I called my weapons into action, the shields materializing with a shimmer that looked a bit too digital for my liking, the lines smearing into nothingness before settling on the chitinous shape of my Hungarian Shields.

  Whatever was approaching, it was fast. Probably, no scratch that, definitely faster than I was from what I could see. I had yet to try my skill [Dash], though, so maybe whatever that was was using the same skill?

  I quickly pulled the skill up, deciding that I did have enough time to look at what it did before the three things came knocking.

  [Dash]

  Skill

  Type: Movement

  Cooldown: 1 Minute

  Increase your speed for a short burst of movement, and try to not fall on your face! Are you complaining about running being hard now, because you used to have more legs before the tournament? We’d like to apologize and offer this skill as compensation. Actually, scratch that, we don’t give a damn about apologising, this is just a balancing act. Anyway! By leveling this skill to level 5, something will happen. Hopefully you’ll get there to see it! Or if not, at least make your death spectacular.

  What a bunch of crap! Were these so-called gods going to just laugh at us? I would show them who they were messing with!

  Anyway, the skill description cemented one fact in my mind: Whatever was coming, they were not using the dash skill. It would not make them run this fast for this long. The fact that it was seriously getting dark out didn’t help me identify the threat, however.

  "Get ready, dude!" Mark said, too excited about what was happening. Did this dude not understand the number one rule in the wild? That whoever was stronger would eat the weaker? Gosh, human naivety.

  I decided to ignore Mark so I could actually focus on what mattered.

  And then I saw them. Two… Birds? Were they birds? They certainly had the look of them, but with key differences. While they definitely had wings instead of arms, their wings still kind of LOOKED like arms, and muscular ones at that. No weapons, but their heads were armed with sharp beaks that more than made up for that.

  Oh, also, they ran on two feet, just like humans did.

  But what interested me the most was the being running away from them, running at the same speed, but already it was plain how this animal was winded. They were still far enough that I couldn’t make out the features of this player, but they did seem shorter than I was, with longer hair and… fur?

  I dashed forward and aimed to meet the assailants. As my feet hit the ground and I got even closer, the distance getting shorter quickly, I could finally see and use [Analyze] on the Player. I did so immediately.

  Player - Crudia

  Race - Common Raccoon Dog

  Level - 3

  Class - None

  The system didn’t offer any other information, and thankfully, it refrained from a snarky comment as well, but I did feel a bit better about my own level, which sat primly at 7.

  She was small, probably a head and a half shorter than I was, and confirmed my suspicions - she really did have spots of fur! Although not everywhere, and the animal features didn’t take away from her unmistakably human visage. Her skin was grey, with jet-black hair that went up to her shoulders, with white and black patterns of color mixed in the grey of her skin. The fur parts were visible around her shoulders, as if the fur vest wasn’t enough fur for the creature, and I also spotted two gleaming daggers reflecting the dim sunlight held in her hands.

  I considered just letting them fight it out. Would jumping in and then killing all three of them once they got wounded gain me the most XP? Did players even give XP?

  Would Mark approve of that? He seemed to want me to save the player, to risk my life for them, but would that be the right call? This person would eventually just become my competition, right?

  But… I didn’t want to continue fighting with Mark any longer. I was glad that he stopped being so prickly after several hours that we spent together, and I didn’t want to return to the very first moments we spent together earlier today.

  Wait, did I assign my attribute points? Didn’t matter. I’d win either way. My feet carried me forward, my momentum growing with each step. A small branch scratched my foot, but I ignored the pain, no, let it push me faster. I wanted this fight. I didn’t even care about which one of those three I’d have to scrap with, as long as I could fight at all. I used [Analyze] on the birds to make the final decision.

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  Fucked up Tengu

  Creature

  Level 4

  These things look scary, don’t they? Inspired by Japanese myths, they are as Asian as they could be. I mean, we love stereotypes, okay? SO, what does that mean for you? Oh, just think. Apparently, their beaks and claws serve the purpose of picking apart corpses.

  Oh, and making those corpses, too.

  At least the description was somewhat useful this time around. Claws and beaks then. Hopefully, my fellow player would join in the fight.

  Quickly closing the distance, I stretched my arm back.

  Ten more steps.

  Five.

  One.

  And then I pushed with all my strength and drove the shield right toward the left Tengu, aiming to hit it square in the chest. The thing didn’t even notice me coming toward it because of how focused on its prey it was.

  Bones cracked as the shield collided with its torso. My arm reverberated from the impact, as if thousands of ants started crawling atop of it. It didn’t completely stop the momentum of the beast, however; it was running too fast for that.

  Instead, it toppled right on top of me, grabbed me by my hips, and then continued rolling further, throwing me away as we stopped.

  I dropped to the ground a few metres away with an oomph, and prayed that the other Tengu didn’t lock onto me yet. Who did notice me was the fellow player, and I could finally make out all the features of her now. She either thought me a lost case, or was too scared to actually do anything, cause she just continued running further. Coward!

  Quickly tearing my eyes away from the raccoon dog, I looked at the Tengu that followed me, just to see it standing straight again, already rushing towards me. Where was Mark to assist me now? Would the guy only be useful in the calm parts of my journey?

  Why was I moaning so much? I’d win. With Mark or without him. My lips moved to a smile on their own. I was born to this. No more hesitation.

  I blocked the claw swipe with my left shield, the chitin completely blocking any damage that they would have caused, and I punched out with my other arm with all my strength, the blunt part making another dent in the Tengu’s torso. It went in so easily, as if I was plunging a finger into water.

  These weapons really had their use, it seemed. I wished that Mark wasn’t so bull-headed at first, cause they definitely would have lowered the difficulty of my fight with the wolf a few hours ago. The fact that I could use [Analyze] on the thing also made a red bar show, and since it kept getting lower as the fight went on, I deduced that the thing must reflect how healthy it was, just like my own HP bar did.

  The Tengu’s HP was visibly low now, maybe one hit away from annihilation, and it stood there with its claw on its chest, a baleful eye watching me with so much hate that I could feel it from several metres away.

  "Is that all you’ve got? Come at me!"

  My smile was involuntary, but I knew that this was the one moment in which I shone, the one situation I was made for. This bird thing would not stand a chance. I took a step forward, reading to finish the fight.

  And then Mark shouted from behind me, my ears barely registering his voice through the fog of fight concentration. "Behind you, Shrimpie! Watch out!"

  What? I went to turn, yet it was too late. Of course it was. Why did I forget about the other goddamn bird with big claws?

  I ground my teeth, doing my best to ignore the pain of claws embedding themselves into my back, and punched out with my left arm as I turned, the shield finding its target without the need of me seeing it. I hit the other Tengu right in the face, the claw breaking like porcelain, its eyes already turning white. Yet it was already done with its deed, and I could see my HP bank toward the lower half, could feel my blood gushing from the wound and wetting my pants.

  I could even see it on the ground. Red blood, as if in mockery of the fact of what I was, another thing to cement in the fact that I was meant to be human now, even though I never would be. Anger flushed into my head, second time in the day, yet my outburst at Mark before compared to this was like a candle to a wildfire.

  Who were these birds, to dare touch me like this? I smashed my shield into the head of the Tengu, following with another jab into its belly, and didn’t let up, kept punching, even as it fell to the ground. Was its HP gone? Probably, since I somewhat registered an XP notification. But I didn’t care. This ugly black-feathered, back-stabbing, ugly-looking thing was not finished as far as I was concerned. I punched, again, again, and then again, and just kept at it.

  I pummeled it until its chest was no longer solid, and the color of its feathers was barely visible. What finally broke me out of my rage was a voice, an unfamiliar one, right behind me.

  "Umm, sir? I think you’ve got him already. It shows me no HP now."

  The voice shocked me so much that I caught myself readying to strike, but the Tengu didn’t speak, did they? I turned around and saw that the little raccoon dog stood behind, and further was the corpse of the other Tengu, a knife wound visible on its chest. Finally leaving this corpse alone, I stood and faced the new player. I could barely make out her features.

  "Was your idea of helping letting the other guy sneak behind me?"

  She rubbed the back of her head and looked to the ground, the gesture so human that it took me aback for a spell. Seemingly, I was not the only one turning more and more human with every passing hour. Her voice was thinner than mine, unmistakably feminine.

  "Honestly? I wanted to run away, maybe come back later to loot whoever died. My guide told me to help, though, and so I went back."

  Well, that settled it. I could somewhat trust this person. Their thought process was fairly similar to mine, after all. Actually, why the hell was I surprised that she left? She had no reason not to. The guides were messing us all up, setting us up for failure.

  Humans and their eccentrics. They would be the end of me someday soon.

  "Yeah, I get it. Thought about doing the same. Mark was shouting my ears off about helping, though."

  Her hands clapped in front of her chest, and she smiled so vividly that I could see her pointy teeth. "Oh, your guide’s name is Mark? Mine’s Talisha. Now that you mention it, where is she? I did not…"

  Whatever she said next, I could not hear it. As soon as the fight ended, my body went a bit less rigid, and I realized now that I was still bleeding from my back like a swine.

  My head hit the ground, and all I could see was darkness.