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Book 2, Chapter 2

  Quill felt like he should have been freaking out a bit more but it didn’t really feel that bad once he had gotten a look at the situation. Said buffalo weren't going into the forest, aka the E grade Zone. So he would just hide out around the edge of that and wait for the herd to finish their stampede or migration, or whatever it was metal covered Buffalo did.

  Sure he was a little worried about the gigantic scary looking squirrel but said squirrel only showed up when he was screaming his lungs out and it was much deeper in the forest. He just didn't see the potential danger while hanging out on the edge as even if there was some scary monster that came by, he would just jump into the F grade zone and they wouldn’t be able to follow. Granted that would mean jumping into the stampede of buffalo but he had a few ideas of how to avoid getting run over and that was a worst case scenario.

  Plus maybe he could take a few pot shots at the monsters, maybe get a quick kill or two, earn some experience and also take their meat for potential future food. Like that soup he really wanted to make.

  He did briefly consider hanging around on the cliff or in the ocean but he also felt that if a monster tried to attack him in the water he would be at a severe disadvantage and the cliff sounded like way too much of a pain as he could see the stampede knocking rocks down on his head. Not to mention those birds he saw in the distance might see him as an easy target if he just dangled there for who knew how long.

  His mind made up, he began sprinting away from the ledge and towards the forest. By the time he got there the buffalo were now within eyesight of him as he entered the E grade Zone.

  Since he still wasn't entirely sure if some of those Buffalo could accidentally enter this area he moved a little further back, but still jumping distance away from the F-grade zone and climbed onto a high tree branch to get some height. This way he wasn't accidentally trampled while watching the show or easily spotted by some dangerous monster.

  At this point the ground was visibly shaking as the buffalo drew closer. Now that he had a better look at them, aside from noting that they looked like American buffalo as opposed to African, he saw how the metal looking sheen on the creatures was not just their fur also their skin, horns, even their eyes!! How was that fair?? Was it even possible to hurt them? That also begged the question were they completely metal or did they still have meat underneath.

  “You know, with your body stat getting higher and higher. I am pretty sure you could eat some metals by now for substance. And if you continue increasing your body stat you could probably eat their metal too. It might be interesting to see if you can do it..” Grey voice echoed just as the front of the herd passed by him, all of the hooves pounding into the ground making it sound like constant thunder that echoed across the trees. He had to turn off his enhanced hearing just in fear of going deaf.

  “ I am not eating metal! I don’t eat for substance but for the dopamine rush of good food! Metal sounds like a worst case scenario!” he spoke rather loudly to be heard over the Stampede. Though considering she could just read his thoughts he wasn't even sure why he was doing that.

  “ Well it can be quite nice for you to talk out loud to me, it makes me feel more seen.”

  so he was just going to not ever do that again. She can just read his thoughts.

  “Rude! Also it does seem like the Buffalo can enter the E grade area.” she pointed out as some of the Buffalo trampled into the zone but then quickly tried to push its way back into the stampeding herd still inside the F-graze zone.

  So while they could enter at will, they clearly didn't want to be inside the area. He certainly didn't blame them. He did wonder if they were intelligent enough to understand or if it was some kind of instinctual thing.

  For the hell of it he quickly casted identify on to one of the Buffalo as it zoomed past him.

  Armored bison ( young adult)

  level 35

  Often found traveling in a herd, while they usually try to live and let live they are also notoriously stubborn and territorial. If you anger one, you anger them all.

  It wasn't the most decent identify and their name was kind of lame. But at least now he sort of knew what he was working with. He identified several more as the massive herd continued to stampede past them and the ones he did catch seemed to be between the levels of 30 and 40 which was manageable if they were by themselves.

  Before he could give that any more thought his survival instincts blared with warning and yet said warning felt like it was telling him to freeze instead of move. Half a second later he quickly saw why.

  A weasel looking animal, probably no bigger than an actual weasel was currently underneath him watching the stampeding herd with great interest. Quill probably would have thought it was an actual weasel if not for the fact that the creature was green, had tiny little turquoise colored crystals decorating its fur, and gave off the sense that should said creature become aware of him. He would be dead. Not even that monstrous squirrel gave him that impression.

  It only took another second to figure out why, one of the Buffalo stumbled just passed the barrier for the e-grade zone to his left, the next second it had exploded into a fine red mist with the green little weasel seemingly teleporting in the center of that explosion. Its green fur was now red having been drenched in the things blood.

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  Quill became more still than a statue. If that thing noticed him he was 100% dead. He waited for the prime opportunity, and when a second Buffalo even further than before stumbled into the zone and subsequently exploded into a red mist, he bolted as fast as he could while manifesting up thick armor around his body in the process.

  He got the notification that he crossed back into the F-grade zone seemingly simultaneously as when his back erupted into pain and he nearly lost all concentration as he started to plummet down into the massive stampede.

  Thankfully he managed to keep his wits about him and quickly manifested stilts below his feet while simultaneously taking out a health potion and chugging that down quickly.

  It was there that he noticed he couldn't feel his body underneath where he felt the wound from the weasel, and while the stilts stopped his descent for a second, it didn't mean much when your legs weren't going to do what he told them too.

  Surprisingly his mental focus and split thinking skills actually came out to be really helpful here as he chugged three more health potions in the span of his slow descent while also manifesting two spider-like legs coming out of his shoulders and reaching down to the ground to stop him from falling again.

  One of the Buffalo immediately slammed into one of his spider legs and he manifested an extra six bringing his total count to eight legs just like a spider so he could keep his balance even if a few of the legs got hit by the buffalo.

  Their charges weren't enough to destroy the legs but they did damage and knocked them around a bit, so with the fact that he had to heal the damage caused while also controlling 8 legs. There was no way he was going to be able to keep this up for terribly long.

  Thankfully the three more potions he had chugged had returned feeling back to his actual legs so he assumed his spine was in at least a better state as he started running with the spider legs as fast as he could towards the cliff while trying his best to avoid them getting hit by the rampaging Buffalo.

  He threw a glance behind him towards the e-grade zone and saw the blood covered weasel staring back at him, obviously unable to leave. Perhaps he was anthropomorphizing it, but the weasel looked really pissed that he had gotten away alive.

  Still, there was no time to speculate or think on the matter. He needed all of his concentration just to avoid the Buffalo who would not stop for anything.

  He danced with his spider legs while moving them as fast as he could towards the cliff. Despite his best efforts though they still got hit repeatedly and he had to quickly fix any breakage or cracks among the manifestation. Though he was moving faster than he could run, he could slowly feel the drain and taxation from these manifestations while he continued to try and repair any damages that had occurred.

  As the cliff neared, he bent his spider legs and leapt over the ledge and began to freefall, quickly dissipating the legs in the process and manifesting a hook shot. He shot it towards the cliffside while swinging down until his body smashed into the rocky wall with a pained yelp. His back clearly hadn't been fully healed as he felt pain further shoot through him in the process but seeing as he was feeling pain, he took that as a good sign.

  Gritting his teeth he gripped onto the rocky surface of the cliff as it trembled while dissipating the hook shot and held on for what felt like dear life. How long was this whole Stampede supposed to last?? It had been going on for way too long and he seriously wondered about the ecological damage such a mass herd of herbivores would do to the environment.

  Random side thoughts aside, the cliff was shaking way too much with the occasional rock or boulder falling. It wasn't too much of an issue for him, assuming he paid attention to falling debris and the stampede itself didn’t last much longer. But he wasn't really liking how there were several of those large birds seemingly drawing closer to his location.

  “There is no way my luck is that bad right?”

  “I think you used up all your good luck when you met me. Also what part of your situation for the past few months makes you think your luck isn't that bad?” she commented as the closest of the giant birds started swooping down towards him with its claws out ready to snatch him up.

  “Fuck!” He didn't want to get into an aerial battle with a bird that had a clear advantage while he was also tired and a little injured. Instead, using the still trembling cliff as a springboard, he launched himself down to the water and just hoped that there was no giant fish or sea beast ready to make a meal out of him.

  He plunged into the cold water and while the thrashing waves against the cliff and rocks were harsh, they were also manageable. He also felt the sting of the sea salt on his back which made him note that the wound was still open and he hoped any blood that leaked out wouldn’t attract attention.

  The water was also shallower than he had expected but not so shallow that it posed a huge danger when he dove in. Probably only going about 40 ft which at first he thought that was great since there was no giant monster ready to go pick him up. Then he remembered the fucking weasel and his mind flashed to some small puffer fish capable of ripping him apart or some other equally bullshit creature.

  However it only took a second after that thought before he realized that the birds who flew above the ocean were capable of grabbing him in said ocean. He was suddenly yanked out into the air by a set of powerful claws gripping him. He had just barely managed to manifest a basic protective layer around him to ensure he wasn't instantly crushed or skewered by the sharp talons thanks to his survival instinct skill.

  Because he was incapable of turning around due to the tight grip he manifested two spider legs with their own sharpened points and started stabbing upwards into whatever bird had gripped him.

  He heard a surprise squawk and the bird released him but Quill was going to be petty in this case as he manifested and jammed another two spider legs above him into the bird's wings twisting. This yanked the bird out of the air and back down into the water with him.

  The bird clearly did not like being pulled into the water like this and tried to leave but Quill just kept stabbing his spider legs into the birds chest and wings ripping off chunks of feather and flesh before finally he got a system notification.

  You have killed Murderous seagull (adult) Level 37. experience gained

  Well that name wasn't ominous at all. He threw the giant bird into his storage ring and popped his head out above water to see if any more birds wanted to tango. While several were still flying above, they didn't seem as interested in diving down into the water to snag him.

  This was good as that encounter had tired him out even more and, while keeping closer to the cliff to ensure no giant sea serpent would grab him from the deep, he began swimming in the direction that the giant herd of buffalo were coming from.

  The Stampede was still going much to his confusion. Small silver lining was he now knew where he could find a lot of meat if it ever came down to it. Still though, this whole debacle had just been utterly exhausting.

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