The Primal Hunter's
What a Beautiful Night

The night was silent, much quieter than expected from a forest filled with mindless beasts that wanted nothing more than to chew on human flesh. There was no roar, no howling of wolves or the sound of owls. There was no sound at all, except for a gentle breeze swiping through the trees and bushes, and the crackling of the bonfire.

The responsibility of the man standing guard was quite simple. Keep an eye on the things that are trying to kill them, and light a bonfire. Jake checks his stamina, sees it up to 135/140. Almost maximized again with about three hours of sleep. It was only about half when he went to sleep, regenerating much faster than he had anticipated.

The need for sleep reduced to a degree is certainly a possibility, or perhaps the introduction of the system has changed something fundamental that only makes sleep less important. For example, Jake wondered what would happen if one downed the stamina potion every time the medicine was almost depleted if one could stay awake indefinitely.

Shaking his head, Jake got up and took a short walk around the campground, surveying the small open space. In the back, their camp location was poorly chosen, to say the least. There were dense trees and bushes all around, making an easy hiding place for any predator, and not a single direction offered sturdy protection from a possible attack.

Jake considers whether they should look for a cave or something in the morning. After all, the cave also had its flaws, as there would likely only be one entrance, and he could imagine a huge wild beast like a huge boar charging through the narrow tunnel, he said, trample anything behind him. Yeah, not a good picture.

Looking at the trees, could it be possible to somehow make camp in one of the larger ones? Although it would make a fire impossible, and he was not entirely sure of everyone's ability to climb the tree.

Thinking about how little activity in the forest at night like this makes Jake think that the system or whatever/whoever designed this tutorial is not entirely cruel. The absence of night beasts makes survival a little easier, giving them time to sleep and recuperate. Even animals such as badgers, which are usually active at night, seem to hunt only during the day.

Jake, however, still has to remain vigilant as he has no hard evidence that there are no wild animals out there, which are still hunting. He also can not forget other humans from the tutorial. He had seen them on the giant pillar at the beginning, spreading to all sides. Thinking back, they were only on the left and right, and neither in front nor behind. He also could not forget the gigantic wall behind them.

The distance between the pillars was measured in kilometers easily, so it was no wonder that they had yet to meet any other survivors. It had only been half a day or so, and while they were moving for a while, they had not gone far, perhaps only a few kilometers to the peak. The pace was slow, and everyone was tense and overly cautious, even taking detours to avoid potentially dangerous areas. The direction they took was also directly away from the wall.

He doesn't even know if the other participants in the tutorial are all really human. He had seen silhouettes, which showed two-legged creatures, but he did not know if they only had more or less the same shape as humans, or whether they were humans. And to be honest, he wasn't sure if he'd prefer them to be human or alien, because most likely, they would end up in a conflict at some point.

As the minutes slowly passed, monotony began to approach him. While sitting still and just watching sounds easy, anyone who has ever done any night job knows exactly how boring it can be. But unfortunately, reading a book or playing on his phone is not an option.

Dennis and Lina most likely kept themselves entertained by talking and keeping the others awake and aware. Boredom, mixed with the lack of the slightest stimulation from the environment, makes Jake slowly become increasingly unwary.

However, he soon woke up from his stupor once more when he heard the rustling sound of one of the bushes at the end of the open, the furthest from the campfire. Jake focused his gaze as the bush continued to rustle. She did not feel any danger from the bushes as she focused on him, but her instincts said something was wrong. So that he's careful.

He took out his bow and rose from the log, reexamining everyone who was still sound asleep. Everyone was very tired yesterday, mainly due to the mental exhaustion of this entire ordeal, so he simply did not want to wake them up for a false alarm.

He walked towards the bush, as it was still slightly rustling once every few seconds as he got closer. He observed the bushes, not seeing anything, but still hesitated to go straight up there. He started pulling his bow and pointed it at the bush, as he slowly walked over, taking small steps, preparing for whatever jumped out.

Without any warning, something came out of the bushes, and he immediately shot his arrow, easily hitting it. At the same time, before he could even realize what it was, a silhouette emerged from the bushes. He could not see clearly what it was in the darkness, but his humanoid silhouette was clear. It was further cemented as he watched the moonlight reflected from the blade of the sword.

Jake staggered backwards and called out to wake the others up, but the voice had just come out of his mouth as he carelessly raised his bow to try and block the sword.

He managed to block it, but he was pushed back, once again almost falling to the ground, barely holding the bow with both hands. Finally, he looked at the assailant appropriately and saw that it was a bearded man, who appeared to be in his thirties, wearing clothes identical to those worn by Jacob and Theodore. In other words, a medium soldier.

The soldier once again tried to swing his sword, but the sword had cut through Jake's bowwood and snagged, turning their fight into a stalemate. Jake tries to get his bow back and retreat, with the soldier trying to cut all the way through and into Jake's body. However, the deadlock was short-lived as others rushed out of the nearby bushes, holding large two-handed axes.

Jake is confused as to what to do as the soldier holding the axe gets closer. He doesn't have time to think, so instead of thinking. Less than a second before the axe hit his head, he released his bow just as the soldier pulled it, making it fall backwards from its own momentum. Jake took the opportunity to retreat when the ax hit the ground where he had just stood. The weapon was now stuck on the ground, making the heavy warrior his next target.

Striking forward, he tried to stab the heavy soldier with his knife but was blocked by his armored arm. Without hesitation, Jake pulled the arrow from his tube and made use of the length of the arrow, successfully hitting the eye of the axe user with a punch above the head, right across from his guard. The arrow barely penetrated, but it was enough to give him time.

Turning around, the intermediate soldier was once again on top of him, but he managed to block the first attack with his knife. The soldier took a step back and swung his sword once more, but this time there was a hint of red glint around him, as the sword was moving faster and much stronger. Jakes' attempt to block him was met with severe pain in his wrist as the knife slipped from his hand.

At the same time, he felt a different sense of danger from behind him. It was not a feeling of danger, but a sure death. Time seemed to be running slower, as Jakes' senses were stimulated like never before. He saw, no, felt the battlefield. The axe user had risen once more, drawing blood from his eyes, but managed to grab his axe that was ready to strike again.

The middle soldier had already attacked him once more, raising his sword to attack again. More importantly, behind him, an arrow flew towards his head. For the first time, he actually felt a new feeling, this foreign sense. But even more than that, he completely and undoubtedly followed exactly what his instincts commanded. Something had been opened, and he was more than willing to accept it.

He swayed slightly to the side, raising his left hand behind his back as he caught the arrow. The same movement easily avoided the overhead blow of the middle soldier as he slammed the arrow into the man's hand, making him scream in pain as he dropped the sword. The soldier holding the axe behind him once again tried to attack him, but he dodged the blow by ducking under him as if he had eyes behind his back. In the same movement, he caught the falling sword dropped by the previous intermediate soldier.

With a quick and smooth movement, he threw the sword into the kneecap of the axe warrior, making it bend as he shouted. Instead of trying to finish him off, Jake goes to the middle soldier with the intent to finish off the now disarmed man. Jake runs up to him and cuts him once in his arms as he lifts him up to try and block, with a second punch splitting his neck, spraying blood all around him, also drenching Jake from head to toe.

Another arrow flew towards him, but Jake only swayed slightly, making him miss, as he once again dashed towards the heavy warrior holding the axe who was trying to grab his axe once more. Jake, however, doesn't give him time to do so, as he, in a full sprint, kicks his head. Before the bewildered soldier could remember himself, Jake raised the sword and stabbed it down into the skull of the kneeling man. With all its weight behind the punch, the sword still ended up only penetrating a few centimeters, but it was more than enough to penetrate deep into the brain, killing it instantly.

However, the sword snagged, making Jake pull out two arrows from his tube, holding one in both hands as he dodged another arrow fired by the enemy archer. The attacking archer was clearly confused, and fear was clearly visible in his eyes as the bloodied Jake attacked him. He had been hiding in a few bushes on the side but pinpointing from the direction from which the arrow came was simplicity itself.

The archer threw his bow to the ground, realizing that he had no time to shoot another arrow, and unsheathed his knife. An excellent choice because Jake considers his archery to be very lacking. Clearly a novice before the system, and he felt the man was not much better with a melee weapon either.

Jake grinned as he easily avoided the first blade sweep as he bent down and stuck the arrow into the arm of the archer holding the knife. To the man's appreciation, he did not release his knife, but it did not help him much as another arrow was thrust into his stomach. Dropped his knife from that one shock.

He tries to fight back, but Jake easily pulls another arrow out of his tube and sticks it into the archer's chest, followed by another arrow, and then another arrow. The poor man could only swing his hand as he tried in vain to fend it off.

Nine arrows later, and the man finally stopped struggling as his last breath left him, now with a total of 12 arrows sticking out of his corpse. Jake got up and looked towards the sky, a small smile still on his lips. The sense of danger was gone, his instincts were killing quietly. He has survived.

The others in the camp were now more than getting up and running towards him; everything was clearly still confused. The moment they saw the sight, they were immediately horrified by the sight. A man lay face down in a pool of blood, right beside the other man who was still on his knees, blood dripping from his eyes with a sword sticking out from above his skull. The picture was only made more gruesome by a smiling Jake, completely covered in blood, standing on top of another corpse with a dozen arrows sticking out of it.

“What... what happened?” Jacob stuttered, clearly distracted by the massacre. His mind was muddled as he looked at Jake in horror.

The smiling Jake turned his head towards her, still enjoying the joyful feeling he was experiencing at the moment, his smile widening as he replied.

"I won."