While it was a bit boring up in the branches, Nick had grown used to chilling in the treetops over the last three weeks.
A little less than two hours later, his patience was rewarded in spectacular fashion. Although the lurk was an enormous beast, hefty, heavy, and huge, he would never have noticed when it entered the clearing had he not already identified the prime spot for a predator of its scale to hide—a modest outcropping of boulders located on the northwestern side of the glade.
This was in part because the lurk was utterly silent when stalking its prey; so quiet that not one of the countless lizards scattered around the region noticed its approach. In fact, the beast was so ridiculously stealthy that Nick wondered if magic or some other power was responsible for the feat. Perhaps something equivalent to a class trait or ability. The other reason that he nearly missed the lurk’s arrival on scene was the way that it moved.
Nick had never witnessed such an agile advance. It made the other predators on the island seem awkward and clumsy by comparison. The multi-ton dynamo flowed with the breeze, its movements seamless and organic. It glided between the trees like greased lightning, with a liquid gait that made the lurk seem like a feature of the landscape rather than a distinct entity.
One second, the boulders were unoccupied. Then, a hint of motion, gray fur amidst the shadows, and suddenly the lurk was there. While the creature’s consummate stealth was horrifying to contemplate, as the lurk could appear out of nowhere and end Nick’s existence in the blink of an eye, it was also quite thrilling to observe the hunt of an apex predator. An advanced lesson in the art of the kill. Nick just hoped that he was able to remain hidden, as he had no desire to become part of the demonstration.
The first thing that he noticed after the lurk settled into position was the beast sniffing at the air like a dog. Nostrils flared as they sampled the breeze, like a patron running his finger down the menu of a restaurant. As he had suspected, unlike the komos, the lurk relied on its nose to locate its prey. Then, for a long while, the lurk simply waited in the shadows while scanning the clearing and occasionally scenting the breeze. Nick was immensely relieved that he had chosen a location downwind of the creature’s hunt and had acquired his new charm to help him hide. He held no illusion that the tree would protect him from a predator of the lurk’s caliber if it detected his presence and decided to do something about it.
At this point, Nick was certain that the reason for the lengthy delay was that the lurk had a plan. A plan that would come to fruition another half hour later.
It was now the hottest part of the day, and the komos were basking in the warm sunlight bathing the clearing. Before long, most of the reptiles were fast asleep, digesting the meat they had hunted earlier that morning.
This is a perfect moment to strike, he decided, strangely excited to see what would happen next. The lurk clearly agreed with his assessment, because no sooner had that thought crossed his mind than the beast struck in a flash.
Moving so fast that its form was reduced to a liquid blur before Nick’s eyes, the lurk charged into the center of the clearing, tearing into the komo pride before the sleepy lizards knew what hit them. The cunning predator swerved between the torpid reptiles, targeting its ambush exactly where he had predicted, a flat brown rock upon which three of the fattest komos were fast asleep.
A few of the brighter lizards noticed the lurk’s advance and began running for their lives, scrambling for everything they were worth, hissing in terror as they fled the clearing. But since the lurk made no noise to announce its arrival, most of the komos didn’t register the existence of the massive predator until it was right beside them.
By now, the pride had begun to rouse, but it was already much too late for the lurk’s intended victims, because that was the moment when the shaggy monstrosity took flight. It oriented its body toward its chosen prey and leapt high into the air, spreading its wicked talons wide.
Turning its legs out so that its sword-like claws landed dead center on two fat komos, the lurk eviscerated the lesser beasts before they realized that they were under attack. Half a heartbeat after the lurk’s feet hit the ground in a bright spray of blood, its jaws darted down. They snapped shut, accompanied by the crackle of shattering bone, ending the third komo’s life in a spectacular spew of gore.
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Now the lizards knew that they were under assault. Without an alpha to lead them, the pride responded to the lurk’s ambush with abject panic. Together, the pride might have been able to fend off the lurk, forcing it out of their territory and mitigating the losses they took. But the komos were completely helpless while fleeing in terror, mindless with fear. Lizards went streaming out of the clearing in all directions, in a desperate attempt to escape the carnage that was already underway.
Well, every direction except for where the lurk stood staring them down with contemptuous nonchalance, watching their rout with its pitiless gaze. Nick was afraid that the lurk would chase down the komos that were headed his way, inadvertently picking up his scent in the process. Luckily, the deadly hunter had other plans.
Rather than stopping to consume its kills, the lurk moved on to slaughtering the beasts that had been slow to flee. Its furry form went darting from lizard to lizard, slashing dozens of komos to gore-studded ribbons of flesh before they could take refuge within the forest. The great beast appeared almost bored as it dashed back and forth between the thickest packs of reptiles, killing another dozen before it seemed satisfied with its haul. In the end, it allowed a few final stragglers to escape. Nick assumed that the lurk had hunted as many komos as it could eat; that it was saving the rest until it passed this way again.
Not daring to so much as twitch while the lurk was lingering in the vicinity, he was treated to the gruesome sight of the lurk enjoying its late afternoon lunch. From his perch, he had a front-row seat to observe its dagger-like teeth in action. Watching the lurk tear corpses into pieces with no appreciable resistance, Nick knew with complete and utter certainty that he had absolutely no chance of even wounding the lurk in a direct confrontation. It would be a miracle if he was able to hold it off long enough to escape. I’ll have to scrap my plan to injure it and take my chances.
This was a most unfortunate realization. If the lurk decided to ambush him again, he would be dead before he even knew it was there. Nick had only survived his first encounter by burning through a lifetime’s worth of luck when he had slipped in the mud by the spring. Although he was beginning to suspect that the beast was as much a stranger to this world as Nick himself, for the time being, the lurk was the undisputed king of the Searing Isle. He could only think of one other entity that might be able to hold its own against the shaggy gray dinosaur. Following that train of thought, his eyes locked onto the profile of the massive mushroom jutting above the canopy—the only predator on the island that scared him as bad as the lurk.
Nick returned his gaze to the feasting hunter and kept it there, tracking the beast’s movements with every scrap of concentration he could muster. He was irrationally afraid that if he lost sight of the creature, he wouldn’t see it again until it was right below him. After its bloody banquet was concluded and the beast was satiated, the lurk grabbed up two final corpses between its jaws, then another in each stubby hand.
With a bloody belch that echoed across the woods, it casually sauntered away and left the clearing. Although the lurk had brought back a snack, he judged that the haul wouldn’t stop it from hunting again tomorrow, since the massive beast burned through an incredible number of calories every day.
He was still reeling from having witnessed the brutal exchange but found that he was also filled with a fierce and rising excitement. Nick was now certain that he could predict the lurk’s behavior well enough to evade it. He was ready to begin exploring the southern highlands early tomorrow morning. After waiting another half hour to be safe, he climbed back down and went about his day.
When he stopped by the obelisk on his way to the spring, he had a surprise waiting for him in his notifications. Apparently, he was able to train his Size Up skill a small amount by using it on members of a species that he was already familiar with. Because the words on the display read:
Through use, you have improved the following skills:
Size Up has increased from [8] to [9].
Nick was thrilled, as this meant he had a real chance of raising the skill to the maximum value of ten before he left the Searing Isle for good. If he was given an opportunity to change his class sooner rather than later, he wouldn’t have to worry about losing the chance to top off the lifesaving skill. Climbing so many trees was helping him grow stronger as well, because there was a second notification.
Through rigorous training, you have conditioned your body and improved the following baseline attributes:
Strength has increased from [6] to [7].
Awesome, that’s more like it. With a spring in his step, Nick moved on to his daily training regimen, eager to break new ground tomorrow and prepare himself for the ordeal ahead.