Chapter 4: The PredatorI searched for a pce to rest for what felt like forever. The moon was setting, and the first light of dawn painted the sky. My exhaustion blurred time, and before I realized it, I had already eaten all the apples and strawberries I had gathered.
Then—
A shimmer in the distance.
“A pond!”
I rushed toward it, my body moving on instinct. Without a second thought, I cupped my hands and scooped the water to my lips.
Cold. Crisp. Refreshing.
I had never tasted anything like it before. Each sip sent a wave of relief through my parched throat, cooling my overheated body.
Ding!
The status window suddenly popped up.
"The pond has cured all status ailments: Sleep deprivation, exhaustion."
I blinked.
"What? Did I just drink some kind of healing water?"
If that was the case, I needed to take some with me—but there was a problem. I had no container.
"Looks like I’ll have to stay in this forest for a while."
With food and water secured, my next priority was finding a pce to sleep. Preferably, somewhere high up—away from predators.
I wandered for what felt like half an hour, marking the trees as I went. The dense forest made it easy to get lost, and I didn’t want to lose track of the pond. Luckily, food wasn’t a problem. Fruits and berries grew all around me.
Then—
I stumbled upon a cave.
A real shelter.
Excitement surged through me, and without thinking—I ran toward it.
And that’s when it hit me.
A shiver ran down my spine.
My chest tightened, my muscles tensed.
Ding!
"Passive Skill [Intuition] has been activated."
I froze.
But before I could react—
Something lunged at me.
My body moved on instinct—I ducked!
WHOOSH!
A blur of fur and fangs sailed over my head. It barely missed.
I turned.
Standing before me was a rabbit.
But this was no ordinary rabbit.
It was huge, as big as a pit bull, with saber-like fangs protruding from its mouth. Its red eyes locked onto mine, radiating pure bloodlust.
This thing—
It wasn’t here to py.
It was here to kill.
