Some time had passed since the ordeal. Lokie finally got his bearings and decided to look for another prey. He was indeed more afraid and wary of the forest now than ever, but he decided to keep going as he needed to find a way to feed himself.
As always, Lokie was careful and made as little noise as possible. He was walking slowly to avoid an unexpected ambush; the encounter with that rabbit beast gave him another reason to worry. It turns out, beasts in the forest have their own unique ways of combat.
One of the many reasons I passed out after my first life and death battle was probably the rodent beast I fought last time had poison on its tails or claws.
"I didn't use my Class Active skills again. Damn, it's hard to remember something you're not used to, especially in an intense moment. Let's change this bad habit, Lokie. "
Lokie walked for several hours. It has been almost four days since he ate his last meal. His time is ticking. Lokie must track a small beast, preferably the rodent beast he just encountered the other day.
Lokie would repeatedly encounter large beasts or beasts the size of a dog, and he would choose to avoid them. Fortunately, these beasts are very noisy or destructive to their surroundings, so he would notice them from a distance and avoid them.
"Crap, things are getting more dangerous here. I'd better be more careful. "
*munch* *munch* *munch*
When Lokie heard a disturbance, he hurriedly kneeled and stopped all his actions, using the tall, thick grass and the large trees as cover. He was paying careful attention to what he was hearing. This time the beast was a little closer to him, around 50-60 meters away from him and the source of the noise.
Lokie had a feeling that whatever that beast was, it was going to be a big one.
He reasoned that no beast could create such a loud munching sound unless it was a large one, especially at such a distance. He was being cautious and apprehensive, since the last battle with the rabbit, he didn't know whether the beast had any special kind of ability, so he decided not to risk it and turned back a little and tried to go around it.
After successfully doing so, Lokie didn't relax and continued traveling slowly and quietly around the forest. Lokie just had to walk for about 26 minutes before he finally found another ideal prey. Lokie saw the beast munching on the moss on the massive roots. The beast was, after all, the same as the rabbit. But it's fur was different; the last one he fought was a dirty white color, whereas this one is a slight brown and black color.
'So these beasts are fond of mosses, aren't they? I might be able to utilize these mosses as bait once I'm more confident in dealing with them. ' Lokie thought.
This time, Lokie used the same approach as before, positioned himself in a good spot, and tossed the rocks in the opposite direction, at the same time, completely concealing his presence from the beast.
Lokie followed the procedure step by step, first tossing a single rock, then a pair of small rocks into the bush.
The beast hops towards Lokie's direction, getting the same result as before.
This time, Lokie was even more determined and swift. He tackled the rabbit with his massive body, holding the beast on the ground with his right hand and his body weight. He didn't employ Choke-Lock like the last time; instead he solely relied on subduing the beast with nothing but raw strength and weight. At that moment, before the beast could use its magical antenna in its desperate struggle, Lokie gripped the beast's antenna and ripped it from his forehead.
That's right, Lokie went full ape shit on the beast. With his right hand pinning down the beast, Lokie's left hand ripped the beast's antenna without a second thought. Blood spurts out from its forehead, followed by an agonizing cry from the beast. With its antenna gone, the beast's fate was completely sealed, but Lokie didn't relax. In fact, he became much more violent as time went on. Lokie had taken an irrational or unnecessary course of action.
"Power Strike," Lokie chanted.
With his free left hand, its muscles contracted, veins protruding, forming a fist, he punched the beast's head with it.
*Crack* *Splash*
The beast's skull, teeth, and jaws cracked, and its membranes scattered on the ground.
It was overkill.
Feeling no signs of struggle, obviously. Lokie was finally able to slowly let go of the beast. He gradually returned to his senses when the beast was confirmed dead.
The battle only lasted for 10 seconds, from the first tackle to the demise of the beast. Lokie held his breath during that ordeal; after the fight, he finally had a sigh of relief. He was currently breathing heavily, nervous, and scared. The urge to vomit finally came back to him again, but Lokie endured and held it in because he knew it wasn't over; the real struggle had only just begun.
Lokie grabbed the beast as he moved in another direction; he made sure he would leave less trail as much as possible. Even though he was in a hurry, he walked away from the crime scene as far as he could. He didn't run; instead, he walked fast but stayed vigilant.
After successfully traveling a few distances, Lokie began to gather the necessary materials to make a fire.
After 28 minutes of struggling, Lokie finally made his second fire in the jungle; it was a massive improvement from before, which gave Lokie a small delight for his improvement.
Once the fire was started, Lokie moved from another direction and began skinning the beast away from his fireplace; even though he lacked any sharp equipment like sticks or rocks. Lokie brute-forced his way once more. The beast's head was smashed to mush, but it was still intact from the body. He gripped both of the beast's jaws in his hands, one for each, and proceeded to apply his strength to ripping it apart. Enough for the skin to fall off, and Lokie to hold on to, tearing the skin from its head towards its neck. Using the momentum, Lokie held tightly to the carcass and proceeded to keep pulling and tearing the skin.
For one thing, the whole ordeal was very messy; the skin just wouldn't let go of the body, so more force was applied, resulting in some meat being ripped apart, turning into a bloody mess. Then comes the removal of internal organs. Lokie has just become a certified barbaric person due to his lack of tools. He ripped the skinned beast apart with brute strength; he held the jaws of the beast and tore the meat apart until it reached the rib area and forcefully removed the organs. It was messy and bloody.
For an office worker to do this, it would be impossible, but something deep inside of Lokie is driving him to do something that he would never imagine doing in his life.
After removing the organs, he used the freshly squeezed water from the water tree to clean the beast from the inside, removing some internal organs in the process. Leaving the mess he had just made, he only brought the meat and the messed up tattered skin with him, and rushed back from the fireplace.
"Ok, so how do we cook this?" After some debate and contemplation, Lokie looked for a Y and I-shaped stick. The meat was placed in the middle of the sticks; keep in mind that the beast is larger than an adult cat or a shizu dog.
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Lokie placed the meat on the Y-shaped branch as if a person were drying his freshly washed clothes. Lokie then placed the meat near the fire while sitting on a rock. He used the heat from the fire to cook the meat for him. At the very least, he knows this.
It was already past noon since he started cooking, and he had entirely missed his breakfast and was now cooking for his lunch. This is his first time cooking in this manner, and he has no idea if it's cooked or not. Heck, he has no idea what he's doing, to be honest. Right now, all he wants to do is cook the meat, be it by turning it into charcoal or leaving it raw from the inside.
40 minutes later, yes, it took him 40 minutes to cook the meat. The meat from the outside is definitely charcoal-flavored. But the aroma of the dish was very appetizing. Well, for Lokie it was.
"Finally, tasting time! "
Using a chipped small branch as a stick for picking up the meat. placing the meat in his mouth for a tasting experience.
"Um, it's chewy like a bubble gum, a charcoal flavored gum. But since I'm the one who cooked it, it tastes 100 times better. Hue! Hue!"
The meat was very chewy and tasted like a mix of chicken and pork. Well, Lokie won't go into detail as he definitely had no idea what he had just put in his mouth.
Feeling satisfied, his tummy almost full, Lokie laid down near the large tree. Having some spare free time just now, he thought of the battle a while back. The power strike he just cast felt natural. He felt if he wanted to, he could cast two power strikes one on each hand. His left hand felt sore, though, but he had a feeling this soreness was merely a side effect of using it for the first time, like an unused muscle. Either way, Lokie was satisfied with the power strike effect.
"sigh..., so this is my life now. I wake up, hunt, cook, survive, and sleep. To think I was sent here as a gateway for the human race of Earth is surreal. What a joke! "
Finally, a moment of peace, but all of that would crumble in just a few hours.
*Awoo* *Awooo*
"Shit! Here comes the typical wolf. When there is a forest involved, wolves will make their entrance. "
Lokie was expecting to see a wolf, but this was the day when Lokie truly wished what he encountered was a wolf instead.
The four creatures appeared in front of Lokie. The sun had long set. So these creatures made a domineering entrance. As the beasts' bodies slowly revealed themselves to Lokie, he finally made peace with himself.
"I just complained a little bit about my life here, and now I'm going to die. My luck finally got to me, or did I jinx it again? "
In front of Lokie stood four beasts that had the skin of a hairless cat; yet because it was hairless, Lokie could see the beast's well-honed muscles, indicating that these creatures were veteran hunters. But their body structures were not the reason Lokie lost his composure; it was their heads. These hideous fuckers had the heads of a Fangtooth Moray Eel. Of course, the teeth came with it. It only resembles the Moray 70% of the way, and those jaws and teeth were what made it almost 70%.
"Yaaaagghh!" "yaaaaaaghhh!!" The Moray beast was shouting and making incoherent noises, making everything even more creepy.
"Ah shit! Here we go again! "
Lokie said as he held the Y-stick he had just used to cook the meat.
"Come here, you bitches! "