Tomas held up a hand, signaling for silence while walking down the trail and the crew stopped in their tracks. A guttural, earth-shaking howl, like a massive wolf’s lament, echoed from the distance, rattling the very leaves of trees around them. He put a finger to his lips, urging quiet, then motioned for the crew to continue forward.

  Moments later Scott watched David fly by nearly hitting branches as he darted through the upper canopy, before flying up above the treetops into the sky. You could tell David was having a blast in his bird form. Every few minutes he would fly away and come back with small plants, seeds, nuts and deposit what he found into Scott's hands before flying off to gather more.

  One particularly interesting find was a sassafras sapling, not too far from the trail. It seemed even the system couldn't erase the good ole sassafras tree from this world. After a few pecks to the head to get Scott’s attention, he finally followed David into the thick woods until he saw him land near the sapling.

  David pointed his two little wings at it, then mimicked the motion of pulling a weed from the ground, chirping away expecting Scott to understand him. Scott leaned down and whispered, "Dude, you know you're speaking ‘tweety bird’ and not English, right? Would you like me to pull something out of the ground, or are you doing some new bird mating dance?"

  Slowly bunching up his little feathers, David puffed up his chest.

  ”So a bird dance it is,” Scott said as he began to do a flappy wing matting dance.

  David began tweeting again, this time with what seemed like angry chirps, so Scott stopped and watched, his own imitation dance falling silent.

  Once more, David performed the motion, but this time he wrapped his little wings around the sapling and tugged, trying to pull it from the ground. "Oh, you want me to pull that out?" Scott asked. “Why don't you transform back into your human form and pull it out yourself?”

  David began stomping his feet and shaking his little head. Before writing something on the ground with his claws. It read ”I only have so much time in this form, so pull the damn tree.”

  “Ok already.” Reaching down with one hand, Scott attempted to pull the sapling out, but it didn't budge. Frustrated, he positioned himself with both feet on either side, squatted down, and grabbed hold with both hands and tugged again.

  A second later, he was on his ass, and David started to laugh in bird form, pointing his tiny right wing at Scott as he showed the motion of pulling and falling on the ground, chirping away.

  "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, Tweety Bird," Scott grumbled as he showed David the bird and stood up. Scott gained his composure, dusted off his pants, and got into position again. He pulled once more with all the strength he could muster, and finally, it came loose. He then tossed the small sapling into his bag and looked at David once more and asked, “Happy now?”

  With one good nod, David took flight and flew off, and Scott headed back to the trail to catch up with the rest of the crew.

  After a few hours of traveling through the woods and meadows, Walking into a clearing a sound of running water could be heard. Following the sound through a grouping of trees they stopped at the top of a massive waterfall that dropped a few hundred feet down.

  “Looks like we found our water source,” Osia said

  “Yeah, this will do,” Tomas replied

  About thirty minutes later, the crew made their way down the side of the cliff, finding a small winding path that wasn't too sketchy, and reached the base of the waterfall.

  After searching under and around the waterfall, Tomas finally found a slippery walkway that led to a small cave system hidden behind. “This should do, take your time on these rocks Peter, we don't want you falling and shooting yourself in the foot again.” Tomas chuckled.

  “Shouldn't be a problem.” Peter said, shaking his head, walking on by.

  Everyone laughed and walked into the cave to find that it opened up to a fairly large space with a small tunnel leading off the back.

  “This seems like a good spot.” Tomas said.

  “Kind of dark and gloomy.” Osia said.

  “What are you scared of? Maybe the deathstalker will hunt you in these caves.” Peter laughed.

  “It's probably better company than you.” Osia replied.

  Peter sat down and took off his boot to check his foot out while Tomas and Rick worked on building a door.

  George and David gathered wood for a fire and a little extra wood for traps. Osia helped Scott set up camp inside the cave by setting out the bedrolls. Not too long after George started the fire and luckily for them there was a small hole at the top of the cave that led up to the surface above allowing the smoke to escape.

  Once all was said and done and the door was up, the crew sat around the fire for the night as the sun was now setting in the distance.

  “Well, tomorrow we should make another door for the back of the cave so we can get some protection from lurking beasts that dwell in these caves,” Tomas said.

  “I agree, but we also need to go hunting for food and levels as well,” Scott said while fidgeting with a few sticks and vines he found in the woods, trying to make a makeshift chair that he saw someone make in a survival show.

  George jumped in and began preparing the meat he had harvested from the stalker, and boy, did it smell good. Once the food was done, George portioned it out to the crew. The meat reminded them of the dark meat version of chicken but was a little on the chewy side. Their first meal in the tutorial was a success.

  “Hey what do we want to call this place?” Rick asked.

  “Cave.” David said. “Or what about the Batcave?”

  “That's not bad.” Tomas laughed.

  “How about the mancave?” Rick said.

  “Eh you guys and your names, What about Shecave then?” Osia said.

  “Nah I like the mancave.” Tomas said.

  “I don't mind the mancave.” Scott said.

  “George? Mancave?” Rick asked.

  “I am not joining you on this one.” George replied.

  “Peter?” Rick asked.

  “Yeah sure I could go with Mancave.” Peter replied.

  “Then it is final, this is now called the Mancave.” Rick said. “Sorry Osia but you lose that five against one.”

  “Eh you call it what you want.” Osia said defeated.

  Some time later, they all sat there, with their bellies satisfied, and spoke about who would take first watch for the night.

  This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

  “Ok so who is taking the first watch?” Tomas asked.

  “Not me, I need sleep to gather my mana.” David said. “Plus I can't transform anymore today. Which sucks that I have a limit.”

  “I can take first watch.” Osia said.

  “Is it ok if I sleep?” Scott asked.

  “I can stay up with the old hag.” Rick said.

  “You can sleep, we just needed two to take the first watch while the rest of us rested.” Tomas said.

  Through the night, no one slept well – who sleeps well on rocks anyway? Except for Scott, who had skinned the stalker and used its hide as a makeshift bedroll for extra padding after cleaning it in the river and drying it over the fire.

  Luckily, he didn't have any issues sleeping; before the system, he used to have sleep apnea. The system fixing all their ailments with the reset was a blessing. Even his blood sugar issues were gone. “Thank you, Mr. System,” Scott whispered before rolling over to sleep.

  The next morning, Scott woke up just before sunrise, just as he had before the system. But instead of preparing for work or scrolling through videos on his phone, he simply lay there, contemplating the possibilities and priorities of the day ahead. Small mental notes formed until his thoughts were interrupted by sunlight streaming through the waterfall and the makeshift door Tomas and Rick put together.

  The light, refracted by the falling water, cast a crystalline effect, painting the cave walls with dancing hues of blue, purple, and aqua green. It was a breathtaking sight, with delicate rays piercing through the cascading water and a narrow slit in the wooden door, a familiar image that reminded Scott of his front door in the morning before the system.

  Checking the system Scott looked for any updates.

  **Survive 179 / 180 days left in the tutorial**

  "Well, one day down, 179 to go in this place. Might as well try to make the best of it," Scott thought. He packed up his gear and got ready for the day.

  A few minutes later, Tomas opened the door, letting in the light. He quickly scanned their surroundings to ensure nothing was lurking outside before closing it and making his way back to his bed, carrying a few large fish.

  “Looks like you were already busy this morning?” Scott whispered, gesturing towards the fish.

  “Yeah, I took a quick walk to relieve myself and noticed a few fish in the water. So I grabbed a stick, carved it into a spear, and went spearfishing. Couldn't let a good opportunity go to waste,” Tomas replied.

  “Did someone say fish? I'm starving,” David chirped.

  “What? I thought you didn't like to eat breakfast until later?” Scott asked.

  “Yeah, I don't usually eat this early, but all the spellcasting drained me yesterday, and now I'm hungry after a long rest,” David replied.

  Not soon after, George started breakfast, using some of the herbs and fresh fruit they had collected along the way, mixed with the fish Tomas caught.

  Of course, all the food was inspected prior to consumption to ensure it wasn't poisonous or detrimental to their health. Who wants the shits or death in a place where medical help wasn't readily available? One of the fruits, in particular, was a sour and citrus-like red fruit called Pompa Berries. Shaped like Fuji apples, they were both tasty and tart, like an apple, but with a sour citrus zing reminiscent of a lemon that followed.

  After they had all eaten their fill, the crew wasted no time in setting off to find materials for a makeshift door lock. Re-entering the forest, the warm sun on their faces, they proceeded slowly, searching for both their first hunt of the day and useful supplies.

  After a good hour, the crew finally located their first kill. They kept their distance, staying down wind as they observed a pack of wolves hunting nearby: five adults, three males and two females. Inching closer they tried to sneak up on them while entering the large grouping of trees.

  Using their scan ability, they saw:

  [Alpha Timber Wolf level 3]

  [Beta Timberwolf level 2] x 4

  “ The alpha male is three times larger than the rest.” Scott whispered. “Do you think we can take him?”

  “Maybe!” Tomas replied with a whispered.

  The Alpha raised its nose up into the air and sniffed before turning around catching onto their scent as the wind changed direction. He moved swiftly, circling behind the large tree where Rick was concealed, and clamped its jaws on his leg catching him off guard. It dragged him to the ground as Rick retaliated, driving two daggers into the back of the alpha's head – one piercing partway, the other merely grazing its thick skull.

  Scott watched as Peter was ready with an arrow knocked, and took a swift shot, catching one of the females in the back leg. She immediately began to limp, favoring the injured limb while taking cover.

  Scanning the area Scott saw his chance to move in after the already injured wolf, he took off running and slipped on a patch of mud hitting the ground with a splat.

  Just then a wolf leaped over Scott nearly missing him as the paws grazed his armor and Scott lifted his dagger up quickly to gut the wolf in mid air.

  He heard a branch break to his side looking back over to where the injured one was and watched as George jumped off of a tree and landed onto its back and continuously hit it in the spine until the beta dropped.

  Scott rolled to his feet and stuck his sword into the back of the wolf's head next to him and noticed Rick being dragged around by the Alpha. Around the other side of the tree he watched Tomas attack the Alpha in its hind end stabbing a dagger into its leg a few times before he retreated because one of the betas went for him.

  Quickly he found one of the other Betas heading for Osia and Scott jumped up into the air and kicked off a tree and dropped down onto its back both blades plunged into its front shoulders, both of them tumbling off to the side. He rolled over and retrieved the blades from the struggling wolf and finished the wolf before heading towards the Alpha.

  He turned and spotted the Alpha once more and saw Rick plunge both of his blades into the Alpha's eyes, completely blinding the wolf which got the Alpha to release him before it tried to flee into the forest.

  An arrow flew by Scott and hit the Alpha in the other leg but that didn't slow the wolf down. He took off after the Alpha and once he got close slashed his sword into the back of the wolf before it veered off and collided head on into a tree.

  Out from behind the tree George leaped up and attacked the Alpha beating it into the ground while Scott moved up beside him and shoved his sword into the back of the skull finishing the Alpha off.

  Scott walked back towards the crew.

  "Am I dead yet?" Rick mumbled groggily.

  "Not yet, but if you'd like, we can certainly arrange that," Osia replied, a playful smirk in her voice.

  Rick chuckled, then swiftly produced a bottle of healing potion and gulped it down.

  "Dude, I could have brought you back to full health with my healing spells!" David exclaimed, watching Rick wipe his mouth after the potion.

  With a wide grin, Rick replied, "Mmm, tastes like berry juice!" completely ignoring David's protest.

  "Well, does anyone want to skin these for some experience?" Scott asked, wanting to share the opportunity.

  “No, that's all you.” Tomas replied.

  Speaking of experience, Scott checked his system messages:

  **Slayed [Beta Timber wolf Female lvl 2] Exp Gained x 2**

  **Slayed [Beta Timber Wolf Male lvl 2] Exp Gained x 2**

  **Slayed [Alpha Timber Wolf Male lvl 5] extra experience Gained for defeating one above your level**

  **Level Gained [Slayer] level 3**

  +1 Skill points unspent

  **Level Gained [Slayer] level 4**

  +2 Skill points unspent

  "Okay, so that battle was rough but not too bad. Getting two levels from it is a bit surprising. It seems like we're leveling up pretty fast, but I won't complain if we keep the levels coming." Scott thought. "I'll invest two points into strength and one into dexterity, and then move on to skinning."

  Tomas started using his magic and raised one of the male wolves back to become one of his undead minions. HIs eyes had a cyan blue color glowing in the sockets. “I shall call you Bones,” he said.

  Scott grabbed one male and two female Betas, while David called him over to demonstrate the proper way to skin the Alpha Male. At first glance, David was doing well until he hit a snag and made a mistake, but overall, he did a decent job. David even found a crystal heart that he pocketed.

  Scott used a few of David's techniques and began skinning his first female – the larger of the two. She was a beauty. Her fur was almost a golden yellow color and surprisingly soft to the touch. A few minutes into the skinning process, Scott noticed movement in the stomach area. Investigating, he turned to David. "Is this female pregnant?"

  "Yep," David responded with a nod.

  Scott gently cut into the sac and carefully pulled out four premature Timberwolf pups, one by one, using a rag to clean them. He found what little milk remained in the teats and transferred it into three waterskins. Sadly, two of the pups passed away almost immediately.

  A few hours later, Scott had all the male Beta’s skinned, and the meat was chopped and piled. They passed around the surviving pups, feeding them as best they could. Gathering all the bones and skulls, they used the fur as makeshift sacks to carry their new materials for later use. After skinning and packing the rest of the wolves, they started back down the trail towards camp.

  The journey only took a few hours, and surprisingly, they encountered no wildlife, even though they had seen many interesting plants that looked like they would try to eat you if you got too close. Scott was surprised that even with all the blood and fresh meat, nothing had tried to hunt them down.

  As soon as they returned, they unpacked in the "Mancave," a name that had stuck after a campfire discussion the previous night. Osia had been outvoted, but they had eventually convinced her to agree with the name anyway.