Osric didn't head for the forest immediately.
He returned to the hut first.
The sun was already climbing when he shut the warped wooden door behind him, the sounds of Ashbrook fading to a distant murmur. Inside, the hut felt smaller than before—emptier. The contract weighed on him more than the pain in his muscles ever had.
Three days.
That was all the guild had given him.
Osric crouched beside his pack and reached inside, fingers closing around cold metal. He drew out the knife he'd carried for years. The blade was short, nicked along the edge, its handle smoothed by constant use. It wasn't a weapon. It had never been meant to be one.
But it was all he had.
He turned it slowly, inspecting the edge under the thin light filtering through the cracks in the wall. Dull. Too dull. Against a wolf—big or not—that would get him killed.
Osric picked up a flat stone from the corner of the hut and sat down, resting the blade against it. He began to grind carefully, dragging metal against stone in slow, controlled strokes. The sound was quiet, steady.
Scrape.
Scrape.
Each pass sent a faint vibration up his arm, reminding him of how fragile his body still was. He adjusted his grip, breathing evenly, refusing to rush. This wasn't something the system could do for him.
Preparation mattered.
When he paused, he wiped the blade against his sleeve and tested the edge with his thumb. It still wasn't sharp enough to inspire confidence—but it was better than before.
Better than nothing.
Osric slid the knife back into its sheath and leaned against the wall, closing his eyes for a moment.
No armor.
No backup.
One contract.
The system hadn't promised safety. Only growth—if he survived.
Osric opened his eyes and stood.
"Time to earn it," he muttered.
Outside, the road leading toward the forest waited.
Osric started moving toward the small market of the slums to buys some rope.
He wasn't confident in getting close enough to a wolf with just a kitchen knife.
He planned to find a sturdy and long enough stick inside the forest to bind to the knife with the rope.
As Osric was buying the rope for 5 copper crowns, one of the young men who bullied him alongside Ruben caught sight of him from afar.
He was surprised to see Osric alive and moving around.
'How is that bastard alive?'
'It's probably a good thing since I was scared of being caught for murder or something.'
'Should I tell Ruben? He definitely won't be happy though.'
He contemplated for a while before turning around and leaving.
Osric didn't see him so he was oblivious to what just happened.
He was now on his way to the front gate again.
The cold F-rank badge rested inside Osric's pocket, proof that he belonged— barely.
After passing through the gate, Osric was glad that he didn't run into trouble again.
Along with the rope, he had also bought a small loaf of bread for 2 copper crowns. Osric now had 18 copper crowns left.
On his way to the forest he was starting to get nervous.
'I really can't afford to fail.'
He resolved himself to succeed and survive no matter what.
When he arrived inside the forest, the first thing he did was to look for the right stick to use as a spear together with his knife.
It was more difficult than he thought.
After over 20 minutes of searching he found one that was the right length, was sturdy enough and felt right in his hands.
He then tied his knife to the top of the stick with the rope he just bought.
Osric made sure it was tight enough and started swinging it around.
Although there wasn't much power or any technique behind his swings, Osric could tell by how it felt when cutting through the wind that his strength had really improved.
'This should work.'
'As long as I don't stupidly confront the wolf head on and ambush him, it should turn out fine.'
Now Osric just had to find the wolf.
Although he had no hunting skills, he wasn't too bad at tracking or sneaking around thanks to growing up in the slums.
After moving in further inside the forest with slow and cautious movements, he finally found something.
He found footprints of the wolf.
'Those look pretty big. I wonder how he compares to the dire wolf.'
'Although the dire wolf was still young and I caught him off guard with my last attack, it was still a D-rank monster and almost killed me.'
'As long as I'm careful with my approach, I should be capable of killing an E-rank wolf.'
Osric walked for another 10 minutes until he finally found the wolf.
It was around 10 meters away and was currently eating a dead deer.
Osric was hiding behind a bush next to a large tree.
He tried to calm his breathing and stay as quiet as possible.
'I don't think I can kill it before it sees me.'
'The area is too open and I'm pretty far away.'
'On the other hand, it's eating right now and hasn't noticed me yet. I just need to move as fast as possible and drive the spear into its body before it can properly react.'
Osric hesitated.
'I don't want to get hurt again like before. I can't keep fighting while being injured all the time.'
'Screw it. I can't wait any longer.'
Osric firmed his grip on the makeshift spear and got into the right position to start running as fast as he could.
After calmly observing the wolf for a few seconds longer, he made his move.
'Now!'
Osric started running through the grass with his old boots and still somewhat injured legs with all his might.
Thankfully the wolf was so immersed in his meal that he only noticed Osric when he was already halfway to him.
The dark grey muscular wolf which was only a little smaller than the previous dire wolf reacted with a low and intense growl.
It moved its head towards Osric who was now only a couple meters away.
The wolf snarled and tried to leap at Osric, but his spear was already in front of the wolf's stomach.
Because of the wolf's reaction, Osric had pierced its stomach instead of the targeted chest.
The wolf cried in pain as swung its left foreleg at Osric.
Osric barely managed to block its claws with the low end of the stick and fell on his back.
Lucky for him the wolf couldn't move with the spear still in its stomach.
Osric quickly stood up and reached for the spear and pulled it out.
The wolf cried in pain again and tried to attack Osric, but the spear had already swung down at its throat.
The injury was critical since the throat is a vulnerable spot, but the cut was still too shallow to instantly kill it.
Osric lifted his spear again and this time stabbed the wolf's left eye and jammed it further in until it pierced its brain and the wolf died.
After Osric's adrenaline subsided, he fell on his knees and started breathing heavily.
'I did it!'
He was extremely happy.
'And I didn't receive a single injury this time.'
His thoughts were then interrupted by the system.
[ Mission Completed. ]
[ Host will now receive the rewards. ]
Strength +1
Endurance +1
Stamina +1
Pain Resistance (F) —> progress increases
Unlock: System Mission Interface (Partial)
Bonus Reward: Agility +1
Although it was small, Osric could feel something change within him.
'I somehow feel more energetic.'
'I even got a bonus reward.'
Osric was curious on how and why he got it, but was mostly just thankful.
He also looked forward to the reward he would get from the adventurers guild.