This Is Not the Life That I Imagined

The sneak attack had failed spectacularly, leaving John to dodge desperately as the monster's claws swiped through the air where he had just been. 'Of course, a twig snapped! Why wouldn't I break a twig while ambushing the monster?! I'm such an idiot.'

His veins were palpable with indignation and panic as he rolled and leaped, narrowly evading the monster's relentless offensives.

The initial failure stung, but he quickly adapted. gradually decreasing his agility and increasing his strength. (Agility: 11 → 6, Strength: 9 → 14), the tide of the battle slowly began to turn. With each powerful blow, John's rhythm began to overpower the Wild-Fury's relentless assault.

As the moon ascended in the night sky, its glow casting long shadows across the battlefield, John's ferocious counterattack surged. "I AM STRONGER THAN YOU, UGLY BEAST." John bellowed, each strike growing more powerful as he channeled his anger and frustration though them.

Tremors shook John with each clash of his sword, but his frenzy only intensified. "Die! Die! DIE!" he roared, his blade cleaving through the monster's flesh with brutal force. With a formidable blow he severed its arm. He then pushed his sword through its chest before kick it in its knee making it stumble. Taking the sword out of its body, ' aghaa' John winced as he cleaved the head ending the fight.

Panting heavily, with bleeding fingers and numb hands, John dropped to the ground drained of strength. "Agh, I really overdid it," he grimaced, his hands trembling uncontrollably from the feedback of his attacks. Quickly, he adjusted his attributes to boost his vitality (Strength: 14 → 9, Vitality: 10 → 15), hoping to recover some strength.

The tablet buzzed violently in his backpack. "Just give me a minute... I can't even control my hands," John mumbled through clenched teeth. 

After resting for few minutes on the leafy ground, he opened his backpack. Taking out the first aid kit, he applied antibiotics and bandaged his hands, wincing with every movement. Once finished, he pulled out the tablet with shaking fingers.

(You got 2 points for killing Wild-Fury.

Mission completed successfully.

A new mission will be issued in 30 min….)

John's fingers twitched, the knuckles white as he clenched his fists despite the injury. "Another mission?" His voice cracked with frustration. "What do you mean by a new mission? Are you kidding me? I just finished one!"

"At least give me an hour to rest," he muttered, the words escaping through gritted teeth. John stood up, packed his belongings, and moved away from the battlefield.

He rested his back against a tree, pulling out an energy bar from his backpack. "It tastes awful... but I need to replenish my strength."

As he ate, the moonlight began to fade. John looked up and saw the sky darkening with clouds. "Oh no, don't rain. Please don't rain," he pleaded. His prayers went unanswered as a thunderclap roared through the jungle, and the rain began to pour.

The tablet buzzed again with a new notification.

(New mission: Kill 4 Wild-Furys. Time limit: 4 hours. Reward: 2 points for each Wild-Fury killed. Penalty for failure: 10 minutes of electric shock. Repeating the mission.)

John's face reddened, veins dancing across his face. "Come on, For God's sake… I have to kill another 4 and in four hours!! Seriously?!"

He took a deep breath to calm himself, finishing the energy bar in haste, and drunk form the bottle of water in his backpack. He started his search for the monsters once more.

The ground changed from damp to muddy in a few minutes. John's clothes clung to his body, drenched and heavy, as he navigated the transformed landscape with caution. Amidst the relentless

The rain intensified, blurring the boundary between sky and jungle, and the temperature dropped as if nature itself conspired against him. Thick clouds obscured the moon, plunging the jungle into a stifling darkness. The raindrops, now more like a torrent, made it nearly impossible to see or hear anything clearly.

John, relying on the limited clarity provided by his enhanced focus, pushed forward. Soon, the distant growls of Wild-Fury reached his ears, his menacing calls harmonizing with the rhythmic pounding of the rain. He adjusted his attributes, boosting his strength (Strength: 9 → 14, Vitality: 15 → 10) as he prepared for the fight.

"I can't see clearly in this rain, and I can't move fast or I might slip. So brute force it is." John muttered. His boots squelched in the muddy ground as he advanced cautiously, inching closer to the source of the growls.

A Wild-Fury's silhouette emerged from the rain-soaked foliage. Its eyes glowed with feral intensity as it locked onto John. The monster lunged at him, and with his sword raised and muscles taut, John prepared for the clash.

He blocked the first frenzied swipe, parried the next, and sidestepped the third. Just as the struggle began, an unexpected growl erupted from close quarters, sending a chill down John's spine.

John—eyes widened, pupil distilled—stumbled in his movement trying to retreat. "NO. NO. NO. Why would there be more than one?!"

A sense of doom enveloped John suddenly—with a racing heart—he ducked as a claw was just a centimeters away from plucking his head. 'What in God name?' John kicked the ground pushing himself to the side evading the follow up assault.

'The hack! Three monsters. Where did they come from?' Just as John started to get use to killing monsters, fate played a cruel joke on him. With a panicking settling in his heart, John was forced to dodge every single attack having no time to even think about counterattacking.

He blocked an attack from the first monster then barely side stepping to dodge the third monster's calw. A tearing sound echoed as blood smeared John back.

" AGHAAA!" 

One of the Wild-Furys struck from behind, its claws raking across John's back. Pain exploded through him as he stumbled forward, nearly dropping his sword. Gritting his teeth—John fought on, but his situation got from bad to worse.

The second Wild-Fury pounced on him, while the first Wild-Fury attacked with its claws. The third was in his way preventing him from dodging. "No… not like this," John gasped, his breath ragged. He could feel the cold fingers of death closing around him.

 As the next exchange might decide his life or death, John was pushed to activate his talents second effect.

(strength 14 --> 14, agility 6--> 11, flexibility 5 -->10, vitality 10 -->15, intelligence 9 -->14).

 The sound of rain vanished, the surroundings faded out of vision and the jungle's dark veil seemed to lift. but his perception of the monsters became detailed, so detailed like he could almost predict their next move by the slightest twitch of their muscles.

He used his sword to redirect the claws' attack steering the pouncing monster into its path. Utilizing the force of the clash, John propelled himself backward, narrowly evading the assault.

Without any pause, he advanced and attacked the now entangled monsters. Coming from the left with a powerful cleave, he left a cut on the back of the second Wild-Fury. The monster turned in fury, but John had already circled around them and delivered another merciless blow, while evading the third monster attack with a spin.

Taking a deep breath, John ducked the third monster's claw, he stood with a swing that cut into the monster's stomach, and with a roll backward he evaded the first Wild-Fury assault. As soon as he stood up he dashed forward, attacking the first monster, leaving an injury on its left shoulder. Then he left a cut on second monster's legs while dodging the third creature, and with a powerful slash he left a wound on the second Wild-Fury's arms.

Without the slightest hesitation he continued attacking, the potency of his relentless assaults didn't diminish in the slightest. It only increased with time. He parried one attack, slashed at another beast's flank, and ducked under a third's swipe. Each motion was fluid, each strike deadly.

The battle raged on, with John's attacks growing fiercer and more desperate. He used every second, every pounce, and every attack from the three monsters to his advantage.

 After uphill struggle—just before the time limit of his talent ended— he dealt a killing blow to the first Wild-Fury, then the second, and at last, the third. The monsters fell one by one, their bodies collapsing into the mud.

With chest heaving—gasping for air— John stood under the rain looking at the monsters that were now down. "Th-that was close." John said in a quivering voice filled with fear.

As the adrenaline began to wear off. His body, bruised and bloodied, bore the brunt of the fight's toll. Then the side effects of his talent set in as he collapsed, every tissue of his body convulsing with exhaustion.

(Strength 14 -->6. Agility 11--> 3. Flexibility 10 -->2. Vitality 15 -->7. Intelligence 14-->6).

Gasping in every breath, his body felt stiff, and the nature didn't have mercy as the cold from the rain assaulted him. Shivering violently amidst the jungle, in the dark and the muddy ground fill with puddles of water.

John felt utterly alone and vulnerable as the world has abandoned him. His eyes filled with tears as he whispered, "Mom… Dad… sorry."

Blood and rain soaked his clothes, and the light backpack on his back felt like a heavy burden pressing him into the mud. His vision blurred, and moments later, he passed out, the world around him fading into darkness.