The rabbits kept staring.
Alton's breath clouded in the freezing air. Are they angry? The thought hit him hard. It made sense—he had just killed one of their own. Before he could decide what to do, a larger rabbit burst forward.
Thanks to Lightning Reflex, he twisted out of the way at the last second. The creature's explosive kick whistled past his side. Instinct took over. He predicted its next dodge, planted his foot, and drove a hard kick into its body. It died far more easily than he expected.
More came.
He didn't have time to craft anything from the second corpse. Another rabbit lunged. Between Predicting and his new reflexes, Alton fought back with clumsy but effective movements. Two more fell. The rest hesitated, watching him with wary eyes. They had realized he wasn't easy prey.
The blue window appeared again. Three rabbits could make a decent pair of thick pants. He selected the option without hesitation. Soft, warm fur formed around his legs, cutting through the worst of the cold. His upper body was still exposed, but it was bearable now. For the moment.
Eight more rabbits remained.
They didn't have sharp teeth, but their powerful kicks were deadly, and they moved like blurs in the snow. Alton analyzed the situation as they began circling him, clearly trying to overwhelm him from every side. They were smarter than they looked—not all of them attacked recklessly.
He wanted to run, but the unbearable cold left him no choice. He had to finish this.
The next ten minutes were a desperate, freezing blur of dodges, predicted movements, and brutal counters. When it finally ended, Alton stood panting among small bodies half-buried in the snow. The system rewarded him with thick boots, a fur coat, and a large amount of meat. The new clothes wrapped around him like a blessing, trapping precious heat.
It felt exactly like one of his games… except it was painfully real. The blood on his gloves, the ache in his muscles, the metallic taste of fear in his mouth—none of that existed in a screen.
He took a deep breath, no longer on the verge of freezing to death. The outfit wasn't perfect—it didn't fully cover him—but it was way better than the thin office shirt and slacks he had been wearing when he… reincarnated? Was that the right word?
Looking at the pile of meat and hides, the full weight of the situation finally crashed over him. This wasn't a coma. This wasn't a dream. He was in another world.
The blue window appeared again, offering a simple command: Store Items. He touched the meat and watched it vanish into some kind of pocket dimension. At least carrying things wouldn't be a problem.
The blizzard had grown stronger. Alton picked a direction at random and started walking, the wind howling around his new fur coat. After roughly thirty minutes, he spotted a small cave opening—just big enough to shield him from the worst of the storm. He slipped inside, sank down against the rocky wall, and let out a long, shaky breath.
He still had unspent level-up points and skill choices waiting. But for now, he simply sat there, mind racing through everything that had happened: the truck, the blinding light, the rabbits, and this strange blue window that kept saving him.
If this really is a new world… should I even try to get back to the old one?
The question lingered, heavy and uncomfortable. Alton pushed it aside. That was a problem for later. Right now, survival came first.