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It is always the chase. The adrenaline spike. The heat that rushes in his head, down to his fingertips. It’s hearing the beating of his heart and the palpations of his veins. The sweat flying off his neck yet drenching the roots of his scalp.
It is everything.
“God.” He pants with fear and excitement sinking its teeth into his flesh and bones. It grips him tightly, crushing his other senses apart from the temperature rising and dropping with each breath he takes.
He’s breathing too hard, he knows. But the gulps are necessary. Benefits outweighing the risk. Though is that really the case?
“Grrr.”
The low growl sends his mind asunder. Fight or flight? It’s not far. And it draws ever so close to his location.
After all the running, he is still right back where he started. Unable to outrun—to escape.
His mind blanks when the silence dawns.
He instinctively ducks, narrowly missing the large claws. It engraves deeply into the tree trunk, scraping it off of its bark.
The creature howls with a deafening echo as the crunching of dried leaves accompanies its symphony.
“God damnit!” He’s losing the strength in his legs to keep running. It must’ve been an hour already! When will it end?
With no given time to think, even rocks and dirt should buy him time. So he throws a handful at the creature’s face.
It yowls with its paws going in random directions. And he takes that chance to bolt in another direction.
Water! River!
“Hah hah!” He runs. Trips. And runs again. At this point, is the money and points even worth it?
A delirious grin etches on his features.
Yes it is.
Soon, he hears it. The rushing water. Just below the cliff he was reaching.
And he jumps.
“Phew! Goddamn. That was a tough one.” Rose is completely drenched from the river, but none of that deters the victorious smile on his face. Especially when he faces the screen rewarding him for his efforts.
[Quest: Survive the Hunt (Rank D+) — Completed
Rewards: 500 coins and 1,000 achievement points]
“Worth it.” Rose sighs in content, and almost immediately collapses to the ground. Once the adrenaline leaves, he becomes mush. It’s the longest he’s ever ran so it should be okay to rest now.
Thankfully, there’s a cave nearby. So he takes refuge to recuperate and rest.
Rose carefully inspects it, making sure that there aren't any animals sleeping inside. It isn’t too deep or shallow either. Just the perfect size to camp for the night.
A lit fire would’ve been nice, but Rose couldn’t afford to attract anything. So he settles in curling up to combat the cold, and puts himself into a restless sleep.
The night continues to pass with the wind rustling the trees in its soft breeze. A leaf falls in front of the entrance, only to be crunched by a large paw.
It begins nearing Rose, until it’s startlingly close to their face. The hot breath fanning the white tresses, but there is no response.
Rose is far more exhausted than he normally liked. Otherwise, this new presence would have alerted him already. Instead, he continues to sleep, only making slight faces from the warmth hitting him directly.
Unbeknownst to the danger directly staring at him.
Stormy silvers reflect in the moonlight, giving them a menacing glow. And suddenly, the beast shifts.
A snout into a refined nose. Fur receding into flesh and hair. Paws flattening into a palm with elongated delicate fingers. And the tail shrinks into nothing.
The beast turns into man, and crouches in front of Rose. Watching with interest.
Suddenly, those same eyes stare at the screen that appears before him.
[Quest: Devour the chosen prey (Rank S) — Incomplete
Reward: New Skill, 500 coins and 100,000 achievement points
Time remaining: 00:30:20
Failure: Authority Penalty]
It looks like this chase will come to an end.