That monster was nowhere to be seen and seemed to have no plans of showing up anytime soon.

So, deciding that it's the current best option, I escaped- and I've never been so correct in my entire life; I didn't even take my first step yet, I simply turned my lethargic body and I immediately lost balance and fell face first to the ground.

Still, something like this wouldn't even be able to stop me. So, with a soaked coat that started to turn my body into an icicle, I crawled and leaped on the ground like some sort of defective frog. My destination? The Trees.

My claws extended and took no oppurtunity on slowing down the moment I reached the bottom of a tree; I didn't look back as I started climbing the trunk straight to the highest possible altitude. A place where hopefully... I would be safe.

From the monster atleast.

"Ha...Ha..." each breath took more and more of my body heat, and I was sure that it was starting to run out. Nevertheless, I took off my wet coat- it was more watwr than fur at this point- and with a weakened body; I went to work, atleast this place had proved to have a little bit of warmth left. Enough to keep me going for a few hours without any form of clothing.

Branches were cut and sharpened, Leaves were plucked, and Vines were collected- and after a few gruesome hours, a spike trap bad been painstakingly installed and carefully hid inside of the canopies.

I grabbed one more branch and stuck my soaked coat into it, I went down and set up the decoy beneath the spike trap. And then,.. I waited-

-"There's more to this than you fucking expect you damn amphibian..." I silently murmured as I caressed the stump that was once my tail.

Stomping soon echoed all around me, and I waited with baited breath. Somehow this discount gecko is able to see through the mist, and I am more than willing to find out how.

Something I failed to notice when I first encountered the damn thing was the ground shaking as it jumped straight at me. I was almost hit back then, and I even lost a tail; this time around though, it missed and fell to the ground with a bone cracking thud.

"So you can tell the difference between the non living and the living huh?" I said to the upside down newt beneath me, I got an answer in the form of an arching swing of the monster's purple tongue, and the liquid that was attached to it came flying straight at me-

- I dodged the oncoming saliva and repaid him in kind by throwing a branch that had been sharpened a few minutes ago.

So, apparently the damn thing can regenerate and recover from the damage caused by it's own poison; as evident by it's now clean and damageless face. Fortunately though, the overgrown newt didn't have corrosive blood, nor, can it heal itself when a spear is stuck to it's body. Good to know, good to know.

Still though, the spear didn't stop the amphibian from just spitting at the spear to corrode it. And from thete, it just proceeds to shrug off the damage from his own venom.

I puffed up another breath, the salamander by now dissapeared inside the mist, and out of my sight.

I spent the next few minutes contemplating just how the hell would I spot wherever this thing is hiding and eventually came to the conclusion that- "I need to learn more about this life force thing don't I?" The plan sounded great so I tried to atleast do it, but ultimately, I failed and decided that maybe I should just try something else.

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"My very first encounter with this energy was when it willingly flowed into my body, and that's pretty much it."I tapped my chin as I try to recall the rivitalizing feeling I had felt back then- and once again, I found nothing of value out of that fuzzy memory; I decided that I'll do it later and continue on hunting this thing down in my own way.

I hopped down from where I was sitting at and effectively made a safe landing with no falls once my toes touched the ground- perching up on those branches had helped me find out how to balance my tail-less body properly. I had a warm smile on my face thinking about how I'll gut that thing down and pour it's very own venom on it's open wound. "That overgrown newt will eat it's own intestines when I get my hands on him." I cursed as I grabbed my coat from the decoy,

Thanks to my claws, climbing up trees had never been easier. And from there, I gathered more leaves, rows upon rows of them had been weaved together with branches and vines to create a very basic armor.

A few more hours of preparation later, and I was done. I hopped down from the canopies adorning my leafy armor at the start of dawn, the rays that came from the rising sun colored the environment in an orange hue and luckily, the light that made that all possible was facing me and my trap, so anything that would come from the river's direction- let's say a fat amphibian for example, would be revealed inside the mist thanks to it's shadow. And, boy was I prepared for what's to come.

The mist had only gotten thicker, but that's what makes this fun-

"Come at me you cunt!" I roared in challenged against the obese bastard

The thick helmet obscured my vision, but it was nothing compared to the protection it gave against the amphibian's corrosive spit. My vigilance never waned as I stabbed Javelins deep into the ground, I'll pick them up when I need them.

I gave out another yell before I went back in the forest to check as to whether or not my modified spike-fall trap was working well in order, and when I found out that it was, I armed myself with one Javelin while plunging the remaining one's on the earth beside the trap's metaphorical borders.

...

The ground shook.

A loud snort came out of the amphibians mouth as it saw the pathetic fences his previous prey had put up. Even those goblins that lived near his river had done better, atleast those fences were faced forward while still being sharp!

Sadly, even if his prey is stupid, it doesn't matter. He still gets to eat and the hunt is shorter and faster, causing him less energy while giving him more time to find more food.

The amphibian eyed it's prey, his pupils widened as he saw the flame that had popped up on his prey's weapon. Just like the goblins, he too is able to make fire...

Still, it did not matter. All he needs to do is flick his tongue and his saliva; the more stronger fire, would put that pathetic torch out.

Viscous purple oozed flew through the air at an overwhelming speed as they made their way towards the reptillian, but Faux was able to dodge- saving both his flame, and himself in the process.

The manic grin once again appeared on the demon's face as carefully planted the torch and grabbed all the remaining wooden spears off the ground, "you can't hide any longer you piece of shit!" The reptile proudly yelled as he shot a spear that aimed for the salamander's body,

The attack connected and the Amphibian growled, he tried to swing his tongue once again to shoot more spit but his enemy was faster, capable of throwing a spear the moment it opened it's mouth before continuing to chuck more in quick succession.

The amphibian, with it's slow and heavy body was unable to do anything as his assailant continued his assault. The monster merely stood in place, hoping to harden his skin; but the pain from all of his wounds made the process of tightening and compressing his muscles a living hell.

Left with no other options, the amphibian rushed his opponent with all the speed his weakened body could muster, but alas! He couldn't. For the reptile had always been faster than him in the past, and even more so when it came to the present.

But if there's anything that the salamander was really good at, it would be it's endurance. It continued on despite the jolt of pain that shocked his body everytime he moved, more spears had pierced his skin and it now resembled that of a hedgehog's, and yet he continued on. Uncaring of the non-existent consequences, because afterall, there's nothing his regeneration can't heal.

And soon enough, his gamble had payed off, the spears had run out and his overpowering stamina had come out on top; all that was left now was the torch the reptile carried earlier and a more refined spear with a bone that acted as it's head, but, instead of a sharp blade- this one had a long and pointy end, something akin to that of arrows.

The reptillian gave him one last- "GO FASTER YOU FAT FUCK!" - yell before running away deeper into the woods behind him. Torch and Javelin in hand.

...

Slow moving ambush predators are just the same no matter what kind of world you lived in huh? Crocodiles aren't so tough when you drag them out of the water and ride their backs, and in fact; the moment that you do, you can pretty much bash a gator's head all you want! They won't be able to do anything.

And this obese salamander is no different, it moves slowly and relies way too much on ambushes. Oh, and there'a also the fact that it has been complacent due to it's super strong regeneration.

With the forest floor pretty much soaked with the monster's blood, it finally reached the trap's range; I swiftly threw my torch at it's eye, and then proceeded to cut the rope that held the spikes high in the air. The trap revealed itself as it broke through it's leafy camouflage, it fell on it the salamander's head and I felt more life force enter my body. And this time, I forced myself to focus on just how the damn thing feels.

I left the rotting corpse there, grabbed the Javelin that I never got to use, threw away my armor that had the same fate; and went home.