Another claw sliced across my cheek before I slammed a hand into the side of the thing’s body. It jumped backward, away from me and closer to the water's edge. I scrambled up to a seated position and stabbed out with my spear as it ran closer, coming in for another attack. It was slower on the ground than in the air and I felt confident I could hit it.

The creature dodged back, away from the spear, but the first one I’d injured leaped out of the shadows from under the tree. I backhanded it and the creature went flying, this time not using its wings.

Distance, I needed distance from these creatures.

The uninjured one didn’t jump right in, and I used the moment of space to scramble to my feet. Instead of jumping in to attack, the creature paused, studying me and what I was doing. The microraptor lifted its head and loudly hissed twice into the sky. I readied myself as it leaped again, taking to the air and flying high. It twisted to dive-bomb me, clearly deciding it was better off attacking from above.

This time, I swung my spear like a baseball bat and smacked the bird right across its center of mass, grazing one of the wings with the hot tip. A few feathers came loose as it sailed backward, landing in the center of the river with a loud splash.

It hissed again as it tried to break free of the water, but was having trouble flying with wet feathers.

More hisses came from the opposite riverbank, but I couldn’t see anything but ferns.

The one next to me hissed loudly in return, rushing at me awkwardly across the ground. I stabbed it through the chest with my spear, wondering if it would taste like chicken.

[You have gained bonus experience from combat for surviving against a Microraptor above your level.]

The one in the river splashed about until it gained a little air with its wings. It glared at me and flapped its wings faster, shedding water from its feathers with each flap.

A triangle head snapped out of the water and closed on half of the bird. A flash of bright blue and green scales was all I saw as water sprayed everywhere. I stumbled backward, further away from the water, and the microraptor was gone.

[You have gained bonus experience from combat for surviving against a Microraptor above your level.]

[You have gained a level.]

Pure terror washed over me, as everything inside me screamed to run. I stumbled back further from the water's edge, yanking my spear back toward me. The dead bird came with it, caught on some feathers. Without thinking too hard about it I tossed the dead microraptor into my inventory and leaped toward the tree trunk, this time keeping far away from the water. I had to pull myself upward, but I almost flew as I raced up the tree, away from whatever had been in the water. I didn’t know what level it was, but it was bigger than me, a lot bigger.

My heart pounded as I reached the top of the bank, finally away from the river and having lost at least an hour with the whole ordeal. I twisted back, looking over my shoulder, but the river looked like it had before. There wasn’t even a shadow in the center. Pain flickered up my arm, making me shiver, and I smelled the blood from my cheek.

The slice on my arm wasn’t deep, but it was actively bleeding. The same went for my face, and that bled a little more. I paused at the top of the riverbank and yanked out the pack from my inventory. While I didn’t have many clean bandages left, I pulled one out and quickly tightened it around my upper arm, making sure to cover the whole cut. John knew what he was doing when he’d packed this bag, thankfully.

The cut on my cheek was harder. I didn’t really have a way to stop it from bleeding besides one, which I really didn’t want to do since I couldn’t see the cut. Plus, there wasn’t a chance that closing it with my knife wouldn’t scar it. Or cause even worse lasting damage.

“Noseen, how bad is the cut on my face?” I asked, trying to suppress my panic. I wished I had some of that green goo from the plant.

“Small, I think. Should stop bleeding soon.”

My hands shook as I tossed the pack back into my inventory and took off down the riverbank. Anything carnivorous would be able to smell me on the breeze, and what I needed was to get closer to the crystal. It had started to ground the last time I’d seen it, and it would keep smaller things away. My stomach grumbled as I dashed ahead, keeping close to the river but not so close that I’d end up back where I was.

A hissing sound came from my left and I stopped, extending my knife back into a spear. I strained, trying to target where the sound was coming from. Another hissing sound came from my right, and I let out a shaking breath, focusing on relaxing each of my muscles.

I could do this.

One came flying at me over the tall grass. I caught sight of it out of the corner of my eye and my spear lashed out. A burning smell filled the air as the creature lost a wing and crashed to the ground in pain. I took a deep breath.

Before that one hit the ground, another leaped from the other side of me, but I was prepared for the pack tactics. The butt of my spear knocked it back as the third flew directly at my face. I spun around, dodging the Microraptor and it overshot into the bushes. The wingless one on the ground I finished off with a stab, leaving two more.

[You have gained experience from combat.]

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

I didn’t have time to toss it into my inventory as the other two came back, hissing. Both flew at me at once from different directions. One I stabbed right in the center of its body, the crystal cutting through with ease and the beast dying almost immediately.

[You have gained experience from combat.]

The other scratched at my face, but I jerked back as it quickly lost air. I stomped down on the creature as it jumped close to my feet. Luck was on my side as I pinned a wing under my boot, which it then tried to attack. Fortunately, the thick leather prevented any damage as I cut its head off.

[You have gained experience from combat.]

The sound of my breathing took over the space in the tall grass, and I strained to hear any additional hissing. After a few seconds of nothing, I stuffed two of the Microraptor bodies into my inventory. Given the notifications, all three had to have been at my level or lower. I’d gotten experience, but not extra. Fighting creatures just above my level seemed to be the sweet spot. I stared at the last one, trying to use my Insight.

[Microraptor, Level 8, Dead.]

That confirmed these were weaker than the other two I had fought before.

My stomach growled again, reminding me that I needed to eat something, and soon. However, this was not the time or the place. First, I had to find the crystal, since that would be the smart thing to do. It would give me some safety while I filled my stomach.

Hopefully, this was the rest of the Microraptor pack and I wouldn’t need to worry about any more of these coming after me as I searched for the crystal along the riverbank. My arm ached a little from the fight, and my cheek had cracked back open, but I hadn’t gained any additional injuries. I had to count that as a victory.

A shadow passed overhead and I automatically ducked down into the tall grass, but it was only a flock of birds, not one of the monster fliers. Letting out a shaking breath, I marched on, trying to keep heading south. The sound of the river was to my left, but I didn’t want to get too close to it. The more out of sight I could stay right now, the better.

Yet, anything could be hiding in tall grass like this, for example packs of Microraptors. It was one of the reasons why I preferred the jungle trees versus grasslands like this. The breeze picked up for a moment, coming from the east, and the grasses danced. The wind blowing over the tall grass made a soft tone, which was cool, but it made it harder to hear if anything was following me.

After passing a few ferns, I came across the large skeleton that I had seen from below. It was the only one, with large ribs stretching into the air. It had been picked clean ages ago, as several of the bones were already cracked and bleached white from the sun. Tall grasses and more ferns grew up intertwined with it, which was a good sign. Nothing smelled like a carcass. All I smelled was the river, and my own blood.

I wasn’t far from the crystal now, and I kept my fast pace as I dodged around the bones.

“This was a devourer,” said Noseen. “A great one.” For once there wasn’t a sound of buzzing attached to his words, and it caused me to slow down to a walk.

“How can you tell?” I asked, studying the bones. They were just bones.

“Focus on it, how does it feel?”

I tried to focus on it, like when I used insight on a creature or person. Nothing popped up, but I got a feeling of familiarity. It caused me to inch closer to the bones and lay a hand on one of the towering ribs. It was warm from the sun, and smooth. Then, it tingled, sending a jolt of power up my arm.

I jerked my hand back, my panic slowly receding. Almost without thought, I moved through the rib bones, heading to where the skull should be. It was crushed. Splintered into pieces, almost like a giant rock had smashed down on it. A large jaw bone with a few sharp teeth attached sat away from the rest of it.

“What could have done this?”

“Many things,” whispered Noseen. “The purge was a dark time. Many of us died.”

“How?”

“Devourers were hunted across the worlds of the system. Some even tried to rid their worlds of the class.” Noseen paused. “They don’t understand the balance.”

I didn’t understand whatever balance they spoke of either, but my thoughts were still caught on one word, worlds? “How many worlds are there?”

Noseen didn’t respond immediately, then he started buzzing. “Plenty, more than you could count.”

If I knew exactly where they were, I’d have glared at them. While I wanted to know more about devourers, and the history of the class, I already had too much on my plate. Still, I moved closer to the broken jaw bone with the sharp ivory teeth. The teeth looked usable as knives, and I poked one with a finger. It was solid. I snagged a leaf and cut it on the edge, seeing it was still razor sharp. “Can I take one?” I didn’t want to disrespect Noseen, but having a backup knife would be useful. I’d need to attach it to a wooden handle, but that shouldn’t be hard. Hopefully.

“Go for it.”

The largest tooth was almost the size of my crystal, and it came free with only a little prying. The second one fell out with me barely touching it. “Are devourers still hunted?” The question slipped out without intention, but it was something I’d thought about in the back of my mind for a while, given Noseen’s hints over the past couple of days. I didn't have time for a history lesson, but I still wanted to know more.

“In many places, yes. You need to grow and be less squishy to survive.”

“Even though I might be lower level than them?” I asked.

Noseen buzzed softer. “Unfortunately, that will not protect you. You need to grow.”

Deep down I knew that, based on the hints the system had dropped with my skills and class selection. My conviction to become stronger and level up deepened. Both teeth went into my inventory.

This creature, this giant devourer, had died, and look how big they were. I couldn’t even tell what type of creature it had been. All that was left was the rib cage, and parts of the skull with the broken jaw. The jungle was slowly consuming it, closing the circle of life, yet another example. If I didn’t want this to happen to me, I needed to be as smart, sneaky, and fast as I could be. As long as no one knew about me and my class, I could grow stronger without anyone trying to take me out.

“Noseen, can people see my class using insight?”

“People stronger than you can see all sorts of information about you, if they leveled Insight.”

My fingers tapped on my thigh as I stood up. “Is there a way to block it, or change it?”

Noseen buzzed softly, like they were thinking of what to say. I was reminded that they’d said they were limited in what they could say, which frustrated me, but I still didn’t know the rules of the system, not really. I had to trust they’d do what they could. “Unlock a strong Profession and that will show up first, but there aren’t many strong beings in this place, so I wouldn’t worry too much.” They went quiet before they spoke again. “You’re being smart again, I approve.”

Just what I needed, approval from a mosquito. Then again, hadn’t Noseen called themself a great blood devourer? Why were they tiny?

I needed to remember this wasn’t going to be over when I got back to the ship. I chuckled to myself. First I’d needed to get a class, which I’d now done. But because of that class, I now needed to get a profession to hide the class. If the fates were real, they had to be laughing at me right now. Then I caught a whiff of my blood.

I’d gotten distracted with the bones. I headed back toward the river’s edge and moved along the bank in the correct direction. My cheek was still bleeding, though the air was still and hopefully it would stay like that. My stomach growled again, and I knew I’d need to eat the microraptors soon. First I had to get where it was safe.

Then I would gorge.