Ch 2. The point of no return

CLINK-CLANK

I pushed the loading bolt of my rifle back & forth to relive it of it's spent shell, while the wild boar layed lifeless on the ground in it's own blood puddle. It took me three 7.92×57mm Mauser rounds from my trusty kar98k to subdue this beast.

--------------------------

A few moments back...

My first had round wen't through that boar's sturdy jawline rupturing bones and cleaning off it's left tusk which dropped a few meters away, the second shot was a miss, by an inch. Luckily, the third one was a torso hit. I would have to say, this one was a tough sob!

OINKKKKKK

It squealed in pain and agony, sprinted few meters ahead while making a long trail of fresh blood for me to follow...

➖Ping➖

[Earned 450exp+120 soul points for killing a wild boar]

The chase and the life of prey had finally came to a bloody dead end.

It was nice seeing those xp's and sp's getting added. But without any xp bar when will I be getting my next lvl up, was still a big question mark!

The boar was a lvl 5 being and it took some time for the kill, it would be variable & different for humans, just a wild guess.

A fun discovery was made while keeping anything inside my [Store] there was no level of decay. The product came out as it was, when it was stored for the first time.

Now killing and storing big animals for food souce wasn't going to be a problem anymore.

Before skinning and storing the boar, up for future uses... A new info flashed from my A.I. interface.

➖Ping➖

[Assessment skill]

(User can extract more loots from kill)

2x tusk

Hide of boar

It may be useful in future, so storing them up would be a smart move. This assessment skill was a good one indeed.

------------------------

I had been roaming this jungle for some days now, without getting any hint of human civilization or even anything close to human kind.

One fine day while I was slowly fading into the embrace of sleep, to the lands of dream while watching the greatest canvas of this world, the sky. Something unique happened...

It was a full moon night, skies filled with hopes & dreams as they used to be when I was a kid. After a long time, I had seen such a beautiful scenic view in this jungle. Where life could be so beautiful, even for some fraction of second! I myself, had forgotten the dangers that loomed in every corner of this wild land.

I felt alive, as I never knew this feeling while living caged inside my old concrete jungle, my old home.

There were some mild breezes blowing, it was so soothing on the skin while slowly I dozed off to sleep..

Constant chirping of cricket's, hooting of owls accompanied by the swings of lush trees that were swaying their branches on the rhythm of the wind. Bamboo's, banyan's and a lot of underwood plants had contemplated this ambience of the night, on the tranquil face of a water body.

Yes, sleeping near a water body was always a risky move as wild animals came to quench their thirst, even at night. A bullseye was marked on my back, as I knew from the beginning it was a very bad idea to make camp for the night. But, I was too tired to find a new place for the night.

Two torches were lit and were placed, while keeping some distance so that they could illuminate a larger area.

And then it happened...

➖Ping➖

[Intruder alert host!] [Imminent Danger] [Enemy at 100 meter approx]

[Intruder alert host!]

With this warning alert, I came back to my senses wiped my eyes clean to see another pair of eyes in darkness, standing still. Shining like a pair of moonstones in this obscurity of the night.

My minimap showed a red dot near me. Hence, there was something dangerous near me. And within any second it would have pounced on me. Without the help of this gaming alert system, I would have been a dead meat in no time.

A rifle, or even taking out the mp40 submachine gun from store would be a risky move. The animal may have faster reflex than me!

While roaming these jungles I have seen wolf like creatures & some wild boars. So it must be either of them, if not then I'll have to gamble on luck.

The best option was my Browning pistol, which was always kept where I place my head. Without pillow or bed I still had adapted to these kind of habits for lowering the risk factor. And today it finally paid off...

In my minimap, I could see the predator approaching me without making any sound. It was at a 60 meters distance from me.

Volleys of pistol rounds sprinted towards the target, as I fired a total of 9 rounds while keeping a millisecond of gap in between, like burst fire. Three shots a time...

A huge growl was heard and my minimap was clean again...

➖Ping➖

[Earned 950exp+340 soul points for killing a dire wolf]

[Earned 2500exp+920 soul points first time for killing an opponent 10 times stronger that host]

[Host leveled up]

It was a wolf then and it was a lvl 11 being... Before approaching the dead body, a reload was necessary. Precaution is always better than cure.

From the wolf's corpse I got,

4x Dire wolf teeth.

8x Wolf bones

Dire wolf hide

I could have stored the wolf meat also for later use. But somehow, a part of my old civilized self stopped me from devouring that piece of wolf flesh.

Lvl 2 brought 10 more attribute points totalling it to 20 available attribute points in reserve, plus my hit points/health points increased.

Attribute points are like a game changer, it can help me out from a cornered situation. As for now, spending 10 points will be ok as 10 points would be still in reserve.

[Host] - Rahul Shikder

[Lvl] - 2

[Health] 1165/1165

[End] - 7+3

[Stam] - 4+3

[Int] - 13

[Dex] - 10

[Charm] - 1+4

[Mana] -

[Add. attribute points] - (+10)

[Skills]

[Active] - 0

[Passive] - (Basic Firearm Mastery) (Assessment) (Smooth talker)

[Shop] [Exchange] [Store] [Notification]

After leveling up, all of my attributes got a normal boost.

Plus, adding additional attribute points in [End] helped a lot as my hit points increased a lot and that was a good thing if I was going against sturdy foe's or for those long term combat situations.

Movement also improved a lot. As for dodging, ducking or just normal walking it will be more easy now, after adding points in [Stam].

[Int] [Dex] was okey for now.

[Charm] often helps in situations where guns fail to make the deal. It will be like an additional influence bonus, who knows when it comes handy...