The One Branch of The Tree

Morning came mercilessly, I woke up to something licking my face, my reflexes immediately activated, my eyes opened, my body moved before my mind. I grabbed a Thorny Branch and stabbed forward. SRAK! The small, furry, gray creature screamed and was thrown. I sat up, breathing heavily, my adrenaline pumping as it fell a few meters away from me. It looked like a squirrel when it decides life isn't exciting enough and grows more fangs. A notification appears. Stone Squirrel Lv.2 Status: dying I looked at him he was still moving a little, I sighed. “Morning too.” I ended his suffering with a second stab, killing the confirmed root coming out automatically absorbing. Notification: EXP gained. Strength +1 I'm getting used to this, too fast but a little worrying but there's no time for deep moral reflection.  My stomach is rumbling again. Seriously? This body is now like a calorie-burning machine. Maybe it's the effects of stat growth or stress, or both.  I stood up and stretched. The wounds from last night were much better, and the increased vitality had definitely helped. Okay, I'll take another look at the quest. Quest: Survive 7 days in the Forbidden Forest Day 1/7 It was a fantastic first day, and I looked around. The morning mist was still thin, and a small river flowed quietly. This area was safe for a while, but I couldn't stay there for long. Predators usually follow water sources, and I wasn't interested in becoming their menu yet, so I started walking along with the river's current. Today's goal is simple: Search for resources Level up Not dead Reasonable goals.  As I walked, I tried to deepen my understanding of Minor Mana Sense. I focused on it and closed my eyes for a moment. A faint sensation appeared, like a small wave of energy spreading around me.  There's a small bright spot of low-level monsters, and a larger one further north. Hmm, there's a good chance of trouble. I opt to evade the south, which is a bit safer. The next few hours were spent hunting monsters and surprisingly I was quite talented or rather my class was too cheaty.  Low-level monsters are truly free experience: Gray Fang, Night Hare, Stone Squirrel, and sometimes the odd, overly aggressive bird. All provide small stats, though little by little, but they add up over time. Notifications appear periodically. Level 9 reached. Agility +1 Dexterity +1 Level 10 reached. Milestone reward unlocked. I stopped. “Oh?” Auto open status. LEVEL 10 REWARD Skill unlocked: Root Snare Nice new skill, I immediately read the info. Root Snare Conjures roots from the ground to restrain the target for a few seconds. Duration depends on level and power difference, low mana usage. I smiled broadly. Crowd control? That's great, finally having a more tactical use isn't so bad. Thorny Branch also seems to have changed a bit again, the thorns are longer, the stem is darker, a small evolution but it's nice to see.  As midday approached, I discovered something interesting: human footprints. I immediately focused on them. The tracks were fresh, not many, perhaps one or two people. It was very interesting. Classmates or locals or people who want to kill me in a different way? Unknown, I followed the trail slowly in stealth mode.  A few minutes later, I finally heard human voices. I hid behind a bush and peeked at two people, not classmates. They were wearing leather armor, short swords, and travel bags, looking like adventurers or hunters. They were talking. “The trail leads this way.” “There are really humans in the depths of the forest?” "He said young people." I narrowed my eyes, wait, talking about me? Oh good, I'm famous, one of them sighed. "If he's still alive, the reward is quite substantial." Amazingly I leaned back slowly thinking about the situation, so information about my whereabouts had spread whether from last night's survivors or other factors.  This meant I wasn't the only one hunting; now I was the one being hunted, which was incredibly enjoyable. The two hunters began to move closer to me. I readied my Thorny Branch as one of them almost passed me, and I activated a new skill. Root Snare. Roots came out of the ground very quickly wrapping around the first hunter's legs. "What?!" He fell, his friend immediately panicked. “Cursed!” I came out of the bushes and stabbed the first hunter in the shoulder, before he could get up the man shouted then his friend attacked with a sword that was neater than Kevin and more trained, I held it back. CLANG. The impact was quite strong. Okay, not an amateur, that's interesting. He quickly slashed twice, and I stepped back to avoid it. The Thorn Branch's counterattack grazed his cheek, blood flowing. The man stepped back, his expression immediately changing. “Are you that target?” I smiled a little. “I'm so popular today.” He gritted his teeth. “Surrender.” "No." After negotiations were over, he attacked again, but the first hunter was still tied up in the roots. I took advantage of the poor position and moved sideways, stabbing the bound target in the neck.  A quick, clean kill, and the Devour Root's active human energy coming in wasn't bad. The second Hunter saw that and immediately made the smartest decision of the day: flee.  Oh, the cowardly attitude with the highly underrated survival skills, I almost gave chase but stopped, let him bring information and maybe that fear is very useful, I stared at the hunter's corpse. A notification appears. Human slain. Strength +2 Vitality +1 EXP gained. Level 11 reached. I smiled faintly. Great, the first day was only halfway through and I was already: Farming monster Kill the hunter So be a bounty target Very productive, I peered deeper into the forest if outsiders started to enter, then this forest was not just a wasted place but there was something here, something important enough for people to dare enter. It was interesting that I turned the Thorny Branch in my hand. "Okay." Then the new target increases not only to survive, I want to know the secrets of this place and if necessary take everything. [END CHAPTER 6]