My body flies out of the shade of the tree, both swords raised high, successfully parrying two arrows. Another arrow pierces straight through my arm but I can still swing it so it doesn`t matter. Battle Focus is active and my vision is good enough to notice a few of the arrows as the light of the eclipse glints off their heads. A leap, a twist, a buckle, and I`m in the shade of the next tree. Without pausing at all, I jump towards the next, catching an arrow to my knee but still continuing. This isn`t enough to stop me. I won`t let it be.

　　From tree to tree like a shadow just as ghostly as the leafless trees themselves, accruing more and more arrows as I go like medals pinned to my limbs, I keep going. The intoxicating adrenaline dulls the pain and I`m able to focus only on dodging and parrying. When an arrow heads for my head and face and I can`t parry it, I sacrifice my limbs. They`ll heal, but my head sure won`t.

　　After half an hour, my razor-sharp focus begins to wane. After so many near-death experiences, I`m starting to be able to tell just how close to death I am. I`ve lost a lot of blood, but that`ll regenerate in time.

　　The arrows are moving so fast now. I can`t see them, much less parry. So after a moment of silent thought, I put the swords back in my inventory and pulled out the axe. It`s ridiculously broad, so it actually works as a shield, large enough to hide both my head and upper chest. My lower abdomen isn`t quite so lucky.

　　It doesn`t feel like I`ve got a head anymore. My body feels bereft of blood. I think most of it got stuck to my clothes. I want to take them off but they`re the only defence I`ve got left.

　　I have no choice but to go on.

　　<02:00:10

　　Day 28>

　　2:22:59:50>

　　And then, after lord knows how many hours or days or years, the arrows let up. No more arrows hit my body. I haven`t seen where I`ve been going ever since I started using the axe as a shield.

　　Numb from head to toe, I fall flat on my face, my skull meeting rock and mud because I`m a fool to expect a pillow. For the past few hours I haven`t been looking at the status messages I`ve been getting because, frankly speaking, they distract me. Looking at them in the middle of a battle is a death sentence.

　　In three days, the attempt ends.

　　Slowly, groggily, I open my eyes and look up. Before me looms that hill overlooked by the black eye. I`m here. I cleared the floor. I think.

　　I stare up at the hill.

　　Hell Difficulty First Floor

　　Boss Stage>

　　<[Clear Condition]

　　Reach the top of the hill and greet him.>

　　B-, boss stage? Hey, the floor description didn`t say anything about some boss stage, this is horsecrap! Have you even seen the top of that hill?!

　　I mean, seriously, aren`t boss stages only supposed to appear after, like, ten floors or something? And then a mid-boss at the halfway point? This is ridiculous!

　　&But, then again, if all I have to do is get to the top of the hill, then it could be worse, right? Get to the top of the hill. Compared to dodging and/or getting hit by a gazillion arrows, it`s basically a piece of cake. Even though it`s steep enough to be called a cliff or a small mountain rather than a hill, I bet I could get up there with several days to spare until the next attempt.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

　　And then I`ll greet him and be done with this whole floor.

　　Whoever he is.

　　Looking down, I scan my current injuries. I`ve taken too many arrows to my legs and arms to count, but my abdomen and head are mostly clear. Nothing to my lungs either, so I should be alright.

　　 Bleeding Resistance Lv.3>

　　Great, very useful. Snark aside, once a tolerance evolves into a resistance, it actually becomes really useful. Who would`a guessed?

　　Back to reality, I`ve got three days left until the next attempt, so I should have enough time to heal up before I start. I want to get to it straight away and get back to the lobby to get back to my full health, but that will have to wait.

　　So, even though it pains me, I take a seat and begin meditating. After an hour or so, I`ve healed enough holes and scrapes to be able to start pulling out the arrows. First my legs, one leg at a time, and then my arms. Once these have healed fully, which took about two hours, I can pull out the half a dozen stuck in my abdomen. Pulling them out reminds me of the fact that I haven`t eaten in almost a month.

　　 Starvation Tolerance Lv.10>

　　 Starvation Resistance Lv.1>

　　It`s a funny thing, no matter how high a resistance gets, the actual pain from it doesn`t go away. My body feels less weak and I can move better with the resistances, but the arrows and the poison and the starvation and the dehydration still make me lethargic with the pain. But it`s better than dying, so whatever. I start pushing out the arrows stuck deep in my bowels.

　　Interior Damage Resistance Lv.2>

　　Fun.

　　After digging around a fair bit and feeling the squishiness of my organs and pushing out the final few arrows including one arrowhead that got snapped off, I pull my arm back out. If you`re running around a lot, then if you get an arrow stuck in a certain part, the head may often stay stuck inside while the body itself snaps off, which is a huge bother. Normally speaking you shouldn`t even run with just a single arrow in your body, but I don`t exactly have a choice here.

　　With all of the arrows dislodged, I spend a few more hours fully healing the rest of the damage. Once my fingers feel alright again and my body is no longer anaemic to the point of half-death, I know it`s time.

　　<05:01:10

　　Day 29>

　　1:19:58:50>

　　Alright. Two days. I can do this.

　　I heave myself onto my feet and survey the hill. Since I`ve circled around it a dozen times now, I know very well that all sides are equally jagged and horrible. Might as well just head for it, you know?

　　As for preparations&

　　I check my inventory.

　　Yeah, all I have is what she dropped, alongside a spear and a shield and sword. Two bits of jerky and a bottle of water. I`ve eaten all of the rest and drank all of the water. Going without food for a few weeks is alright, but you can really feel the loss of water. I`m lucky my Dehydration Tolerance evolved after only a week or so or I might have really died.

　　I think it would be best to prepare myself for the worst, so I pull out my wooden shield and put the axe back in my inventory. Although I`ve been carrying it and swinging my sword around so much, none of my base stats have increased, not even my Stamina despite getting [Exhaustion Resistance (Lv.2)]. It seems that I really can only get stronger by increasing my level, which I assume comes from beating monsters. Assuming there are any monsters in this God-abandoned Hell of a tutorial.

　　First stage my ass.

　　Closing down the window, I clutch the shield in my left hand and my sword in my right.

　　It`s time.

　　Looking up towards the eclipse, I boldly make my entrance.

　　The hill is angled in such a way that it has a slow slope that eventually ends in a sharp, rocky ascent, so for now, I`m just stepping forward, keeping my eyes and ears at the ready. Battle focused out of my mind and all that.

　　And for almost an hour, it goes fine. And then, the boss monster appeared.

　　"Ha& hahahah&" It`s literally just a leopard. Big and spotted and with legs as long as spears. That last part was an exaggeration, but this is absolutely a leopard. Long, thick tail. Almost round ears. It`s not exactly as big as I imagined, but it is absolutely larger than me. Not in terms of pure height or anything, but it is clearly way heavier than me. Now that I think of it, it might have longer legs than I do& B-, but that means nothing!

　　It`s just a leopard. Sure, it`s fast, but I`m not planning or running. Its speed does not grant it immense agility. If I just keep my calm, I can handle it.

　　"GRAUUUURRR"

　　Leaping five feet into the air, I simultaneously whirl around just in time to see the massive maw of the maned lion that suddenly appeared behind me close. We-, well, hello there, um, king of the jungle& What are you doing on this horrible hill?

　　It moves closer to me, bold as can be. Gulp.

　　I take a step back, but my mind reacts for me and I quickly angle my body to the side and leap back, allowing me to turn my front towards both of the large cats. Slowly, I creep back, pulling my sword and shield closer to me. D-, don`t come any closer. I am trained in the arts of Jiu-Jitsu! I can toss you both clear off this hill without the slightest sweat! J-, just you believe it!

　　"Grrrrrr&"

　　I freeze in my step. Silently, I give a prayer to any God that will listen before glancing over my shoulder.

　　Yup. That`s a wolf.