I sigh in relief when the two bipedal creatures leave. What just happened? What were those creatures? I’ve never seen anything like them before. And they were so strong! The one on the ground killed that bear in a single blow! I’m pretty sure that the bear is the same one that I ran away from not too long ago!

I slowly crawl out of the bushes, aiming for the corpse of the large four-legged creature. They were even nice enough to leave me a meal! Although, they probably thought that I ran away, and that’s why they were so careless after killing the bear. I guess it was warranted, since there’s no way I’d be able to kill them, even if I got the drop on them. I stand up, and move towards the bear, barely even acknowledging the existence of the rabbit’s corpse.

I take a bite of the meat the moment I reach the bear’s corpse. Oh my gosh! This is the best thing I’ve ever tasted! I’m overwhelmed by the rich and mouth watering flavor of the meat. From the fox, all the way back to that deer, nothing can compare. This tastes better than all of those combined! I quickly chew and swallow the tender, and absolutely delectable, chunk of meat, and bend down for another bite. I can feel any slight traces of soreness in my muscles fade away.

I barely even notice, as I eat more and more of it. All traces of exhaustion slowly disappear. My body feels lighter, more limber, and my mind feels sharper. I continue eating the bear as fast as I can, the euphoria of eating such a delicious meal not allowing me to savor it.

After eating almost half of the bear, I finally can’t eat any more. Wow. That was amazing. I crawl over to the bushes I was hiding in before, and finally address the notification that had come in earlier.

2 skill level gained. Advanced [Passive - Danger Sense] to level 5. Advanced [Flora Camouflage] to level 3.

I guess that makes sense. I did use it to dodge an attack from something more powerful than me, after all. And it had been sitting at level 4 for a while now. And I just used Flora Camouflage to keep myself hidden among the bushes, or flora. So I basically used it exactly as intended. Actually, that brings up something I’ve been wondering about for a while now. How does Status even calculate my level, and skill levels?

I think about all the times I’ve leveled skills and myself. So, every time I kill something, I get a notification telling me about gaining experience. And whenever I kill something a tier below me, whatever that means, I get less experience. And it seems that when I repeat the same actions against the same creatures, I don’t level my skills. For Danger Sense, every first time I dodged an attack from something at least as powerful as I, it leveled up. And basically every time I use Plant Control in a new way, it gets a level.

But what about a skill like Flying? Or Dragon Scales? I haven’t flown again since I got the skill, but I imagine just flying would level it up. I mean, nothing else really makes sense, right? And Dragon Scales seems to level up every time my scales are damaged by something powerful. Slash seems to level every time I use it against something strong. Flora Camouflage seems to level when I use it to keep myself hidden from something strong. All my skills seem to level against something strong, actually. If I had decided to attack the two bipedal creatures, every skill I used probably would’ve leveled up. But I most certainly would’ve died, so it’s good that I didn’t do that.

Anyways, I should probably get out of here. Who knows if more of those bipedal creatures will come by? I’m not even close to strong enough to beat them yet, I think. I turn back to the massive mountain. I also need to practice flying more, so that I can go higher up the mountain. Getting as far away from these creatures as possible is a necessity for my continued survival.

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I start moving out of the bushes, and towards the tall mountain. Going straight towards it should lead to me entering the clearing. Then I can fly up to that higher canyon, which will hopefully be safe from those bipedal creatures. I continue to move through the undergrowth, dodging the bushes, tall plants, and massive trees. After a few minutes of travel, I arrive at the edge of the clearing. I give the clearing a cursory glance, to see if anything moved in while I was away. I almost step in, but freeze when I see something lying in the center of the clearing.

It can only be described as one thing; an abomination. A monstrosity. It’s a fox, like the kind I killed right before my evolution. It's orange, but that’s not what makes it so terrifying. No, what does it is the bones sprouting from all of its joints, and that its claws are larger and more jagged than the ones on the fox I fought before. It also has large, root-like antlers sprouting from its head. I can also see how the skin hangs loose around its frame.

What is that thing? It’s… horrifying. It doesn’t even look like it’s breathing! Is it even still alive? Well, even if it isn’t, I should be cautious. I try to take control of a root beneath the fox, but there’s nothing large enough to do any damage. I look a bit farther away, and find a sufficiently sized root just a foot away from the fox. I begin coiling it up, like drawing back my arm to punch. The… creature’s… eyes snap open. There are no eyeballs. Instead, just the bone sockets.

The creature looks straight at where I’m winding up the root. Can it see the root? I panic, and launch the root preemptively. It sails through the air, and towards the fox’s head. However, the fox dodges it. It dodged it?! Wait, I need to calm down. It still hasn’t seen me yet; I might be able to get another ambush on it. As if to dissuade me from such a notion, the fox turns its head to look straight at me. Never mind! I quickly remember how to use Slash, and wait for the fox to approach.

It slowly pads towards me, but that is the only movement it showcases. It’s still not breathing. Does it not need to breathe? No, that’s unimportant right now! I have to kill this thing! I toss the Slash towards the fox, before quickly charging another one in my other paw. The fox dodges to the left, and I release the second Slash. It lands, and tears through the loose flesh of the fox. I can hear bones cracking, even as far away as I am.

However, despite the fact that it has massive cuts, and at least one broken bone, the fox doesn’t flinch. It also doesn’t bleed. What?! What is this thing?! I charge up two more Slashes, one in each paw. I can feel the skills starting to take their toll, but I have to kill this thing before resting. I send out another Slash towards the fox, and it dodges to the right. I send out a slash right when it lands again, but this time, it knows to dodge.

The fox contorts in an unnatural way, and all three waves of light pass within centimeters of its body. What?! What is it doing?! Ok, there’s no way that this thing is alive. No living creature contorts like that without even a single indicator of being in pain. I don’t believe that that is possible. I have to refocus on the fight quickly. I charge up one more Slash, but don’t use it. I start to move closer to the monster.

The only way I’m going to hit this thing is if I’m way closer. The fox advances towards me as I move towards it, probably seeing that I’m not attacking it at range anymore. We get closer and closer to one another. Suddenly, it leaps at me! I jump to the side, but it still catches my tail. The thing’s claws carve deep gouges into my scales, but thankfully don’t get past them. I turn around, and retaliate with a Slash. It flies right towards the fox’s head.

This time, since the fox is so close, it can’t dodge or contort its way out of this. The Slash lands right on its head, and goes right through into the creature’s skull, and into its brain. The creature falls limp on the ground, and I wait for the notification. It never comes. Isn’t the thing dead? I carefully watch the creature, looking for any signs that it’s not dead. Only after careful examination do I notice the twitching. The creature’s limbs are twitching.

It’s not dead! Ok, I don’t think I can kill this thing. It doesn’t bleed, barely seems hampered by wounds, and even after its skull is cracked, and its brain is gouged out, it’s still alive! I definitely need to get away from here, and from this thing. Well, I guess it’s time to fly up the mountain. I should at least be able to find a place to rest. I move away from the creature quickly, open my wings, and start flapping them powerfully. I start to rise into the sky.