2

My plan of attack was simple: I would fight from the direction I figured the small crab wanted to escape to – the sea. With that in mind, I walked into the shallow water – it was cool, but not freezing. It felt refreshing considering the air was quite hot.

The Paruven Crustacean was still a couple hundred feet further down the beach, so I contemplated a few scenarios of attack as I approached.

'I'm guessing the crab will try to circle around me and escape into the sea again… If that happens, should I throw my spear? Will I be able to get within range to stab it?'

I wasn't sure how many of the crabs were on this beach, but I was determined not to let this one escape.

This Paruven Crustacean was much closer to the water. I wasn't sure what alerted the first to my presence, but I hoped it was something other than sight or sound.

As I crept closer, I quickly arrived at an imaginary line in my mind. It was about the same distance I had been from the first when I was detected and it escaped.

Readying myself, I stepped forward, spear raised.

One step. No reaction.

Two steps. Still no reaction.

A few steps later I was finally in position. Me, the crab, and the forest – all in a straight line. I performed a few practice stabs, then crept forward as quietly as possible.

I observed the tide for a few more seconds, making sure I got the timing right – then made my move.

With all the strength I could muster, I thrusted the spear at the large, reddish-brown rock. Spear tip met rock and I felt only a moment of resistance before the entire spearhead disappeared.

[Damage Dealt – 20]

[You have slain a Paruven Crustacean! EXP gained: 5]

Ding!

[Quest complete – Slay a Paruven Crustacean, EXP rewarded: 10]

Ding!

[Quest received. Slay 5 Paruven Crustaceans. Reward: 50 EXP]

As I read the floating green text, I felt a mixture of relief and excitement.

'That wasn't so bad after all!'

I really hadn't expected it to be so easy. Looking at my spear still stuck in the crab, I realized it must be thanks to the weapon I had luckily acquired.

I walked out of the water and used my foot as leverage to yank the spearhead out of the rocky shell of the Paruven Crustacean. Kneeling, I turned the creature over to get a better look at it. There were six small legs - three on each side, with two large pincers tucked in front of them. Turning it back over, I observed two small holes. Looking closer, I noticed a glossy reflection – the eyes must be retractable! From the way the crab was oriented in the sand, the eyes were facing the forest.

My plan of attack turned out to be perfect. It couldn't feel my footsteps in the sand, nor could it see my approach.

I congratulated myself for devising the perfect strategy. Luck of course, had nothing to do with it.

'I should see if I can eat this thing.'

Turning the crab over once again, I attempted to tear away one of its legs. The sound of sinew snapping and tearing could be heard as it easily broke away. Looking at the leg in my hand, I could see the succulent meat within.

Although my mouth watered at the thought of my first meal in ages, I resisted my urges. I wasn't that hungry… yet. I also wanted to try cooking the meat if possible.

I considered, 'Maybe I can boil it? But I don't have a pot… Roast it? It won't be as appetizing, but in this situation I can't be too picky.'

Either way, I would need to make a fire.

I never started one from scratch before - I was a stay-at-home son after all. I had seen a few methods in movies though.

But before that… My eyes gleamed as I looked further down the beach.

'I see a few more. I wonder what will happen when I level up?'

Inspecting my first kill, I savored the moment for a few seconds before dragging the carcass into the water. I wasn't going to eat this one, but I didn't want those armored men to find evidence of my presence if they came searching for me. I didn't know why they attacked me, but I had a few guesses. The image of the small strange looking girl came to mind.

In any case, it was time to kill a few more ugly crabs.

***

[You have slain a Paruven Crustacean! EXP gained: 5]

Ding!

[Quest complete – Slay 5 Paruven Crustaceans, EXP rewarded: 50]

Several hours later I finally killed my sixth Paruven Crustacean. This last one was particularly difficult to kill. Not only did it detect my presence much earlier than the others, but it unexpectedly fled into the forest. I had to chase it for almost fifty meters before it finally tired itself out.

None of the other Crustaceans had been so close to the sea either, so my original strategy did not work. As soon as I stepped into the dry sand and came within ten steps, they would flee without fail.

It took several failures before I decided to practice throwing my spear. It was much easier than I thought it'd be, perhaps owed to the perfect balance of the spear itself. The additional ability to throw it accurately proved crucial to killing the crabs efficiently.

'No new quest?' I frowned as the green text faded.

The quests had given me a convenient sense of direction and provided easy EXP. I didn't know what conditions triggered them in the first place either. Perhaps the first two were just charity?

'Status.'

[Name: Abel

Race: Human

Level: 1

Health: 87/100

Mana: 10/10

Strength: 10

Dexterity: 10

Intelligence: 10

Vitality: 10

Unallocated Stat Points: 0

EXP: 90/100]

'Two more and I'll level up.'

I lifted the dead Paruven Crustacean and walked back towards the beach. It wasn't terribly heavy – Perhaps around twenty pounds.

Hours had passed since the incident with the girl and armored men. The sun of this world moved slowly across the sky. I hadn't noticed it when I first arrived, but a day in this world seemed much longer compared to that of Earth. At this point, it was directly overhead. Strangely, despite hours in the sunlight my skin wasn't burning.

'I wonder if those men caught that girl…'

I looked back towards where the beach protruded, betraying the cove beyond. It was quite far now, probably several miles away. I had been frequently looking in that direction, ready to run into the forest should I see that group of men again. Yet despite so much time passing, there had been no indication of their presence.

'That girl must still be leading them along. Hopefully they don't catch her.'

She may have struck me - my cheek now swollen as a painful reminder - but I still preferred the thought of coming across her over them. They would kill me if given the chance, I didn't doubt it.

Thinking of my encounter with the locals, a new worry also took root in my mind – would I be able to communicate with them?

I tossed the Crustacean into the sea and continued further south along the beach. Although I didn't know if geographic poles worked the same in this world, it comforted me to at least have some sense of direction. The sun was moving across the sky towards the open sea, so I orientated myself using Earth's cardinal directions.

It didn't take long before I came across another Paruven Crustacean. As it turned out, there were actually two. They weren't inactive either. One of them was performing a strange dance in front of the other, shaking its pincers in a strange pattern as it moved side to side with an odd rhythm.

I had an idea of what they were up to. Although I felt a sliver of guilt for interrupting, I shook my head and made my way over to the water. Due to them being preoccupied with their ritual, I was able to sneak up on the unsuspecting crabs. I decided to attack the stationary Crustacean first, thinking perhaps the other would be angry at my attack and choose fight over flight. After all - I need two kills, not one.

Once I was in position, I tightened my grip on my spear and thrusted.

[Damage Dealt – 20]

[You have slain a Paruven Crustacean! EXP gained: 5]

Eeeep!!!

The other Crustacean immediately reacted. It turned towards me with what sounded like an angry shout, looked up… and ran. Clearly, these little crabs were cowardly creatures.

The Crustacean had barely made it five steps away when I yanked back my spear, took aim – and threw it. The spear sailed through the air, wobbling slightly due to my poor form. Even so, the spear found purchase and pinned the unfortunate little crab to the ground.

[Damage Dealt – 19]

I raised an eyebrow as the second message I was accustomed to seeing failed to appear. It seemed the Crustacean had survived this time.

Sure enough, despite being pinned to the ground, I could see the Crustacean fighting to free itself from the spear's hold. Wasting no time, I ran forward to where the crab was pinned down, lifted my leg, and stomped down on its shell. Although the shell appeared rock-like, it was actually rather soft. With a bit of force, it was possible to damage the creature with a kick.

[Damage Dealt – 2]

[You have slain a Paruven Crustacean! EXP gained: 5]

Ding!

[You have leveled up! You grow stronger.

Function unlocked – Basic Inspect, Keyword - Inspect]

'Status.'

[Name: Abel

Race: Human

Level: 2

Health: 110/110

Mana: 11/11

Strength: 12

Dexterity: 11

Intelligence: 11

Vitality: 12

Unallocated Stat Points: 3

EXP: 0/500]

'Hmm… Sure enough, my stats went up. I wonder how much they matter?'

Although I was distracted by all the messages after killing the second Crustacean, I did notice a certain warmth spread through my body when I leveled up. It seemed to start from my heart and snaked through my veins until my entire body was warm and filled with energy.

I flexed my arms and noted I did feel slightly stronger.

Unfortunately, I couldn't kick the Crustacean again to see if my damage had improved - I only received feedback from attacking live targets.

There was one more thing I was curious about as well – the new function. Looking at the spear with a bit of expectation, I called out the keyword in my mind.

'Inspect'

[Paruven Kingdom Standard Issue War Spear – A basic spear issued to low level guards and soldiers of the Paruven Kingdom. Increases damage dealt by 17-19.]

'Well, that's neat.'

Looking further down, this time focusing on the Crustacean, I called out again: 'Inspect.'

[Paruven Crustacean – Just a common arthropod. A cowardly creature with no backbone.]

'Interesting.'

Since I accomplished my goal of achieving level two, I decided it was time to tackle another goal.

I needed to eat.

With a grunt, I yanked the spear out of the sand and pulled the Crustacean up with the spearhead. I walked back to the first crab, kneeled down to pick it up, and tossed it into the water. One for the sea, one for me.

'Now… How can I start a fire?'

I looked up and down the beach, then grimaced before looking back towards the forest. I was going to need some dry wood.

With that in mind, I made my way towards the forest with the Crustacean still skewered by the spearhead. I rested the shaft over my shoulder to support the weight, which felt notably lighter than before.

The moment I reached the tree line and stepped foot into the shadows I heard a dastardly familiar sound of panicked footsteps accompanied by snapping sticks. This time, to my right and a bit further away.

I cursed my bad luck.