[As you are walking, you hear noises. When you approach, you see that in the distance there are several dozen dust cats eating from a dead, hill-sized tyrant sloth.]

Lem watched, filled with nervous anticipation.

His simulated self was still frozen in place. It was not hard for Lem to see that he was hoping the others would continue eating in peace.

Unfortunately, a different dust cat noticed that something was happening.

It turned to see what the first one was looking at.

Other cats began turning their heads too, as the shift in attention spread like a wave from all over the corpse.

In mere seconds, Lem’s simulated self was being stared at by nearly half of the dust cats. He was sure that those who were still eating already knew of his presence.

They gazed at him in a sea of green eyes.

Both Lem and his simulated self were sure that he was about to be killed. It was surprising that he was able to maintain his grip on his spear.

However, just as quickly as it had started, the cats began to lose interest and return to their meal.

In another few seconds, there was only one curious dust cat that was still looking at him. It was the first one that had noticed him.

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Lem’s simulated self began backing up, careful not to brush up against a tree or trip over a root.

The dust cat cocked its head to the side.

Lem watched, but much of the suspense had faded for him.

To his eye, the danger had already passed. However tense the moment was, he was capable of keeping his wits about him.

He realized that the dust cats were too preoccupied with the meal in front of them to care about one puny human.

However, his simulated self was unable to make that judgment and was still incredibly frightened.

[One of the dust cats turns to look at you, causing a chain-reaction among the others. However, they quickly lose interest and return to their meal. You back away slowly.

Only one of the dust cats continues to stare at you, but it does not move. It is clear that they are not interested in your presence, but you do not know how long this will last…]

The giant corpse of the tyrant sloth and the dust cats quickly slipped out of view, behind the cover of trees.

Lem’s simulated self continued to walk backwards slowly.

As the noise began to fade, his nerves began to calm down and he began to turn around.

When it had disappeared entirely, he increased his speed.

He took a wide arc around the dust cat, and continued to travel westward.

[Once you are out of earshot of the dust cats, you speed up your pace. You do not want to be near the dust cats once the sloth is gone…

As night falls, you finish off the small amount that remains of your rations. You fall asleep…]

[Day 28: You feel significantly weaker due to the evil power consuming your vitality…

As you are walking, you encounter a tree with several fruits hanging from it. As you approach, you notice that one is slightly spiritual.

You eat the spiritual fruit, and do not notice a difference in your internal energy…

You eat most of the other fruits to stave off your hunger. You pick the rest, putting them in your bag to save for later…]

…