Solo Player Arvin

It was very weird. To run faster Arvin would start pumping mana through his whole body. This way his body started working on overdrive and he would be able to run very fast. But now he is not able to control mana in his body. He doesn't know why but he can't do anything with the mana that he had right now. Arvin tried expelling all the mana from his body and then recover everything back. 

But also didn't work as the mana in his body was non-responsive. Arvin then tried weaving a magic circle, but somehow that is also not possible. Arvin wanted to sit down and strategize about how he should play in the situation. But the time was very crucial at the moment. So Arvin decided that it would be for the best that he think about this while running…

Arvin then started moving down the hill by the stairs that were just beside his platform. While going down Arvin started thinking about could be consequences of this. As Arvin was not able to use mana, he was just a normal human for now. But that didn't mean that he was weak as a normal human. His body still was capable of doing some incredible feats. But he could showcase all of his powers now…

Arvin then started what could be the reason behind all of this? The people that designed this place wanted to test their endurance then they could have made it a simple race. But instead, they also gave him a timer. That meant that they have to cover the race in the given amount of time. And that was very concerning…

From what Arvin was able to observe, the sword in his hand was indeed getting smaller. But from his calculation, it would take around 7-8 hours before the sword vanishes. And that time was enough for any healthy and strong level-1 Acolyte to cover the distance of 50Km. That meant the weakest person that enters this place also have a shot to complete the race. But then what is the point? If the purpose of this race was elimination then a weak person could also complete it. 

Unless… Unless this race is not simple. Till now Arvin was considering that this forest was a simple forest with nothing to worry about. But what if the forest is filled with dangerous animals or booby traps? Then that could face a problem. If that is true then the purpose of the timer could be justified. And now with mana gone people have to resort to fighting with their weapons and such. And then…

'FUCK!' Arvin screamed inwardly and then stopped. 

He didn't realize one very crucial thing. And that the now people could not use their spatial rings. After all to use them one has to send some amount of the mana in the ring. Then only they would be able to bring something out or toss something in the ring. As Arvin was not able to use mana then he presumed that others will not also be able to do so. That meant they are stuck in this place without any weapon…

But then Arvin remembered another crucial thing. He remembered that before becoming an acolyte he was able to use his inventory just fine. So could that also work here? To check Arvin summoned a beef jerky from his inventory. And to his surprise, he was able to bring the jerky out. That meant he could bring other things too. That meant that he could use his ax.

Arvin then also checked his kunai knives. They also seemed to work fine. Arvin was very happy to find out that his inventory was workings just fine. Then just to check another theory he checked whether he can cast an illusion. And surprisingly that worked out too. That meant that he could use all of the skills that are provided by the system. So it could be said that Arvin had some edge over the other contestants.

…

As Arvin reached the bottom of the stairs he stared at the green forest in front of him. He understood that he had to complete the race. But he also has to complete it in one piece. So he had to be very careful. With that thought, Arvin started venturing inside the forest. Arvin was not running at full speed. Instead, he thought that it would be better if he jogged. 

Jogging would help him locate and booby traps or something that could be anywhere in the forest. It was then the forest became really quiet. And Arvin was able to notice it as he just jogging and not letting his guard down. Then Arvin started hearing the howls of some creatures. And if is not mistaken then howls belonged to wolves. And it sounded like they are extremely close to Arvin's current location…

He knew that he could outsmart a dog or a wolf in the jungle. It would be suicide to deal with them in the open field. Arvin started running at full speed. While he was running, he ran in circles around one tree, and then he moved on to another. Then he ran in a circle around the other tree and then he moved on. This was the classic military strategy to counter canine dogs. This tactic could easily counter the powerful noses of the canine dog. He read this information in some book.

Arvin did this with a bunch of trees in random directions. Then he found the densest tree he could find and climb at the top of it. Then he waited…

Soon he started hearing some growls at some distance…

Arvin kept quietly lied down on the branch of the tree. He took out his ax, just in case. Then he calmly waited. Without moving a muscle, he waited. Then he saw…

A creature with no eyes. It was like a black dog. It had no eyes or ears. It had a small tail like a Doberman. There were just these open slits like that of a fish's gills present instead of his eyes. He was looking at the ground, Arvin figured that he was smelling him. But he was baffled as he had never seen an animal like this in his life.. He was never a fan of animal documentaries, but still… It was like that he was on an alien planet and that is an alien in front of him.