After eating that little aphid-like creature, I wasn't satisfied yet. My stomach wasn't rumbling anymore, and my energy reserves were partially replenished, but that wouldn't last much longer. Not with what I was going to do.

I intended to explore, find someplace in this forest to call home, a base of operation, as to say.

"Having a place where I can return will help to centre myself."

My personal space where I would be able to sit there, without worrying about enemies and other dangers, and think of what I could do or just relax.

But to search for a suitable place, I needed to be in top conditions, as I expected to need to walk a lot, and even climb some trees if necessary.

*Well, I'm in a forest and even a giant one. I'm bound to find some beast with more meat on them.*

Scurrying around, I pass through the grass field where I actually was, hoping to find at least another Roca, or a group of them, as they looked as easy pickings. But my trek was stopped by a sudden vibration of the ground where I was standing.

Startled, I turned my head right and left, trying to what was causing that earthquake, but I couldn't see it. Then, thanks to my newfound senses, I noticed that one of my legs was shaking more than the others, hinting at the source of the quake that I discovered to be steady and rhythmic.

Curious, I went towards the direction I felt the vibration growing stronger, right behind a mound of ground that to me looked more like a hill in size. And peeking over it, I saw an impressive sight.

An army of black ants. There were at least hundreds of them, all walking in a straight, single line, and they were bigger than me!

They were also strong-looking: rough, spiked carapaces covered their large bodies from head to abdomen, and their legs were thick with muscles, more similar to an elephant than a bug. Their front legs looked even more peculiar than the others, with large, menacing plates.

And from this distance, I was unable to see them clearly, but I was ready to bet that their pincers would be quite as impressive.

[Black Arfoma Legion: A travelling unit of Black Arfoma.]

[Black Arfoma: A colonial monster that lives in large, underground nests. Lone members are a threat, and in large numbers are called a local disaster. One nest can host thousands of them, and it's advised to not provoke them.]

[Inspect Skill reached lv 2.]

After assessing the menace in front of me, my Skill got a level up. That was good, but the situation didn't permit me to fully appreciate it. No, because I was just made conscious that I wandered into what could be called an army of creatures considered a "minor catastrophe".

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

"If I mess with those, I'm good as dead!"

Especially considered my natural build: a lean, mean killing machine. Even my Skill List was nicely filled with what you could expect from one of nature's best assassins. All focused on concealing their presence for then strike at the right moment, fast and deadly.

Great for taking out single, isolated targets, not so much for attacking a horde of armoured soldiers, three times my size!

*I'd better get the fuck out of here before one of them notice me.*

I slowly backed down, carefully keeping an eye out to check if any of them saw me until I was at the base of the mound, where I started running away from there the fastest my four legs could take me.

After putting a satisfying distance, and burning two of my SP, I could concede myself a breath of relief.

*That could be bad. I'm not made to deal with that!*

Now that I was out of danger, I went back on my most urgent objective: finding food.

Deciding that the field was too full of trouble, I would try my luck in the deeps of the forest. In there, I hoped to find what I was searching for and even more.

I passed over the great trees, very similar to oaks and pine in everything but size, looking closely to see if other beings were around. I really appreciated the enhanced sight of the Mantreas, allowing me to look everywhere at once. Sure, the details were better on my front, while the rest was more on the peripheral side, but it was quick enough to turn and check any movement I perceived.

With some time to lose and no immediate threat to steer away from, I went back on my Status Board, looking at what I didn't look before, namely my Skills.

All of them had to do with the normal hunt-style of Mantreas: hit while being unnoticeable. They were Passives as they would only give me some bonuses when I tried to be sneaky and attack unaware prey.

The last two were the ones that I obtained from the "Smart!" Title and their functions were obvious enough from their name, even if I wonder when I'll need to calculate something in this life.

But, more interesting was the section "Unique Skills", with that Harvest.

[Harvest: You can collect the fruits from harvested targets. When you kill something, you'll get one of their Normal Skill if it's compatible.]

That was a Cheat Skill, my Cheat Skill. If a creature killed by me had a Skill that my body could use, I would get it, making me more powerful than before I met them. But the requirement of compatibility meant that I wouldn't always get something, leaving it to luck. And seeing how low mine was, I didn't lift my hopes too much.

Unfortunately, I had nothing for detection, so I would have to rely only on my senses to find some prey.

My prayers were answered when I finally saw it: crawling on the ground, a few meters away from the treeline, a few more from me, pale skin rippling with its movements, a live creature.

Getting closer, I got a better look at it. It was some kind of worm, about my size lengthwise, but twice the width, looking well meaty and juicy.

*It's so large that I could use its skin as a sleeping bag.*

[Bunja Larva lv 2.

Bunja Larva: Larval stage of the Bunja species. It charges at enemies with the horn on its armoured head.]

*Oh. Now I can see the levels of others. This will be helpful.*

My target was only a level higher than me, and from the description, it was a problem only if attacked from the front where its weapon and shield were. But I knew how to bypass those, and I was in the perfect position to do it.

It didn't seem to have noticed me, so I would try to sneak on it and take him out from behind.

Taking full advantage of my skillset, I crept forward, slowly to not cause any sound. It seemed like a repeat of the Roca, only with a bigger prey. I doubted to be able to kill it with one strike, but it was so slow compared to me, that I would have all the time for keeping to strike its body.

"I'm sorry that I have to kill you, but I need your flesh."

Keeping in mind that it was only another bug, I lunged with my claws, grabbing onto its back and readied a bite.

It emitted a shrill sound, for the pain of my spikes piercing its skin. Its body folded for a moment, and then it dashed away from me, with a speed that left me dumbfounded.

*What the fuck?*

I looked ahead, in the direction it went, and I found it, staring straight at me, its horn pointed forward and body folding in the same way as before it sprinted.

*Uh-oh!*

It was at that moment that I realized, I fucked up!