As the sun rose I sat up from my spot in the field. Sparrow stirred and rolled over. For a beast with incisors sharp enough to shred his prey, he looked cute while sleeping. I rubbed his belly and he stretched his arms, waking and getting to his feet. We walked toward the den.
“Mornin’, Nate! Do people call you that?” Dan called from the den. His beard might have been more matted than before, and twigs and leaves stuck to him all over.
“No, they don’t. Good morning.” My gravelly voice surprised me again. Then the creature at Dan’s side surprised me even more. A slender wolf with shiny fur and an agile body looked up at me with intelligent eyes. A glimpse of its fangs almost sent a shiver down my spine. those were lethal weapons.
“I see you noticed Silva. She is our best hunter. She usually does the most work to feed the pups.” He reached down to ruffle her fur, and she growled at him. His face paled, but he recovered quickly.
“She’s a… feisty creature.” He threw his head back in his trademark laugh, an octave higher than usual. I narrowed my eyes at the exchange. Being a skeleton, narrowing my eyes meant my skull remained completely motionless.
“So, cause Sparrow seems to have taken such a shining to you, I figgered you and he could hunt together today if you are looking for something to do with yourself.” Dan held out a straight branch, sharpened at the end into a point.
[Wooden Spear: A stick sharpened at one end. Why do I need to describe this? You don’t have rights. Just look at the stick, dumbass.
Damage: 1-12
Quality: Junk
Requirements: -None-
Durability: 15/15
Creator: Daniel
Date of Creation: 2133 HE]
I didn’t like the system’s attitude this morning. It looked to me like a certain digital management entity needed a cup of coffee.
“Thank you. This will be very helpful.” I made a mental note to do something in return. I didn’t like the feeling of leaving favors unpaid.
“Oh, it was nothing. If you follow Sparrow’s lead, he’ll show you the best spots. Good luck and happy hunting.”
Sparrow lead me through the forest, his footing sure in-game trails and thickets alike. I stayed low to avoid tangling branches into my joints. I was still missing a rib and a finger, but I didn’t expect any consequence from it. My lack of regeneration was a bigger issue.
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[HP: 57/75]
We must have trekked for an hour at our careful pace before Sparrow came to a sudden stop. I didn’t see anything ahead, but Sparrow was pointed forward, slowly inching forward. He went in a wide circle around whatever he saw, and I readied my spear. Sparrow glanced up at me, and I gave a short nod. He jumped toward whatever he saw. in a flurry of motion, two tiny rabbits popped out of the ground like champagne bottle corks. They ran from the dangerous wolf, right toward me. I jabbed the spear down toward the flighty creatures. I grazed the fur of one, but they sped away before I could even try for a second jab.
Before I had a second to be disappointed, the ground between Sparrow and myself shook. It wasn’t large enough to move my feet, but it sure as hell caught my attention. Two floppy ears emerged first from the little burrow, followed closely by the rest of a giant rabbit. Standing at its full proud height, its ears reached my Sternum. It only took the briefest eye contact for Sparrow and me to reach the same plan.
“Woah!” I shouted as the monstrous brown rabbit barreled toward us. Sparrow howled into the forest as we scrambled through leaves and bushes. Running was a mistake. The bunny rabbit monstrosity was fast, overtaking us with ease. The creature kicked its oversized hind paw into my back. I fell into a heap of bones.
[HP: 45/75]
I pulled myself up on my spear. Sparrow had taken the initiative to latch onto our foe’s neck, which prompted a hellish screech as its skin tore. Sparrow had the furious rabbit temporarily pinned, so I raised my spear high, feeling my grip clench automatically on the bark of the branch. I skewered the rabbit, piercing the stomach and feeling the disgusting sensation of wood drilling through the guts. I could have puked had I the biological capability to do so. As the monster squirmed and bled, it kicked a powerful leg into Sparrow’s chin. A small chunk broke off his health bar. The monster used the opportunity to break free and run after its children. We pursued.
Sparrow and I took it slow. Sparrow sniffed the ground, tracking the quarry, and we slowly followed. The strategy was based on the concept of [pursuit predation, so we just pace ourselves and let the low stamina prey tire itself out. After only ten minutes of the bunny scrambling for new hiding places, we were able to close in. the blood loss the Rabbit endured coupled with our pursuit brought us upon the barely breathing creature. I stabbed my spear through the large rabbit’s neck, putting it out of its misery.
A small blue sphere the size and shape of a baseball rose from the head of the rabbit. It floated toward me and disappeared as it touched my skeletal hand.
[+1 Soul]
[Skill Learned: Spear Wielding (lv.1)]
[Skill Learned: Tracking (lv.1)]
[Spear Wielding (lv.1): You have begun learning the very basics of spear handling. At level 1, spear accuracy damage gains +1% and spear accuracy gains +1%]
[Tracking (lv.1): You have begun learning the very basics of following subtle trails. At level 1, pathfinding accuracy +1%]
Was that the soul of this creature? Was this an intelligent creature? Was it someone like me? My mind started accelerating. I heard a grinding noise in my mind as if a tiny ax were being sharpened in my skull. Am I a monster? Did I kill a real person? I looked around frantically, and then… I stopped. I was calm. There was no place for panic, it was simply survival of the fittest. Death was only a part of life. But the grindstone continued whispering.
“I am not a monster,” I whispered so quietly I may as well have not spoken the words. But it felt good that I had.
Sparrow didn’t seem to notice anything unusual, as he was preoccupied with dragging the carcass back to the den. Kent decided to wake up at last at my new acquisition.
“Nice work. You need to get as many of those souls as you can. We need to get you to the blood emporium because you’re only going to lose more hit points.” I nodded,
“I’ll try to be careful.”
The rabbit was lifted onto my shoulders and we returned to the den.