Chapter 46

  Upon arriving at the Adventurer’s Guild, I went to the counter. There were only a few obvious adventurers around. As expected, not many people work during a big festival if they can help it. Plus, I bet a lot of them are participating in one of the many tournaments I heard about. Having a good showing in one of those is probably good for an adventurer’s reputation. Oh yeah. I wanted to go check out one of the magic tournaments didn’t I? It completely slipped my mind with all the other stuff I’ve had going on. It wasn’t like it was that important though, so I don’t mind missing it.

  The guy at the counter took one look at me and the antlers I was carrying over my shoulder before telling me that request turn ins go somewhere else. He pointed out a double door that was off to the side. I saw someone go through the doors carrying a large crate.

  When I passed through the doors, I could see that it was like a warehouse. Crates and barrels lined up. I could see some workers taking meat out of what looked like a cold room. Others were stacking up items on carts and pushing them out through another set of doors. Interesting.

  “Job completion, Missy?” I glanced to the side and saw a man sitting on a table. He was looking at me with some papers in hand. “One moment. Oi, Kel! Don’t think I don’t see you slacking off over there! The supplies for old man Steral are prepared in the back. Take those over to his shop!” He shouted.

  “Yes, Sir!” Another voice yelled in response.

  “Now what can I do for you, Missy?” He asked, again speaking at a normal volume.

  “I had to turn in these antlers as proof for my request.” I laid the antlers out on the table.

  “Can I see your guild card?” I slipped it out and handed it to him. He waved some object across it. “Ahh, you picked up a request to hunt some elkans. Wait? You took it up last night, but you’re already done?” They can scan the card somehow to look at your accepted requests? I don’t remember the guy doing anything with my card last night when I took the job. Still, this guy was obviously doubting me.

  “You can talk with the farmers in that area if you want. They pointed me to the elkans and I let them have the remains other than the antlers.” I stated.

  “You only have the antlers then? The request was for three elkans, but I see twenty antlers so you must have killed five. I’ll toss in a small bonus.” His voice was neutral, but I picked up the disappointment from his thoughts. He seemed to have been hoping for the guild to be able to purchase the pelts off me cheaply. He was also planning to send a guild agent to check the area.

  “Sounds fine.” I really didn’t care too much about what I was paid. This task had just been to get me out of the city for the night after all. He passed me some silver coins which I deposited away along with my guild card. Oh. I just realized something I could bring up. “If you don’t mind me asking, are these antlers used for anything?”

  “Powdered elkan antlers can be used in making weak health potions.” The man explained.

  I nodded and left the warehouse since my business was done there. Health potion material. Doesn’t that mean that the guild made me collect those antlers just so they could then turn around and sell them off for extra money or something along those lines? How annoying.

  “Mistress, after reviewing the information we received from that witch girl, powdered elkan antlers were not mentioned anywhere in her notes. Her health potion recipe definitely didn’t include them.” Lynn chimed in.

  That guy didn’t lie though as far as I could tell, so maybe you can use different ingredients for similar results? Or maybe Fio’s health potion recipe was just better than the one that used the antlers. That honestly made much more sense to me. Fio seemed quite talented.

  Since I’m here, why don’t I check out that study room again? The bestiaries there should mention some common uses for monster bits.

  The old elf guy wasn’t there today, instead it was a younger woman wearing a robe with a bored expression. I think I caught the sight of some horns in her hair which would mark her as being a demon.

  “Do you require some assistance?” She asked, perking up.

  “No, I’m good. I’ve been here before.” I replied. She immediately deflated back to her previous state.

  I went over to the shelf and grabbed a half dozen bestiaries. I sat down at the table and began idly flipping through them. It didn’t take me long to finish all six. None of them were all that long since they each seemed to only focus on one subset of beasts. I placed them back on the shelf and grabbed another few more and repeated the process. That should be enough for now. I still had something else I wanted to get done today.

  I noticed that the woman was watching me with fascination. “Did you just read all those books?”

  “Yes?” I responded.

  “You didn’t even spend a second on a page! How could you possibly have read that quickly!?” She demanded.

  “I’m a quick reader.” I stated simply. “I’ll be going now.” I added before she could press me with more questions. I really didn’t care to listen to that kind of nagging. I got up, returned the books and then left the study and then the guild too. I could go back to the inn for a late lunch or early dinner, but I think I’ll just pick up something from a stall on the way to my destination.

  Not that I had an actual destination in mind or anything. I knew what I needed, but actually getting there might take a few detours.

  While I wandered toward the marketplace searching for lunch, I asked Lynn to give me a rundown of the information we had just collected.

  “There was nothing that stood out as special, Mistress. There were a few particular materials that were said to have a positive effect when used for enchanting or alchemy, but that’s all Mistress would probably be interested in. Most of the information was simply along the lines of this monster having a hide as strong as steel or that monster having bones that could be used to make a magic focus. Your sabertooth fang was considered a top rate material for that.” Lynn detailed.

  I sighed. So that research was a waste of time.

  “Mistress, I wouldn’t give up on the idea yet. All the highest level monsters were remarkably sparse on the details. It’s still possibly some of them might satisfy our needs. Actually given how bare the information about those beasts was, I’d say the people of this world have never killed any of them. If any of the spirits had, they kept any special features of the materials to themselves.” Lynn added.

  So not a complete waste of time then, but still ultimately pointless reading those books. I wasn’t really enthusiastic about the idea of fighting some high level monster on this world. I wanted a challenge, but that didn’t mean I wanted to risk dying. I was pretty damn sure that if I died, there wouldn’t be any coming back like in the game. At the same time though, the mental image of sniping a giant dragon out of the sky made me crack a smile. That would undoubtedly be a really enjoyable spectacle.

  Actually, how would you even go about hunting something if you had to be careful about not damaging it because you want parts of it? If you wanted horns off the head, you’d have to be wary of hitting the head or you might break your entire purpose of fighting the monster. That sounds like a major pain. Some kind of high powered tranquilizer would be necessary, maybe. Do we even have the supplies to make something like that? I’ve never needed that for killing giant alien beasts before, so I doubt we do.

  Let’s just focus now on my agenda for the rest of the day. Finding an information broker. If this was back in the game, I could just access certain hidden sections of the galactic net for any kind of information, but I can’t do that here, so I’ll have to do this the old fashioned way. There are a few decent starting points. First would be wandering around the shadier areas of the city and visiting the taverns and stuff in that area. For some reason those kind of shops always have some kind of connection to the underworld.

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  You know, I wonder if it's like a chicken and egg scenario? Are the slums the slums because criminals congregate there? Or do the criminals congregate there because it is the slums? Oh well.

  If that fails then there is a more upscale option that is almost guaranteed to work. Personally, I’d rather try that kind of establishment first, but Lynn is very against me entering those. It’s unfortunate, but to be fair, I always seem to run into trouble whenever I visit them, so it’s not like I don’t understand her feelings.

  As for the city, it was still in just as high spirits as it was the day before. Can they really keep up this festive atmosphere for a whole month? I passed through one of the many plazas and grabbed my lunch. Coa of course woke up immediately. What a glutton she is. She just had a bunch of meat earlier too. She’ll eat me out of house and home eventually!

  That does bring something else to mind. We might have to do some remodeling on the ship and expand the small hydroponics lab for when we leave this world. We still don’t know how much time it will take to get to any other recognizable location we could restock at, so we’ll need to assume I’ll have to rely on our own stores entirely. At least the ship’s power core was replaced only a few years ago, so it should be able to handle the extra load. At least for a few decades feasibly. At that point, I don’t know what we’ll do. If we don’t make it to some kind of civilization in that time frame, we, or more accurately I, will be in a lot of trouble. I should bring this up with Lynn, but knowing her, she’s probably already taken this into consideration huh?

  As I let my mind wander, I reached the shady part of the city. While I referred to it as such, it wasn’t like it was all that visibly different from the other areas of this district of the city, except for a boarded up building here and there. There were some other telltale signs though. The main one was the atmosphere. The festive vibe that was so present in the rest of the city was very muted here, bordering on nonexistent. There were few people walking the streets and most of them had furtive looks as they hurried about their business. Their clothing looked quite shabby and they were visibly carrying weapons too. I guess that last one wasn’t all that unusual. There were also women that to my eyes were obviously prostitutes. They weren’t openly advertising it, but I’m sure their status was just as evident to the residents as it was to me.

  “Mistress, you’re staring at those women a bit too much.” Lynn’s scolded.

  Right.

  I was attracting a fair amount of attention though. It could be broken up into basically three categories. The first group were just people that were mildly interested in what I was doing, but nothing more than that. The second group were the people eying me as a target. Afterall, Coa was a bit too big now to be easily hidden around my neck and my shield jewelry was visible. My clothes were also well-made and clean. All these facts together told the story that I was well off and that robbing me would likely yield a good profit. The last group were the ones looking at me in fear and confusion. Not fear of my possible strength, but fear of what kind of backing I might have that allowed me to walk through this area so nonchalantly. Well, some of them feared my possible strength too, but those were in the clear minority. I do look young by this world’s standards even for an elf or demon.

  Do I look around for a tavern or just ask for directions to one? I think I’ll just ask. By coincidence the nearest person was one of the prostitutes. Yes, purely a coincidence. There wasn’t anything amazing from that quick conversation though. There wasn’t even any vague allusions to asking if I was interested in ‘doing business’ with her. Kind of disappointing really. My gender was likely to blame.

  Oh well, I knew where the bar was at least. I strode along, while choosing to ignore the people that were now tailing me. There was only a few of them at the moment and they were staying quite a distance back. They didn’t seem to have any plan to close in on me. For now.

  I turned a corner and found myself in front of the tavern. The Empty Flagon huh? How original. I went to the door and pulled on the handle and walked inside. As I had expected it was a dimly lit and quiet place, but despite that was full of people. How shameful of all these people to be already drinking even before dinner time! They should learn from my example! Actually, don’t I fall into the same category as these people when it comes to drinking? I do, huh?

  I was receiving even more attention here and not much of it was pleasant. The barkeep only spared me a short glance, but a quick peek at his thoughts told me exactly why this tavern was where that prostitute had sent me. It also provided me with an interesting tidbit which decided my course of action. It could be fruitful, so I’ll take advantage of this stage I’ve been provided with. A simple act should suffice, I think. Too bad this method will involve a brief detour. I’ll make sure to remedy that for my next visit. Not knowing any of the proper signals or codes is really a hassle.

  I went straight up to the bar and sat on an empty stool between two cloaked people. I took down my own hood showing off my dark purple hair. I started waving. “Barkeep! Barkeep can I get served?” I made it like I was totally unaware of everyone else and acted a bit obnoxious. Since he didn’t immediately come over, I decided to call out again. “Barkeep! Come on! I want a drink!” My raised voice killed the silent atmosphere, rewarding me with even more annoyance from my surroundings. The barkeep was intentionally ignoring me while he chatted with someone. I turned to my neighbor. “Hey! Nice to meet you! What are you having?” I asked cheerfully.

  All I got in return was a grunt. I turned to repeat the process with my other neighbor, but they stood up and moved to an empty chair before I could even open my mouth. Quick check of the room tells me the hostility towards me is ramping up and most of them are believing my act of being an innocent and naive idiot. Let’s reinforce that impression with some psi nudging. That’s right, there’s nothing suspicious about little old me. Just an idiot that wandered into the wrong part of the city. This act does make me feel awkward though.

  My stalkers had been busy while I was in here. One was waiting by the door, likely for me to leave. The rest had spread out to watch the place from different angles. They didn’t seem to want to let me slip away.

  The barkeep finally came along the bar towards me. The person he was talking to walked out of the bar and stopped next to the guy waiting there. When the barkeep was close, I spoke up first. “Finally! I was waiting you know!? Also why is this place so gloomy? Can’t you get more lights or something? My pet isn’t happy with this!” I patted Coa, but she was asleep, so there was only a small whimper like snore. Sorry, Coa. I used you for the sake of the act.

  “No. Now what do you want, girlie?” He growled at me. Oh. I hadn’t noticed, but this guy was an elf. I guess I shouldn’t be that surprised. An elf is free to become a big macho guy if he wants to, though usually they are pretty slim in stories.

  “I want something to drink!” I replied with a smile.

  He groaned for a brief moment. “What do you want to drink?” He specified with some heat in his voice.

  “Ahhh! Ummm. How about something strong? No one ever lets me drink strong liquor for some reason! Isn’t that weird? It’s weird right?” I nodded to myself. “So, I’ll have whatever you recommend.” Let’s hurry this along. This kind of scene is as bad as knowing spoilers before you read a book.

  “Sure. I’ll let you sample one of my special brews.” He stated with a wide grin.

  Yes, yes. I’m positive that it will be very ‘special’.

  He was back a few moments later, placing a large glass in front of me. There was amusement flickering around me. Obviously everyone was looking forward to watching the idiot, me, drink this ridiculously strong alcohol. The only bright side is that the barkeep didn’t drug it. I wonder how strong this is though? 140 Proof? 150? If it reaches past that, even I will have problems drinking it.

  I lifted the glass to my lips and took a sip. Whoa, this one definitely has some kick to it. Strong enough that it would likely knock someone out and that could be considered a good result! After my small sip, I took a larger drink and then another. I wasn’t going to drink it all. Maybe just half of it. Start being a bit unsteady with my hands and now was a good time I think.

  I wobbled and fell backwards off the stool, spilling the rest of the drink on the bar. Gruff laughter erupted amongst the other patrons. “Wow, that’s a dooozy” I slurred. I tried to get back on my feet, but intentionally fell over again. Of course these actions finally woke up Coa, who started crooning to me. She was trying to ask what was wrong. She was getting shriller too in response to the laughter of the bar. She was not a happy dragon. She might be a child, but it seems like she understood in some way that I was being insulted and she didn’t like that.

  I finally dragged myself up and got my head over the bar. I waved my right hand limply. “Heyo barkeep, I think, that one’s all for me. What da I owe ya?”

  “No sweat. It’s on the house, girlie.” Giving me a vicious grin. I really wanted to sock him, but I can’t do that yet.

  “Really!? You’re a pal!” I responded cheerfully. I swayed my way out of the bar, accompanied by Coa hissing at people, which just made them laugh harder.

  When I failed to push open the door, one of the other patrons pushed it open for me. I thanked him and stumbled out to the street. I took a few steps and then tilted and slid against the building.

  “Miss, are you alright?” Cue Stalker One making his appearance.

  “I’m a’ok!” I righted myself and attempted to take another step, but went off balance again.

  “Miss, you’re definitely not alright. I have a place nearby you can rest at.” He said.

  “Yeah?” I acted like I didn’t understand.

  “You can rest off your drink and then make it home easier when you wake up. Doesn’t that sound like a good idea?” He urged in a gentle voice. Well, he passes a bit on acting, but he needs to fix his expression.

  “I’m meeting lots of friendly people today! Bed sounds good.” I said with a fake yawn.

  He nodded and started leading me to a building that was not too far away from the bar. Which was pretty much the point. Prostitute points potential mark to that bar, barkeep gives them a strong drink to knock them out, and then the criminals take them to their base to rob and get rid of them. If it was a girl, they’d probably be sold off somewhere too. That was the general idea anyway. In this particular situation though, what they’re bringing inside was a monster.

  Spoiler: Spoiler

  Chapter 3

  I came back to my senses, feeling stiff all over. I had to stretch my legs out before I could get up. I ended up hitting the top of my hidey hole.

  Right, this space wasn’t actually that large. I laid back down and consulted my status again now that I was mentally refreshed.

  Not as much HP recovery as I could have hoped for, but at least my stamina was back to nearly full. Now that I actually looked at my stats, I gained something like 7 agility from when I last looked at it. Not to mention all the other gains. Even if I exclude the few agility from the skill, I still gained a lot there. Are those gains just the norm or maybe because I’m young? This should help a bunch if I have to fight again. I really hope that doesn’t happen though. That fishfrog was a lot tougher than I had expected. If it had been something more agile like myself, I don’t know if I could have won.

  Oh well. The past is the past! I won. End of story. A new day has begun! Let’s figure out how I should pass the time. The first thing to accomplish is to clean myself up a bit. I was still wet and dirty when I passed out. That needed to be rectified.

  That took a good chunk of time. Grooming yourself properly can’t be rushed. After all, a girl has to look her best!

  I’m a cat though.

  This is a dream though.

  With that completed, I finally ventured cautiously out of my hidey hole. I was stretching my senses to the max for anything that might be lurking. With how low my health was, not to mention my still sore body, I wanted to avoid another fight. I reached the end of the small wooden tunnel and glanced around. It appeared to be night, but that posed no difficulties with my night vision. I glanced toward where I had left the fishfrog, but unsurprisingly the carcass had been picked clean. I couldn’t see any tracks leading to or from it though. I’d have to look for something else to eat.

  I creeped up to the water and took a quick drink to slake my thirst before retreating to my tree. There was no reaction. I repeated the process a few more times, but nothing came out to get me. My stamina was now fully replenished, but I needed some actual food. I sniffed at the air, but I couldn’t identify anything in particular. There were just too many new smells mixing and swirling together in all directions.

  If my nose couldn’t be trusted, then I’d rely on my ears. The sounds of all the various insects were loud, but I was hoping for some sign of something else. Maybe some kind of small rodent? That would be fitting for a cat to eat. That’s not too much to ask for is it

  A game like world can be pretty convenient. My hearing had become slightly more precise, but the insects were making too much damn noise! I couldn’t pick out anything in particular due to their incessant racket.

  If I couldn’t rely on my senses, then I’d just have to explore my surroundings the hard way. Does a direction even matter? I looked past the pond. I could see the cliff that I had fallen from that way. I guess I’ll start over there.

  I moved along quietly from hiding place to hiding place. I was attempting to never linger in the open for too long. Since I was skirting around the edge of the pond without getting close, it took me a while to reach the cliff. I had to immediately give up any hope of climbing back up. The cliff face was nearly sheer. A glance in either direction told me that that detail didn’t change anywhere nearby. I’d have to search for a usable path or become able to climb an obstacle like this.

  I felt a pinch in my stomach. All this sneaky movement had made me hungry. I still hadn’t come across anything I could eat. The only living things other than myself that I had seen were some dark beetles. I absolutely refuse to eat bugs, so spare me from that please!

  I jumped and hissed as I whirled around at the sound of something hitting the ground next to me. I sheepishly looked around, hoping how loud I was didn’t attract anything. I focused on what I had heard. A nut? I swept my gaze upward. There was nothing that stood out.

  No. There was something there! It was about thirty of my lengths up and attached to the trunk of the tree. It had first looked like just a natural feature, but now that I focused on it I could catch some small movements.

  It took me a moment to get used to the sudden change in clarity. In that small moment, whatever it was disappeared. I looked around wildly and caught sight briefly of a small shape gliding and disappearing into the distance. Some kind of bird? I crept quickly after it. I saw it land on another tree and I got another good look at it. It looked like a squirrel. A flying squirrel then. I snuck up to the tree, but the squirrel spotted me and took off again. Damn. Stop running away, my breakfast!

  I tried to chase after it, but eventually I completely lost sight of it. Ahhhh, I’m really hungry now. What was I going to do now?

  I heard something rustle some leaves next to me and I instinctively pounced. That was likely a stupid reaction, since it could have been something dangerous. Thankfully this time it wasn’t. Under my paw was a small lizard. It was trying to escape, so I used my claws and killed it.

  I examined it closely. It was just a small grey lizard. No characteristics really stood out. Is it fine to eat this? Aren’t some lizards poisonous?

  My hunger pain struck again. I don’t have a choice, do I? Starving to death is right out.

  Bon appetit?

  Ugh. It tasted nasty, but at least it satisfied my stomach somewhat. My new goal is to eat a flying squirrel! I’m going to need to practice climbing, pouncing and probably some sneaking to catch one. Let’s get started!

  After I take a nap. I followed my own scent back the way I had come to my little tree hollow. I luckily managed to catch a second lizard along the way which abated the rest of my hunger. I yawned and went to sleep.

  -----

  When I next awoke, there were lots of new sounds outside. The bugs were still present, but there were sounds of birds and other kinds of animal cries. After crawling out, it seemed that night had turned into day. It was still somewhat dark and murky though. Not much sunlight was getting down here to the ground through the dense tree canopy.

  Ohhh! I watched a small fishfrog hop out of the pond. Breakfast has been served!

  Before I could even take a step out of my hole, a blur appeared and snatched it. It was a grey bird with four wings and a long beak. The bird landed on a branch, swallowed it in one gulp and then flew off. That bird could easily do the same to me too! Scary! Scary! Let’s just keep away from those things. I’ll just wait here in my nice, cozy hidey hole until I’m positive it’s gone.

  Maybe I should start looking for other hidey holes? I’m probably not always going to be able to use this one, especially once I get bigger.

  I suppose that it’s time to start my new training regime. I needed to look for a different breakfast too.

  After getting a drink from the pond, I returned to the cliff. I had decided the best place to climb would be these trees over here. The area near the pond was a bit too open for my taste.

  I padded over to the nearest tree and started to climb. When I fully got onto the tree, I froze. I couldn’t bring myself to move further up. This was just like the time I got stuck and had to be saved by Mother. I gripped the tree and started trembling. I instinctively wanted to start crying, but I knew that I wouldn’t be saved this time. I needed to get through the by my own efforts.

  That was easier said than done. It took me a while to calm down enough to release my hold and fall the negligible distance back to the ground. I felt totally pathetic. I had been defeated by a tree. A tree!

  Damn tree! You’re just a scratching board! I’ll show you who’s boss! I starting clawing at it wildly, leaving marks on its surface. There! How do you like that!?

  I couldn’t stop myself from letting out a kittenish sigh. Let’s just go catch something to eat before I challenge this again.

  My search ended up being completely in vain. I couldn’t find anything to eat! No lizards or rodents or anything! Shouldn’t a jungle have more creatures around? I found myself staring at a pair of beetles. They were the only animals I had found. The two of them weren’t even taking note of me. They were crashing into each other with their horns. It was kind of interesting to watch the one with one long horn fight the other that had three shorter horns. I hadn’t had much in the way of entertainment lately. The long horn one was pretty skillful in warding off blows and using its longer reach. Eventually it managed to skewer the other one and finished it off. It stamped around the corpse of its foe, celebrating its triumph.

  It didn’t get to bask in glory for too long before I stepped on it. There was only a moment of resistance before my claws sliced it into pieces. I know I promised myself I wouldn’t eat bugs just last night, but I’m starving. I hesitantly lowered my mouth and took a piece of the beetle in my mouth.

  It was tasty! It actually tasted better than the fishfrog! What a pleasant surprise this was! I very happily ate the remaining bits. Those beetles weren’t enough to fill me up, but it was enough for now.

  I think my problem earlier was that I tried to climb a tall tree immediately. I needed to work up to that level first. I required a lower hurdle so I could work on overcoming my trauma. A broken tree would be best or maybe a tree with a low branch. I hadn’t seen anything that fit those specifications while I was looking for food though. This dream was not being very accommodating.

  In the end, I had to settle with one of the tall trees that had a branch about twenty lengths up. I psyched myself up and then started to climb. Like before, I froze when I got about a length up. I couldn’t overcome the feelings of helplessness. I returned to the ground just like earlier.

  Damn it! I was exhausted, both mentally and physically. I went around hunting some lizards and beetles, got some water and then went back to sleep in my tree hollow.

  -----

  The next day, after breakfast, I returned to my training. Through grueling effort, I managed to get halfway to the branch. Of course, once I got there, I was stunned with indecision. Do I try to climb back down? Do I try to climb the rest of the way? Should I just release and fall again?

  No! Going back down was the easy way! I was being too lax! I would reach that branch today! There would be no giving up! There would be no surrender! Don’t focus on how high up you are, me. Just focus on the moment. Step by step. Paw stretch after paw stretch.

  I became so focused that I was honestly surprised when I found myself at my goal.

  Haha! I did it! I did it! Who’s the best cat!? I am!

  …

  How do I get down now? I glanced at the ground. It seemed so far away even though I knew it wasn’t. Compared to the fall I survived just a day ago, it’s not even worth considering. I just got to do it right?

  I jumped.

  I landed.

  See! That wasn’t so difficult! No feat is too great for me!

  I collapsed. Scary things are scary! I don’t like it at all!

  I don’t have a choice though. This practice could save me later, so I had to continue.

  And continue I did. Over the next five days, I expended nearly all my stamina on this exercise. Once I felt I had conquered this first step, I upgraded the training by climbing higher and then jumping down from branch to branch.

  My other great success was that I managed to catch some fishfrogs. My first attempt at doing so was an utter failure though. I took a lizard I had killed and then cut it open so the blood was trickling out and then dipped it in the water before dragging it back onto the shore and then dropping it there. I then went and hid a distance away to observe. I thought since they seemed to be carnivores like myself that blood would attract them.

  It worked a little too well. Five fishfrogs came out of the water together. There was no way I could handle that, so I was forced to stay hidden. One of them ate the lizard and returned to the water while the other four hopped around the shore for a little bit before following suit.

  My next attempt once again involved a dead lizard. This time instead of using the blood, I merely dipped the lizard in the water and then shook it back and forth. After all, when I was attacked, it was probably because of my motion on the water surface, so I tried to emulate that. I repeated my action of leaving the lizard on the ground before hiding. This time only a single fishfrog came out. It gulped up the food, but before it could escape, I pounced.

  It wasn’t much of a fight. After tangling with them once, I had a good idea of how they fought and I had already discovered their weak point. I feasted well that day. They might not taste as good as the beetles, but being able to eat my fill was satisfying in a different way.

  I caught two more using the same method and finally hit level three. I was surprised that it took three of them to level me along with all the those lizards and beetles I had been killing. Wasn’t that too large of a step up from leveling after a single one?

  The only thing that really bothered me during those five days of training, was that I hadn’t seen any other predators or creatures other than the beetles, lizards and fishfrogs. I hadn’t seen any more flying squirrels or that four winged bird since that first day. It struck me as very odd. Shouldn’t there be much more variety in a jungle?

  Ignoring that small detail, I was very proud of my accomplishments.

  It was a large improvement. I had received more of a stamina upgrade this level up than I had from the previous one. While it was possible that was natural, I speculated that the improved stat skills might also increase my level up bonus along with providing some stats. If they did, then I should attempt to raise those up before leveling more.

  On the other hand, a major complication had emerged.

  I was so bored after just training for four days straight! Today I was going to explore and try to find new and interesting things! Since I had spent most of my time near the cliff, I chose to go the other direction and went further inland. I was taking advantage of the situation to train my Hide skill a bit more by slinking along cautiously. I was entering uncharted territory and had no idea what I might discover.

  My nose twitched. I smelled something odd. I looked around for the source of the smell and saw one of those birds from a few days ago sitting up on a branch. It didn’t seem to be moving so maybe it was asleep? Well, I wasn’t going to waste this golden opportunity to feast on something new.

  I crept quietly up to the base of the tree and started climbing. I was trying my best to limit the sound I was making as I climbed. I wasn’t all that successful, but the bird didn’t react at all. Weird.

  Once I was on the branch, I pounced.

  There was no resistance at all and I found myself falling to the ground along with the bird.

  After landing I poked at the bird. It was dead? I didn’t see any wounds though. I turned it over. There were two large puncture wounds on its chest. The size of those wounds scared me. Whatever had attacked the bird must be big, very big to have fangs that size.

  I had a sudden frightening thought. Was it still around!? I hastily looked every which way, but didn’t see anything. That didn’t mean it wasn’t nearby though. It could just be lying in wait.

  Tactical retreat! I started running back toward my den.

  I was forced to stop and change direction when I caught the motion of something falling down. I barely avoided it. If I had spent any longer examining the bird I would have been captured.

  It was a large spider. It was at least twice as large as the fishfrog. It looked similar to a tarantula with all the hair. My gaze found itself inevitably drawn to the very, very large fangs currently undulating on its face. I think I found the bird’s predator. I had to escape.

  I didn’t get that chance. It rubbed its front legs together causing a loud screeching hiss. I shuddered and reeled at the sound. I was stunned. It took advantage of this to rush me. It was fast! I shook off the stun and narrowly dodged the charge. The right side of my body made contact with some of the hairs on its legs. That was how close it was.

  I was panicking. I had to get to my hidey hole!

  Huh? I felt my body lose balance and tilt to the right and fall over.

  Huh? Huh!? No! Nononononono!

  I could only barely move my left side. It was nowhere near enough. I turned my head. The spider was coming at me again without even hurrying. It knew I no longer had any hope of putting up resistance.