Into the forest, the woods, I dashed with utmost concentration, dodging arrow after arrow, shifting from tree to tree, tree to bush, bush to boulders, and vice-versa for each, using natural resources as cover, and blocking with my sword hand those arrows that I cannot dodge.

As I get closer to my target, whose face I've still yet to see, the arrows come at an accelerated pace and speed.

I can estimate the general direction from which the arrows fly, and that is the direction I pursue.

Soon, I could see from afar a vague humanoid "shadow" jumping from branch to branch and tree to tree. It started backing away once I started getting too close.

Fighting ranged opponents really sucks. Not only can I not relax for a moment, the opponent can lead me around by my nose.

If only I had a means of attacking from far away, something handier and with better range than a blowgun. Unfortunately, my tentacles aren't dexterous enough to wield a bow myself.

What is fortunate is that, as it turns out, by stretching my tentacles about as far as I can to widen my strides, I am still a little faster than my foe, even when they are fleeing.

After a chase that took too long in my opinion, I came close enough to see my attacker's true form.

The reason I called it, or rather, "she", a shadow before was simply because her figured looked dark from afar. Now I see why.

Her body is a pitch-black color, slender, petite, and lean, covered in fur-like feathers. She is clothed in a leather vest and shorts, and has talons for hands and feet, her feet talons clutching tight to the branch that she in standing on. Her head is a bird head. In her hands is a wooden bow. Hung over her back is a quiver that is nearly out of arrows.

A... birdwoman? but without wings.

What the hell is going on? A lizardman, a birdwoman, and some humanoid creature of an unknown but most likely different species and race cooperating together to kill me? Does this make sense?

According to that voice's description of this world before I reincarnated, being a world where races war with each other, shouldn't such individuals be clawing at each other's throats?

This world is getting more and more mysterious to me. Perhaps it isn't a good idea to stay as detached from society as I am now.

I didn't have much time to think.

Maybe because she realized she could not outrun me in my own home forest, the birdwoman dropped her bow and quiver, and pulled out a long and curved steel dagger from behind her waist.

"▓▓▓▓▓~!!" Screeching something in a bird-like voice, the birdwoman dove diagonally down at me, turning herself into a missile.

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Ignoring the absurdity of her action, I do something challenging yet just as stupid and reckless.

"Meow~!" Shrinking my flexible titanium-based torso as much as I can, with all my concentration, I dash and leap at my adversary, thrusting the tip of my extending sword hand tentacle straight at her.

Pierce!

Acquired skill, Leap, reaches level 5.

Acquired skill, Pierce, reaches level 5.

Skills, Leap and Pierce, are deemed compatible. Do you wish to combine them into the higher ranked skill, Vaulting Pierce?

Words and letters suddenly pop up in front of my eyes.

Huh? I don't have time for this. Making my decision in an instant, I think "Yes!". The system hasn't cheated me yet.

"..." What is this?

For a moment, in my intense concentration, I feel as if time slowed, yet my body accelerated, a mental illusion and a physical sensation. My tentacles became straighter, my moving form became better, more ideal, as I hurled myself at the diving birdwoman.

A faint tingling sensation tells me that my danger sense is working and that I'm leaping straight into a threat. Perhaps that skill is the cause behind this time-slowed perception.

I can clearly see her, the birdwoman, in my eyes, that killing expression and determination in her pupils.

As we get closer and closer, that killing intent intensifies, until at some point... her eyes widen in apparent realization, and she twists her body in midair.

It seems she has realized her attack wouldn't hit first, or that both our blades could reach each other at the same time, possibly getting both of us killed. After all, even though my sword hand got stumped, once extended at full reach, it still isn't shorter than her normal arm. In fact, it looks about the same length.

In other words, she chickened out, and is now trying to abort her attack and dodge.

And oh boy, her movements in midair are graceful and impressive. If I weren't in this state of time-slowed perception, she would definitely succeed. Then her guard would rise, and this battle would last longer, with the outcome harder to determine.

But since I can see her and track her movements, I won't let her.

In my time-slowed perception, I move slowly. With a poor yet adequate enough reflection of her movements, I twist my body in midair and follow in her direction.

Fear finally appears in her bird-like pupils. I wonder if she sees this same time-slowed world as me.

That was the last thought I had in my mind as my perceived rate of time went back to normal, and my sword hand and tentacle behind it plunged into and through her heart. A brief pain nicked one of my shoulders, but it didn't feel like much.

"Cough!"

The birdwoman coughed up blood, as tangled together, we both plunge from midair.

Crash!

Killed stage 2 level 35 Aylian Hunter. Gain 1575 Exp.

We fell into leaves and dirt, turning unmoving. Red blood started pooling the ground.

I pull my tentacle out of her chest. Blood sprays out, raining over me who is below her.

Parched in my thirst and exhaustion, I lap it up.

Ah, delicious!

After I finish drinking my fill, I lay sprawled on the ground, breathing in and out.

Although that was an extremely short battle, for some reason, I feel very exhausted. Was it the run and chase all the way here? Or that moment of extreme concentration at our clash?

Either way, I can't just sit here catching my breath for long. I have to go back right away. I don't know how long Sara can last against those 2 strong opponents.

Suddenly,

DOOOOOMM~!!!

A loud smashing sound resounded throughout the forest, startling the local birds in the trees' foliage into flying off in panic. Even I was stunned.

That sound... It feels like it came from the direction of the clearing...

"!"

Panic fills my body from within.

That kind of sound is never good!

I quickly rush back the direction from which I came.

After a moment's thought though, I come back to this spot of recent battle to pick up the birdwoman's corpse. This thing should still be of use. I'll bring it back.