The second creature which I assume is the same as the one that was currently biting into my back, sank its razor-sharp teeth onto my side, though it didn’t go deep into my body like the one on my back as this time I was cladded in vitality.

Thin sparks of blue lined its brown muddy skin as my body spasmed in the water, but this time it felt different. Even while I was convulsing with my head drinking mud with electricity coursing through me, I still had enough presence of mind to observe and assess the situation behind the pain.

This was probably because the aura cladding my body acting as some sort of a shield for me, but at the same time, the thing that was saving me from death was also bringing me closer to it. My reserve that was already in the red, was rapidly being consumed in an effort to protect my body from the current that it was dishing out.

Even as my chest heaved and ached from the lack of breath it was getting under the muddy water, somewhere in the corner of my mind, I was waiting for the electricity to wane. And just as my reserve was about to be depleted, the current weakened.

I turned my body around immediately, throwing the second one off my body before it could bite down even harder. My hands went towards my back as I grabbed the creature that was having a complimentary lunch all this time.

I no longer had enough aura in my reserve for me to activate vitality to my whole body, so only my fingers reinforced with my paltry reserve pierced its slimy skin, grabbed its head firmly, and threw it off my body along with bits of my skin.

My legs dashed through the mud as I made a run towards the tree with the small opening I got. Even though the heavy shower made constant ripples in the water, ‘something’ was telling me that a lot of different things were coming towards me under the muddy waters, attracted to the splashing and the scent of blood. My legs burned as I tried to reach the tree a second faster.

And Just as my hands reached the tree, something clutched my legs and dragged me towards the water. In instinct, I reinforced my fingers again to grab a hold of the bark, like claws.

In response, the hold on my leg got stronger, enough to feel my bones breaking as it pulled. My fingers bled as I grabbed onto the tree, knowing full well what was waiting for me if I fall into the water. Even as the wood splintered between my nails, I grabbed onto it for dear life while I exerted my muscles to bring me closer to the tree.

The two strengths pulling from opposite sides were broken by the place of the knot itself as my legs came free from the hold along with some mud. Without looking back or seeing what was pulling me, I dashed up the tree and away from all the monsters that were coming for me.

The tree was quite tall, which was the norm for all the trees here, it was slippery from all the rain as well but with my fingers acting as claws, I quickly climbed up to the top of the long tree and used a thick branch as my resting spot.

Phew. I let out a breath of relief. I definitely need a time-out after that. I had one too many close calls in the span of just one minute. My reserve was so low that I didn’t even have enough to reinforce my hands fully.

I looked below me. The raging water was steadily climbing. It's safe to say that the most dangerous place now was on the ground, at least until the flood subsides.

That would have been a problem normally. But... my eyes scanned the treetops and found countless branches and thick vines linking all the trees together. There were many spots thick enough for me to walk on, even rest.

There were already animals on the treetops using it as such; few that looked close to lemurs, monkeys not too different from the ones I've killed before, one that looked like a mix of cheetah and a squirrel, even an adorable cat with wild fur almost like someone gave him a rough petting.

But they were all keeping a distance while eyeing me, especially that pettable cat. On the new stranger that came to the top, seeking refuge from the shit-show occurring below.

But still... is this normal? The entire forest was connected to such a degree that I found it almost weird. At this point, it was almost like a second environment at the top. Another strange thing was that every tree I could see shared the same black texture and was connected heavily with every other tree, almost like they were all a single organism.

Huh, wasn’t there a species back at home like that, a single plant or a tree spanning an entire area? Or was that a fictional one? Couldn’t be sure.

I laid my head on the bark. I still wasn’t used to all the adrenaline and the brush-ups with death. More so after the false hope I was served. Even with the rain falling on me through the foliage, my mind was tired enough to fall asleep 50 meters above the ground.

I felt a sharp pain in my head, almost like something hit me on my head. I momentarily blacked out but quickly woke up to see the ground rushing up to me rapidly. I snapped out of my stupor instantly and grabbed the branch that was on my path.

I stopped my fall from 100 to a Zero instantly with my arms feeling like it almost dislocated. As if waiting for a chance, and without giving me a moment to even understand what was going on, a huge centipede like monster shot out from the water towards me who was dangling off the branch.

I made the split-second decision and let go of the branch, dodging the torpedo-like centipede that destroyed the branch I was on.

I landed roughly on the bough of the tree that was a few feet off the water. But again, without a pause, dozens of aquatic creatures jumped from the water towards the new feed. Like going for a dangling worm that was about the water.

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The hell! Give me a minute!

I lunged forward while I was on my four and sprinted like a runner above the thick tree branch, dodging the dozens of ugly heads that literally blasted themselves off the water, fall down into the water, only to try again.

The water was only about 4-feet deep. Where are these guys even hiding!

The river constantly shat out eel-like monsters, stone snakes, giant worms towards me and I ran on top of the slippery branches' half sliding, half running, and half feeling like I was about to fall off.

With my reserve being this low, I couldn’t use vitality anymore. I was clumsily running, trying to keep myself balanced while evading the dozens of creatures that launched themselves at me.

Vitality, although made me stronger, faster, and able to reinforce objects also had a secondary effect of making me calm, relaxed, and able to move and control my physical body perfectly.

Something I could not do with my reserves being this low.

It made me realize once again how the less flashy effect of vitality was to me. I wanted to climb up to a height where they couldn’t reach me, but the constant rush didn’t allow me to. I jumped off to another branch, barely dodging a tentacle of some creature.

I'm gonna die at this rate. I ran as I thought of how this was going to pan out. I wasn't seeing any other ending.

And to make matters things worse to shit, one of the monkeys that were just watching the show that was going on below jumped and kicked my back, throwing me off the branch.

I lost my balance from the blow but barely managed to catch a branch with my hands and vault over to the next branch, dodging another torpedo by the skin of a teeth. I looked back to see a gang of monkeys that were looking at me.

WHAT THE HECK WAS THEIR PROBLEM!! Can they smell that I've killed off their kin or something? I wanted to go up and kill those furballs, but I was too busy trying to stay alive.

This meddling unfortunately was not the only interference. I was constantly pestled with kicks, punches, even had seeds or fruits thrown at my face. With one particular cheeky monkey constantly trying to kick me off the trees.

I really really wanted to kill them and even tried to go near them in hopes that the river monster switching their target. But in the treetops, they had an overwhelming advantage of mobility while I was struggling to stay on top of the slippery branch while running.

This is bad. I needed something. Something to change the flow or I was either going to be kicked off or get hit by any one of the monsters after I grow tired.

I clad my foot in aura. My reserve had filled enough for me to support at least that much. Even though I was in a trance I could remember how I had somehow changed the nature of how my aura on my fist and grinded and propelled the webs away instead of them sticking onto my fists when I escaped the spider's entrapment.

I focused on my feet as I tried to emulate as close to the opposite of that feeling as possible. To hold instead of break, to grab instead of pushing away.

I could feel my feet's finally standing on the wood instead of slipping away. I heard a familiar rustle behind me, amidst the beating rain. Something I've had the joy of hearing a number of times. With my foot firmly on the branch, I twisted back to see a startled ape in the air and about to drop kick me.

“Take this you fucking monkey!” My normal punch to the damn ape's face provided me more pleasure than it did damage but it was enough as it break the monkey's path and stunned him enough to make him fall into the pits of hell.

Like schools of fishes fighting for a single piece of bread that fell on the water, the monkey disappeared so quickly that I almost felt bad. Actually no. Fuck that ape.

But more important than that, I finally understood why all the animals were trying to have a piece of me. Even though it was the monsters that killed the stupid ape, I still gained quite a bit of Essence from the kill. Which is what I guess is what they were hoping for.

The other apes who were not as proactive before, in response to seeing their kin’s death went literal ape shit as they screamed with rage and came down to kill me.

I started running, following the same running tactics but quickly found myself pestled with kicks and blows. Against the monkey's superior mobility in the trees, running or dodging was not a viable solution. I stopped the cladding of aura on my feet momentarily, to reinforce my fingers and drill it into the skull of the monkey that just tried to cut me off. Before my feet slipped off from the force of my attack, I quickly switched my aura back on my feet and ran before I was surrounded again.

The situation was not completely worse than before though. With a lot of different treats to choose from, some of the aquatic creatures started targeting the monkeys as well. Lessening the attacks that came from below in return for the attacks that came from the trees.

I switched the aura from my fingers to foot to jump and land on another branch, dodging a swipe from an animal that looked like a mix of squirrel and cheetah.

With the entire place becoming more chaotic, more animals started joining in the fray, trying to nab a kill or to kick someone off the trees for their share of Essence.

This inadvertently started attracting more attention as more creatures started approaching this area that became a hot Zone for food, death, and essence.

My reserve was slowly creeping up while I was living the life of a miser. Currently, I had enough to activate vitality on my whole body for a few seconds, but I knew this was not the right timing. I had to use it somewhere else.

I switched the aura to my palm while emulating the sticky feeling into it as I grabbed a branch after being thrown off by a monkey.

My brain was long past its limits. I was constantly switching aura from my arms to feet to my fingers, keeping track of all the chaos around me, changing the quality of the aura in a split second to walk on the slippery branches or to augment my finger to use it as an attack.

It was borderline too much for my brain and body who was not enhanced my vitality.

Good thing was that the number was quickly getting whittled down, with the monkeys being the fastest in dying off in their desperation to kill me. And with the monkeys who were responsible for aggravating and sustaining this situation, dying off. Other animals started slowly started backing away.

Sensing the window of opportunity, knowing that if I delay any longer, the creatures underwater would start targeting me again, I quickly coated both my palm and my feet in the same attracting mode of aura. And like a certain superhero from my childhood, I quickly sprinted up the tree faster than before.

I activated the few seconds of vitality on my whole body that I had saved up, increasing my speed of cognition, reflex, and strength. And just like I expected, a blow came towards my head which I successfully evaded by moving my head sideways.

My hands quickly shot forward, catching the assailant; a black bird with a very thick and pointy beak. Having an appearance very similar to that of a raven.

“So, you’re the bastard who knocked me down below huh?” I squeezed the raven tight within my palms which elicited a cry from it. And with a big bite, while reinforcing my teeth, I cleanly took its head off from its body. After spitting its head off and confirming the flow of energy, I started climbing again with 3 of my limbs.

Deciding that I was high enough, I sat on a thick branch, wide enough for me to sleep on.

I laid my head on the bark again even more drained than last time, this time though I didn’t close my eyes.

I will never be able to get a proper rest while I'm here, aren't I? I sighed as I looked at the dead bird in my hand, my meal for the day.

I should have taken a longer nap in the cave.