Chapter 3: Chapter 3 – First Encounter

Lost within the confines of a dream, a loud squeal jerked me awake. I gasped for air before my senses sprung back to life. “What the…,” I groaned as the ground trembled mildly beneath me. The sounds of animals running around surprised me as I hadn’t encountered any so far. Was this the dawning of a new experience?

A deep growl erupted a short distance away and judging by its ferocity; it was that of a predator. With my vision obscured on three sides by the shelter, I couldn’t exactly see much. The side that was actually open was obscured by the light from the campfire. “Looks like plan B it is,” I whispered before grabbing the crafting hammer I had snuggled up beside me while I slept. Like a child’s teddy bear, it had given me psychological comfort during the night for a moment just like this.

I groggily crept out and twisted my neck in every direction to formulate a plan of action. Luckily, the campfire provided just enough light to see whatever was approaching. While I had the time, I placed my hands in a better position on the handle, prepared to attack within a moment's notice. The light from the fire provided ample light, enough to actually see about ten meters in every direction, besides where the bushes and trees blocked my line of sight.

The stomps got louder when a deer suddenly leapt from out of the darkness, heading directly towards me, it managed to turn its direction away at the last moment before hopping away back into the darkness. What naturally came after that was the predator.

Gleaming red eyes erupted from behind the shroud of darkness, shifting its eyes away from the deer and setting its goal on easier prey. It slowed before locking gazes with me, stopping about five meters away, give or take. From this distance, I could tell it resembled a wolf… not a fully grown adult, but big enough to cause some serious damage. Its full attention targeted me when it began to viciously snarl, revealing the crimson blood-stained teeth resting within its jaws.

The lighting was horrendous, to say the least, so I couldn’t exactly see many details apart from that and its dark grey fur. Within a second, the system had sprung to life and began conducting a scan of the creature. A stat box appeared atop its head.

---