Survival

Out of nowhere, the memory of the past flooded into his mind. The father he hated, the mother he missed... and the betrayal of the people he cared about.

Hate, fear, hurt… a bunch of different emotions crashed onto him at once.

"No... I don't need any of them! I'm fine on my own! To hell with everyone!"

Until Viktor once again awoke, covered in snow in the middle of the forest.

His head felt as if it was about to split. His cheek, waist, and shoulders all ached, making it hard for him to move, but fortunately, he could feel his energy gradually returning to him.

Viktor observed his surroundings.

"Djinn, how long was I out…?" he asked while massaging his temples.

<Not long… around 28 minutes.>

28 minutes…

No wonder my head hurts so much!

Not only was his head previously hit really heavily by the mutated lynx, but it was even in the snow for almost half an hour!

But he was unconscious for a lot less than he initially thought. He felt that he was out for at least an hour, maybe even two.

Of course, Viktor was glad that he could wake up much faster than that. He could not imagine what would happen to him if a similar predator came to him while he was unconscious.

Feeling his headache ease up, Viktor asked the Djinn if there was any danger around.

<Nothing, there's only a rabbit a mile away. You're currently safe.>

Viktor still found it hard to trust the Djinn's words, and coupled with how casually the Djinn said it, he could not help but doubt. Even so, it was not as if he had any other choices.

He could only take the Djinn's word for it.

"Remember, Djinn, always warn me if anything crosses even a foot into your sensor."

<Sure thing. Also, congratulations on your victory. It was... inspiring.>

Reminded of the short but extremely painful battle, Viktor dryly laughed.

"Yeah... it was no joke."

Viktor wanted to get going, but before that, he checked his stats.

[Strength - 19 (6)]

[Agility - 48 (16)]

[Endurance - 28 (9)]

[Battle Power - 32 (11)]

[Spirit Force - 30]

[You are experiencing the drawback of the skill.]

[All stats will be restored in 2 hours and 26 minutes.]

Seeing these numbers, Viktor let out a deep sigh. He was now probably as weak as a little boy, but at least his agility was still above normal people. That was all he needed to survive the next two and a half hours.

After he got his stats back, with the newly added agility, he was sure that there would not be any other mutated animals that could surprise him in terms of speed.

Viktor was left with two options: to wait until the drawback duration ends or to walk back to safety now.

He thought about it for a while. Waiting seemed safer, but that was under the assumption that no other creatures would come while he waited.

If there's going to be danger either way, wouldn't it be better to just go?

"What do you think, Djinn? Do you reckon the way back to the hut will be safe?"

<Kekeke, how should I know? I don't even know the way back. I can only sense things a mile away.>

Viktor let out another sigh. This Djinn was not even as useful as Google.

If only mobile phones could still work.

Unfortunately, the EMP had taken all the satellites with it since the first day.

It appears that Viktor must rely on his old survival skills and experience once again.

He first tore a piece of his clothes and used it as a temporary bandage for the deep wound on his waist. As for the wounds on his shoulder and cheek, it seemed that it had slowly healed since it was not as painful as before.

The next hour was probably the most intense hour Viktor had ever experienced in his entire life. He had to walk through the cold wilderness among all the terrifyingly strong mutated animals by himself.

To increase his chance of survival, Viktor looked back to the knowledge taught to him when he was young. First, he slowly walked through the high ground. Upon spotting significant geographical objects like the cliff, mountain, and tall trees, he began memorizing them.

Then, when he started walking, the secret to his survival was to compare the geographical condition he previously spotted and compare it to the Djinn's sensor. He was forced to make several detours and even cross the dangerous freezing river.

Just when he thought he would not have to suffer as much after crossing the freezing river, the Djinn informed him about the presence of a strong mutated animal.

[Mutated Brown Bear]

[Mutated creature - tier 2]

[Battle Power - 55]

Viktor furrowed his brows. He really did not want to look for another detour through the freezing river once again. Not to mention, there was no guarantee that there would be another route available.

Thus, he decided to slowly crawl past the bear.

Fortunately, the bear did not have as good a sensor as the bees or hunting capability as good as the lynx's, so he succeeded.

Along the way, Viktor cursed about the mighty divine skill.

"This f*cking All Might skill. It's mighty all right, it's going to mightily kill me one day!"

This experience was certainly one he did not want to experience a second time.

After two hours of walking, the hut was finally in sight. However, before he could rejoice, the Djinn stopped him.

<There is a high-tier mutated animal inside the hut.>

What?

"No! Are they dead!?" Viktor's voice was not loud, but it carried not only a hint of panic.

<No. Not yet, at least.>

"D*mn it! What is it! Are they fighting right now? Give me the data!"

[Golden Lemmings]

[Mutated creature - tier 3]

[Battle Power - 25]

"Lemmings? Tier 3!?"

Seeing the mutated creature's stats, Viktor fell into a dilemma. The creature's battle power was not particularly high, but he was not stupid. There must be a reason it was a tier 3 creature despite its low battle power.

He suddenly remembered the dream he had when he passed out.

Should Viktor just take his chance and leave the other?