Seraphina felt a presence approach, and it wasn’t one she expected. It wasn’t a new beast coming to claim the entrance to her cave for itself, like many others had done before. Though she wouldn’t have minded a new one moving in—the current one had been pathetically weak and boring. It never did more than sit around, licking its wounds or sleeping. She was surprised it had held onto the cave for so long.

  A new one might be more interesting, but she doubted it. Over the long years, she noticed that the creatures taking up residence at her front door were progressively becoming weaker and weaker. She was well aware that over time, the magical density and saturation in an area could change, affecting the strength of the creatures living there.

  Originally, when Seraphina had taken up residence, the area had been one of the most magically dense places on the planet, dangerous for every living thing. Now, however, the area felt magically barren to someone like her, and it was only due to her "sanctuary" being able to hold vast amounts of ambient magic that she could continue her work.

  All that was irrelevant at the moment, however, as Seraphina observed the presence drawing nearer. It was so small and weak, like a match to her sun, yet she could feel that no light breeze would snuff out this flame. The presence might be minuscule, but it was sturdy and solid. That alone was surprising and worth some minor interest, but what truly got her attention was the fact that it was the presence of a human—and a human outworlder at that.

  Not even a full second had passed since she detected the presence, but it had already captured her complete and undivided attention. Never in all her years had she encountered an outworlder, as they were perhaps one of the rarest beings in existence. As for how she knew it was an outworlder, she could feel it in his aura.

  The aura was decidedly human, and yet not. There was a strange flavor to it—indescribable—but anyone who felt it would immediately know it was out of place, different from any aura they had encountered before. Most might not pick up on the fact that the human was an outworlder, but they would certainly know something was different about him.

  The quality of the aura was impressive too. Though its rank was as negligible as that of a bug, there not being a drop of magic in the little outworlders body, it carried a sense of indomitability, relentlessness, and an unwillingness to back down. Then there was the fact that it was absolutely drenched in blood, which it had no right to be. This little outworlder’s time in this world had clearly not been peaceful. Finally, there was the unusual strength of the soul behind the aura—stronger than it had any right to be.

  Before the outworlder had even entered the mouth of her cave, Seraphina was already waiting for him, eager to see him with her own eyes. Naturally, she was completely invisible and undetectable to his senses, so when he shuffled down the slight slope into the cave, he didn’t notice her.

  When she saw his appearance, she couldn’t help but laugh. He was covered in blood, wounds, and scars from head to toe. His hair was simultaneously matted down and sticking out at wild angles, full of mud and pine needles. In one hand, he held a dreadful-looking short sword. Its edge was full of nicks and chipped edges, and where there were none the naked edge was beginning to dull. The only thing he wore was a ripped and blood-soaked wolfskin cloak around his waist to hide or protect his decency.

  All in all, Seraphina would say that the figure before her was quite a sad sight—except for the scars. They at least were a physical display of his indomitability and willingness to fight. Now that he was directly in front of her, she did have to admit he was stronger than she had initially expected. But that wasn’t saying much, as he still couldn’t even be considered copper-ranked yet.

  She continued to watch the outworlder as he hobbled further in and sat down against the wall, letting out a heavy sigh. Amusement flickered in her eyes as she observed the beleaguered man, who was unaware of just how much harder things could get. That amusement evaporated, immediately replaced by interest, as he pulled something out of the air as if he had a spatial storage item—which he didn’t, because Seraphina would have detected the spatial energies. She hadn’t felt a thing. It had to be a unique outworlder racial ability. She had heard of such things during her research, each outworlder supposedly having five completely new and unique racial abilities. Then there was the object the outworlder had pulled out.

  It was a piece of cooked meat, a bit of flesh from some weak beast, but something about it grabbed her attention. She could sense the faintest hint of healing properties from the meat, no doubt intentionally cooked for times like these. The outworlder was heavily injured and, without help or intervention, would take a while to heal. But with the meat he was eating, the process would be quicker.

  This alone showed that he had great promise—being able to discern and understand the magical properties of things around him. Sure, a five-year-old could do the same, but for an outworlder so new to this world, it signaled potential.

  Seraphina had already made plans for the young man the moment she sensed his presence, realizing he was human. That alone made her want to take him in. Then she learned he was an outworlder, and one with a potent aura despite his weakness. That was just icing on the cake—an unbelievable stroke of luck that left a malleable and potentially powerful outworlder at her doorstep. Finally, she learned that he was competent at understanding the world around him and adapting to it—a cherry on top that would only make what came next easier. Everything just kept getting better and better—

  She burst out laughing, unable to contain her mirth at the outworlder’s latest action. He had produced a strange, lumpy sack the same way he’d done with the meat. It wasn’t the action or the sack that amused her, but its contents—what could only be described as herbal tea made with a certain pink flower. That brought on her joyful mood.

  “Oh, how the universe has blessed me,” she smiled. “You’re all mine, little outworlder.”

  ***

  Fuck, Lukas hurt. His whole body ached, but at this point, that was pretty much his entire existence.

  At least the previous day had been peaceful. He’d spent the entire day cooking meat with various types of magic plants, and his cooking skills had improved slightly. There was only so much you could improve while cooking like a caveman, though.

  Unfortunately, Lukas hadn’t been able to do more experimenting with mixing the flowers and water. Sure, he could have, but he wasn’t going to dump what he’d made just to run more tests. That regenerative water was the most valuable thing Lukas had, and he wasn’t about to waste it. That being said, he hadn’t just sat on it—he’d taken multiple drinks throughout the day, and together with some meat, Lukas was back to full health by the next morning. It was the first time in what felt like ages.

  Waking up without soreness, bruises, cuts, or any kind of pain had been a marvel—almost like waking up in a soft, comfortable bed. Except he’d actually woken up on the cold, hard ground of the burrow he’d stolen from the Pine Brute. One day, he’d find civilization and sleep in a real bed.

  Lukas didn’t spend much time ruminating on such thoughts and got straight to business. The clouds had somehow grown even darker, and Lukas began to worry. Those clouds looked like they carried the wrath of God, ready to drop a biblical amount of rain on his head. He didn’t want to be out and about in that storm, but he also needed to get into more fights to become stronger.

  He’d go out and do his usual—map out the area, collect anything useful he came across, and fight. If it started raining, Lukas would scurry back to his shelter and wait it out. He had no intention of being caught in a downpour. The last thing he needed was to get soaking wet and muddy.

  So with haste, Lukas left the relative safety of his little hole in the wall and ventured out. It didn’t take long for him to find trouble, and it seemed like he wasn’t the only one wanting to beat the rain. Ten minutes was all it took for Lukas to get into a fight. He stumbled across a level 9 Sky Glider—a squirrel-like creature the size of a housecat. It could glide around the forest with ease, was naturally quick, and had thin claws that cut through skin like a scalpel.

  To say Lukas had "stumbled upon" it wasn’t quite right—what actually happened was that it flew down from a tree, landed on Lukas, and tore up his back like no tomorrow. If Lukas hadn’t had as much toughness as he did, the Sky Glider probably would’ve made deep cuts, likely hitting something important.

  After being startled half to death, Lukas reacted quickly—grabbing the Sky Glider, throwing it to the ground, and cleaving his blade into its side. It wasn’t an instant kill, but with a large gash that cut halfway through the beast’s body, it wasn’t long for the world. It made a desperate attempt to kill Lukas with what little time it had left, but he was able to hold it at bay long enough for it to succumb to its wounds.

  The fight had barely lasted a minute, more of a scuffle than anything, but it did result in a couple of copper mana coins after looting. Not that Lukas knew what they were for yet, but he hoped they’d be useful at some point since he gained some whenever he looted a kill.

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  Lukas continued through the forest, finding fights easily and occasionally coming across a flower to replenish his stock. After his third fight that morning, he realized that all the beasts in the area were slightly stronger than they had been near his hole in the ground. He didn’t pay much mind to it; it made sense. It only seemed natural that some areas would have stronger beasts, considering how game-like this world was. From experience and levels to looting and potions, there were a lot of game-like aspects, so one more wasn’t surprising.

  What was surprising was how easily he was handling the increased strength of the beasts and monsters in this area. After killing the level 10 Pine Brute and gaining another title, Lukas knew this would be easier with his increased stats, but not like this. He wasn’t exactly tearing through enemies, but they were manageable—at least until he ventured further into the forest.

  Soon enough, he came across a level 11—the strongest beast he’d ever fought. It was a lone Mystic Wolf, and the matchup had been fairly even, resulting in a few extra injuries for Lukas. He dealt with those injuries by eating some meat cooked with a blood moon lily. The meat gave him about 15 health points, half of which were consumed to heal his wounds, while the other half stayed as health points—just as when he’d eaten the raw flower.

  Eating the meat, however, Lukas discovered that with each consecutive bite, the health gained from the meat was less than the last, and that the amount of health given depended on the size of the bite. At first, he assumed this was because there was less meat, and therefore less of the healing "item." That was until he took another bite a few hours later, getting the full amount of health back as before. It was then that Lukas realized there were diminishing returns on repeated usage and consumption.

  Lukas had theorized that this might be the case but had never been willing to test it with his limited resources. It was a good thing to discover, even if he didn’t have the exact timing down. It helped him be more efficient with his resources and health.

  Another huge realization was that affects didn’t conflict. Lukas could eat the meat that gave health points and then drink the regenerative water without losing efficacy in either. Both of these discoveries led to Lukas walking confidently through the forest, his health never dropping below 300. Which was good, considering the beast he came across when it finally started drizzling.

  Lukas entered a small glade filled with tall grass, not too dissimilar to the one he’d woken up in. He wasn’t the only one to stumble upon the clearing, though. On the far side, something else pushed through the light brush, and Lukas spotted it just as it spotted him.

  Vipercat - lvl 17

  For the second time that day, Lukas encountered an enemy stronger than any he’d faced before. The difference this time was that it far outclassed anything he’d ever fought—and it was a Vipercat. Lukas hadn’t fought one of these yet, but he knew just by looking at them that they were the kings of the forest. Fast and agile, with six legs for even more mobility, scales for protection, claws and teeth for tearing apart prey, and a stinger for poisoning enemies—this was not going to be easy.

  Lukas doubted he could turn and run without the beast catching him in seconds. He’d have to fight, as he knew the Vipercat wouldn’t let prey like him escape. The only consolation was that the Vipercat was covered in blood from a previous fight. Surely, some of it was from another creature, but he hoped most of it was from the Vipercat itself.

  He wasn’t given time to assess the situation before the beast charged at him with a hissing growl. Backpedaling, Lukas tried to prepare himself for the coming onslaught. The Vipercat was on him in a flash—claws and fangs bared, stinger aimed at his chest, all in an attempt to end him quickly.

  It seemed the beast was going all out right away, likely due to its own injuries. Unfortunately for the Vipercat, it would soon learn the same lesson many beasts before it had learned—Lukas might be level 0, unable to gain a single level, but he was not so easily killed.

  What followed was something Lukas hadn’t done in a fight before: kiting. Instead of meeting the beast head-on in a brutal battle that would likely result in his death, Lukas retreated into the forest, using the complex environment to slow the Vipercat while running it in circles, slowly wearing it down.

  Dodging between trees, through bushes, and under low-hanging branches, Lukas and the Vipercat traded blows, with Lukas coming out on the losing end in most exchanges. He quickly accumulated wounds, blood flowing from cuts that hastened the drop in his health points.

  The Vipercat wasn’t the only one landing hits, though. Lukas had identified the stinger as the biggest threat and focused on it. The Vipercat, unused to fighting enemies with swords and strategy, found itself without a tail after overextending in an attempt to poison Lukas.

  That small victory hadn’t come without a price though. Lukas had taken a swipe to the face in exchange for landing the hit. He now had a second set of scars on his face—the first being the claw marks from his temple over his left eye, and now the second, a set of cuts across his left cheek. He’d taken the trade gladly. Even if he wasn’t as pretty as before, the Vipercat was now bleeding heavily. There must’ve been an artery in its tail because the amount of blood rushing out was frightening.

  With the Vipercat losing blood fast, it began to slow down, allowing Lukas to take control of the fight. The beast became more defensive, less willing to chase after Lukas for fear of feeling his blade. Sensing an opportunity, Lukas pounced. With no fear or hesitation, he launched a flurry of attacks, swinging wildly at the Vipercat, inflicting cuts and gashes in a frenzy. Whether it was a swipe at his heart or a bite aimed at his throat, Lukas met each with a swing of his blade. He was playing fast and loose with his own life, willing to take hits to give them, but he was in a battle frenzy and not thinking clearly. The only thing on his mind was tearing his opponent apart.

  And that’s exactly what he did. It wasn’t a slow or methodical takedown—it was brutal and bloody. A massacre where both Lukas and the Vipercat were victims. In the end, however, Lukas came out on top. With a fierce swing, using every last bit of his strength, his blade found the Vipercat’s neck, slicing deep. Blood splattered over Lukas as thunder shook the ground, and fat droplets of rain began falling from the sky.

  His enemy collapsed to the forest floor, having lost too much blood. Before long, Lukas received the notification:

  You have slain [Vipercat - lvl 17] – Bonus experience gained for killing an enemy above your level.

  Lukas stared at the notification, waiting for the next one—the one that would bring a new surge of power. But after a few seconds, nothing came. Just more rain. He frowned, sure he should’ve received another title for killing an enemy fifteen levels above him while still being level 0. Was there no such title? Or was it maybe because the beast had already been injured?

  The rain quickly intensified, leaving Lukas no time to ponder the fact that he’d just been robbed of more strength. He needed shelter, but he was over half an hour away from his burrow. Then he remembered the dead beast at his feet. Surely, it had been returning home after its fight—maybe that’s why it had been in the glade.

  Lukas wasn’t certain about the theory, but it wouldn’t hurt to check. Limping through the brush and back into the glade, Lukas stumbled around until he found a depression in the ground. Investigating further, he discovered a small, dark cave—the Vipercat’s den.

  There was a slight slope leading down into the cave. Thankful that there actually was something he could use as shelter, Lukas decided to stay until the rain stopped. He wasn’t sure how long the downpour would last, but he was confident it was enough time for him to heal fully. Carefully, Lukas clambered down into the cave, his still-bleeding wounds crying out in pain. Grimacing, he entered the cool cave, and the sounds of the rain intensified from the entrance—a sign he’d made the right choice to seek cover.

  Going further in, Lukas stiffly sat down against the cave wall, enjoying the cool stone on his back. Sighing, he took out some meat he’d cooked with the blood moon lily and took a few bites, ignoring the diminishing returns—he just wanted the bleeding to stop before he lost any more health. The fight had been a slog, not a quick one. It had cost Lukas a good deal of stamina and even more of his health. He was well below 100 health points, even though he had been careful at the beginning.

  Shaking his head, Lukas pulled out his waterskin of regenerative water and took a drink, savoring the taste. With the meat and water working together, his health began to rise at an uncomfortable rate. His entire body itched and wriggled as his wounds healed. All Lukas could do was close his eyes and wait, listening to the sounds of the pouring rain and the distant rumble of thunder.

  *

  He woke sometime later, still hearing the rain pounding down outside. The thunder rumbling in the sky, strangely comforting. Blinking, Lukas noticed he’d regained more than three-quarters of his health, indicating he’d slept for quite a while. Not that he was complaining—it was still raining, so he probably could’ve kept sleeping. Now that he was awake, though, he took a few minutes to fully rouse himself.

  Once he was awake, Lukas began looking around his temporary shelter. It was much better than his little burrow—he could actually stand up straight here, with a few meters between the walls. But then Lukas noticed something that hadn’t been there before. At the end of the small cave was a set of old wooden double doors. Now, the cave had been dark, and Lukas had been woozy from blood loss and heavily injured, but he was pretty fucking sure those hadn’t been there before.

  He sat frozen, staring at the doors, unsure of what to do. He was certain they hadn’t been there earlier, but the more he thought about it, the more he doubted himself. It had been dark, and he hadn’t exactly been in the best condition. But what were doors doing out in the middle of the forest like this? Did someone live here? Was this some kind of abandoned hideout? Lukas had no idea what to make of the mysterious doors. Then again, the world he was in had a lot of game-like aspects. Was this one of them?

  ‘Is this a dungeon or something?’ Lukas asked himself. ‘The old doors fit, and so does the whole ‘appearing out of nowhere’ thing.’

  Frowning, Lukas stood. Maybe he should investigate whatever was on the other side. He might find people to help him out, and if not, he might find something useful—clothes, proper tools, maybe even armor. Lukas glanced back at the cave entrance, where the sound of rain filtered in. There wasn’t much for him to do while waiting for the rain to stop—he couldn’t do any more experimenting without wood for a fire. Besides, maybe he’d find something to make him stronger, and when he came back out, he could take on even stronger beasts and gain more titles.

  Turning back toward the door, Lukas nodded. Stepping forward, he put his hand on one of the door handles. The moment the tip of his finger touched it, everything turned black.