough time to think of a plan out of this mess. He was the acting strategist of his group, being the only one who had ever served in the military. So it was his duty to get his companions to safety while they bought him time.
At least, that should have been the case.
The strongest of their group was supposed to buy them time as they prepared an escape.
Pretty simple, if Han had to say it himself.
The vanguard was nowhere to be seen.
Instead, corpses littered the ground, the beasts that had defeated them now looking at the remaining survivors of the group. The growling of the feral mana beasts sent a tremor through their bones, any chance of getting out of this alive looking truly grim.
"Don't let them surround us! Hold your position!" One of the men behind him shouted.
Han's mind raced for answers, carefully sorting through each scenario one after another as he looked for a way out of this alive.
'I should've just stayed put...'
Han clenched his jaw as he took a tentative step back, his eyes still glaring at the pack of wolves that had just killed half of his companions, and was now cornering the other half to its death.
"Damned luck" He hissed a low curse as his thoughts raced for an answer, looking for some way, any way for him and his companions to get out of this.
He hoped that there was someone strong enough, someone that was brave enough to save them from this situation. And he had no doubt that that's what the others where also thinking about. Hoping for a savior that would protect them.
All of them huddled together, the remaining four people including Han, watching each others flanks as they waited for their doom.
There was still a small chance for them to be saved from this, after all, they were still in a relatively populated area. So there must have been some kind of person who was strong enough to save them? Right?
Han was the only one that survived.
And that too, because he had spent his precious skill points, that he had painstakingly saved up over the week, on increasing his agility and running the hell away from that place.
He had barely managed to loose the pack of dire wolves. Which morbidly enough, was because most of them were preoccupied with filling their bellies with his dead comrades.
Crashing down on a terrace of a building that he made sure was safe enough, Han heaved for breath, wiping off the sweat that lined his forehead as he cursed his luck.
"I hate..." He coughed. "This world... so much..."
And in his defense, it was a very valid statement, considering everything that he knew.
It was a cursed fate that awaited this world.
Why?
Why were they were all doomed to die, and this Earth to burn. Why had all of his companions gotten killed so unceremoniously?
"That damned bastard." Han let out a groan.
It was a simple answer.
Because the incompetent protagonist of this world had gotten himself killed.
And Han had seen it happen, with his own two eyes.