*Alright. Let's see what my options are.*

I needed a place not too close to the grass field, but neither too deep in the forest. The first was because I knew what expected me if I ventured in it, the second was because I had no idea of what kinds of beasts were roaming in there, but I was in no hurry to find out.

The solution was in the middle grounds: the outskirts of the Vilpuo Forest. An open enough space, with creatures that were more at my level and plenty of places to hide when needed! Grass to camouflage in it, trees to climb and fat worms to eat, a true bug paradise.

I looked around, trying to find somewhere that could satisfy my requirements: it had to be not in direct view, with an entrance easy to hide, with some room to move and store reserves of food and sturdy. The only thing that had all of these qualities was obviously a tree! I don't mean climbing and making a nest on a treetop as it was too dangerous and closer to birds for my liking, but inside of one.

*Yep. I'll have a literal treehouse for me.*

That was my objective: a nice hole in a tree trunk. Many animals lived in those, no matter the size or the genus. It was almost like it was the natural answer to the question "where to live?" so much that you had to be careful not to enter inside one that was already occupied by someone.

Speaking of, that was something I should be wary of myself, as that was a real risk.

My first idea was to climb and find an opening in the bark, large enough for me to enter and too narrow for the larger predators, like birds or lizards. But I had to dismiss it quickly as there were so many negatives about that idea.

First of all, I would have to carry my food all the way up, blocking my hands, which were also my only weapon, and making myself vulnerable to aerial attacks on my back. Also, such places naturally formed were probably not roomy enough for me, regardless of the food, and I hadn't the right toolset for woodcarving, not unless I was willing to pass a few months working on it. And I wasn't and never would be.

"Not mentioning that I would waste myself away before even making enough room for me to enter."

Another option that I discarded was to find a tree with an already existing hole in it. To accomplish that, I would have to find an old plant, and around me, there were only trees on the youthful side of their lives. They were thick, full and flourishing, and way smaller than those I could see in the distance.

This part of the forest was at least a few decades old, and such cavities occurred near the century mark, depending on the wood's quality.

And if these trees were like the oaks and the pines they resembled, I would have to search for even older ones.

*Shame. It would've been so cool .*

Maybe in the future, I would be able to realize that dream of a living house-tree. But at my current level, I had to make do with what I could find, leaving with the last choice: a burrow under the roots.

When trees grow, sometimes their roots made some space in the ground, digging and moving the soil, creating a perfect den to be taken by the closest opportunist, in this specific case, me.

So I went, picking around the base of the many trees, looking through their roots to find a hole that was, hopefully, still vacant but not going too far from where I killed the Bunja Larva. I loathed the thought of dragging that carcass for too many meters, especially with the pain in the side from the injury it gave to me.

With the level up, I noticed that the wound was fully healed, leaving only a strip of paler flesh where it was. It had to do with the strange, game-like rules of this world, as I didn't think that insects had good natural healing abilities.

Anyway, even if the injury was sealed and my HP was filled up, the pain didn't subside, reminding me how close I was to being skewered by that horn.

It wasn't debilitating, but the soreness made me cautious, trying to not exert my body too much. The pain was a signal that not everything was alright in there, so maybe the healing wasn't complete as it looked.

As the abdomen was where many of my organs were, I had to be more careful with it.

Back on the main task, I finally was lucky enough to find a suitable space under the roots of one of the pine-like trees, just about ten meters from the border with the field.

The plant wasn't one of the tallest or the thickest, and its dark brown bark was rough and scaly, with bits of it flaked off and fallen to the ground, but it had many branches covered by its needle-like leaves, so much that the sunlight had difficulty at breaching through. It looked healthy and sturdy enough to withstand a storm, with its roots digging in the ground to search for nutrients and stabilize the trunk.

The point I was more interested in was a large (to my perspective) rock right at the base of the tree, partially underground, that caused part of the roots to grow over it, creating an empty space between the plant and the ground.

"It would be even better if I could remove the rock."

But it was too big for me to excavate, even if I could use some tools for the job. At the same time, I didn't have to do it all now. I could do it through the days, a bit of soil at the time every day until it would be possible to move it and gain all the space it occupied. From the surface alone, it would be like a large atrium, from which expand the rest.

"Yeah. That would be nice. I just will have to add more cover, but it will be worth it."

I crawled under the opening to find a flat surface. It was dark, so I extended my antennas and arms to feel around and detect any eventual presence apart from mine. I had to hunch a bit to move before remembering that I could spread and flex my legs to reduce my height and be more comfortable.

The place felt empty, with no other animal presence inside of it. The only other things that I could touch were tiny roots sprouting from the trunk to reach the ground and fill the space and pebbles. I picked the bigger ones and gathered them all in a corner near the entrance.

"I'll find a use for them later."

Satisfied with the finding, I scratched an X on the root right over the stone to mark it, and then I went back to where I left the corpse of the Bunja. I was already feeling a bit hungry again, so I would give it a bite or two and brought the rest home.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

Imagine my surprise and anger when I found that somebody was already partaking in the food I worked hard to get!

*What the hell? Who is that asshole?*

From where I was, I couldn't get a good look at it, but it seemed like a dark red shape, similar to the Larva, but longer and thinner, with no legs and a large mouth where the Bunja had its horned helmet and, it was using it to make short work of my prey.

*Oh no, you don't! That's my fucking food, and I won't let you just steal it from me!*

Something stirred deep inside of me, a strange feeling of outrage and possessiveness, a red-hot fury was rising, making me feel rightly murderous. I didn't even bother trying to Inspect it. I went ahead, extending my arms high and marching towards it.

When I reached a decent distance, I Dashed. My world disappeared in a blur of colours, leaving only my targetted position clear as I accelerated with my newly gotten Skill.

I was on it before it could even raise its head from the meat it was eating, and my claws went down on its sides, allowing me to hold it up in the air, piercing through its leathery skin with my spikes and stopping it from fleeing.

*Trying to steal from me, huh? Guess what, you just became the next course!*

I opened wide my maws and bit. It was hard and chewy, and its squirming didn't help get a good bite on it, but I didn't care. I just kept at it, tearing strips of it to remove the hindrance, digging deep into the flesh, forcing my way into its body until I reached its core.

This bastard was eating what it was mine, so it deserved to pay. What I risked to obtain that meal was my life, so it was only fair that this worm-thief paid it with the same coin.

Its body tasted dry and stale, almost like chewing a steak cooked too much and left too long on the plate so that it was cold and hard. But my mind wasn't focused on savouring the prey, only on punishing this glutton and reclaiming my food.

I didn't care that it was defenceless in that position or that it was screaming in pain, flailing helplessly to try and hit me with its tail, as its mouth was out of range. I felt some of those tail-slaps, but they were almost negligible. They weren't an actual offensive, but more the desperate act of a dying beast. Its real weapon must've been the fanged mandibles on its heavy head, but in my brutal assault, I had enough reason to hold it in such a way that it couldn't respond to my attack.

And with a final bite, the protection of its skin was torn apart, leaving only red, tender flesh at the mercy of my jaws. Biting, biting and more biting, even after feeling full, I kept at it, tearing through muscles and fat, reaching into it and making a mess of its entrails. I knew that it wouldn't survive after such a slaughtering, but I wanted to be sure of its end and devoured everything I could reach from the hole I made in it.

I extended my mandibles and gave one last, forceful bite on one of its pulsing organs, a spurt of warm liquid filling my mouth, and a shudder shook the body of the worm as its movements stopped.

A bloodbath occurred, as my hunger was satiated, my rage placated, and its green-yellow blood covered my body before I threw it aside, towering over its corpse and spreading my arms wide in victory.

[Gained Exp Points.]

[Subject is now Level 3.]

[Health and Stamina are fully recovered.]

[Ambush Skill reached lv 3.]

[Dash Skill reached lv 2.]

[Harvest Skill activated.]

[Selecting Harvested target's Skills...

Two Normal Skill found inside the targetted Tigules. Verifying compatibility with the Subject...

The Subject is not compatible with any Normal Skills.

Harvesting failed.]

Then, I blinked, and I was able to think clearly once again. Shaking my head to regain my clarity, I looked at the scene and the aftermath. I just butchered another creature, throwing away any caution, only because it was eating my food.

I looked at my blood-covered body in shock, surprised by my behaviour. That wasn't how I usually acted, in this body or ever. Bursts of anger were a normal thing for everybody, but so much and for something I could resolve in another way? No, I had no explanation for that.

It was like something, from my subconscious, woke up and took the command of my body, making me do that, and I was just going along it. The feeling behind it was primal, unrestricted by logic and common sense, that surfaced when it felt something overstepping its boundaries, taking advantage of what I did.

"The scary thing is, I was going to do almost the same thing!"

Sure, maybe I wasn't going to kill that worm. I would've been satisfied with scaring it off after it left my Bunja corpse alone. Just giving it some cuts to teach it that I wasn't somebody to mess with, only that at most. But I wouldn't regret if I had to kill the worm in self-defence if it had counterattacked.

Instead, this thing pushed me to make that eventuality the only acceptable outcome. And the way I posed at the end, as to establish a point, an act of dominance. It wanted to send a message to whoever was watching that I wouldn't submit to anyone, and who dared to cross me, it would end like the worm.

I didn't know how I knew that, but I could feel that the meaning of those actions was that.

* After all, it's still me that thought that... right?*

I looked at my claw, the blood drying on it and forming a layer on my exoskeleton while asking that question as if it could answer me. I had to add that to the list of answers I would have to get by whoever managed the System once I would get to them.

Speaking of, I half-heartedly noticed that I gained another level, so that worm was some kind of monster, but unfortunately not one with something I could gain from, apart from exp points.

[Tigules: A monster who lives underground, emerging only to feed. It hunts by jumping at unaware prey, spinning its whole body. It's considered a distant relative of the desert areas' Tei-Golaut, for their similar behaviour and shape.]

Well, that was interesting. Now I knew that there were similar creatures in the deserts, but the description made me think that their likeness was only limited to those two traits and that a Tei-Golaut would be harder to deal with.

*I wonder if there is a Mantrea species in the desert or in other ecosystems. How would they be?*

With that question, and a wish to travel and visit such places, I picked the Tigules' body and started my trek back home.

But during that trip and the second one to recuperate the Larva, I went back to that moment of rage.

It was something uncontrollable, who couldn't be let out lightly. It made me vicious, fearless and ruthless, a real killing machine. But it also made me reckless, uncaring and cruel, something that I didn't want and neither could allow me to become.

*I need to keep it in control. Those... instincts or whatever they are, they are too much dangerous.*

When I finished my hauling of food inside my home, the air was getting colder, and the sky was getting darker. This first day was an intense one, but at last, it ended.

I gathered some bark pieces from the ground, using them to cover the entrance of my hole. I placed the last piece once I was inside, completing the work of hiding my house.

It wasn't perfect, but it would be more difficult to notice this place from the outside, especially in the dark.

"It's not a door, but it will do for now."

I crawled to the far side of the "room", a bit away from where I placed the food, and I curled up on the ground. It wasn't comfy, but I was tired by all that happened today, and I just wanted to sleep.

Tomorrow, I would think of what to do next. I closed my eyes, letting all the weariness of the day wash over me, and I was out like a light.

STATUS

Name: N/A

Stats:

Strength: 13

Constitution: 5

Defense: 4

Dexterity: 10

Speed: 10

Intelligence: 12

Charisma: 2

Luck: 3

Species: Vilpuo Mantrea Juvenile Nymph

Gender: Female

Lv: 3/10 (31%)

Condition: Normal

HP: 15/15

SP: 15/15

MP: 0/0

Normal Skills:

Stealth lv 2 (passive)

Camouflage lv 1 (passive)

Ambush lv 3 (passive)

Dash lv 2 (active)

Inspect lv 2 (active)

Mathematics lv 1 (active)

Unique Skills:

Harvest lv- (active)

Titles:

Smart!