The moment Evander’s feet hit the ground oher side of the city wall, his instincts screamed at him to move. The open space was a threat, the star-lit expanse a stage under an audience of tless celestial bodies. Without wasting another sed, he darted into the sanctuary of the forest, its looming shadows a wele shroud fr eyes.

  The world immediately ged. Gohe ted paths and artificial lights, repced with a carpet of foliage and the deceptive glow of the moon. His footfalls ched on fallen leaves and twigs, the sound absorbed by the dehicket, swallowed by the a woods. The air was heavy with the st of damp earth and the perfume of noal blossoms, overid with a subtle uone of decay.

  This is more like it, Evahought, his pulse settling as the urban adrenaline wore off. This is a pce where I move unseen.

  As his eyes adapted to the reduced light, the forest unfolded before him, a chiaroscuro tableau etched in silver and shadow. The silhouette of tree trunks stood like the bars of a colossal cage, their bare branches reag up towards the velvet night, pleading for freedom from terrestrial bonds. Between them, an undergrowth of ferns and bushes swayed gently in the wind, the dark leaves rustling like whispered secrets shared with the moonlit air.

  In the distance, an owl hooted, the mournful cry punctuating the symphony of the night. A quiet rustle in the undergrowth suggested the presenaller noal creatures, their unseen bodies moving stealthily in search of food or perhaps fleeing from a predator. The forest was alive with subtle sounds, an orchestral performanly heightened by the veil of darkness.

  The noal chorus was occasionally disturbed by guttural growls and eerie screams that echoed through the forest. Eae served as a chilling reminder of the mohat prowled within these woods. Keep your senses sharp, Evander, he cautioned himself, This isn’t a simple nighttime stroll. This is their domain.

  The mere thought sent a thrill down his spine. His hand subsciously drifted to the knife hidden in his belt, its familiar weight providing a sense of reassurance. Fear did not dominate him, instead, it infused him with an intoxig blend of anticipation aermination.

  Once Evander’s eyes had adjusted to the obsidian vas of the forest night, his movements took on a stealthy, predatory quality. He was like a shadow wraith, blending seamlessly into the bed world around him. His breaths were slow and trolled, his steps calcuted. Every sense was heightened, every nerve alert, attuo the pulse of the forest.

  He moved against the wind, ensuring that his st was not carried ahead. Despite the darkness, he had a clear mental picture of his location, keeping track of the city wall that y behind him, his lifelio the retive safety of civilization. The wild was a maze, and he was both hunter and prey.

  As he treaded deeper into the forest, a strange grunting sound reached his ears. The noise was coarse, unrefined, distinctly animalistic. His heart quied. This is it, Evander, your first enter, he mentally steeled himself.

  Moving towards the sound, he navigated the undergrowth with the grace of a wildcat. Every leaf, every twig otential arm, but he mao avoid them with a dancer's fihe grunting grew louder, more frequent, guiding him like a crude bea through the sea of darkness.

  Finally, he spotted his quarry. Bathed in a stream of pale moonlight that had somehow mao pierce the dense opy, a rge pig-like creature snorted gleefully, oblivious to the predator lurking in the shadows. It was gnawing at somethihe base of a tree, lost in its gluttonous delight.

  Evaook a moment to observe it. He assessed its size, its movements, its behaviour. He he thick hide, the strong muscur build, the sharp tusks.

  With o deep breath, he unched himself at the creature. The world seemed to slow down as he leaped towards the unsuspeg beast, his inscribed knife glinting ominously in the moonlight. There was no room for doubt, no sed for hesitation. His heart pounded in his chest, its drumming rhythm matg the ce of his leap. He aimed for the base of the creature’s skull, right where the spinal n ected to the brain - a swift, merciful kill.

  His knife found its mark, sinking deep into the beast's flesh. The creature let out a choked grunt before falling silent, colpsing onto the forest floor. It was a , instant kill. The forest returo its noal symphony, barely missing a beat.

  Without wasting a moment, he got to work extrag the magical core he knew resided within the creature. He delved his hand into the warmth of the creature’s body, his fingers closing around a small, hard object lodged he base of its brain. As he pulled out the magical stone core, a triumphant smile tugged at the ers of his lips.

  With the magical core safely stowed away in his backpack, Evander paused a moment to gnce back at the si. The thought of leaving the remains behind without making full use of it seemed like a waste, but his current situation allowed no other choice. A sigh escaped him, barely a whisper against the rustling leaves of the forest.

  Tapping into his internal space, he found the tangible form of experience gained from his ret kill. Redireg this experieo the reservoir of his strength, he could almost feel his muscles responding, being just a bit more defined, a bit stronger. His current stats flickered across his mind: Strength 0.95, Dexterity 0.6, Stamina 0.4, Intelligence 1.2.

  With a renewed sense of purpose, Evander moved deeper into the night-shrouded forest, his senses hyper-aware, body primed for the challehat y ahead. The forest seemed to awaken around him, full of cealed creatures that lurked in the obscurity of the undergrowth.

  He crossed paths with a host of unusual fauna as the night wore on. There were Glimmer Moths, creatures the size of small birds that emanated a soft, phosphorest glow. Their wings were delicate like part, adorned with a mesmerizing mosaic of patterns. Though beautiful, they were venomous, their dust capable of indug a paralysis that was deadly to most predators. But Evander was swift, he struck fast, extrag their cores before the toxins could affect him.

  There were Thornbacks, reptiliaures that bore a striking resembo turtles but with spiked shells and sharper cws. They were slow but heavily armoured. The first time he entered one, his knife barely made a scrat its shell. It took some quick thinking and acrobatics to flip it and strike the vulnerable underbelly.

  With every kill, every extra, he gained more experience, learning and adapting on the fly. He discovered that his Strength attribute rose steadily, and his movements became more fluid, more precise, enhang his Dexterity. He could feel the increase in his Stamina too, his recovery times decreasing, his endurance climbing.

  Evander's decision to return home tly interrupted as an invisible prickle trailed down his spine. A sudden shift in the air, a slight rustling from behind him, and the wilderness around him seemed to hold its breath. His instincts were screaming at him: danger!

  Emerging from the inky curtain of darkness came a pack of creatures that seemed to be stitched together from nightmares. They were vaguely feliheir lithe bodies held low to the ground as they stalked forward, their eyes glowing like pairs of emerald orbs. They had elongated fangs that seemed to glint eerily, and cws that dug into the earth like miniature daggers.

  This isn't good, Evahought, reag for his backpad pulling out his firearm. He felt the cool, familiar grip in his hand, the magical inscriptions on its surface pulsating with tent energy.

  The creatures seemed to taste his st in the air, their witg, their eyes narrowing. And then they sprang. It was like a wave of shadow ah rushing towards him, a living nightmare in the heart of the wilderness.

  Evander fired the first shot. The spell-infused round bzed through the night, a et of destru that found its target. One of the beasts yelped and was thrown back, its body arg in the air before thudding into the underbrush. Yet the pack did not falter. They tiheir assault with a renewed ferocity.

  Move! His mind anded, and he obeyed. He weaved betweerees, his feet barely toug the ground as he tried to put distaween him and his assaints. His gun barked in his hand, the magical rounds searing the air as they sought their targets.

  The night was filled with the deadly dance of predator and prey. The haunting cries of the feline creatures were punctuated by the ear-splitting crack of his firearm. It was a macabre symphony of survival.

  Evander felt a hot streak of pain as one of the beasts mao rake its cws across his arm. But he retaliated with a swift roundhouse kick that sent it sprawling. Gritting his teeth, he quickly took aim and shot, the magical round turning the beast into a fireball.

  He found himself backed against a giant tree, his breaths ragged and quick. But there was no time to dwell on pain. He spotted a few more of the creatures, cirg him, their eyes glinting ominously.

  Panting, he steadied his grip on his on, sweat sliding down his forehead and stinging his eyes. Stay focused, Evander. One shot, one kill. That's the only way out of this.

  The beasts charged, a blur of muscle and fangs. Evander emptied his firearm into the onsught, each pull of the trigger sending a spell-infused bullet that tore through flesh and bone.

  The battle seemed to stretto eternity, each sed a frontatioween life ah. But eventually, the growls and snarls of the creatures died down, repced by the heavy silence of the forest.

  With the st of his strength, Evander pushed himself off the tree trunk, his breathing bored. His eyes sed the area, spotting the fallen bodies of the beasts.

  Underh the hazy veil of pain, Evander's mind was still sharp, remembering the trove of curative potions he'd discovered in the delivery system bae. He rummaged through his bag, fingers king against the gss vials before they csped around the one he he liquid within was a vibrant green, shimmering like an emerald uhe meager moonlight that filtered through the thick opy of trees.

  It looked innocuous, ahe instrus were explicit. He was to apply it directly to his wound and then e the rest. His brow furrowed at the seemingly illogical directive, but he was in no position tue.

  The sensation of the potion on his raw wound was a strange, chilling trast to the fiery agony that he'd been bearing. But it was the act of drinking the rest that truly challenged him. As the liquid slid down his throat, it was a horrific symphony of revolting fvors, something akin tarlic drowned in a sea of expired milk. His stomach ed, and a wave of hreateo empty its tents. Hold it together, he silently urged himself, g his fists as he forced his gag reflex into submission.

  By the time the retg subsided, he found himself iive quiet of the aftermath, his breathing steadying slowly. The potioe its horrifying taste, seemed to be w. The throbbing pain was slowly subsiding, repced by a dull ache.

  Evaurned his attention to the creatures, pulling the cores from their lifeless forms. He felt the familiar tug of experience filling him, yet there was a bittersweet o it. This was no easy victory, and each core was a grim reminder of that.

  With each extracted core and each passing mihe realization of his time straint was slowly sinking in. The journey back, the swim through the bay, it would be impossible to aplish before dawn. His pn had not ated for a lengthy battle or the time it would take to extract the cores.

  Well, there's no helping it now, he thought resignedly.