Darkness swallowed him instantly. A deep void, without pain or fear, where time seemed suspended.
Then, suddenly, a sensation.
A warmth on his arm. An intense tingling, like thousands of invisible needles piercing his flesh.
He opened his eyes with a jolt.
The altar was still in place, like a giant indifferent to the struggles of mortals. It took him a moment to understand where he was, to gather the fragments of memory still floating in his hazy mind.
He was... alive.
His eyes immediately moved to his mutilated arm.
Where he should have seen a bloody stump, he found instead a clean, closed scar. The skin was marked by a fine, irregular line—proof that it had been healed in a way that defied all logic.
"It worked…" he murmured, barely believing it.
He slowly sat up, still numb. His bag was still there, beside him, covered in dark stains—his own blood, now dried.
The physical pain had completely disappeared. As if the worst was behind him.He noticed that his other wounds had also vanished. The three gashes on his torso had become three scars. The places where he thought bones were broken no longer hurt.It was truly miraculous.
He lowered his eyes to the altar and placed a hesitant hand on the cold stone surface.He needed to check his points.
Points: 50.
Aaron didn't know if there was an option in the shop that would allow him to get his arm back, or if it was lost forever.
Even searching for things like "regeneration" yielded nothing.
Maybe he'd eventually find a way—or maybe his arm would never return.
Either way, he couldn't afford to wait. His priority was survival. He looked around to recall where he had hidden his supplies before entering the forest. And he found them in the same place.
He immediately grabbed one of the three water flasks and brought it to his lips. The water was fresh, pure, and as soon as it flowed down his throat, he felt a wave of intense relief.He drank to the last drop, without restraint.
Then, only after, he opened a food packet and took a bite.
It was bland. Tasteless. A sort of compact paste that melted slightly in the mouth. But he didn't care.
It wasn't a feast.
But it was survival.
Once he finished, he allowed himself a few minutes to breathe.
His body was still trembling, but he was alive.
And for the first time since arriving here, he felt something other than fear and pain.
Determination.
He had made it.
Alone.
Without external help.
He had faced a monster, nearly died, and yet he was still standing.
This world wanted to kill him.
But he wasn't going to let it.
He closed his eyes for a moment, gathering his thoughts.
He needed to form a real plan now.
The most important facts in order were:
The altar allowed him to buy resources in exchange for points. Monsters gave him points when killed. He had only one arm, which drastically reduced his combat abilities.
His priorities, in order of importance:
Get a new weapon. Find a safer shelter than this exposed clearing. Develop a technique to hunt monsters safely.
Aaron exhaled slowly, raising his eyes to the sunless sky.
He had survived his first day. But he didn't know how long he could keep going at this pace.
He placed a hand on his torso, where the monster's claws had torn him open just hours earlier.
The skin was smooth, marked only by fine scars. He was grateful to be alive, but he knew he couldn't rely on the altar to save him forever. His missing arm was proof of that. He hadn't yet understood all the rules of this world, but one thing was certain: everything here came with a price.
He clenched his jaw.
Adapt or die.
He was alone. No allies, no civilization to join, and he didn't know what would happen in 29 days.
He needed tools, a shelter, a method to hunt and kill these monsters without risking losing another limb.
Aaron looked at the altar again, thinking about what he could buy with the remaining 50 points.
He let his mind wander through the shop for several minutes without success.
His previous setup had been the most optimal with the items available.
He had only one option left: increase his BODY and MIND stats.
He had 50 points left, which would allow him to raise one stat to 0.5.
Aaron hesitated.
The idea of spending his last points on increasing BODY or MIND felt risky. He still didn't know the exact impact of these stats or if there was another way to improve them. But in the absence of other viable options, he didn't really have a choice.
He focused on the altar and concentrated on the BODY stat.
He took a deep breath and confirmed the allocation of 50 points to BODY.
A strange vibration spread through his body, like a diffuse electric shock. His muscles tensed briefly, his heart rate quickened, and a warmth flooded his limbs.
He opened and closed his one good hand.
And… nothing.
He didn't feel any noticeable difference.
Maybe he hadn't spent enough points. Maybe you had to reach a full point—like 1—for it to have any visible effect.
Aaron frowned, frustrated. He had hoped for an immediate boost, a surge of strength, enhanced stamina—anything. But no. His breathing was the same, his reflexes unchanged, his fatigue still present.
He sat at the base of the altar for a few moments, eyes lost in the void.— I may have wasted my last points for nothing…
He sighed, but there was no going back. The decision was made, and now he had to live with it.
He forced himself to stand. His body didn't feel any different, but something inside him had changed. Not physically. Mentally. He had made a bet. An investment. And now he would have to either reap the benefits… or suffer the consequences.
He made a mental note to never increase his stats impulsively again. He needed more information. He had to understand this stat system before relying on it.
Because even though he hadn't felt any immediate change, he knew these stats would be vital to his survival here.
But for now, he was alone. And he had no points left.
He tightened the strap of his bag, grabbed his knife, and turned back toward the forest.
The sun had already set—at least, the light had faded—and he needed to return to his hole and wait for the "sun" to rise again.
Moving around at night was far too dangerous.
For now, the best thing to do was sleep.
Aaron walked slowly back to the burrow beneath the tree roots that had served as his shelter the night before. The journey felt longer than the first time, every sound in the forest stirring a quiet anxiety within him. He knew his body had been healed, but the memory of the fight against the creature was still fresh in his mind, every detail carved into him like a mental scar.
When he finally reached the dark entrance of the burrow, he crouched, scanning the surroundings carefully to make sure no monster had followed him. Once he was sure he was safe, he slipped into the hole and settled as best he could in the cramped space.
Lying on the cold, hard ground, he closed his eyes, trying to push away the terrifying images flashing through his mind. He wanted to think more, to plan properly for the next day, but exhaustion was too overwhelming. He had survived his first day, but there was no guarantee for the next.
His thoughts slowly drifted as sleep began to take him, and one single idea kept looping in his mind:Tomorrow, I'll find answers. Tomorrow, I'll do better.
And finally, sleep claimed him—deep, dreamless, far from the monsters, far from the forest, far from the world that relentlessly tried to kill him.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Aaron slowly stretched his eyes, awakened by the strange, sourceless light that was once again bathing the forest. He remained motionless for a few seconds, his muscles tense, listening for the slightest sound. But as usual, the forest remained silent, too silent, and no immediate danger seemed to await him.
He stood up cautiously, leaning on his only good arm to painfully climb out of the burrow. His limbs were numb after a night spent in absolute discomfort, but at least his mind seemed to have regained some of its clarity.
Outside, the air was fresh without being cold, the atmosphere still and oppressive. Aaron took a deep breath, focused on his immediate objectives.
'First priority: figure out how to regain points,' he murmured to himself. 'Without them, no resources would be accessible'.
But how could he hope to defeat other monsters with only one arm and a stone knife?" He remembered the details of the first encounter, how he'd come so close to death. The violence, the speed, the absurd strength of the creatures... confronting it head-on would be suicide.
He needed another approach.
His mind suddenly flashed back to the images of the first encounter: the violence, the astounding speed, the superhuman strength of these extreme creatures. He shuddered. Confronting these monsters directly would be pure suicide, he knew that now with certainty.
He needed to adopt another approach, more subtle, more intelligent.
Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind: he recalled the precise details of his first fight. The monster he had faced was blind and deaf, he was sure of that now. It only perceives its surroundings through changes in position, reacting only when Aaron clearly moves from one specific point to another.
Aaron frowned, remembering the moments when the creature had violently thrown him into the air. The monster had systematically waited for his body to touch the ground again before resuming the offensive. He also remembered the very way the creature had remained motionless, confused, when he had simply moved in place, without changing his actual position.
Perhaps he was holding there a key essential to his survival?
But what exactly did "changing position" mean to this creature?
Aaron suddenly froze. His heart began to beat faster. He had just understood something crucial: if the monster only detected his position the moment he made contact with the ground, then the solution was obvious.
All he had to do was move without touching the ground.
A glimmer of hope lit his face. He just needed to move higher up, from tree to tree, using a rope to balance himself above the ground.
He clearly imagined the scene: him, perched high up, spotting a creature below, silently dropping from the trees. During the fall, he would be undetectable by the monster, completely invisible. He could then strike without resistance, eliminating the threat without putting himself in danger.
This realization quickened his pulse. If his idea worked, he had just discovered not only a viable strategy, but also a real way to survive sustainably in this hostile world.
He would never again be the hunted.
He would become the hunter.