Tok. Tok. Tok.
After Sam finished eating, he forced himself back onto his feet for Training.
There was no other choice.
His small, starved body moved as if dragged by invisible chains—chains made of rage and stubborn, unbreakable will. Each step toward the tree felt heavy, but the moment he raised his fists…
BAM.
Blood smeared across the thick trunk. His knuckles split almost immediately, not fully healed skin, tore open on impact. A hiss escaped him, but he didn't stop.
Tok. Tok. Tok.
Punch after punch, his arms trembled, his breath came sharp, and pain crawled up to his shoulders. Then came the kicks—sloppy at first, unbalanced, sending a shock of agony through his shins.
But he could see it.Feel the Progress.
Every time he pushed himself one step further, something inside him clicked. Something grew. Something hardened.
And seeing that made him grin—wide, wild, unsteady.
He became a little crazy.
[+1 Strength]
[+1 Stamina]
[Requirements reached: Hard Body (F) skill levels up! 1/10 → 2/10]
[Requirements reached: Hard Body (F) skill levels up! 2/10 → 3/10]
…
Evening came. The entire clearing was painted in splatters of red—his blood, marking every place he had struck, kicked, or collapsed. His eyes were burning red as if they were bloodshot, and he looked unfocused at the bloody tree. At times he wasn't even sure which part of him was still moving.
Whenever the small, wounded mind inside him started to give up…the other will—the cold, older one—took over. It was an endless circle.
Hatred in one hand.
Ambition in the other.
The hatred of the child.
The will of the man he used to be.
Together, they made him relentless.
After eating the scraps of roasted meat, he dropped onto one of the pelts like a corpse. He didn't turn. He didn't adjust. He simply collapsed and fell asleep instantly, breath heavy and deep.
This routine continued for a full week.
Wake up.
Train.
Eat.
Collapse.
He didn't rest more than needed. He didn't think. He trained.
He even killed a few more horned rabbits—when they strayed too close, seeing only a bloody, unstable human child.
[Requirements reached: Hard Body (F) skill levels up! 9 → 10/10]
[Requirements reached: Pain Tolerance (F) skill levels up! 9 → 10/10]
[Requirements reached: Martial Artist (D) skill levels up! 1 → 2/30]
[Hard Body (F) 10/10 → Stone Body (E) 1/20]
[Pain Tolerance (F) 10/10 —> Pain tolerance (E) 1/20]
A low, satisfied breath escaped Sam as he stared at the messages through crusted eyes. The sun was just about half way done on her walk, so the day was still long.
Sam sat down, breathing slowly, his eyes dull and unfocused as he stared at the faint blue glow of his status window.
Almost disappointed.
His stats had stopped rising. Every number—Strength, Agility, Endurance, Dexterity—sat stubbornly at 15, refusing to budge. Even the skill level-ups no longer pushed them higher.
He chewed on a strip of dry rabbit meat, tearing pieces off with small, blood-crusted fingers. His hands were a mess—dirt under his nails, dried blood across his palms and wrists. He smelled like a half-mad stray dog.
"Maybe I need to level up to reach new heights…?" he muttered, though the tone was flat, drained.
He glanced down at himself and let out a humorless exhale.
His entire body was caked with mud and old blood.
If he took one step toward the city like this, they'd stone him before they recognized him.
With a slow motion, he leaned back, resting against a thin tree. The bark dug into his spine, rough and grounding. He forced down the rest of the unpleasant, gamey meat, his throat burning slightly—and then stood.
Time to move.
He gathered his belongings. Not much. Barely anything, really.
• Four horned rabbit horns
• Horned rabbit meat
• Four pelts
He wrapped half the meat inside two pelts and tied them tightly, forming a crude travel bundle. He slung it over his shoulder. Then picked up the sturdiest, sharpest of the rabbit horns—the closest thing to a weapon he had.
For a long moment, Sam stared at the distant walls of Tarakan.
The sight made his stomach twist—not in fear, but in a cold, simmering hatred.
Not yet. He wasn't strong enough. He knew it. He would die the moment he stepped close.
So he turned his back on the fortress-city.
No hesitation.
No words.
Just quiet resolve.
And he walked deeper into the forest, leaves whispering beneath his bare feet, the trees swallowing his small figure.
Sam moved quietly through the deeper forest, stepping over roots and ducking under low branches. While walking he saw other people, they had weapons and armors, but he held his distance, going in the opposite direction they were walking.
And now, the night came slowly and the air felt colder.
He stopped, he looked out for a place to rest.
A faint vibration trembled through the ground.
Thud.
Thud.
Sam's eyes narrowed.
That wasn't human.
A moment later, a massive shadow pushed through the thick underbrush.
A rabbit—no, this time a beast—emerged. Twice the size of the ones he'd fought before. Almost as big as Sam himself. Its fur was darker, thicker. Its muscles bulged beneath the hide.
And its single horn…
Longer than Sam's forearm. Sharper. Curved like a killing fang.
It sniffed the air. It smelled blood—Sam's blood. The big nose quivered, and then its crimson eyes locked onto him.
Then, with an deafening screech did it charge straight at Sam.
„Are only rabbits living in this forest?" He shook his head, threw his luggage to the side and stepped barehanded forward.
The beast's horn tore into the air, aiming straight for his stomach. Sam didn't dodge—not fully. He twisted his torso, letting the horn graze his side, a shallow tear opening in his skin.
Pain flared.
The rabbit stumbled past him.
Sam smiled.
Before the beast could regain balance, Sam lunged, grabbing its horn with both hands. His small fingers clung around the rough, warm bone as he swung himself upward.
The rabbit bucked violently—but Sam held on like a leech, swinging onto its back.
He didn't hesitate.
BAM!
His fist slammed down on the rabbit's skull.
A dull pain shot through his knuckles, but it was bearable, they didn't even start bleeding.
BAM! BAM!
Each strike was heavy, controlled, brutal.
The rabbit screeched, throwing itself sideways. Sam flew off its back, rolling through dirt and leaves. His arm burned where skin scraped away.
The rabbit charged again—faster this time.
Sam exhaled.
He rushed toward it as well.
The beast leapt.
Sam ducked low and jumped upward, twisting in the air like a thrown stone.
CRACK!
His heel smashed directly into the rabbit's lower jaw, snapping its head back. The impact vibrated up his leg, but he didn't stop.
They hit the ground together.
Sam rolled.
The rabbit struggled.
Sam moved first.
With a wild shout, he grabbed the beast's horn, positioned the other hand—and hit down in the rabbit's eye.
Then the other one.
The rabbit now blind just jumped up and down, trying to save its live. Sam however clung around its neck and started suffocating the beast.
The rabbit tried fighting back, jumped up and down, threw himself on the back.
still after some time did it fell limb on the ground, twitched once. Then fell still.
Silence.
Sam stayed there for a moment, breathing heavily, his small chest rising and falling. Rabbit Blood dripped from from his knuckles, and his blood from the new cut along his torso.
Then the notifications came.
[Killed 1x Big Horned Rabbit: 16 EXP]
[Level Up! 3 —4]
[Requirements reached: Martial Artist (D) skill levels up! 2 → 3/30]
[Requirements reached: Stone Body (E) skill levels up! 1 → 2/20]
Sam wiped the blood from his face with the back of his hand and let out a short, rough laugh.
His whole body trembled. Not from fear. From the rush. His arms ached as if iron rods were hammered into them. His throat burned with every breath, and his torso throbbed where the horn had grazed him.
But he'd won.
A seven-year-old child—killing a beast nearly twice his size.
Sam staggered to his feet, placing one hand on the rabbit's corpse to steady himself. Its fur was still warm. Heavy. Alive just moments ago.
He opened his status, the blue window flickering into view like a ghostly reflection in the early moon.
────────────────────────────────
STATUS – SAMUEL
────────────────────────────────
Race: Human - Slave (ownerless)
Age: 7
Condition: Exhausted, wounded
LEVEL: 4/5
EXP: 2/40
HP: 43 / 80 —> 103
Mana: 0 / 0
Strength: 15 —> 18
Agility: 15 —> 17
Endurance: 15 —> 17
Dexterity: 15 —> 16
Magic: 0
Willpower: 25
──────── Skills ────────
• Pain Tolerance (E)[Level 1/20]
• herb gathering (F) [Level 4/10]
• healing water (E) [Level 1/20]
• Martial artist (D) [Level 3/30]
• Stone Body (E) [Level 2/20]
————————————————————
„Wow!" Samuel exclaimed, „I think I was right about the level?!"