Nate had passed out from exhaustion almost immediately after the system alert sounded.

But once he passed out, he found himself in a hazy dark world. He didn't know why but Nate knew for certain that this dark place was a dream. Second guessing himself, he thought for a moment that he was awake in the dark crack in the cavern wall.

He was confused, so he just laid in the darkness unmoving. But then a realization hit him. I feel no pain right now. This must be a dream. It was like all his injuries were gone. But why can’t I move? What is going on?

Then it felt like something hit his side and the painless world evaporated.

Nate woke to the smell of rock and blood. His body was wracked with pain. He coughed clearing the funk out the back of his throat.

Then, he heard the movement of a large animal nearby.

A roar caused his body to shake and bits of rock and bone shot into the crack he was hiding inside. The pieces stung as they hit Nate's body but he restrained himself from making another noise.

The adult beast is here. And it knew that Nate was stuck inside this crack in the wall of the cave. He must have only been passed out for a few moments.

Nate had originally assumed that an adult beast had caught him as a plaything for its cub. It made sense based on his experiences. But when he had illuminated the cavern, he didn't find the adult beast. It must have left thinking that I wasn’t a threat anymore. Now, the adult beast must have just returned and found its cub dead. I was lucky.

Nate was thankful he had managed to pull himself into the crack before he passed out. If not, then he had no doubt that he would already be dead.

However, being in the safety of the crack didn't necessarily mean that he was okay. He was trapped. And what the hell was that dream?

The beast roars eventually died off in the cavern.

Although Nate knew he was somewhat safe, he tried to reposition himself in the crack to see if he could see look out into the crevice. The crack that his body was wedged into was barely big enough for him to roll on his side. Nate considered scooting closer to the opening to get a better look but decided against it. A paw could probably reach in and snag him if he was any closer.

Nate could feel a combination of tacky blood and cavern dust all over his body as he moved to get a better look outside his hiding spot. A slightly painful pulling at his wounds drew Nate's attention. How bad is my condition? Nate hadn't even looked at his status so he pulled it up.

_____________________________

Name: Nathaniel Redsun

Level: 27 (Exp. 963/2700)

Health: 20/130

Energy: 0/130

Primary Class: Calm Survivor (Level 25)

Class Skills:

Survivor’s Need (Passive) (Level 20)

Survivor’s Awareness (Passive) (Level 27)

Survivor’s Resistance (Passive) (Level 22)

Secondary Class: Inhuman Wanderer (Level 2)

Class Skills:

Wanderer’s Walk (Passive) (Level 1)

Inhuman Body (Passive) (Level 1)

Shaman’s Dream (Passive) (Level 2)

Stats:

Speed: 37 Agility: 35

Stamina: 48 Strength: 36

Intelligence: 32 Perception: 30

Wisdom: 35 Will: 37

Stat Points Available: 30

General Skills:

Dark Vision (Passive)(Level 27)

Pain Resistance (Passive)(Level 34)

Bleeding Resistance (Passive)(Level 35)

Infection Resistance (Passive)(Level 26)

Poison Immunity (Passive)(Level 4)

Burn Resistance (Passive)(Level 11)

Fear Resistance (Passive)(Level 19)

Archer’s Sight (Passive)(Level 29)

Identify (Active)(Level 18)

Forceful Throw (Active)(Level 13)

Concussion Resistance (Passive)(Level 10)

Recall (Passive)(Level 5)

__________________________

Seeing stable health, the tension in Nate's body went away for the moment. Then his eyes went wide at the rest of his interface.

What? Nate questioned what he had seen. This can't be real.

Just the fact that his level had jumped by six was already enough to completely shock Nate. However, that was just the beginning.

Must be because [Calm Survivor] class bonus was in effect for so long. His class bonus essentially gave him double the amount of experience. Thinking back, between fleeing the Purpleheart and fighting the [Shadow Panther], he had the class effect active for quite a long time.

Although some of his skills and stats had seen a significant boost, he had actually lost three general skills. [Silent Presence], [Duality] and [Sleep Resistance] were gone. Nate instantly realized that the skills probably went away with the creation of his new class. The same thing had happened when he had gotten his [Calm Survivor] class. Excited about his prospects, Nate checked out his new class.

[Inhuman Wanderer (Level 2) (Exp. 186/200)]

['Inhuman Wanderer' is a class for the wanderer that is not quite human but is more than a beast. Frequent encounters with death only increase your desire to move through the world unrestricted.]

Reading the information on his second class, Nate's mind was sent abuzz.

I'm not human. What the fuck? Nate calmed himself and read the description again. It doesn't say I'm not human. It says I'm not quite human. Nate considered his situation for a minute. I bet this has to do with me having a core in my head like a beast.

His thoughts took a minute to settle before he moved to the second issue with the class. It had no class bonus like his [Calm Survivor] class. Nate now knew that class bonuses were a rarity, so his disappointment was minimal. Maybe the skills make up for it.

[Wanderer's Walk (Passive)(Level 1)(Exp. 12/100)]

[Wanderer's Walk is a passive ability that allows the user to continuously move unrecognized and unhindered. Difficult conditions can not slow the user. User's steps leave no trace of coming and going when he moves throughout the world.]

After reading the description, Nate understood why [Silent Presence] was gone. From what he could tell, the skill just added more to what [Silent Presence] could do. Nate sighed. I just hope I can get out of this crack and test the skill out. Although he thought the skill had potential, his current situation didn't really give him the opportunity to test it out. Slightly disgruntled with his circumstances, Nate went on to his next skill.

[Inhuman Body (Passive)(Level 1)(Exp. 35/100)]

[Inhuman Body is a passive ability that uses core energy to improve the user’s body. Excess energy absorbed is converted to available physical stat points.]

Nate didn't know what to think. He had a feeling that this skill was exceptional, but it didn't really offer him any benefit at the moment. If I had a hundred beast cores, then maybe it would help. Nate disappointedly went to the next skill.

[Shaman's Dream (Passive)(Level 2)(Exp. 110/200)]

[Shaman's Dream is a passive ability that allows for one consciousness to rest while the other consciousness roams.]

Shit. Looks like none of the skills are going to get me out of this mess. The [Shaman's Dream] ability seemed to take Nate's [Sleep Resistance] and [Duality] into one skill. Or at least that's what Nate thought since the two skills had disappeared from his general skill list.

His weird dream before he woke up came to mind. Maybe that dream was the skill?

Nate spent the next hour just rereading his user interface. He was searching for opportunity, but it seemed that his increases had offered very little assistance for his current predicament. If Nate had been back in the safety of the Greyfor Tribe, the class and its skills would have been spectacular. However, his main thought at the moment was getting out of the tiny crack in the wall of a beast’s lair. His new skills didn't seem like they would help.

Nate looked at his user interface again. The new class didn't provide the miracle he wanted, but he had seen another thing besides the class that may help him in this predicament.

His boost in levels had given him 30 available stat points to use. He looked at his stat distribution again.

__________________________

Stats:

Speed: 37 Agility: 35

Stamina: 48 Strength: 36

Intelligence: 32 Perception: 30

Wisdom: 35 Will: 37

Stat Points Available: 30

_________________________

The first idea that popped into Nate’s mind was to boost his physical stats over 40 to get the additional 10 health. It would only cost him 12 available points. Then, he would still have 18 left to distribute elsewhere. Using almost half the points just to get a few extra health didn’t seem like a good idea, so Nate began to look at his options more in depth. He didn’t want to use the available stat point until he was sure of his plan.

What are my options to get out of here?

Fight or flee. Nate didn't see another option available.

Fight the beast. Nate considered it for a few seconds before completely forgetting the idea. If he was in peak condition and had access to all of his weapons, then he might consider the option valid. But with his current injuries, his low health, and a lack of weapons, Nate knew it would be hopeless.

The only other option was to run away. He had a new skill [Wanderer's Walk] that sounded like it would help, but it was unproven. Nate didn’t know how he could outrun a beast as powerful as the one that had captured him easily.

I'm so weak. Even getting a second class didn't make a difference.

Nate's mind went back to his current condition. I need to make sure my injuries are taken care of. Nate looked around for his pack. He had remembered sliding it in the crack with him so it should have been near him.

Where did it go? Nate's [Dark Vision] had seen significant improvement and he could see a fair portion of the inside of the crack he had hid inside. Not seeing his pack right away, Nate began to worry. Without his pack, he would really be in trouble.

Nate started to move about in the area in search of his pack when his hand hit cloth. The backpack had been resting an arm’s length above his head. Idiot. Panicking for nothing.

***********

After an hour of laborious effort, Nate had managed to put fresh bandages made from clothing scraps on a few of his larger wounds. His broken arm was throbbing from all the movement, but his legs were starting to feel better. The bite marks from the beast were not as bad as Nate had originally thought, but the spear hole in his thigh had gotten pretty gross. Nate's emergency measures had cauterized the wound to stop bleeding but the injury was still pretty painful. This injury is going to be the only thing keeping me from running away full out. Nate knew that his speed would be significantly hurt from the injuries to his legs. The fleeing option seemed hopeless.

Nate pulled one of his food provisions from the bag and ate. The sounds of a beast moving in the cavern caused Nate to have a realization. I need to heal myself as best as possible. Nate's idea was simple. Stay tucked away in this sliver of space in the rock wall. Use all his supplies to build up as much health and energy as possible. Then try to escape.

It really was his only option. Fleeing with leg injuries seemed a lot less ridiculous than fighting a strong beast barehanded. I need to focus on healing.