Beneath gloomy red skies, on a ruined and desolate ground cracked everywhere, a young man was panting and hiding behind a gigantic, withered tree, gripping a sharp spear. Despite his visibly fatigued face, his concentration remained unwavering.
Just ten meters away from his hiding spot, a black beast—over two meters tall, was sniffing the ground and searching for his traces.
Its appearance was one thing that made it stand out and hideous. It had a physique similar to a gorilla, covered in black fur and overly developed muscles.
More importantly, it had no eyes and its face was shined with razor sharp teeth. Its tongue rolled out, dripping with saliva as it eagerly sought its prey.
As the black beast inched closer to the tree, its nostrils flaring as it sniffed the air. The young man's heartbeat quickened, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. He tightened the grip on his spear, every muscle on his body tensed for the impending confrontation.
Within moments, the black beast closed in, merely a few steps away from him.
Even in this tense moment, a hint of a smile crossed his face as everything happened until now was according to his plan. Now with a little confidence, the young man is determined to survive this ordeal.
As the beast locked on his scent, ready to strike down. He cautiously took a step back to position himself to counterattack.
*Crack*
But a small, withered branch cracked beneath his foot.
Immediately, the black beast pounced exactly where he stood with its mouth wide open.
The young man didn't expect something like this to happen, so he couldn't react in time and crashed down on the ground due to the weight of his predator.
In a split second, his eyes became dazed and the whole world spun, momentarily forgetting he was in a life and death battle.
The black beast sniffled the captured prey, remembered its scent and spread it all over its body—a moment to enjoy the successful hunt.
Then, it opened its mouth to enjoy the meal in full favor.
Before the black beast could bite his neck, the young man's survival instinct kicked in. He held the spear using both of his hands and placed it directly in front of the black beast's mouth, blocking its advancement.
'Damn! Why is it so heavy?' The young man cursed after he came back to his senses, also frustrated while feeling the oppression from its weight.
The beast's saliva splattered onto the young man's face, its foul stench making him gag. With a surge of adrenaline, he kicked the beast's abdomen and rolled away, the ground scraping against his skin.
The beast stumbled, as it was disturbed by the sudden shift of weight.
'It's now or never.'
Knowing that it was his only chance to finish it off, the young man got back immediately and threw the spear by putting all his strength.
The spear plunged deep into the beast's stomach with perfect accuracy.
Hearing the satisfying thud of the spear hitting its mark, without confirming whether his prey was injured or not, the young man ran away from there.
*AHHUI*
Only the screams of the half-dead beast were heard from time to time. It was full of agony and madness.
Surprisingly, the black beast didn't die from that strike.
Only a deep hole, huge enough for an adult to place hands inside was seen in its abdomen.
Despite its mortal wound, the black beast stood up and frantically searched for the young man.
Another spear flew through the air, plunging deep into the beast's head, nailing it into the ground.
Blood splattered all around the ground and the black beast didn't even have a chance to scream and died immediately.
The scene fell into silence.
A minute later, the young man with a serious expression revealed himself.
The young man who's overly cautious is Asher, who just turned 18 years old.
"That was too close," Asher muttered, his voice trembling slightly. He retrieved his spear, the weight of his near-death experience sinking in. 'I need to be more careful if I want to survive here.' he thought, hardening his resolve.
'I also need to find a shelter before the sun sets.'
It's been more than 5 hours since Asher arrived in this forsaken world with no people and the sun is already above his head, indicating that it was noon.
Without shelter, surviving in the wilderness teeming with black beasts is tantamount to seeking death. So, he was in a hurry to find shelter before the sunset.
Before that, Asher sat beside the withered tree, catching his breath. He cleaned his spear with a torn cloth, lost in thought. His thoughts dwelled on the price he paid to arrive here.
Slowly several chaotic golden runes magically began to manifest before his eyes. Slowly they began to arrange themselves in order and formed something similar to parchment.
[Name: Asher
Status: Cursed
Species: Human
Rank: Awakened
Trait: [Dimensional Body] , [Soul Sovereign]
Curse: Nightmare of Regrets]
[Nightmare of Regrets: Regrets will haunt you forever in the form of nightmares when you are in a state of sleep.]