Kael stared at the system message, reading over the words again, his breath slow and measured. The notification floating in front of him, the weight of its implications pressing down on his shoulders.

  [ New Quest - The enemy of the Gloomkin ]

  The Gloomkin village and its chieftain know that something has been actively hunting them and stealing their food. Now having a survivor to describe this predator, they have started the hunt for it.

  Kael let out a slow exhale, rubbing his forehead. "Well, that came back to bite me real fast," He muttered, shaking his head. He had been reckless—too focused on the fight, too caught up in the implications of what the system messages informed him of earlier in the day. He had made a mistake, and now the Gloomkin were going to be looking for him. That meant staying in this area was going to be much more dangerous. He glanced at the objectives of the quest.

  Objective - Survive the hunt of the hoard until they either give up, or you are far away enough from their part of the forest to be safe.

  Bonus objective - Kill all the Gloomkin in the village before they kill you, higher rewards based on the amount killed and slaying of the chieftain. Up to a personalized reward.

  Kael clicked his tongue in thought. He didn’t have time to dwell on it now. He needed to move. After putting some more distance between himself and the site of the ambush, he putt the buck down and crouched down beside it. Wasting food wasn’t an option, but he also couldn’t carry or eat everything. He worked quickly, cutting through the hide and flesh with efficiency, taking only the cuts of meat that he could manage to carry. The rest? He buried as best as he could beneath loose soil, branches, and fallen leaves, hoping to mask the scent from scavengers. It wasn’t perfect, but it was better than leaving it out in the open.

  With his load secured, he turned and made his way back toward the treehouse, moving quickly but carefully, keeping an ear out for any signs of movement in the distance. The forest was quiet, but not in a way that comforted him. This time the absence of sound felt intentional, as if something—several things—were lurking just beyond his vision, watching. Waiting. He ignored the paranoia and the prickle at the back of his neck and kept moving.

  By the time he was in his treehouse, back from his now food making station also known as, the river. The sun had started to dip below the horizon, casting long shadows through the towering trees. The approaching night air was cool in a refreshing way, carrying with it the scent of damp earth and the distant calls of nocturnal creatures waking from their rest. Kael sat inside his small shelter, the remnants of his meal before him, a satisfied fullness settling in his stomach. He leaned back against the wooden wall, exhaling slowly. Now that he was fed and relatively safe for the moment, he had time to think.

  The Gloomkin were going to be a problem. He had no doubt they were already searching the area, trying to find whoever had attacked their hunting party. If they found his tracks, they might come knocking. That left him with a choice—stay here in this area of the forest and risk being discovered, or move on before they got too close.

  Then there was the matter of the quest and the first objective. The system clearly meant that he was not safe here, they would eventually find his tree house. The shelter had served its purpose well, but other than being off the ground, it was far from secure. If he wanted to do as the objective suggested and survive by running away, then he needed to move on, he needed to leave this area and find somewhere else to live. The thought nagged at him. If he wanted to, he could just focus on finding a safe place and keep hiding. Maybe he could even sneak past the Gloomkin village and head further in toward the grasslands, see if there was something out there worth finding. Maybe people.

  His expression tightened at the thought. Even if Kael had preferred the wild, away from the constant noise of society, this wasn’t the world he had once known, that one was dead and gone. This was something new, something proven so far to be dangerous. He had no idea what was waiting beyond these trees. A group would be safer—numbers offered protection. He knew that. But Kael hesitated...

  Back in his old life, he had tried to avoid crowds as much as possible, tried to live quietly, and keep to himself. The world had been suffocating, filled with rules, restrictions, and expectations that had never fit him much. But now? That world was gone. The people he had once known were probably gone too, for good or worse. Kael ran a hand down his face, thinking.

  The truth was, he had given up on his old world long before it had ended. He hadn’t seen a future there—not for himself, not for anyone. Society had been crumbling under its own slowly increasing corrupt weight, stuck in a cycle of greed hidden in the form off caring, and extremes. If he was being honest with himself, he hadn’t mourned its loss.

  But this?

  This was different. Here, the System—for all the chaos and damage it had brought—had also given them a fresh start. There were no invisible ceilings or geolocation holding everyone back. No laws telling them where they could or couldn’t go. No expectations chaining anyone to a life they didn’t want. Here, Kael had an entire bigger world, unexplored and untamed, and nothing tying him down.

  He let out a breath, glancing out and up at the darkening sky. His legs dangled over the edge of the treehouse. He had never felt like he belonged anywhere before. He had spent his whole life drifting, from a young age being manipulated to go somewhere he didn't want to, all the way to when he decided to move to the wilderness—just another boat in a vast ocean, moving without direction, without an oar to steer.

  He lifted a hand, fingers curling slightly as he focused. A small orb of Essence flickered to life above his palm, pulsing softly. He watched as it spun, slow and controlled, giving off a soft blue glow against the setting sun. The sight of it brought a strange sense of peace. For the first time, Kael felt like he had finally found that oar if only he stretched out his hand and grabbed it.

  The possibilities stretched out before him were endless and vast. He could go anywhere. Do anything. There were no paths carved in stone, no roadmaps to follow. He had the freedom to carve his own future, to make his own decisions damned be the consequences, and to forge his own path through this new world.

  He dismissed the orb of Essence with a flick of his will and pulled up the system notification once more, reading the quest again.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  [ Quest - The enemy of the Gloomkin ]

  The Gloomkin village and its chieftain know that something has been actively hunting them and stealing their food. Now having a survivor to describe this predator, they have started the hunt for it.

  Objective - Survive the hunt of the hoard until they either give up, or you are far away enough from their part of the forest to be safe.

  Bonus objective - Kill all the Gloomkin in the village before they kill you, higher rewards are based on the amount killed and slaying of the chieftain. Up to a personalized reward.

  Kael’s lips curled into a small, wry smile. “No,” he muttered to himself. “I’m not gonna hide and run like a rat with its tail between its legs.” So few times did Kael have a real choice in his life and this was one of them. This was a choice depending on him and him only, affecting no one but him. And he was going to make the most of it. Even if the result was reckless. Even if it was foolish. Even if it was downright stupid. Kael would choose to embrace this world. And maybe—just maybe—it would embrace and accept him better than his last one ever did. For the first time in his life, Kael could say he truly felt glad to be alive. Thinking this he proceeded to go inside, curl up and go to sleep.

  Kael woke to the early morning light filtering through the thick canopy above. His body having gone used to the wooden flooring still felt stiff from sleeping on the floor of the tree house, but the discomfort was easily ignored in favor of the new clarity that came with last night's pondering.

  He swung his legs over the edge, feet resting against the rough bark of the platform. The weight of last night’s decision still hung over him, but there was no hesitation. He had chosen his path—now he had to commit.

  His first priority was figuring out how he was going to manage to kill all the Gloomkin, he had no idea how many they were to begin with. The fact that the Gloomkin were hunting him now, and would fight back harder would make his hunts more difficult. Kael knew that this would also push his limits and force him to take more risks.

  Straightening his back, Kael stretched out his arms, rolling his shoulders as he focused inward. The tendril of Essence inside him responded to his call, pulsing faintly as he directed it toward his limbs. He reinforced both arms simultaneously, feeling the now-familiar warmth settle into his muscles. He had gotten better at splitting the smallest tendrils, even if it still reduced the overall effectiveness. Still, this was nothing but the start for him, he would keep improving until he could enhance his whole body at once.

  He grabbed the antler blade and tested his grip. Solid. Controlled. This time, when he pushed the Essence into it, he focused more deliberately, willing the energy to coat the surface instead of simply seeping into the material. The blade flickered faintly, the same way the wooden plank in his treehouse had all those nights ago. But just as before, the glow faded quickly, refusing to hold.

  Kael exhaled sharply, shaking his head. "Still not there yet." He set the blade aside for a moment and stood. With practiced ease, he climbed down, landing lightly on the forest floor. His senses immediately sharpened, eyes scanning the area for any signs of movement. If the Gloomkin were already searching for him, he needed to know just how close they were.

  Staying low, he moved through the underbrush, stepping carefully to avoid making unnecessary noise. He wasn’t heading toward their village—not yet. Instead, he wanted to scout, to get a feel for their movements, and to see if they had already picked up his trail.

  The deeper he went, the more the forest shifted. The once-familiar silence that had cloaked his surroundings the past few days was gone, replaced by an uneasy tension that made his skin crawl. It wasn’t just the usual quietness either this felt deliberate.

  Then he saw them.

  A group of three Gloomkin moved through the trees, their low chittering voices barely audible over the rustling leaves. They were armed—one with a crude wooden spear, another with a jagged stone axe, and the last with a crudely sharpened stone with a wooden handle that looked suspiciously like a knife.

  Kael pressed himself against the trunk of a massive tree, controlling his breath. They weren’t moving in a random search pattern. They had a purpose. They were tracking something. Tracking him.

  He clenched his jaw, narrowing his eyes as he studied their movements. They paused near a cluster of bushes, sniffing the air and crouching low. The one with the spear pointed toward a faint disturbance in the dirt—a footprint. His footprint. Kael grimaced. They’re good at tracking. No surprise there with how easily they found food all the time.

  He needed to act fast. If they followed his trail, they’d get too close to his treehouse. His mind raced, weighing his options. He could try to lead them somewhere else—but that wouldn’t solve the bigger problem. More would come. They wouldn’t stop until they found him. That meant one thing: he had to eliminate them.

  His grip tightened on the antler blade as he took a slow breath, with all the craziness of the fight and the Gloomkin running, Kael had forgotten to take with him the spear he had stolen and then thrown to kill the axe-wilding Gloomkin last time. Now he had only his antler blade for comfort. Focusing his Essence. He reinforced his legs first, feeling the energy settle into his muscles, priming them for movement. He then charged toward them. With calculated precision, he switched the flow to enhance his arms just in time before Kael struck.

  The one with the axe barely had time to react before Kael’s blade pierced between its ribs. A strangled screech escaped its lips as it collapsed, acrid blackish blood spilling onto the forest floor.

  [ Experience Gained: +15 EXP ]

  The other two flinched, their wide black, soulless eyes darting toward him in surprise. The spear-wielder lunged first, thrusting forward. Kael twisted his body, avoiding the strike. His enhanced arms let him counter immediately, slashing downward at the creature’s arm. The spear clattered to the ground as the Gloomkin howled in pain, stumbling backward.

  The third, wielding the knife, hesitated for only a second before letting out an enraged shriek and charging him. Kael barely had time to block. The impact pushed on his arm. The Gloomkin pressed forward, snarling as it tried to overpower and stab him. Kael shifted his stance and drove his knee into the creature’s lower chest to the stomach area, forcing it back.

  He didn’t give it time to recover.

  His blade lashed out, carving a deep wound into the creature’s throat. Blood gurgled in its mouth as it staggered, then collapsed with a heavy thud.

  [ Experience Gained: +15 EXP ]

  Kael felt the power of the level up flow through him but ignored it he had no time to indulge in that kind of thing now.

  The last Gloomkin—the spear-wielder—was scrambling backward, clutching its injured arm. Its spear lay on the ground, while its beady eyes darted between Kael and the two corpses. Then, with a frantic chittering screech, it turned and bolted.

  Kael cursed under his breath. He couldn’t let one escape. Not again, If it reached the others they’d know exactly where he was. And they would be one more step closer to finding him. He took a step forward—then stopped, looked down at the spear, lifted it up, took aim, and hurled it at the monster with all his enhanced strength hoping to God to hit it. The weapon flew through the air eating up the short distance while wiggling. For a moment Kael thought it would barely miss but then it struck the Gloomkin in the lower back, sticking out from the other end.

  [ Experience Gained: +10 EXP ]

  Every muscle in Kael’s body tensed as the sound from it cut off. Hopefully, nothing was heard.

  He exhaled sharply, forcing himself to stay calm, he turned his attention to the bodies at his feet. "No time to waste." Saying that he then proceeded to drag the bodies towards the bushes to hide them, then covering up the tracks as best as he could. He didn’t have time to do much, but he could at least with this buy himself a little breathing room for now.

  He cast one last glance around, then turned sprinting deeper into the forest. He needed to wash himself, he could smell the horrendous stench coming off him, having gotten blood on himself from the corpses.

  He had chosen this path—to embrace this world and its violence instead of hiding from it. And if that meant facing the dangers head-on and smelling horrible then so be it. He would adapt. He would be the one left standing. And if the Gloomkin wanted to hunt him? Well, they would see who truly was the prey in this forest.