…After five hours of walking,
I was now sure I had reached its territory.
The calls of birds and insects slowly faded.
I was getting close.
'Now that I think about it, why am I here anyways?'
'I just wanted to study magic and grow stronger, but now here I am hunting a monster.'
I suppose you can't grow stronger without challenging your limits. I guess putting yourself in risk in one way of doing it.
'Ideally, I wanted to lay low and enjoy life before the world ends. And if somehow it does not, because of all these so-called legends and whatnot, then… I don't know.'
'Exploring this world might be fun… But is it really worth the risk?'
Suddenly,
all chirping and rustling ceased.
The forest went silent.
I stayed calm, steading my breath, this much was expected.
I scanned for marks on trunks and grass, observing the direction it had gone. I took careful steps, following the trail.
Soon, the undergrowth cleared, revealing an open space in the jungle: A rounded area. With logs, bones, and cracked earth laying scattered across it. To the left was a "lake", more like a stinky puddle. The water boiling beneath a scum of algae; probably acidic. definitely disgusting.
At the center was the nest.
Not a pile of sticks, but a pit. Half-rock, half-dug earth, shaped by something brute.
And finally inside, resting, was the Basilisk.
I narrowed my eyes.
'It looks like if a komodo dragon fucked a rhino, then dipped the abomination in tar.'
Its body stretched across the den like a boulder in armor. Long, thick limbs. A massive whip-like tail coiled behind it. Horns on its head like two obsidian blades. Its breathing was slow, the dirt whooshing beneath its chest with every inhale.
'Better double-check my loadout.'
'Status open.'
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
◇ LEVEL 1 ◇
★ SKILLS |—| [—] [—] [—] [—]
────────────────────────
≡ ITEMS (272g) |—| [—] [—] [—] [—] >
≡ RUNES |First Strike| [Scorch] [Empowered Attack]
[Eyeball Collector] [Gathering Storm] >
≡ SPELLS [Ignite] [Mark & Dash] >
────────────────────────
"I'm ready."
Creeeak
I drew my bow, steeping out of the vegetation like a veteran soldier. As I aimed, my sight locked onto the beast eye. The point-end of my arrow covered in yellow resin.
I took a breath.
"...enemy champions." I murmured.
I had a theory. Most skills require enemy champions for it to work, that's a fact.
And I always thought the obvious; it only function on humans, not monsters. After all, that's how it was in the game.
"...But this is not a game."
Think about it. What's an enemy? Hostility. What's a champion? Individual.
SNAP!
I let go off the string.
HISS—POW!
The arrow pierced its eye. First strike and scorch proked; igniting it ablaze and zooming bullets out of thin air into it's body.
ROOOAR!
After quickly altering runes and spells, I used [Mark & Dash], a snowball formed into my palm, I quickly launched at the screeching beast.
Plot! The snowball hits.
I grab my axe.
My palm still glowing in white as a I grazed its recast.
I blinked, and my surroundings changed. I was now in the air, just above the beast.
I swung my axe at the beast remaining eye.
[Empowered Attack] triggered.
Kapoow!
Flames coiled my weapon, penetrating through its eye, then into his skull. A devastating strike.
ROOOAR!
The beast, still in flames, screamed and ravished in protest. Yet I didn't waist a second as used the spell [Ignite] to keep the flames burning. Maximizing my burst damage.
"More!"
"Scream more!"
My feets pushed my body, pressing the blade deeper. It's screams changed to a agonizing pitch.
One more push,
[Electrocute] proked. Covering in sparkles.
The beast swung its head like an enraged bull, a sudden, brute-force pivot that caught me mid-momentum.
I was airborne, weightless, then slammed into the earth with a breath-stealing thud.
For a second I lay there, gasping. Pain blossomed across my ribs, but it was my arm that demanded attention; Shallow, parallel gashes ran from elbow to wrist, welling with blood. Not deep, but clean and stinging sharply. The beast's obsidian horns. They'd grazed me like a razor-sharp scythe through tall grass and I only noticed it now.
A warning. Next time, it wouldn't be a graze.
...Time passed.
We kept going.
Strike. Dodge. Clash. Over and over.
It felt like hours.
Adult Basilisks are no joke.
No advantage on either side. A draw, slowly tilting against me.
My left arm hung numb from a glancing tail hit. Blood trickled from my temple, dripped into my eye. The basilisk's labored breaths echoed like bellows.
Second Wind rune needed more time. Heal spell too.
Retreat.
A logical thought.
—Monster.
My mother's voice. A memory.
The last word she ever spoke to me, her face a grotesque mask of revulsion as the cops dragged me away.
—A playground where I broke a boy's arm for stealing my lunch. "He deserved it," I'd explained, confused by the teacher's screaming.
—The social worker's clipboard. "Lack of empathy... pathological... recommend isolation—"
—Juvie walls. The guards. The other kids' whimpers when I smiled at them after lights-out.
Grrr.
The basilisk growled snapped me back to reality.
I dropped my head.
Ah.
I remembered now.
Not the training. Not the runes.
But the truth.
"I wasn't normal all along. I never needed a 'system'."
Pressure.
The Basilisk's pupils dilated as it stepped back.
It smelled it—the odor even animals recognize:
Fear.
I had recovered enough to keep my grip tight on the axe. Both hands.
I tilted the blade slightly, projecting flames.
Fight or flight hit the Basilisk, and after noticing its strength fading, it chose to engage.
The advance was ferocious, like a bull last efforts to stay alive.
But I was rather calm.
My feet quickened. I rushed him head-on.
While I run I bit my teeth hard and felt warmth as my arm engulfed in flames.
His horns a hair away from my face—
TWINK!
I parried with the axe, using the impact to propel myself upward in an inferno twist.
I screamed as I felt the last remnants of my strength left me while my joints broke into pieces.
ZING!
Once my vision cleared, I was already on the ground.
A glance back was enough to catch sight of a deep cut across the Basilisk's body.
The beast was screaming... I think. I just felt like collapsing.
"It didn't died?"
Swish-Tap.
[Smite]
Lightning entered through the beasts wound, cooking it from the inside out.
Thud!
I fell onto the ground, after his corpse.
One heartbeat.
Two.
BWOOSH!
Light exploded around me. Blue and gold, sparkling through my skin.
PLING!
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
◇ LEVEL 2 ◇ !
★ SKILLS (+2)! |—| [—] [—] [—] [—]
────────────────────────
≡ ITEMS (428g)! |—| [—] [—] [—] [—] >
≡ RUNES |Conqueror| [Scorch] [Empowered Attack]
[Eyeball Collector] [Gathering Storm] >
≡ SPELLS [Smite] [Mark & Dash] >
────────────────────────
Huff.
"Level up," I muttered, grinning through the blood in my mouth. I felt my strength come back in a rush.
For a moment I simply stood there, staring at the screen like a dying beggar.
"…Gold went up too."
Nice.
[Heal] was still on cooldown, so I switched out my runes for healing-focused ones. Slower, but effective.
I stared at the status screen, catching my breath. Then a thought hit me.
'Wait. If runes don't need to be tied to champions, then I didn't need to kill those kids?'
Oh.
My bad.
'Well, better die by my hand than someone else's. They should be grateful, really.'
Tap.
≡ SPELLS . . . [Recall] >
'Right, Recall. The respawn teleport. It counts as a spell.'
I tapped it.
Nothing.
Tapped it again.
Still nothing.
'Come on…'
I stared at the icon. No tooltip. No instructions. Just dead pixels.
"…"
The Basilisk was dead. I gained some gold. Leveled up. And Recall still didn't change.
Teleport would've been nice. I could use it to bring myself to safety.
'Or travel.'
But for some reason recall and teleport didn't worked yet.
I looked at my gold in the ITEM menu.
"Can't I just buy boots now? Or maybe I should hold it for a while…"
But that's future-me's problem.
My eyes wandered upward. Thinking about the future.
'My math says I got about… my thirtieth year until the great war.'
And that is just one of the problems.
'Can I stop it?'
I don't know.
Just keep getting stronger, explore the world, meet some game character, and maybe… Have a little "fun" along the way.
I smiled.
'Might as well enjoy the ride.'
I gazed onto the [Recall] spell again.
"I need to figure this out..."
My eyelids grew heavy.
"It looks... busted..."
.
.
A week later.
Morning.
At the village square, a low murmur rose. A crowd gathered. The scent of sweat and woodsmoke assaulted my lungs. Too many bodies pressed close. Mothers, hunters offering grudging nods, elders who still couldn't meet my eyes.
I was leaving.
I wore a dark, practical clothing: a utility vest over a long-sleeved shirt, with a sash tied around my waist to hold my new blades—twin daggers forged from Basilisk horns.
"I've seen the corpse." Said Fang.
His calloused hand gripped my shoulder,
"You're strong, son. Stronger than I thought." His voice lowered, earnest. "Now go show those stuffy mages what a hunter can do."
Then came my sisters.
Mapaka pressed a folded map into my hand and leaned close, her voice a sharp whisper.
"Don't trust anyone fully."
She gestured with her chin towards my guide waiting nearby;
An attractive figure in elegant purple attire. The cut was noble, the fabric fine. She was the one assigned to take me to the capital. Our eyes met. She turned her face away, long hair flowing with the motion.
I noted the distinct points of her ears.
'An elf…? No. Vastaya.'
Mapaka's voice grew severe. "Especially pretty girls. Be careful with them."
Ravi spoke up next, practical as ever. "Don't worry—I checked Sister's map. It's somewhat useful."
Then it was Ghero's turn. He pushed forward, eyes bright. "The Yuns have contacted us!"
"…They what?"
"Details will be discussed once the discussion is finished. You must speak to them!" he said, giving a bright smile.
"…"
Zani rushed and wrapped her arms around me. After she pulled back, she gave me a strange, lumpy doll. It looked more like a curse than a gift.
"I made it from calming herbs," she mumbled. "So you can sleep well."
'Oh. That's… thoughtful.'
"When you become rich, I'm coming to live with you," she added plainly. "I hate work."
"…"
These people…
Fang then grabbed my shoulder again, and together with everyone's gazes, he shouted:
"Ne'Raksha no more! Everyone, behold! For now he is Axion!"
The words echoed like a in the air like theater, very dramatic.
Fang explained the name and its prophetic meaning, but honestly, I didn't hear a word.
Inside, I snorted without letting it reach my face.
'Axion huh. Sounds cool, better than first one at least.'
I looked at Fang. Then at everyone's shouting my name with happy faces.
'...Sure guys, call me whatever makes your little prophecy boner harder.'