Chapter 1: Bad Day
Huh? Where am I? I remembered jumping into the river. Jun asked himself, confused. Sh*t! Those tribes are a bunch of crazies, it's just a rock, a shiny glowing rock you know. geez.
"I guess I passed out while submerged in the river and got washed up, and then the waves carried me here." He muttered
Lying on the wet soil, Jun coughed water out of his lungs. Jun struggled to sit, so exhausted! Exhaustion weighing heavily on his body
I must escape; they might follow me here.
limping, Jun forced himself to move as far as possible to the shore to avoid being tracked down.
After several minutes of resting, Jun with a bit of energy restored, touched his bag, caressing it dearly.
"Doesn't matter, this rock will surely fetch me big bucks for sure!" His eyes were gleaming in anticipation.
Still exhausted, Jun closed his eyes, and his mind started to wander and start dreaming. "Hehehe! Yes! Yes! Yes! Higher! Bid Higher!" He started to drool out of happiness.
"Big house, delicious food, comfortable bed, beaches… Yes! Lots and lots of Beaches to visit." Jun started babbling in his sleep.
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After half an hour of nap, Jun stood up and started rubbing his bag.
"HAHAHAHA!" Jun laughed maniacally, "Damn you all! Once I make it big, I'll help your entire tribe merge into the society!" Jun swears to the heavens, "WUHAHAHAHA."
"Ahem!" Jun cleared his throat, let me check one more time the rock that was "generously given" to me by those tribes folk.
Let me see… Jun started to search his bag, looking for the round, heavy, and shiny object inside his bag. After several seconds of searching, he did not find any, not even a glimpse of it.
"Impossible, I remember I shoved it in, then closed the zipper before I jumped." Jun started to panic.
Naaahhh… Jun comforted himself, not believing that he lost that rock. I'm still tired I guess, yeah! let me rest for a lot longer this time. Jun looked around and sat down, leaning against the huge stone he had found nearby.
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2 hours later
Jun opened his eyes, feeling relaxed.
"Uwaaahhh!" He stretched his arms and legs for maximum relaxation.
Grumble… Eugh! So hungry. Jun scrubbed his stomach, "Don't worry buddy, I got you." Jun searched his bag for canned food, completely forgetting something out of starvation.
After a minute of eating food, Jun remembered the rock he had been searching before.
Jun began searching his bag. Searching… Searching… "Eh?" After several minutes of searching, even turn it upside-down, he still failed to find it.
Jun started to panic. "Whe- Where is it? Did I lose it while running? But I remember clearly that I put it in the bag before I jumped into the river." He lost his composure, nearly stumbling down.
"My big house, my delicious foods, my comfortable bed, and the beautiful beaches that I plan to visit."
"F*ck!" Jun shouted.
"So all my effort… It's all for nothing?" Jun protested.
"My cigarettes, my coffee, and back pain I suffered because of those damn stone beds." He complained, muttering to himself angrily.
"Heck! I even gave them my favorite chocolates and candies, I gave them for free so they would feel closer and grateful to me, and all that for what? For absolutely nothing?"
What a day man. What a damn day! Jun felt depressed for losing his "Hard-earned" reward.
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Rustle… Rustle…
Come on man, what now? Jun looked annoyed, but before he could speak, the corner of his eye picked up a fast-moving shadow. It is small, only as high as his thigh. But Jun did not lower his guard; this is still a forest, home to various kinds of predatory animals.
Jun is startled for a moment before calming down. He focuses on the source of the strange sound, finding what caused the rustling of the grass. Jun crouched and grabbed his bag, searching for his jungle knife.
Am I already been discovered? I hope not. I'm in a bad mood today, else you're one hell of a lucky guy chosen to vent my anger.
Jun relaxed his body and cleared his mind of any distractions. Following the rustling sound around him, knife already at his right hand, anticipating an ambush.
The surroundings are devoid of any sound. No movement, even Jun's breathing cannot be heard.
Rustle… From the right.
Rustle… From the back.
Here it comes! Jun already anticipated the attack, swung his knife toward his back, hoping to injure it to slow it down for a bit to regain momentum.
After hitting the enemy, Jun used the momentum to roll forward to better see what he's dealing with.
Splat.
Hearing a flesh being torn, Jun finally saw his enemy. A tiger-like feline, growling at him and packed with two protruding fangs sticking out under its upper jaw. Unlike an ordinary tiger with orange fur and black stripes, this tiger has black fur and crimson red stripes all over its body.
With eyes as red as blood, and claws that can shred any person it encounters. It looks so menacing, no matter how you look at it.
"Wh-Wh-What the hell is that thing!?" Jun's emotions are in shambles due to how intimidating it looks, and how he never seen this kind of animal. Even in books or documentaries, there is no record of this kind ever existed.
"What is going on? Did I discover a new species?" Jun muttered.
Don't matter, I'll check it later… If I survive of course. Seeing its bloodied paws, Jun started to run away, checking whether it would follow or not.
And his guess was correct, it follows. Happy inside, Jun started to think of ways on how to capture it alive. Looking back from time-to-time, if it is still following him.
I need to knock it down, then tie it up, then make a temporary cage for it.
Noticing a fairly large stone, Jun slowed down his speed, but not slow enough for him to be caught.
Steady… Closer…
When he's closer to the fairly large stone, and the tiger is barely a quarter of a meter away from him, Jun takes a large jump sideways. Luckily, he barely dodged the swing of paws targeting his back, he only received a centimeter deep scratch from it.
BAAM!
After rolling for a few meters, still clutching his jungle knife. Jun looked at the tiger. It's lying on the ground, unconscious.
Jun walking slowly, his guard still up, not letting any mishaps. When only one meter was the distance between them, and the tiger did not wake up, Jun finally relaxed and started to dream big again.
Yet, before he could touch his spoil. Stone started to crumble.
"Nooooo!!!" Jun shouted as the tiger was crushed under the weight.
With a pained cry, Jun knelt. "Bullshit! This is so f*cking bullshit man!" Jun is heartbroken as he watches his money vanish before his eyes.
While grieving, Jun noticed a panel right in front of him.
[System: Required Condition for Integration – Quest (Completed)]