Sharp pain in my tail dragged me from the land of sleep into that of the living. I was pulled back towards the entrance of my nest before my mind was still half asleep. I clawed at the floor reaching for anything before my hand closed around my spear. Gripping it tightly, I flexed my core lifting up and thrusting the spear at my attacker. The tip dug deep into the cheek of the bloody Weasel and skidded off, tearing a gash in its face.

As the panic faded away I remembered that I had magic. I pumped my mana into my maw, putting as much as the spell would hold, willing the change to happen faster. In the few seconds that it took for the flames to build, the Weasel's claws dug into my tail pulling me closer to its fanged mouth. I stabbed at it once, twice, thrice before the flames roared forward washing over my arms, lower body, and down the Weasel's gullet roasting it from the inside.

An errant stab caught the back of the Weasel's throat finishing it off and causing its mouth to slam shut on my spear as it fell into its final slumber. My foot slammed into its head twice before I looted the wretched thing.

I let myself flop back panting softly. I grabbed out the Raptor meat without looking and wolfed down what was left from dinner last night. Licking my paw clean I pulled up my Health.

Health: 20/60

'Damn that spell is no joke. I need to remember to close the nest completely from now on. I'm just glad it didn't catch the nest on fire.'

My head thumped back against the tree limb before I forced myself up and move despite the pain. I gathered more small branches and completely covered the entrance. Finally turned my attention to the flashing notification.

Congratulations you have defeated level 3 Mustelidae. EXP awarded.

Congratulations you have learned the Skill Basic Spear. EXP awarded for learning a skill without a trainer.

'Well, that's what I get for being stupid. Still haven't seen another primal beast. I wonder what that means for me, well those wolves might have been but I'm not going back to check.'

Once healed back up I took my makeshift spear and jabbed it through the weave of my nest at as random of locations as I could manage. Satisfied that nothing was waiting for me. Next, I inspected my spear and winced slightly at the bite mark. I'd have to make a new one.

I let out a sigh of frustration before tossing the spear to the ground and cutting my way out of my nest. I climbed up the tree until I was barely under its leafy protection from flyers. I looked around for any signs of intelligent life. There! A smoke trail but it seemed faint, maybe only a campfire. The only reason I could see it at all was due to how bright the night was. It would take close to an hour or two for me to get there but hopefully, I wouldn't run into any more crazy beasts.

Turning and looking up toward the sky I noticed that twin moons hung in the sky. They seem to be about the same size. One was the pale beauty that I was familiar with while the other was off most of it was a dark gray but large parts seemed to glitter and shine like gold or platinum. They both seemed to hang near high in the air.

I guessed it was closer to dawn than dusk and by the time I got there the sun should just be starting to rise. With how I woke up I doubted that I'd be able to get back to sleep. Making my way to the campfire I stayed higher than the last few days. I kept my head on a swivel letting my attention snap to any movement. The last thing I wanted was to be ambushed….again.

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After stumbling my way closer and getting more and more frustrated at my horrible night vision I made it close enough for my nose to guide me. It was explicitly frustrating for me because my night vision was one thing I used to always be proud of. So long as I had any light I used to be able to walk through a room with confidence and now it was hard enough to make things out in the light of twin full moons.

I dropped closer to the ground as I got within two trees of the smoke. Moving quickly I fell through the air as I kept towards the ground my limbs fully extended to control my fall. I pulled them in close, reaching out in front of me, and landed heavily on a sturdy branch only twenty feet above the ground. Looking back I must have fallen over sixty feet and yet I was unharmed. It was good to see squirrels were functionally immune to fall damage in this world too.

Moving closer so I had a good view of the camp I made sure to stay low and move slowly knowing just how easy it was to spot movement. Four tents were placed in an arc around the campfire, a rope encircled the camp as a whole with what looked like cans hanging down from it at even spacing while a guard was on watch leaning their back against a tree looking more bored than anything else as they wilted a block of wood.

Taking a closer look at the guard it was hard to tell if they were male or female. Their body was hidden behind their leather armor, and their face had an alien beauty to it, with their angular features offset by large eyes and long ears. A recurve bow was set within arms reach of them. I couldn't see a quiver but a pack was propping their feet up.

Stirring came from the tents as sunlight started to break through the canopy. A strange group of travelers exited the four tents and started to break down camp the Elf stirred from their carving and got up to start cooking breakfast. Taking a risk I used Analyze.

Elf Ranger level:6

Human Fighter level:6

Lizardfolk Rogue level:6

Feline Beastfolk Healer level:6

Draco Sanguinis Paladin level:6

All five of them shot to their feet and gripped their weapons. Their eyes darted around searching for something. I was guessing me. I slowly backed away from the edge of my perch and backed up to the base of the tree.

"Aylwin do you have eyes on the threat?" The Draco Sanguinis' voice was a deep thrum that seemed to shake my bones.

"All that's near is a level 3 Black Squirrel." The Elf now known as Aylwin replied.

My body went locked up as panic started to build inside my chest. I was getting far too used to being in constant danger. I slowly oh so slowly started to climb around the tree trying to leave without being noticed.

"Leave it. We'd get nothing useful from something half our level. That is unless you'd like it as your new companion." A new voice called out.

"No, I'd rather get something from the nearby dungeon. Even if its level is lower, I'd prefer a more hearty companion to help Caltad hold the front line." Aylwin said.

"Much appreciated. Now let's break down camp and get to that dungeon. Remember Aylwin to keep your eyes open. I know it's a new dungeon but something from deeper in the woods might be in there." The deep thrum rolled through me again as Caltad replied.

I relaxed as they brushed aside the EXP they'd get from me as not worth the effort. I waited until the banging and clanging of metal was starting to fade away before I moved. I followed the party keeping a healthy distance between them and myself. I was hoping that if they did notice me that they'd just think I was a curious animal attracted by their shiny armor.

Whatever the case was no arrow, a shot of alarm or spell came flying my way. Caltad, whom I'm guessing was their leader, had a compass that guided them to two trees whose branches had grown together creating an arch between them. Without stopping they walked between the trees and disappeared from my sight.