Once the Eater was dead, I sat on top of one of the rocks. There was a large one that wouldn’t be hard to balance myself and it would give me a good vantage point of the area, just in case. Staying in the middle of a clearing helped, since the shadows of the deepest part of the forest would swallow the moonlight.

I started to overlap casts of {Body Regeneration} to fix my shoulder before heading back. My new shirt now only had one sleeve. That wouldn’t last long, and the first thing to do after making sure my arm was better was to rip out the other side, so it matched.

It was a shame I could only use that skill two times at once. But thankfully, part of it was already working to numb the pain. Even if this time it wasn’t able to remove it completely. Likely because there was an exposed nerve or something on the wound. Looking at my shoulder, I thanked the night. Even in this low light, I could see that it was bad. There was a chunk of my arm missing, and the bone was just there, open to the elements.

If this happened during the day, I would be freaking out much more just because of the sight. Still, a torrent of blood was coming out, and I would need to clean myself before heading back. Telling people I survived while being seriously injured would be very hard. Then again, I could say I used an animal as bait. After all, the only reason why Eaters went after humans was because we lived in groups. If they saw rabbits, boars, or anything that was also a good prey, there was nothing saying they wouldn’t stop and go after them.

Yeah, that story might work… I think.

‘Sys, any idea how long it will take for my arm to get fixed?’ I asked in my mind. Not wanting to make more noise just in case there was something nearby.

[Considering the current rate of progress. User will require another 4 uses of {Body Regeneration} for their full 10 minutes duration. Giving it a total of 30 minutes before user’s arm has recovered. However, this recovery will not include the removal of scars. For that, another 2 separate uses will be required as {Body Regeneration} will need to perform a task that is not properly equipped to do.]

‘What do you mean by that?’

[The function of {Body Regeneration} is to recover the body from wounds. A scar is part of the recovery process. If user uses the skill to remove a scar, the skill will require considering not just how to help with regeneration, but also how to make it so the new skin blends seamlessly with the rest of user’s body. In order to perform such a task, the skill will need to identify the surrounding skin cells and attempt to replicate them through several iterations. Said process gains no benefit from multiple uses of the skill at the same time.]

‘I guess more is not always better. But that’s ok. Focus on healing me first. I’ll think about the scar later. And while we wait. Let me check my status and the new skill.’

[Acknowledged.]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cassandra Ydorf - Level 4

Titles: Enduring Heart

Tier 1 - Formless Monk

Mind 3 - Body - 9

Memory - 7 Energy - 5/9 (2 Reserved)

1 attribute point available

Skills - 6/7

Energy Storage - Passive - 1 Energy

Memory Bank - Passive - 1 Energy

Body Regeneration - Active - 1 Energy/ 10 minutes

Compression - Active - 1 Energy/ 5 uses

Formless Series - Passive

Formless Nodus Swipe - Active - 1 Energy/ 1 use

Mind of Possibility - Available

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Yes!” I cheered, my voice echoing in the area a bit too loud. Making sure not to speak up, I continued, ‘A new memory slot. Nice, and even more Energy. I guess the class did say I was going to get a buff to Energy. Maybe all this increase is happening on the early levels and later on it will be harder to increase. Either way, Sys. Put that point on Body. I want to get to 10 already.’

[Acknowledged. Congratulations on reaching 10 points in Body, user Cassandra.]

‘Thank you,’ I smiled even if there was no one to smile to, ‘Let me see the skill now. This never gets old.’

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Predatory Sense - Passive - Aspirant

Reserved cost: 1 Energy

In the wild, predators rely on heightened senses to locate prey and detect danger. This skill allows you to tap into a similar instinct, sharpening your awareness of creatures and potential threats within your vicinity.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

‘That… sounds kind of amazing. If that Eater was chasing us ever since we found their hive, this could’ve warned me about it. Right?’

[Correct. The skill was generated due to the constant awareness user has displayed while hunting and traveling.]

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

‘Does that odd feeling I had while we were getting back had anything to do with it? Actually, was that the Hunter Eater stalking us?’

[System was not aware of anything that user was not aware of herself. If odd feeling truly was related to the Hunter Eater, System is unable to confirm.]

‘Ok then. Add that skill to my Memory. It’s the first Aspirant skill I got aside from Quick Tier 1 Evolution. I have to test it.’

[Alert: Due to the nature of the skill, user will not feel its effects immediately once skill has been acquired. System asks user not to judge skill without seeing its effects.]

‘I know. I’m not expecting to suddenly be able to see in the dark or anything. Still, I want that skill.’

[Acknowledge.]

I felt the SP spreading around my body, mostly around my eyes, ears and nose, but there were a few spread all around my skin. Once the particles reached their designated location, any feeling of their existence vanished as they integrated perfectly with the rest of my body.

Unlike System’s warning, I felt something right away. More specifically, I smelled something. A gust of wind carried a subtle scent of an animal. It reminded me of the mountain lion, but it wasn’t as strong. Maybe a baby? No, it was too different, and for some reason I could tell that it was also smaller. Something larger would have a more complex smell. Or at least that was what something, likely the new skill, was telling me.

Turning towards the direction of the smell, I saw a pair of small eyes that seemed to glow under the moonlight. It stared back at me for a few moments before the creature I assumed to be a wildcat scurried away.

I waited until my arm was fixed, refilling my Energy using the Eater blood I still had, and started walking back to the village. Everyone should be still freaking out, but at least they should agree that we have to leave.

Once there was enough confidence in my movements and it didn’t seem like the wound would open up again, I washed the blood off on the lake and started heading back. There was no rush on my steps, no intense worry or any kind of pressure for me to arrive soon. I spent a good amount of time on the road running away from the Eater. If it had brought any inter along, I would’ve seen it. And since that wasn’t the case, I could take my time.

According to the System, it had been roughly an hour since I first saw the Eater. Which also means I was closer to the Village than I imagined. But still, it was enough time for me to come up with a decent story as to why, or how, I survived the attack.

Getting closer to the broken wall, some of the guards noticed me. Theirs expressions were a mix of surprise, confusion and worry. In all honesty, I couldn’t blame them. Seeing me come out apparently unscathed was like seeing a ghost. Everyone had assumed I was dead, and if the situation was any different, I would say the same. One of them quickly rushed seeped into the village, bringing Gareth back before I reached the broken gate.

“Cass?” the guard captain asked, his jaw hanging open, “How?”

“What? I killed it,” I said with a straight face. It was much easier to do that when it wasn’t a lie. All the guards became even more confused, every single one of them looking at me like I was a crazy person. After enjoying the moment for a few seconds, I started laughing, “That’s just a joke. I got lucky. There was a pack of deer sleeping on the other side of the hill and that caught the Eater’s attention. It got a couple of them before the others moved. A stag ended up hitting it with its horn in the frenzy and the Eater chased after it. We should be good for a while.”

“Wait, what?” Marco stepped forward, “That’s not possible. I saw you throwing a rock at the Eater. Or at least, I saw the rock hit it and then it chased after you.”

“When did that happen?” Gareth asked.

“I was in the shed by the gate, trying to see if there was anything that I could use to lure the Eater away. It somehow caught wind of me. I was going to die when that rock hit,” as Marco spoke, I realized that he was the one on the shed that I tried to save. That makes much more sense than it being Michael or Vanessa. I don’t even know why that possibility crossed my mind.

“I thought I hit it too, but it went after the stag instead. I think I missed. Why it came after me is something I don’t know the answer to,” I shrugged.

“But I saw the rock hitting it!” Marco protested.

“Marco, are you sure? Are you sure of what you saw? Do you have a single shred of doubt that the rock hit it?” Gareth asked.

“I’m sure, sir. The rock hit the Eater and bounced off of it.”

“Shit,” Gareth groaned before turning to me, “Cass… I hate to say this, but you can’t stay here then.”

“What? I’m telling you the Eater changed targets. If I had hit it, it wouldn’t have.”

“I know, but we don’t know if it will still come after you. And I can’t take that chance. Not when we are about to leave south.”

I opened my mouth, but closed right away. Marco was staring at me with a complicated expression. It might be just my general paranoia, or some effect of {Predatory Sense} detecting danger, but I could swear he was about to attack me. Maybe it was just the fear of an Eater coming after me, or maybe he realized that I was lying and not just about this.

Letting out a sigh, I looked at Gareth in his eyes, “Fine. Can I at least say goodbye to my grandfather and the kids? Or is that too risky too?”

It sucked to be kicked out like that, but if I stayed I would have to tell them about the System, and with that information it wouldn’t take a genius to realize who killed the supply crew.

“Go to the infirmary. I’ll have someone fetch the rest of the people from the Hidden Horn Village. They are all free to go with you if they want. If not, we will take care of them. I promise,” Garreth turned to another guard, who nodded and rushed away.

“Thank you,” I smiled.

“Just don’t take too long. We don’t know when the Eater will show up again. Also, go upstream. We will be heading south in the morning.”

“So I can’t even go in the same direction?” I asked, getting only a severe stare as an answer. This felt really unfair, “Fine. I’ll make sure to go somewhere else so the Eater won’t find you all.”

“Thank you,” Gareth said, “And for what’s worth. I don’t like that I have to do this.”

I rolled my eyes, “For what’s worth, I don’t give two shits about that. I’m the one getting kicked out because you don’t trust my word. Fuck your feelings.”

Gareth nodded, “That’s fair. Now go. Rakeen is till in the central building.”

Turning around, I headed to the infirmary. Part of me would rather go fight another Eater. After all, now I had to tell my grandfather that I was, essentials, exiled, and that he shouldn’t come with me.