Only the future will tell what will happen to me. We, the mortal creatures, have the chance of making choices, but sometimes we can't escape from our fates how hard we try.

Sometimes we can even predict our future, like the kid who studied hard or the athlete who worked with all his sweat and blood.

They can predict the outcome to some degree, but even then, there are always chances of things going differently than they are supposed to be.

My life took a bit of a fantastic turn, and I found myself in an unfamiliar place.

Everything here is so familiar yet so exotic.

It has been more than a week, and I already saw lots of different things.

Example: Elks with antlers shaped like spears, green and ugly humanoid creatures with primitive weapons, skeletons.

Because of that, I also began arming myself with equipment carried by the skeletons I killed since I came here. From Spears and swords to fur armor, one of the skeletons was even carrying some tankards and a metal pan.

To add notes I began hearing voices in my head, and sometimes colors, numbers, and sentences appear in front of me, just like in a game. I already stopped surprising let myself into the flow.

I don't know what my eyes will see and what I will fight in the future, but for today, it is a wolf, not a big one but more dangerous than skeletons that appear once a day.

"I am pretty sure this cave is not yours. If you are here for food, I am sorry I won't share my hunt with anybody. So, go away before I hurt you."

I am trying to talk with a wolf. I still don't know if this place helps me or slowly pushes me into madness.

"Now, thinking. I am the guy with the spear." I directed the tip of the spear I got more than a week ago. I had a lot of free time to practice it that last week. "Bring it on, and do your worse."

I suppose wolf accepted my challenge. It began growling louder than before and began slowly approaching me. It will probably leap on me at first chance.

I imagined the possible location of wolves neck when it leaps forward, and I am directing the spear's tip towards that point. I don't know if this wolf is smart enough to understand that and keep its distance or attack my legs rather than my chest or neck.

The distance between us is getting smaller at any second, and I am standing right there, waiting for the predator to make the first attack.

Wolf decided it came close enough and dashed forward, then leaped on me right after it.

If I got scared and moved my spear towards the ground, it will probably manage to damage me, but thankfully I kept my stance and thrust my sword towards the wolf's neck and impaled it to the ground at the moment it jumped.

I suppose it was the verge of death because of hunger or something. Wolves are not stupid creatures. They don't risk their lives if not necessary.

But, I already saw more than enough creatures to hunt, and I am only wandering in a small area compared to the whole forest. I suppose this one was just unlucky.

"Well, here it goes, even if it's a wolf meat, is a meat." I carried the wolf away from my cave as I don't want the smell of inner organs and blood near my shelter.

I will skip the details about how I processed the meat and tried my best to keep my clothes clean. Now I have around four kilograms of wolf meat and a pelt that I will probably use to make a pack to carry things.

Now, with using the wolf's fat, I could cook some of its meat with mushrooms, herbs, and wild vegetables and make a dinner for myself, and while that meat is cooking, I can make a new fire, build a tent-like thing around it to dry the meat.

Dried meat will not only be easier to carry around as it weighs much less, but I can also preserve it longer than smoked meat. With my food problem solved, for now, I can focus on exploring and finding a water source, maybe some clay to make pots for carrying water. Possibilities are endless.

*****

I am once again walking inside a snowy forest. With every passing day, my body becomes more adapted to the weather.

I feel like the cold is not affecting me much as before, but that might be something physiological than physical.

And I feel stronger than before, I am not in a good a condition as my prime times in the military, but I am slowly neglecting the effects retirement pushed on me.

Walking inside this forest is also a fun activity and helps me a lot to clear my head. I am also encountering new fascinating things every day. Either I am completely losing my insanity or gaining the one I lost back in days.

I almost want to sing a song about small details in my life, like the chestnut I just ate or how good a walking stick my spear is. Happiness is fulfilling my heart.

"And look a little spirit." A small snowball is flying around me and dropping snowflakes. "What a magical experience."

I began moving towards the flying snowball. As my hand almost touched it, an alarm sound echoed through my head.

"Danger! Move away from the snow siren!"

"Snow what?" The sound didn't answer me and kept repeating its words.

"Danger! Move away from the snow siren!"

I pulled my hand away from the snowball, and suddenly a creature that looks like a combination of komodo dragon and angler fish began hissing towards me.

Something snapped on my head. "You were the fucker that played with my mind then. I am happy about being in here but not enough to become a Disney princess."

I directed my spear towards the ugly monster and thrust it into its head at the moment thing tried to leap at me.

The spear penetrated its soft flesh and turned the monster's brain into mush.

Using the spear, I began inspecting the creature's body

. I opened its mouth from far. "Look at these teeth. They are almost at the size of my little finger."

And they look sharp as a razor as well. It has claws as well, but they look cute compared to its teeth.

I poked a limb connected to a blueish ball hanging at the top of the snow siren's head.

"And that's the cute fairy-like creature moving around me."

Now, I know this world is a bit more dangerous than I thought it is, but what was that mysterious Voice saved my ass? "Mister, or miss Voice, can you hear me."

"Yes, I can hear and respond to User's commands." The Voice once again echoed in my head.

Now, that is a bit weird for me, but I might get some answers from it. "Now, Voice, can you explain to me where I am, who are you, why I am here."

"Of course, the User is currently in the _____ Forest, and I am a guideline planted into your brain to help you in your cause, for your last question User is here because of ________."

I did not understand. I understood most of the things Voice said, but when it came to the crucial information, I only heard a bleep and nothing else.

"Okay, I don't know why I am here, I don't know where I am, but I know you are here to help me. So, what I can do is tell me. You are my guideline, after all. What should I do?"

A screen opened in front of me. A translucent blue box.

[Mission: Hunt down the four bosses

Reward: Increase your physical attributes.]

"Now, things began getting more stupid than ever. Bosses? What I am in a video game or something." I don't know what is happening, why I am here, and many more things, but I will find answers.

"Does User want to activate UI."

What is UI? "Voice, what is UI. I want you to explain to me."

"User interface, a gift given by ____ to ____. It allows the user to track certain things and helps him. I am activating it for you to get an example of it."

Three different colored boxes and my name appeared at the left corner of my sight. On the left corner, a compass and a map-like thing that's showing my hundred-meter radius me. For finally, at the bottom, my current mission, given to me by someone I don't know, is written.

"I got the compass, map, and the mission, but what these three colored boxes are."

"These are your Vitaliy, Stamina, and Mana. The guideline can help you to track your current status by using these three bars."

I skipped the whole wandering the forest thing and directly moved back to my cave. I sat next to the campfire.

"Now, I want you to explain more things about what the hell is happening. I don't want you to skip a single detail."

Therefore my long night for understanding the current situation I am in began. Slowly and slowly, I will understand the thing happening around me and see the big picture hopefully.