Chapter 5

As I slumped against the tree, Blood seeped out from all across my body, where the wolves had bitten me. The cuts stinged like hell, as the cold wind seeped inside of my open wounds. As I breathed heavily, there was nothing I wanted more than to rest. Of course, The Gods would never allow that. Soon a large rumble came from the forest, like the stampede of a herd of animals running from a predator. But I didn't see the hooves of a stampeding herd, instead I saw a clumsy party of people practically tripping over their own feet as they exited the woods.

As they ran out of the woods, an even larger rumbling came out of the woods behind them. But this one was not the sound of multiple people, this was the sound of one large creature. As I stood up, I could feel the stinging pain worsen. Clutching my shoulder with my right hand, I headed over to the party of players, now collapsed in the middle of the clearing.

Before I could make it over to the collapsed players, A large health bar appeared above me. Looking up I could see it, "Mini-boss, Orc knight."

A large green orc, stumbled out of the forest. He was about six, and a half feet tall, with light metal armor covering his chest, and lower legs. He had pointy green ears, and was wielding a two-handed battle axe.

The party of players, who were just collapsed on the grass, suddenly scrambled, trying desperately to be the furthest away from the orc. There were eight of them, six in the front, and two lagging behind. Out of the two in the back, one was a man, young, probably 20ish, clean shaven, His clothes were ripped as if he'd been fighting something. The other was a young woman, with messy hair, glasses and what looked like a white lab coat on.

As they tried to run, the man reached out and shoved his companion away from him. As she tripped, and fell to the ground, the Orc had caught up to her. She yelled out in desperation, "Don't leave me!" As the Orc lifted his axe, the man kept running, not turning back.

I stood there, frozen, shocked at how he could do that. He sacrificed his own teammate to save himself.

As the Orc's axe raced towards the lady's neck, she released a bloodcurdling scream. In one clean sweep, the axe severed her head from her body.

As her blood spilled onto the grass, staining it red, as her head rolled across the ground, I realized, This was how it always was. The peaceful feeling I had felt just last night, as I laid across the grass, under the stars, It was all an illusion. Without laws, or morals, to bind them, humans are northing more than wild beasts, willing to do anything to survive, anything to satisfy their own desires.

Her corpse, which was there one moment, turned into pixels, as if she was nothing but a character in a video game, and disappeared. Now the only evidence that she ever lived, was the blood stained grass, and the blood dripping of the Orc's axe.

My mind went blank, but my body moved on its own. I took one step, and then two, I felt faster than before. "Was this because my speed leveled up? Why was I moving? For what? What compelled me to keep moving forward? What was this burning passion inside of me? I wanted to kill that man, who sacrificed someone else for his sake. Was this what It feels like to have a goal in life?" I had never felt this way before. "Everyday on earth I lived day to day, only doing what I needed to get by. I went to work for money, I ate food when I was hungry, I masturbated when I was horny, I had never done anything of importance before. I had always lived doing only what I needed to do to get by, only doing the bare minimum. But this was a second life, A life filled with swords and magic. I have another chance, lying right before me. I can become something, become someone, I will become the strongest tester, no I will become the strongest player."

As my mind filled with thoughts a new system window appeared beside me.

[A new skill is being created...]

[You have acquired a new skill!]

[Will of the Strong]

[All stats permanently boosted +20]

As the Orc slammed his axe down, I quickly stepped out of the way. "What is this? My body feels so light, so fast, I feel like I could walk on clouds." I took out my dagger, and dove it deep into the unprotected side of the Orc. "I feel so strong too, Like I could punch my way through walls." The Orc let out a high pitched scream, and the health bar above me fell. [250/300]

The Orc turned and swung his axe at me. "Your moves, which seemed so fast before, seem so slow now." As I balled my hand into a fist, I could feel an amazing energy crowd into my hand. I released my punch into the metal chestplate. There was a loud metal clang, and a large dent formed where I had launched my punch. [150/300]

The Orc screamed, and raced at me, swinging his axe as fast as he could. I jumped, higher than I had ever jumped before, and grabbed onto his back. I pulled out my dagger and slashed his neck, As his head fell off, hitting the ground, a new window appeared beside me.

[Orc Knight defeated, +50 Copper, +1,000Xp]

[Your rewards are being doubled due to (???'s skill)]

[You leveled up! x3]

[str +9]

[speed + 7]

[agility +5]

[charisma +2]

[You have acquired the skill (Charm lvl1)]

I feel down onto the ground and could hear a slight ringing in my ears. "I guess I forgot about my open wounds.."