5 The First Hunt (2)

Steve quickly realized that although the animals looked the same as the ones on Earth, they were more vicious and agiler on Elea.

Obviously, just running up and catching them wasn't going to work here. He needed something else.

At first, he thought of making a rabbit-trap. The problem with this is that he didn't have the resources needed for this. At the very least, he would need some bait, metal or a string.

In the end, he decided to take a stick and sharpen it with a pointy rock. At the very least, it would give him some sort of protection.

Just as he was about to finish sharpening it, he once again saw a message appear on his retina.

[Woodcrafting +1]

[Created 'Sharpened Stick']

['Sharpened Stick'

Rank: trash

Damage 1-2

PS: This is a very trashy stick, even a toddler could make it. This is why you only have 4 intelligence, was this really the best idea you could come up with?]

'Wait, my system works like that? It does something after all?!' Steve thought excitedly.

As the thought he had received a crafting system, he quickly tried to identify more items.

Picking up some herbs, he tried to identify them. 'Identify,' he thought, but nothing happened.

"IDENTIFY!!!" he shouted, but still... nothing happened.

'Well, it's a trashy system after all! I got excited over nothing... and don't think I'll forget about your insults, trashy system!' he thought.

Steve then continued hunting, as there was nothing else to do. After all, noon had already passed and sunset was quickly approaching.

He quickly found another rabbit. However, this time Steve tried to approach it quietly, as his previous approach didn't work too well.

The bunny still managed to notice him... luckily, he wasn't too far away anymore. On top of that, this time Steve was prepared. If it came running for him, he would try and catch it. No more rabies for this guy!

Once again, the rabbit ran towards Steve. Seeing the speed the rabbit had, he probably wouldn't be able to catch it barehanded. In the end, he had no other option but to try and attack it with his stick.

[Critical hit!]

[+2 experience points]

"..."

'It died just like that?!' Steve was thrilled. Wasn't this way too easy? What he didn't realize though, was that he hit it right in its neck, and hit an artery.

As he collected the corpse, the system flashed once again.

[Collected dead rabbit.

Useable for cooking.]

'Huh, could it be my system only works for items I crafted or worked on? In a sense, I just created a dead rabbit. I should test this theory later!' He thought.

That's when he thought about his experience gains earlier. He could level up?! Why didn't the system tell him so earlier...

"Profile!" he shouted

[Name: Steve Monroe

Age: 31

Race: Human

Status: Not even worth calling trash

Level: 1

Experience: 2/10

Abilities: 0

Attributes:

Strength - 3

Dexterity – 6

Stamina – 8

Intelligence – 4

Wisdom – 2

Charisma – 6

Shamelessness - 2

Note: Shameless! You're so shameless! ]

"Ah... Hahahahaha!" he roared with laughter... He had a leveling up system! Wouldn't this mean he could become OP in this world?

He quickly went to search for more rabbits! Killing 4 would give his first level-up already, wasn't this too easy?

At least, that's what Steve thought. After spending 3 more hours, the sunset was about to arrive. At this point, somewhere in the forest, Steve stood... with one dead rabbit.

Whenever he encountered a rabbit now, they would notice him even quicker than before since he had the smell of a dead rabbit on him. They wouldn't try and attack him anymore, they became way more vigilant.

Even if he managed to approach them, he wasn't able to kill them with one hit. He attacked 6 other rabbits, but each one of them just shrugged it off. He never managed to get another critical hit on them.

In other words, he got lucky with his first rabbit... A more powerful weapon to hunt would probably help him out a lot. Another option was to start trapping!

He could only go back to town for now, as he didn't want to stay in the forest at night again. He should try to buy resources to hunt more efficiently. Either he needed a piece of string to create some traps, some sort of scent removal, or a better weapon!

---

Arriving back at Acrine, Steve didn't know where to find a place to sleep. He was still penniless, so he couldn't even afford to stay at an inn. Thus, he tried to sell his only rabbit.

He went to some merchants, trying to sell his rabbit for 2 coins, but he couldn't find anyone wanting it. His last option... was to go to Butch and try to sell it.

After all, back on Earth, he used his network all the time. Networking is a necessity in any world!

He swiftly went to his only friend in this world. When he arrived, Butch welcomed him with open arms.

"Haha, I didn't expect you to return so soon!" he said with a bright smile.

Embarrassed, Steve told him, "I didn't plan to, as I still don't have the money I owe you. I did manage to catch a rabbit though... but I'm still missing 4 to complete my assignment. Would you be interested in buying this one, so that I can buy myself some hunting gear?"

"Ah, my friend. You should've just asked. I'll give you some money as an investment! An investment... yeah that's right..." he said with a twinkle in his eyes, seemingly thinking about something.

"Have you eaten anything yet, my friend? Let me treat you!" Butch invited.

"Ah, that'd be amazing Butch, we can use the rabbit I just caught! I'm sorry to bother you so much... but I'm sure you'll double your investment!" he said as he thought of his system.

"Alright, that's settled then! Here are 50 coins, should last you a little while."

After eating the delicious rabbit, the men still drank some beer and had a nice time talking. Looking at the time, Butch noticed it was quite late already.

"It's quite late already, my friend. Why don't you stay here for tonight? I still have a spare guest room you could use for the night." Butch said.

"Sorry to trouble you once more, boss!" Steve conveniently answered.

---

When Steve was soundly asleep, Butch left the house towards the mysterious little shop.

"You've finally arrived. Encountered any trouble?" the shopkeeper asked.

"Yeah, the guy came back to me. He's over at my house, I should be able to keep an eye on him now..." Butch answered.

"Good... good... Make sure you don't lose sight of him." the mysterious shopkeeper commanded.

"I will boss..." Butch agreed to his command.

After Butch went homewards, the shopkeeper sent a raven carrying a message to the headquarters. He informed them that an earthling might have arrived at Acrine.

---

Deep in the night, a few shadows could be seen flashing by. They regrouped close to Acrine's town center.

"You ready?" their boss asked.

All of the men nodded.

"Let's go then. Don't fuck this up, this is an important mission. You know what's at stake here."

The men stealthily took out the guards in the center and went towards the power source that supplied the barrier.

"Take it down," he commanded.