Draft #1

There was a boy who lived his entire life only knowing seasonal crops, and how to protect them from bugs and pests. Soon, he stumbles upon the wares of the traveling merchant who decided to visit their humble village. He took notice of the velvet ring lying inconspicuously in the corner, and felt compelled to buy it. As if someone otherworldly force was influencing his thoughts

He bought the velvet ring… or not. Apparently he has to go through a very troublesome and long adventure to gather seven artefacts of old to summon the genie dragon, kill it to obtain dragon dust. The boy didn't understand what the merchant meant to say, and accepted the quest either way. Because he thought dragon dust was simply dust in the form of a dragon… and there does exist a plant that bears fruit that resembles a dust form dragon. The world sure is wild.

Next thing that happened was. The boy got sucked in some magical orb, and there he met a strange interface asking him to state his name, allocate his stat points, and other typical RPG stuff. But he doesn't know any of this because, the place he originally came from wasn't advanced enough to sustain the lifestyle of a NEET.

And so, he started his journey in your typical village… or not. He actually started his adventure waking up in the damp and cold environment of the frost cave giants. Reason being, he actually took possession of a character that was just deleted from its previous owner.

The previous owner decided to quit the game for two good reasons. First, he poured too much money on a game character that he is now too broke to afford playing it. Second, he died seventeen times trying to escape from the cave. Apparently, he was trapped in a recorded instance, which resets every death. Basically, both reality and the game fudged him up

To continue, the boy didn't understand all the totally complicated game mechanics. But he was good at using his head, even his grandfather that rarely says something nice complemented him. Saying that he could outsmart an ass if he put focus and concentration on max.

He inspected his surroundings, and there was not a single sign of life nearby, except a bunch of skeletons just near him. There was a humanoid skeleton, and a bunch of other skeletons that are not humanoid. Perhaps the frost caves are really confident in their prisoners not being able to escape was because of their high going streak. He wasn't unperturbed by this sight, since back in his world, there was a plant that bore fruits that resemble a bunch of skeleton.

He noticed that just under the skeletons was a shiny key. However, he didn't think it was supposed to be used to unlock his cell, since there's no actual key hole. Which made the boy question just how was he put in prison in the first place.

He looked upwards and saw a gaping hole. It wasn't obvious at first, you have to really squeeze your eyes since there wasn't that much light here.

With new information coming to light, he had to re-evaluate his situation. Perhaps the place he was currently stuck at wasn't as it initially seemed. First things first, he had to get out. But there was one problem. He was too short—rather the hole was a bit too high.

He could use the skeletons as a foothold, but that would be blatant disrespect to the deceased, or for him, the fruits. So he looked up his skill interface and saw one that was apt for his current conundrum.

[Raging Instinct - LVL MAX]

[Drastically increase physique attributes, reduce strain cost of skills and cool down for fifteen minutes.]

Now the problem was how to invoke the skill. Should he chant it aloud in a profound and solemn tone? Or should he do weird moves and actions that invokes a 'Raging Instinct' feel? Or should he press the blinking icon just floating above his right?

Without that much thought, he pressed the icon and felt a burning sensation growing from his stomach and spread to the other areas of his body. He could feel his muscles elongating, his heart racing so fast he thought his ears would blow up. His breaths become more rugged, as his red blood cells became working thirty times faster.

Was all of this painful? Unbearably so, but pain wasn't a total stranger to the boy. He has experienced trying to harvest the fruit of a plant that is vicious and brutal to farmers. It was also a seasonal crop, so he had to harvest tons that day. It made him question if farmers planted that crop only to realize their masochistic desires.

A few seconds have passed, and the thin and short boy was gone. In his place was a battle-hardened veteran that has gone through his fair share of life and death battle. He was only in that state for a few minutes, so he acted fast.

He didn't even needed to jump upwards with ease, he grabbed the edges of the hole and effortlessly lifted his body. He was amazed at himself, and felt deep appreciation that such a wonderful skill existed.

He climbed the hole at a steady pace, withstanding the chill pervading his bones. Up until his head hit something solid. He lifted the thing that was blocking his way. And for the first time, he encountered the relatively warm touch of light.

He breathe a sigh of relief, since he made it out. But held it back as his eyes caught a large figure in pristine white fur. Unreasonably large hands and feet. He knew that there was a plant that bore fruit that resembles what he was seeing. However, it wasn't a fruit this time.

One, that plant only bears one fruit in its lifetime. Two, it was one of the few fruits that don't move.