Apart from the menacing horn in its forehead, the white rabbit looked perfectly harmless. It was so light the stones barely crackled under its fuzzy paws. Its eyes bounced around, never lingering on its surroundings for longer than a few seconds. It glossed over my presence like I wasn't even there.

  The one Aya and the others had faced had been aggressive enough to attack, yet I felt no such intent from this little guy.

  I unsheathed the sword and pulled the shield up by the leather sling. The rabbit's face whipped to me, eyes wide. I lowered my center of gravity, readying myself for it to attack, but an attack never came.

  Instead, the reeds edging the river rustled.

  Both I and the rabbit jumped from surprise and faced the sudden sound. A blur of bristled fur and yellow eyes shot at the rabbit. It was upon it in less than a moment. The rabbit squealed and writhed, but it was caught in the maw of a wolf larger than any I'd ever seen. I gulped, gripping my sword and shield hard enough to make my fingers whiten.

  The wolf turned to me and clenched its jaw. With a snap, the rabbit went limp in its mouth. Teeth sank into flesh, and blood seeped into the stone bed at its feet. It dropped the rabbit to the ground and stared at me.

  My heartbeat quickened as the smell of iron mixed with that of freshwater. Wolves don't like water, right?

  With water behind me, at least I wouldn't get ambushed.

  The wolf stood still, looking at me with the indifference a dragon would hold for an ant. This was no normal wolf. Its size alone was enough for me to tell. It stepped forward and growled. My heart lurched.

  "Just take the rabbit!" I complained and waved the sword.

  It must have come across as a sign of aggression. The wolf shot forward like a bullet, its ivory teeth glistening in the sunlight.

  In a rigid motion, I jerked my shield up to receive it. It felt like I was hit by a freight train as the wolf slammed into me. Vibrations rippled through the solid wood into my arm. A sharp pain flared from my right leg. With a glance, I confirmed that claws had torn my only pair of pants and flesh to ribbons.

  The wolf bounced away, using my shield as a springboard and pushing me to the ground. I slammed down onto gravel with a moan. All of my instincts screamed at me to run, but my bleeding leg said otherwise.

  I scrambled backward into the water. If my feet had stung before, then my leg felt like it was set ablaze now.

  My heart drummed against my ribs. Maybe I shouldn't have been so suspicious of the newcomers. If I'd taken Aya up on the company, maybe I wouldn't have been getting mauled by a mutant wolf. Or maybe I would anyway, but at least I wouldn't have been alone.

  It stayed low, close to the ground, and growled. The fur on its back stood on end as it got ready to pounce.

  "Come!" I roared and slammed the flat of my blade against my shield. "Come get me!"

  I didn't know where it came from, but it was as if a fire was lit inside me. A desire to fight. A desire to win.

  My wish was answered in the very next instant as the wolf lunged forward. Water splashed from its mad advance and refracted the sunlight like a disco ball. It gaped wide, putting its large canines on display for the world to see, and I let it come close.

  Water splashed onto my face. I took a deep breath and held it. The wolf pounced.

  Now! I thought and slammed my shield into its mouth. Wood crunched as it bit down, breaking through the wood. I clenched my teeth and watched in horror as its teeth went further than I expected, biting into my arm. The pain filled my vision with black spots and almost made me lose my breath.

  The full brunt of its weight pressed down, and we fell into the water in a sprawl of limbs. We sank fast, dragged down by the wolf's momentum.

  I stabbed my sword into the wolf's gut and twisted, using the blade as a lever to force its body under mine. It let go of my arm and squirmed to free itself from my steel. I didn't let it.

  It was hard to keep track of the wolf's snapping jaw and swiping claws in the water. Bubbles and blood clouded my vision, and the water made all my movements feel sluggish and slow. As a result, I earned myself a few nicks and cuts.

  We slammed into the riverbed. I almost lost my grip on my sword from the impact. A cloud of dirt exploded from under us; it rose like a tidal wave and made my eyes sting. I blinked a few times and pummeled the wolf with my shield.

  Gradually, its movements grew slower and less focused. My vision started to go black from the lack of oxygen. I kicked the wolf on the snout and pushed against my sword to lift myself above the surface. I took two greedy breaths of air, then dove back down.

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  The wolf barely had the energy to swipe at me with its claws. I brushed them aside and wrenched the blade up and down, making the gruesome wound grow until the wolf didn't move any longer. I kicked away from it and burst out of the surface again.

  My chest heaved up and down as I breathed. Everything hurt. My shield arm was mauled beyond recognition, and I could barely stand on the cut-up leg, but I stood victorious.

  A satisfied grin spread on my face. I'd never known satisfaction like this. Setting a new PR at the gym or winning a boxing match was not even remotely the same.

  You have defeated [???]

  You reach LV3

  Calculating lacking expertise. Distributing stats.

  Vitality + 1

  Endurance + 1

  Available stat points: 2

  And there it is,I thought smugly.

  Unexpectedly, this level up came with changes. My wounds didn't hurt as much. I looked down on my shield arm, eyes widening. The wound was closing up in real time. I couldn't believe it. It didn't take more than a few minutes for my bleeding arm to heal completely.

  I pressed my fingers against the skin. It was red and fresh, like the kind you had after peeling away a scab.

  That hadn't happened the last time I leveled up.

  "Vitality, huh?" I whispered.

  If games taught me anything, it was that vitality tied directly into health. That must be it. It sure as shit wasn't thanks to the increase in Endurance.

  The dull ache faded away. I gave my arm a few swings and stomped my leg a few times to confirm that they both worked.

  "Neato," I whispered and clenched my hand.

  My sword shimmered below the surface of the water. It still penetrated the wolf's corpse, pinning it to the riverbed. I took a breath and dove back down. It was probably best that I brought both of them back up. The wolf could make a nice coat or something. God knows I needed one, or any clothes at all for that matter. We still hadn't spent a night in the new world. There was no telling how cold it would get.

  The sword slid out easily, and all the blood washed away with the current. I sheathed it on my belt and strung the shield over my shoulder.

  My body had started getting used to the temperature in the water. The skin on my fingers creased like raisins. I took a breath and dove back down, picking the wolf up in a princess carry and straining my legs against the bottom. Just as I pushed myself up, a metallic glint stole away my attention.

  "Huh," I muttered when I broke the surface. There was something there.

  Maybe another supply box?

  Some more food would go a long way.

  I hauled the wolf back up to shore. It probably weighed as much as an adult man. After a few more moments of struggle, I managed to bring it to my other supplies. I wiped a trail of sweat from my forehead and took a moment of rest.

  The place really was quite beautiful. With the sun starting to set, it illuminated the treetops with a warm yellow and sparkled against the surface of the snaking river. Small patches of reeds marked the edge of the graveled riverbank.

  I exhaled. It was time.

  Once more, I waded into the river, letting it submerge me up to my waist. I took a breath and dove down. It took me a few moments to spot the glint of metal again, I hadn't been too far off. With a few breaststrokes, I made my way to it and used my fingers to dig through wet sand. Little by little, I revealed the object. To my disappointment, it wasn't a supply box. It was a golden ring.

  Rogue rays of light broke through the water's surface and bounced off the ring in a splendid shimmer. I picked the ring up and inspected it underwater when the system chimed.

  Inheritance found.

  Travel to dungeon? Y/N

  I flapped my arms to swim back to the surface and accidentally pressed Yes.

  Initiating warp.

  The river roared, making the current speed up until it formed a whirlpool. There was no way to escape. It tore at my body like an irresistible force and sent me spiraling into the depths. The moment took me by such surprise that I let go of my breath and swallowed a mouthful of water.

  Though I'd never lived through it, I imagined this was what getting flushed down a toilet felt like.

  My surroundings shifted, and I slammed my hands and knees onto a stone floor with a splash. I coughed water onto the ground, only adding to the large puddle I'd brought with me. I rolled onto my back and caught my breath.

  "This fucking place," I muttered.

  Inheritance activated.

  Objective acquired.

  Pass the Titan's trials.

  Reward: The Titan's inheritance

  I stood back up with a groan and looked around. I found myself in the middle of a chamber of stone. It must have been deep underground, because I felt neither the wind nor its scents, not to mention the lack of natural lighting.

  Torches lined the paved walls. A large gate loomed behind a statue holding two spears. It stood on an elevated dais with foreign letters inscribed into its surface. The statue's face was featureless, with the only thing standing out being an emerald embedded into its forehead.

  When I stepped toward the gate, the statue moved. I blinked a few times to make sure I wasn't seeing things. And no, the statue was actually moving.

  Cracks sped along its limbs like veins and sent broken stone raining onto the floor.

  With a whip of its arm, it threw the spear at my feet. I jumped back with a yelp as it slammed into the floor. The statue stepped down from the dais nimbly and pointed at me with its spear.

  Trial 1: Rite of passage

  Start.

  As soon as I grabbed the spear at my feet, the statue shot forward in a lunge. I barely had time to tilt my head to the side before I felt my cheek sting and leak blood. I tried to retreat, but my legs were swiped from under me with a strike of the statue's spear shaft.

  My head smashed against the stone floor, and as I moved to get back up, the statue's stone foot pushed me back down. I lay on my back, staring at the roof, with the tip of a spear pressing into my throat.

  "Fuck," I moaned.

  So this was it. Despite the jubilation I'd felt after beating the wolf, I was about to die at the hands of a statue, the first day after the world collapsed.