The Mountain Hermit

Ragnarok, catastrophe, Armeggedon, the end of the world...

Whatever you want to call it, nobody ever expects it to happen. People prepare for it and theorize about whether it would be a zombie virus of some kind or maybe an attack by monsters. But no one ever has an answer until it happens.

Well... it happened...

Suddenly the earth shook violently and fissures in space opened up and allowed creatures of unknown origin to trample the world. Humans never expected such an attack, leading to the death of millions all over the world on just the first day.

Over the course of several months that number would reach the billions even though humans began to 'evolve' and exhibit strange powers to fight back against the creatures that attacked them.

As humanity struggled to survive together, one man, a hermit, casually killed off monster after monster like not a day in his life ever changed...

- - -

Deep in the Sierra mountains on the western side of the United States, an old man sat in front of a fire whittling a piece of wood. His wrinkled hands moved swiftly without an ounce of wasted movements. The scars along his fingers, and the remnants of muscle showed just how long he had been going about making things out of wood like he was now.

His hazel eyes barely seemed open with the old man bags under his eyes but they kept darting around swiftly at every minute movement his hands made. Once he was done, he gently blew through his rough grey beard to remove the wood shavings, revealing his project.

It was a bunny.

It was rough around the edges, but it still looked quite cute. He put his whittling knife down and went back into his tent with his bunny friend. Inside this tent, there were a line of other similar figurines of other animals.

They all were like cute figurines for children you might find in a toy store if they weren't made out of raw wood.

"Mmn." The old man nodded, satisfied as he lined them all up.

As he was inside the tent, he casually glanced over to a picture of a woman and child, that hung next to a dog tag. He went into a daze for a second before turning around promptly and leaving.

On the slightly rusted dog tag it said, "Leon 'Pride' Hudson."

Once Leon left the tent, he went over to a cargo box he had off to the side and opened it up. Inside, on top of a blanket, was a bow fashioned out of wood and string. There were also several arrows tied up inside, and he grabbed it all.

He then grabbed one of his bigger coats as well as a tool belt full of many things and set out into the wilderness. While it wasn't uncommon for people to camp out in the mountains, especially in places like Yosemite or around Lake Tahoe, he was in untouched territory.

It was a true wilderness where bears, wolves, and mountain lions ruled. One wrong move and he would be dead... and he brought an old-fashion bow.

As he made his way through the trees, he walked low and slow, careful about how much sound his boots made on the snow below him. Steam rose out of his mouth every time he breathed while he strained his ears to listen around him.

He heard the rustling of trees and the distant chirping of birds, however everything else was quiet.

As he listened, his eyes darted around, searching his surroundings intently. As he came across a cluster of trees, he finally heard something. He stopped moving, listened to the sound for a while to confirm before moving.

'Only one. Probably an outcast.' He thought as he slowly pulled the bow off his back and nocked an arrow.

As he peeked around a tree to get a glimpse of what was ahead, he clearly heard the sound of chewing and tearing. In the distance, was a wolf tearing into the flesh of a deer carcass. The wolf was too busy chewing to hear any of Leon's movements but with the distance between them only being a little over 20 meters, it was important not to move too much.

Leon patiently waited, making sure only to make small movements while the wolf was in the middle of tearing off pieces of meat as he got into position. With his arms out and his bow taut, he was ready to release the arrow at any time.

Waiting until the wolf came up one last time, he let go of the bow string, letting the arrow whistle through the air. The sound caused the wolf to turn in the direction of the sound, which became its downfall as the arrow went straight through its eye and lodged itself in the back of its skull.

The wolf barely let out a yelp as it collapse on itself dead.

Leon waited a bit just to make sure it was actually dead before he got up and walk towards his prey. He wasn't able to get very far however before he heard a ding. He paused in place and got down low, swiftly looking around to see what made that sound.

It reminded him of a bell but who would be ringing a bell in the middle of the wilderness? If anything, it was dangerous since nearby wildlife might hear it and move toward it.

Before he could think anymore, something popped up in front of him. Something strange.

*ding!* [You have slain a grey wolf! + 5 exp gained!]

*ding!* [You have leveled up!]

*ding!* [Your proficiency with a bow has earned you a skill! You have learned Bow Mastery (F)]

*ding!* [You are the first human to awaken. Congratulations! You have earned the title: The First Awakened!]

*ding!* [Your timing in impeccable! You have awakened 0.00001 seconds after the Universal Law System has been established. A special reward has been placed in your inventory.]

A dozen or so of these strange messages loudly popped up in front of his vision, like some sort of video game yet only two stood out to Leon.

*ding!* [Earth has now become under Universal Law, the first stage of terraforming will begin in just a moment.]

*ding!* [All living beings are now subject to Universal Law. Use your strength and cunning to survive. Good luck!]

Leon stared at the messages that were suddenly in his vision for a bit before swatting them away like flies.

"Maybe I've been out of touch with society for too long." He mumbled to himself while scratching his beard.

He then moved over to the wolf carcass slowly to examine it. He kept his steps as silent as possible since other animals could always be waiting camouflaged in the snow ready to pounce at him.

*ding!* [Your proficiency with moving silently as earned you a skill! You have learned Silent Steps (F)!]

"Ugh.." Leon cringed at how annoying the bell dings were becoming before getting close to the carcass and examining his handiwork.

It was a clean shot through the eye, as bright red blood oozed out of the wolf's eye socket and dyed the snow a beautiful red. He ignored the mess and firmly grabbed the arrow shaft with his other hand on the wolf's head.

With a quick yank, he freed the arrow out from within the skull's grasp.

'Still sharp.' He thought as he touched the tip of the arrowhead gently with his fingers. He then quickly covered up his fingers with the mitten part of his gloves and dipped the arrowhead into the snow to scrape off some of the blood and brain matter.

Afterward, he tied up the wolf in preparation to drag it back with him but then took a look at the deer carcass. It was also quite fresh, but he didn't need both bodies. The deer already succumbed to death before his arrival so he left the carcass for other animals to eat, should they come across it.

He only pulled out a hatchet from behind his waist and hacked off the antlers, hoping to make some more cute animal figures later.

*ding!* [You have obtained deer antlers x2 (crafting materials)!]

*ding!* [Your proficiency with harvesting animal parts has earned you a skill! You have learned Material Harvesting (F)!]

"Ugh I really need a drink." Leon mumbled to himself as he stuck a pinky in his ear in an attempt to get rid of that bell sound.

He swatted the messages away again, slung his bow over his shoulder and made his trek back to his camp. He continued to move as silently as he could, unconsciously using his [Silent Steps] skill while straining his ears to listen to his surroundings.

*ding!* [Your proficiency with hearing your surr- "Fuck off." He growled as he swatted nothing away from his ears.

The ringing bell and these strange floating text messages were quickly getting on his nerves but they became the least of his problems as the once silent forested mountain he had lived on for almost two decades now suddenly became very active.

Growls, howls, squeals and many more echoed throughout the mountainside like they were all calling out at the same time to wage war against one another.

"Having the young-ins already grown up? Man time flies by." Leon casually commented as he shifted the rope over his shoulder again, dragging along the wolf carcass back home.