While he carried on walking, each step more confident than the last, Leo noticed the trees nearby started to grow more and more sparse. This was a good sign for him, as when he finally got through the forest, then it should be the desert shortly after. Though he hadn’t noticed it earlier while walking in between the plentiful trees, the gaps between trees allowed Leo to notice he was moving a lot faster than he planned to.
He decided to stop for a rest as he checked on his shoes, finding they’ve definitely gotten quite some wear and even some tear but are holding strong enough for now. He took out the map Koram had given to him and checked the markings that guided the way. He was supposed to have gotten through the forest halfway through the second day, but seems to have gotten through before the first nightfall.
The sun would set soon, and Leo knew he needed to make himself camp to sleep. Though as he settled into a level clearing nearby, he realized he wasn’t truly prepared for this portion of the journey. With so much to learn before he set out, he hadn’t been able to learn the intricacy of many finer things.
Seeing Buddy set up tents and Koram prepare dinner did help him understand at least roughly what to do, as he decided to start out by taking the tent from his backpack. Leo tried his best to lay it out and gently and get it to stand. Despite his best efforts, his lackluster memory and lack of going outside was too much to overcome. By the time he had realized it was a lost cause, there were only a few minutes of sunlight remaining.
Leo knew the proper way to do things, but figured that he was likely just too improper to figure it out. He laid out his bedroll underneath a nearby tree, and had a few fruits packed by Koram as his dinner for the night. Leo knew that without a tent, he’d be more susceptible to the elements, but being passed out on the forest floor during a downpour had to be as bad as it gets.
Turns out that he was right about heavy rainfall being as bad as it gets, but being awoken by a falling glamfruit was still pretty bad. Leo shot up awake, his brain struggling to put together why it was up before sunrise and what just happened to him. With just the gentle light of the moon, even glamfruit could light up brilliantly as he quickly put together what happened.
Using some water from his canteen he cleaned off as much as he could, before deciding to pack up and keep going since he woke up. Once he had packed up, he not so gently shoved the glamfruit tree as revenge. While an eye for an eye leaves the world blind, a splattered fruit for a shove accidentally takes down around 30 trees and a lot of ground.
Leo looked at the situation with a bit of shock, realizing he may have some struggle regulating his already unregulatable strength while upset and tired. He left behind the scene of tree murder, a nonsense crime that still doesn’t exist, before any tree cops arrived. While he walked underneath the moon's glow, he felt it a struggle having only moonlight to guide his path.
Leo began to mumble to himself about the difficulties, until his blubbering was interrupted by a guttural growl from behind. He turned around, only able to see bright blue eyes staring at him from the darkness. Whatever it was blended in well enough with the dark to be difficult to see, though Leo being flashbanged by his own face certainly didn’t help.
Before he could react, whatever growled made a lunge at him as it bit onto his arm. Leo’s skin was more than able to handle this beast’s fangs, not anywhere close to breaking the skin, as he moved to grab its skull. Though right as his hand approached, whatever attacked him detached and ran back.
Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.
Leo tried to keep an eye on where it went, but seemed to have lost it. He cautiously carried on walking, not liking that something he couldn’t see attacked him, but accepting it as a risk of adventuring. It took only 10 more steps before the creature attacked once more, as Leo was looking to his right he felt claws scratch at his left.
He spun around hoping to catch the creature in the act, but found nothing but air. While his skin was unharmed, his shirt was starting to tear and losing a pair of clothing this early would be really annoying. He stood still for a minute hoping for some sign of movement or the beast's location but couldn’t see anything.
He carried on walking, keeping an eye out to his left and right prepared to catch his stalker this time. This time he was able to go a bit farther, before he felt a large monster leap onto his back. Claws attempted to dig into his shoulders and sides, as a large fanged maw ferociously attempted bite after bite on the back of his neck.
Leo was thrown off guard by this attack, leaning forward in response to the newfound weight. Though it took a few seconds he regained his composure from the feeling of being attacked, as he reached his hands back with speed to attempt and get a solid grasp on his attacker. Though right as he was about to make contact, it had hopped off.
Turning around as fast as he could didn’t seem to help, as once again there was no trace of the blue eyed menace. Leo felt tempted to blindly swing to end this monster once and for all, fueled on by his shredded shirt. Even if guaranteeing its end was enticing, it felt too reckless for something he wasn’t actually threatened by.
Leo was concerned by the animal still, while a ruined shirt was just a bad day, if his backpack was destroyed it could set back his progress of the past day. He stood and spun around in circles, hoping to either catch the monster or greatly confuse it. Minutes passed as he finally got too dizzy to continue, putting his hands on his knees to gather himself.
He had hoped that his display would throw off the beast, but once a set of fangs clamped down on his calf he didn’t feel as hopeful. Leo looked down between his legs only to see bright blue eyes staring at him once more, as he quickly shot out his hands hoping to finally get a grasp and end this nuisance.
Though as the eyes vanished so did the creature, dodging his grasp and running back to safety. While he could handle needing to fight bothersome monsters, his patience was wearing as thin as his clothing. He wished he could just see this thing so he didn’t need to keep flailing around in the dark.
[Barbarian of Chains Feature: Unlock Dark Vision]
[Yes/No]
He looked at the new screen that had popped up unexpectedly in front of him, as he tried to process the information while still keeping vigilant for his nighttime marauder. Leo reached out and tapped the yes option, a bit confused as to why exactly this screen would appear now.
[Barbarian of Chains Features: Dark Vision Gained | Strength Reduction 5%]
Leo saw a bright yellow ring materialize on his pinkie, as it shot out chains that wrapped tightly around his body. Though the chains felt taut against his skin, he didn’t feel restricted by them in terms of movement. When the chains stopped moving and secured tightly, he saw them disappear into nothingness despite still feeling them.
Though that alone was not all he saw, as he looked at the nearby landscape and saw everything brightly lit up before him. Alongside the plant life, he also saw a large wolf that started approaching from his left while he was distracted with the display.
Without the knowledge of his newfound power, the wolf had no idea that Leo was able to prepare for its attack. Before the wolf could land strike, Leo managed to grab ahold of it by the scruff of its neck. It thrashed and snarled against Leo’s grasp, attempting to scratch and bite to break free. Leo held it up in the air watching the wolf as it fought against him.
Leo decided the simplest and cleanest way to deal with this beast was through rather cruel means. He hurled it with serious strength, watching along as it zoomed through the air far away from him. He looked around the nearby landscape, shocked and happy to be able to see during the night. Leo carried on his walk, no longer guided by the moonlight, but rather his own eyes.