I awoke sometime in the middle of the night. The corpse of the mongoosebear was right next to me, and I was happy to notice that I felt fully rested. And completely unscathed. The leather armor that I’d taken with me was a bit beaten up, but my body was just fine. For that matter, I didn’t even feel any pain from my ribs as I got to my feet and stretched my limbs.
Weird, but I wasn’t going to complain. I still hadn’t really gotten completely used to my higher vitality stat, so I figured that any healing done was probably because of it.
And speaking of stats, I’d leveled up from the fight with the mongoosebear! I promptly put all 75 free stats into mana. A huge part of my aiming problems had been caused by a lack of a real hand, and Mana Prosthetic now provided a fix to that. Also, my Mana Arrows used up some mana, so increasing that stat was one of my highest priorities at the moment.
With all of my free stats spent, I checked my new distribution.
STATS
Strength: 69
Dexterity: 169 (233)
Speed: 136
Vitality: 69
Perception: 70
Mana: 107
Magic Power: 69
Free Stats: 0
Mana had quickly become one of my highest stats, which was a bit ironic, considering I’d left it completely in the dust before. Despite that, I was still only sitting on a little over a thousand total mana, which wasn’t even half of the 3500 I needed.
With more mana though, Focus was now an actual contender for a General Skill I could use. It’d saved my life the night before, and I could really begin to get some use out of it. Currently, I could activate Focus for 7 seconds at a time, using 80 mana each second. I had more than enough mana for that, though I wasn’t sure what would happen if I used up the full 7 seconds. Previously, I’d never even had enough mana to use more than one or two seconds.
Part of me wanted to test it out right then and there, but I decided against it. If anything, the mongoosebear had shown me that I really couldn’t hang on to a Skill like Wisdom anymore, if I wanted to survive my vacation through the forest. I was sure I would have died if not for Focus, and the beast had been on the lower end in terms of levels I’d seen from some of the bigger creatures around. Not only that, but it had also been injured before I even got there. I’d be in more than a little trouble if something decided to hunt me instead.
Choosing a new General Skill had quickly moved to the top of the list of things I needed to do. I sat back down next to the prize of my hunt. Even after however long I’d been out, its body was still warm.
In terms of new Skills, there weren’t many that I was excited about. Running was a realistic, but boring choice. It wouldn’t directly make me faster. It would improve my form, which would in turn allow me to pick up more speed. And while Meditate made a bit more sense for me now, that sounded even more boring than Running did. So, rather than picking one of the two choices that made the most sense, I decided to go over the entire list of Skills again, just to see if I could find anything interesting.
There was Survival Tool Crafting which would allow me to make tools out of sticks and stones. It was good to have if I ever lost my bow, but if I lost my bow, I’d probably end up dead anyway. Plus, I needed something that was good for more general situations.
Climbing would have been nice to have when I was still trying to get out of the valley, but I didn’t have any intentions of going back to Belias. Not any time soon, at least.
There were plenty of social Skills, from Bartering to Diplomacy to Intimidation. There was even a Skill that would increase your own sex appeal, but I wasn’t very interested in that one. It wouldn’t exactly save my life here.
One Skill, called Iron Nose, made it easier to pick up the scent of iron. Absolutely useless for me, but I imagined it could be useful for miners or blacksmiths. Or just anyone who wanted to find iron for whatever reason.
I spent the rest of the night looking through the long, long list of General Skills. The vast majority of them were too specific for me to ever need, like Diving, which only helped when you dove in water from high places. I couldn’t imagine very many scenarios where I’d be making any use of it, though. Only when the sun finally started to light the forest did I finally find something good. Embarrassingly enough, it’d been at the top of the list. I’d just never actually read its description.
Animal Lore. It would work in tandem with Identify to give me more knowledge of certain animals. Considering I’d never even heard of a mongoosebear, or anything else that I’d seen around in the forest before, it sounded like a Skill that I could actually make some good use out of. And while it wasn’t quite as flashy as what I hoped to find, it was much more interesting than running or meditating all the time.
I spent a while looking through more Skills, but my mind had pretty much already been made. In the end, it was already morning by the time I finally switched out Wisdom for Animal Lore.
System Notification: New Skill!
Animal Lore - Learn more about the animals you find.
It was a bit annoying that the Skill either didn’t give anything when it gained levels, or it didn’t tell me exactly what it would give, but that was fine. I still had yet to even try the Skill yet. Not that I’d planned on waiting for long. I quickly turned to the dead mongoosebear beside me and Identified it.
(Giant MongooseBear corpse)
I was almost completely sure that Animal Lore hadn't been used there, which meant the Skill likely only worked for living creatures. I’d sort of imagined that would have been the result, but it was still a bit saddening. Regardless, it meant I just needed to find something alive to test my new Skill out on.
But first, I’d finally completed a hunt, which meant no more jerky for the time being…
“Shit,” I whispered to myself. Despite everything, I hadn’t come into the forest nearly prepared enough. I didn’t even know how to make a fire, let alone how to cook without a pot like Lise had used.
I wasn’t going to let this all just go to waste though…
A while later, I was running with a full stomach and a blood-covered face. Raw mongoosebear wasn’t very tasty, but it was filling. It was also far bigger than what I could carry with me, so I left the majority of the carcass where it was. Something or some things would come and finish up the rest soon enough.
For now, my next destination was a river. Between my breakfast, as well as the fight the day before, I was covered in mud and blood. And while my appearance wasn’t a very large priority, I also needed water to refill my waterskin, so I figured I could take care of both of those issues at the same time, and make things a bit easier on myself.
Perfect Memory was amazing for situations like this. I wasn’t exactly sure where I was, but from my view from the mountain, as well as my memory of Victor’s map, I knew the general direction that I would find the closest river. It had barely even taken a fifth of the day for me to get to it.
Clear water moved along in a slow current. The river was thin enough for me to easily jump over, though plenty of fish swam inside it. Not a single one of them looked familiar, but when I thought about it, this was also my first time even seeing a fish. Before cleaning up and filling my waterskin, I decided to Identify one of them.
(MosquitoFish - Level 14)
(MosquitoFish are a species unique to the Forest of Beasts. While individually weak, they can overwhelm animals much larger by latching onto their targets and draining the blood from their body. A large school of MosquitoFish can fully drain most creatures within seconds.)
Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
Ah, Animal Lore was already coming in handy. I’d fully intended to go in the river at first, but with how many of the mosquitofish were swimming around, I didn’t want to chance it. Not when I knew exactly what they were capable of. I wasn’t scared of just one, but with the dozens that I saw around, I didn’t think I had very good chances of escaping them all.
Instead, I decided to follow the riverbank, until I got somewhere that didn’t have any of the innocent-looking bloodsuckers. First things first, I made sure my waterskin was full. I wasn’t really going to be in danger of dehydration so long as I was in the forest, but it was always good to be prepared. Or at least, as prepared as I could be. No one had really told me how to survive on my own, considering Cyril and Lise always thought I was just going to stay with them, and Victor probably had every intention of keeping me as a weapon until I died in whatever dumb battle he wanted his legion to fight.
After getting some drinking water, I stripped down to my underclothes. They’d gotten mud on them as well, but they were only just starting to dry off. I didn’t want to walk around in soaked clothes all the time. The leather armor at least would be easy enough to dry, and was also much more soiled.
I dumped the tunic into the river, using one hand to hold on to it, and another to try and rub off all the bits of blood and mud that were stuck to it. Getting my fill of mongoosebear meat hadn’t been a very clean affair.
It’d only been a few short moments after cleaning that I heard the sound of splashing water. At first, I assumed that something had fallen into the river, like a tree or some animal that lost its footing. But the splashing sounds never stopped, and my increased perception helped me quickly pick out that they were coming closer, and quickly at that.
Just as I started to wonder if I was going to have a mosquitofish problem, I caught sight of an entire school of them swimming toward me. They were fast. Faster than I was, or would be for quite a while, despite how much higher of a level I had. I jumped to my feet, completely forgetting about my armor. The mosquitofish were there within seconds, and tore the armor to shreds. Apparently, Animal Lore had forgotten to mention that the fish also had sharp teeth that could rip apart tough leather.
I picked up my bag and bow and ran away as quickly as I could. I was leaving the leather skirt behind as well, but saving my armor wasn’t nearly as important as getting away was. I wasn’t sure how many mosquitofish there had been in total, but there were definitely enough for me to want to be careful.
My ears picked up the sound of buzzing coming from behind me, right after some more splashes. Fearing the worst, I turned around to see dozens of the mosquitofish flying straight toward me. They flapped their fins much like wings. Animal Lore had inconveniently left that part out too… Great.
I picked up the pace, took a turn, and tried to put some trees between the mosquitofish and I. The good thing was that they weren’t nearly as quick in the air as they were in the water. In fact, I had the edge on them now, but not by much.
Unfortunately, it seemed they had the ability to go through the forest much better than I could. They weaved between trees, slowly catching up to me each time I needed to adjust my footing or slow down to avoid some obstacle.
Had I been a bit closer to the mongoosebear, I would’ve ran back there, and hoped the mosquitofish would choose the easy meal over myself. I’d end up dead before that would happen, though. In the end, my best bet was fighting for now, until I could think of something else. Or, if things turned out well, the mosquitofish all either died or just left me alone.
Using Perfect Memory, I was able to count an entire 58 of them. I had more than enough mana to take them all down, assuming I only used Mana Arrow. But, it wouldn’t be that easy. If I turned around and took the proper time to aim, I’d either end up running into a tree, or letting the mosquitofish get very close. Neither of those were very good options.
With Focus though, I’d have a better chance. I’d be able to fire off arrows while I continued to run away, just as I did the day before. After taking a few more moments to formulate a plan, I put it into action.
A thick root jutted out of the ground. I jumped over it, spinning in the air as I did so. I waited, then activated Focus as soon as I was facing the creatures that were chasing me. I didn’t waste any time aiming at the closest mosquitofish, and shooting a Mana Arrow at it.
90 mana later, and I received the kill notification.
System Notification: You have killed a MosquitoFish (Level 16)
System Notification: You have killed a MosquitoFish (Level 11)
Even as I had to stabilize myself after landing, a grin grew on my face. My plan had worked much better than expected. The arrow had blasted right through two of the mosquitofish, killing them instantly. It seemed these things were all about speed, which would explain how they were so fast for such a low level. I wasn’t sure how stats worked for animals, but these seemed to have put almost all of them into speed.
Good. I was outnumbered, but they were outmatched. I jumped into the air, spinning, and did it all over again. It was time for another hunt.
[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]
System Notification: You have killed a MosquitoFish (Level 18)
System Notification: You have killed a MosquitoFish (Level 14)
System Notification: You have killed a MosquitoFish (Level 15)
System Notification: You have killed a MosquitoFish (Level 10)
Over several attempts, I’d reduced their numbers quite a bit. Just about half remained, which wasn’t entirely ideal. I was already down to 440 out of 1070 mana. Despite how much I was trying to drag this out, I hadn’t regenerated a single point. I wasn’t sure why, but the fact that it wasn’t was the cause of more than a little stress. If things continued like this, I’d run out of mana before the mosquitofish would be killed off.
I jumped again, flying and spinning through the air for a short moment. Just when I was facing the mosquitofish, I activated Focus.
System Notification: Focus can not be used until the next dawn.
I tried to keep myself calm. I really did.
“FUCK!”
I’d completely forgotten about Focus only granting a certain amount of time. Apparently, “7 seconds at a time” actually meant “7 seconds per day.” The school of mosquitofish was still far too large for me to want to risk fighting them head on. Without Focus, I was pretty much useless.
Or at least, useless while still running. I had mana left. If I could just take enough of them down before they got to me…
I turned around and jumped backward, sending myself as far as I possibly could. A tree trunk caught me before I’d even started to slow down, but I didn’t care. I aimed, and fired an arrow.
I just needed to hope I could get them all before they could get me.
[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]
Vauna could hardly believe the stupidity she’d seen from just a single person. Luna had slept in trees, as if they’d protect her from anything. Actually, she’d even slept right next to a mongoosebear with open wounds, as if nothing was going to come check out the scent of so much blood. Then, she’d just eaten its raw meat, as if she didn’t need to worry about getting sick. Then, Luna went and washed off bloody armor in a river full of predators. Predators that literally survived by drinking blood. And to top it all off, she was going to get herself killed rather than running away from the hungry horde of mosquitofish.
All that and a million other stupid things that Luna did could’ve gotten her killed. Vauna wasn’t sure why Victor seemed so fascinated with her. Luna was just a dumb girl, even if she seemed to be much more dexterous than what would make sense for her level.
Vauna had her orders though, and she wasn’t planning to let the commander down. It was time to reveal herself.
[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]
Time seemed to slow, and I could only watch as the mosquitofish came closer. I didn’t have time to turn and run. I didn’t have time to fire any more arrows. It was over.
“THESE ARE MY HUNTING GROUNDS, YOU STUPID MOSQUITOFISH!” A voice rang out through the forest, with an accent that I didn’t recognize.
Before I even realized what had happened, the mosquitofish were all on the ground dead. In front of them stood a tall, seemingly human woman.
“Who are you?” I quietly asked, my tone much more nervous than I hoped it would be.
The woman stopped laughing, and turned around to face me. Only then did I notice the unusual ears on her head. They weren’t human. “I am Reya!” She crossed her arms and laughed again.
Her hands looked human, but her nails extended into sharp claws. I also got a peek at her pointed teeth, and a striped tail that extended down to her feet. Her chest and part lower half were covered by clothes made of fur that I didn’t recognize, but it was apparent that Reya was only covering up the bare minimum. She didn’t even wear any boots! She also seemed a bit… wild, to put it nicely.
“Thank you for saving me,” I said politely. “But I should leave. I want to see the glowing trees as soon as possible, so-”
“A great coincidence!” Reya cut me off. “I was going to make my way there as well! We shall travel together!”
(Warrior - Level ???)
My eyes widened. Of course she was at such a high level. “No, that’s fine. I wouldn’t want to trouble you.”
Reya laughed again. “Do not worry! Very few beasts in this forest can match my might! It is also rare that I can travel with a companion. You would not be troubling me!”
“No, really, it’s fine. I should probably go alone, anyway. For, uh, reasons.”
Reya placed a hand on my shoulder, a sad look on her face. “You are sure you must travel alone?”
“Yes.” I felt her squeeze my shoulder
“Truly sure?”
“Ye-” Her grip tightened.
“Truly, very, sure?”
“Y-” Her grip tightened further, a bit more painful than I would have liked it to have been.
“Truly, very, incredibly sure?”
“A-actually, I guess it couldn’t hurt to travel with someone else every once in a while.” A nervous laugh found its way out of my mouth.
“Very good! Let us begin our journey with each other immediately!” Reya laughed again, and took hold of my hand. “Onward!”
I sighed, following behind her. I wasn’t even completely sure what was happening, but this felt a lot like being kidnapped again. I really needed to stop getting stolen by people.