Chapter 2: Through the Boundaries

        Now equipped with the newly picked up dagger, I ventured the green woodland once again, with the hope of finding a way out burning intense inside of my mind and body.

        Just like I had presumed, the dagger was indeed very helpful on my journey, as it helps me to cut materials faster, as well as to mark the trees so that I could recognize whether if I had run around the same directions over again.

        Today however, I happened to be quite confident on hunting creatures, right just when I developed a taste for good meat, which technically meant that I will attempt to hunt starting from this day. Among the times I had been advancing this forest, there were only a few creatures that seemed easy enough to be hunted for, those were:

        A boar-like creature with red fur, but with several tusks and horns protruding around its head. Though its size was not the same as any normal wild boars you see in Earth as it was slightly larger, but it still proves as a good target due to its inattentive temperament due to its horns and tusks blocking the creature’s vision, thus its hearing and sense of smell was what it relies on for predator detection.

        And then there was a fowl in a size of a turkey, who possessed quite a long beak and giant, wide feet, equipped with claws sharp enough to dig the ground. As far as I had observed, these make a good target either, as they were slow when running, their wide and large feet becoming the problem of that, though when in a close combat position, they are amazingly adaptable towards attacking their opponents…

        The last one that got my attention was a fat, giant worm-like creature. Although to be exact, it looked more like a larva or a maggot for me… eww… Though I only heard that bugs taste intriguing back on Earth, but it still somehow skeptical on trying one. But in order to survive, I must persevere with it, as it looked like the most passive one out of all the choices I had picked, with the additional of extremely slow movement and ginormous body, this one definitely looked like a winner, though the only inconvenience it had were that had pieces of armor-looking husk that were covering the whole body, although there were several openings where I could aim at, and its appearance as a bug’s larva, but with hundred times of the actual size I’ve seen on Earth.

        Geez, I wonder how big were the fully grown ones are…

        In additional, I even got a new ability from the mysterious voice that resides inside my head: Appraisal. Cool, now this looks more like a fantasy story, if you’d ask me. With that, I could identify a creature’s name and data. Strangely though, there seemed to be no signs of level in this world.

        Huh, and just as I thought that I might be living inside a world of a video game…

        However, as confident as I may be, I may be putting myself in danger if I plunge myself on a creature with offensive defense skills, and I don’t want to risk my life over just a meal. In order to put myself in a lower risk of being injured, I started searching for the giant, larva-like creature, called Scale-Armored Beetle Larva, as it was the frailest and yet so enormous for its size.

        It took me a while due to the thick, obstructing plantations surrounding the area, but I finally managed to find a

few scavenging on dead creature carcasses by an empty space of land with less greens and more lighter browns. I know that it’s a bit gross to look at, even I flinched and leaned back, almost refusing to look and believe that those

larva-like creature’s diet was… the remains of an once living being.

        Nonetheless, a part of my mind kept on saying to me that it might taste better than it seemed like, so I had my choice to take one of it down, though a hint of sadness appeared in me, but the as what they said, the strong preys on the weak in order to survive.

        I charged ahead with a spear on my right hand, and another on my left, rushing towards the targeted with a speed my legs can go at its fastest. When I was close to its proximity, I launched the spear from my right, aiming at its body that was covered with armor but was full of openings in the same time.

        At first, my throw missed a part of where I’m aiming at; the soft, unprotected spot of its flesh. I then throwed the next spear handled by left hand but now transferred to the right to provoke it as I succeeded on hitting the part I was going for, it shrieking with a high pitch sound and fell for it, as it stopped eating and now face directed towards me.

        But before it could do anything, I was too close in a distance, and I launched myself to the air, dagger now held with both hands, and landed right on its defenseless head, stabbing its most vital organ, creating an instant death as it shrieked with one last of its voice, as I sliced way down while landing on the ground with my the two of my foot, earning my prey at last.

        Stunningly, the other of its kind didn’t react to the danger that I could bring towards them, as they seemed to continue feasting their way throughout the carcass, as if they never had minded their deceased kind. I was sure impressed by their ignorance, or perhaps this was their way to avoid further inconveniences, or maybe that they were not a sociable species after all?

        But that matters none to me, now that I have something to eat off. Truth to be told, I think it’s better like this rather than have to deal with more of them in the same time.

        Anyways, I got into business, but before tearing the creature one by one, I gave it a small bow and a prayer, thanking it for the meal it will give me.

        I’m sorry, fellow creature, but I had to.

        Once it was done, I began cutting the giant larva creature pieces by pieces, although I only took some of its flesh, since I have nothing to carry it on, and a small human like me could merely finish all of those meat, couldn’t I? Besides, the thing was incredibly big that there were spots I can’t reach up anyways. Too bad that the rest will go out to waste, really. Or maybe it will just end up as an extra meal for the rest of its kind, since they feed on carcasses?

        After I cut out my required portion, I carried them away from the feeding creatures, back towards the inner side of the forest, my arms full with no space left because of the amount of meat they were handling. I didn’t stop until I reach a place near the crystal-clear river so that I’m able to get a drink without effort in case if I choked or something.

        I placed the meat on the ground, since there was nowhere else to put them, and set them aside for the moment. There, I took some woods that I cut off from nearby branches, placing them down on the ground, arranging it to look like the base of a bonfire.

        Once the alignment had been on my preference, I filled in the hole of the erected woods with dried, fallen leaves, before at last whetted two stones together to create a spark of fire.

        It didn’t take long before the sparks began rushing to the leaves, swallowing them whole whilst the stood-up woods followed their demise. And there is it, a blazing-red flame, wavering from its base as it grew bigger within size and heat.

        Finally. Now on to the grand course.

        With the fire roasting in, I took the remainder of branches that were for the bonfire, and picked the thin, but sturdy ones out of the rest. With the branches, or sticks, for now, I shoved several cut meats into it, forming some kind of skewered -bug- meat of some sort, then placed them on top of the blazing flame, my hands holding the stick skewers, waiting in patience for the long-wanted meat to cook in perfection, half drooling over the sight of it.

        I know when it’s ready after the flesh changed color from paled beige to a brownish color, and with the burnt scent of what seemed not too penetrating to the nose.

        Well, here it is. The meat was ready.

        I took the skewers from the swaying fire, staring at the roasted flesh as I gulped in, uncertain that I should continue to consume it or not, because the fact that the meat I had cooked was belonged to something that I don’t normally eat back when Earth was still my home world.

        But my cravings would be satisfied on the occasion that I throw this first earned prey of my own hands.

        Curling my lips, I had no choice but to try the thing on to my taste buds, because you know, it might savor them

more than the eyes would.

        Here goes nothing. Eyes closed, my right palm which was holding the skewers slowly moved the meat onto my mouth as I took a small bite from the somehow soft and juicy -bug- meat, before it eventually touched my tongue-

  “……”

        Holy sh_t-

        Without any control, my mouth willingly gorged on the initially thought disgusting meat. What is this? It’s way better than I had expected.

        The meat’s juices flowed inside my mouth, delivering a somewhat subtle taste of chicken, if that what my taste buds had to describe. The tenderness of the meat was also similarly like a medium well-done beef steak, which bounces nicely between each chew of my jaws. I immediately finished the whole course in the absence of my awareness. Oh, I wish I could have some more… But the dead carcass of what I had killed back then would probably have become another meal for those hungry larvae.

        Perhaps I should try my attempt on another day…

  “Congratulations, you have gained the Title: Hunter.”

And it even gives off a new title, neat.

        Energy filled after the hearty meal, I began to resume my journey across the forest, once again trying to make my way out from this fertile, green land. I’d climbed trees to make sure my way was right, even though I could only discern a small amount of where I should be going. Breaks were also along my journey, taking fruits that I had labeled as ‘edible’ to snack on whenever tiredness caught up to me. And once the day had begun to set, I threw a camp out in the wilderness to rest myself.

        Things pretty much go that way each and every day, really, without a single accomplishment of knowing the way of the exit.

        Shoot, this was longer than I had expected to be… Someone, please help meee.

        Another day came by after probably months I had been entrapped in this green canopy. I did what I needed to do as usual, while also trying to hunt more to improve the ability that I got back then.

        Rather than going for an easy one, I boldened myself to pick a different target this time, since harder hunts could prove me a challenge for both my body and skills for them to get stronger. Plus, getting to taste another type of meat does get my taste buds hyped to what might it will savor next time.

        Not before long, my ears heard a rustle by the nearby bushes. Startled, I took a stance of readying an attack

with a spear held with both of my hands. What may come after could be anything, so I assumed myself to get ready for whatever the future will throw at me, and hid behind a nearby trunk of a tree.

        Awaiting whatever’s coming from inside the bushes, I gulped in a hint of fear, peeking from my hiding spot in case anything happened, because if it were something so beastly carnivorous, my best chance would be to sneak or kill it away immediately.

        As the rustle grows louder and closer, sweat starts to drip down my face. Here it comes, I gripped the spear in

my palm tightly.

        When it finally made out from the bushes, I don’t want to waste any chances; in the same time, I jumped out from my hiding spot, eyes closed, charging towards the expected danger, as I shouted,

  “Yaaaarrrrrggghhh!”

Stabbing the unknown thing that came out, as it made a shrieking squeal.

        After that the sound went faint then ended without any trace of it left. Huh, why does this one so easy to kill? I slowly opened my left eye before taking the sight of what in front of it was. My right eye then followed as I took the sight fully to my grasp: a small, red boar with short tusks not fully grown amongst its head, body bled out in red,

and within its chest stuck out my trusty spear, its end stained from the scarlet leaking from the wound it impaled.

        A baby boar? The thought ran right after my vision completed scanning the scene it was facing. I took another look at it, crouching down while touching bits of its fur. Now that mention it, the one I just killed appears to be quite familiar to something that I had in mind…

        Ah, that’s right! The Bloodhorned Boar! This one had the same appearance as it, only way far smaller than the

ones I had spotted. Hm, must’ve been one of its offspring, I guess.

        Oh well, a kill is a kill. I stood back up with both of my legs and pulled the spear from the body.

        Just then, a loud, low-pitched roaring squeal happened to reach my auditory range.

        My body jerked up and flinched for a moment. What was that? I haven’t seen anything from my plane of sight, yet the sound seemed somehow really close to me.

        Not taking any chances of endangering myself, I quickly brought my legs to jump and hide in the nearby bushes, and stayed still and soundless as much as I can.

        Before long, the earth trembled with the sounds of hooves, and a gust of wind flew by as the maker of the sound made its entrance; it was a Bloodhorned Boar, with fur as scarlet as the hue of fresh blood and ginormous, dark ivory horns and tusks covering its head, along with its colossal size of nearly ten times of mine, made an entrance towards the scene I’m witnessing from the leafy coverage.

        I was right to pick this as a concealment, since based on my observations, these creatures rely more on their sense of hearing and smell, so I thought that it will be a good idea to hide my scent amongst the leaves of the bushes, because getting noticed by that thing would be a death wish.

        Let’s just hope it doesn’t take any attention towards me…

        Crouching down by the bushes, I waited for the boar to leave so that I can be free once more while I eyed its movement and behavior. From what my eyes told me, it seemed to be sniffing around the area, its snout twitches as it goes left and right, hovering from the ground.

        Then when it’s about to reach the dead, young boar, its nose stopped on the track, now heavily whiffing on the no longer living young; the fact that it didn’t get any of my scent means that I am safe within these bushes.

        After that, it stopped. Only the noise of chirpings birds, flowing water, wind gusts, and swaying leaves can be heard by one’s ears.

        Then it happened; the boar lifted its head up high, letting out an ear-piercing squeal, as I had to slap my ears shut with both of my hands. Perhaps it was mourning the lost one? I’m truly sorry for that, oh creature of the wild-

        A second later, I witnessed something unbelievable if I had still been in my home world; the boar quickly dove its head down to the earth with its jaw wide open, as it munched on the dead young boar, gnashing its teeth together, dismembering and butchering the youngster without mercy whilst the scarlet stained the soil below from its

brutal devour.

        What in the world… did I just watch?

        I am left stupefied by the creature’s actions. I clearly thought that boars were supposed to be herbivorous, but why does this one… ate up one of its younger species? I mean, I know that this was a different world, but I never expected it to be… cannibalistic to its own kind.

        I placed both of my palms to my mouth, obviously bewildered and questioning the system and ecology of this world I’m in. But although that was in mind, I knew that I could not stay here for longer, since I’m definitely in risk of danger, maybe death even if that thing found me right on the spot.

        Oh jeez, I might have to rethink my hunting options for now…

        There’s only one single problem however: how the heck should I escape from these rustling bushes, if one

movement I make will allow the beastly boar to detect me without fail?

        I hesitated for a moment, thinking about my decisions that could cause me my life or death. Albeit, at one point I do have an option to wait for this creature’s withdrawal, but even after it’s been a few minutes, it’s still savoring the flesh of the small one, and apparently had no intention of leaving as it stood on the spot, licking the spilt red liquid that melded into the dirt.

        And with its audacity, even took its time to do so, my patience running thin within the wasted time I had gotten

myself into.

        I can’t stand it anymore longer. With another spear laid by my right hand and my legs taking a stance readying to dart off, I pulled my previously said hand to the back to increase the power I’m going to release. Upon then, I sent the spear flying towards the beast, aiming for the unprotected, red-furred flesh of its torso.

        It was a hit. The unknowing creature stopped its track on whatever it’s doing, and squealed once more with a blaring voice.

        Now’s my chance!

        I quickly darted away from the bushes while the creature is annoyed by the inflicted wound. I ran from the bushes, dashing my way through the opposite side where I met the savage boar.

        Is it gone? My thought passed as my legs are still bringing me to safety.

        But little did I know that… I just made the creature furious, as it stormed by right behind of me with great speed. Oh sh_t oh sh_t\, I think I had made a bad move there.

        As my legs grew even determined to free me from an upcoming barbaric death, the boar too, was intent on giving me a crushing departure from this world.

F_ck, I can’t die yet, not now! I continued my rush, ignoring everything that I passed on my path. What I only care now is my survival, and I must ensure it to stay ignited.

        I don’t really know my legs are taking me to, but by the time it got out of fuel, I was already in a round patch of

tree-less land, similar to the one when I hunted that larva of a Scale-Armored Beetle ahead from that one past day.

        When I panted and gasped for air on one of the sides of the land patch, the bloodthirsty boar caught up to me as it stood on my opposite standing point, blowing wind harshly from its nose as it flared open wide, its right foreleg scraped the ground as if it was ready to charge towards me.

        I gulped my own mouth water, my legs frozen to their place yet my mind races to get me out of this peril.

        What do I do? There’s no escape on this mess-

        Without any warning, the boar roared its mighty squeal and instantly bolted towards me. F_ck, is this where it all ends?

        Adrenaline rushing within every inch of my body, my flight or fight response triggered. I can’t think of anything

anymore, so instead my body reacts purely to its own instinct.

        I thought I was done for as the boar launched itself to my direction, though I managed to dodge its first attempt on ending me, luckily. But with its speed to comprehend, the dodge I made was merely away from me being crushed to death, as I jumped and rolled to a part to the ground.

        The boar realized that it didn’t hit its target, and it pulled a brake to its hooves… and even with that the sound

of plummeting wood trunks were still loud enough to make birds scatter like dust, and left the creature stuck on the spot.

        …… I couldn’t imagine if I had been in their places to begin with…

        When the boar was busy freeing itself from the tangled situation it was in, I quickly got up to my legs so that I can escape before it held its attention back towards me. But as I observed the situation, it became clear that I actually had a chance on finishing the beast ahead upon its next attack.

        So, with a spear on my right hand, I darted prior from its freedom, and stabbed the beast right on its chest, as it squealed once again. It was quite difficult to aim at its vital organ due to the thickness of its hide, and for the reason

that it started to thrash vigorously after my action was committed.

        I tried to get a steady grip on the quaking creature while simultaneously getting the sharp edge of the spear to be pushed deeper in order to kill it for real. While enduring the shaky maneuver, I gripped on the wooden stick as much as I could, but alas, the material was too delicate, as it broke apart, sending me rolling away from the beast. Tsk, and when I was just about to think that I had it…

        The boar shook its body from the freedom it had obtained, whilst I tried to regain my composure as I too, stood

up with both of my legs. And with that, I took another spear to my right arm, realizing that I this was the only spear left, meaning I only got one chance, or else I’m doomed. Alongside with the boar furtherly enraged, only a miracle

could get me out of this mess.

        The bloodthirsty beast finally gained its stance, locking on to its target once more.

        Sweat drops from my face as I gritted my teeth. I need to way to get away from here. But how? If only I could get away from its senses for a while-

        Wait, senses? I immediately recalled the time when I avoided the creature’s detection, that was when I hid inside the bushes.

        That’s it! My thought screamed inside of me, knowing what to do next. I quickly eyed around the surrounding

area, and luckily enough, they were filled with plantations which were big enough to cover me for a while.

        Looking back at the boar one more time, I cared nothing and dashed towards the bushes encircling the patched land.

        The beast, of course, was triggered, and drove itself to me, but before it could land its attack, I was already

hidden by the surrounding plants, both sound and scent.

        Within the concealment, I can perceive the boar’s snout twitch and quiver, assuming that it was attempting to get a whiff of my odor. Nevertheless, it couldn’t find me out so its temperament became more vicious than before, backing its way as it dashed and rammed towards the position that I first entered the bushes.

        Fortunately, I could guess its gesture right away, so I scrambled to another position, though still in between the

thick plantations. Knowing that the boar could discern my sound in any moment, the only thing I can do know is to run around the encircling thicket, the reason to confuse the creature’s auditory senses.

        The beast kept on turning its horn-enveloped head, without hesitation ramming here and there, possibly at its

attempt on figuring out where I could be. Meanwhile, I kept on running in circles, awaiting the perfect chance to strike.

        After a few minutes and many ramming passed by, the boar somehow exhausted but determined to find me, an opening presented itself finally. While my plane of sight was visioned towards an unprotected area by the torso of the unsuspecting boar, I knew that I had to take the chance or this whole ordeal will go on forever until one of us survives.

        Stalling no longer, I hit my brakes as I momentarily stop from my sprint. I pulled my hand which held the spear, which will increase the power of the throw, and leaned back a bit. My eyes aimed at the creature’s chest, where its vital organ rested, and launched the spear with a bulk of my strength. Please hit… I wished as the spear flew in such velocity… and stabbed the beast where I had intended to, deep and hard.

        The boar squealed a screaming agony as it made its last voice of life, before collapsing down to its side, opposite of where the spear had hit it.

        I… did it? My eyes sparkled from the bushes. My legs quickly brought me to the earth-laid boar. With my dagger ready by my right palm, I circled and inspected the creature slowly, making sure that there were no signs of life left. Because if it did, my life will surely be at risk by now…

        No movement detected, I took a final measure and poked around the boar’s furred skin. ……… There was no response; meaning that the creature’s life was no longer clinging around.

        Alleviated from the threat that could endanger my life, I set my palm on my chest and exhaled a relief. I can now be sure to pull the spear out of the boar’s hide, since it was the last one that I had with me. Seems like I have to make some more later…

        But that matter could be settled in another time. For now, let’s cut the prize I had earned, and have a mouth-watering meal for the day.

        With the dagger ready on my hand, I slit the boar’s hide until its flesh came visible to one’s eyes. It was, not as

easily done due to the fact that it was unbelievably thick, however, I managed anyway. Additionally, the hide seemed useful, so I kept a few slices with me, although they did reek a little.

        Then comes the part where I had to cut the flesh out, which was the one I was looking for in the first place. Like

back when I hunted that Scale-Armored Beetle Larva, I sliced several pieces where I could handle, and left the rest right like I once had killed it; there’s just no way all that massive hunk of meat could fit inside of my stomach.

        While I was cutting the meat I wanted to use, a familiar voice vocalized inside of me.

  “Skill: Aiming, unlocked.”

  “Ability: Minor Strength Enhancement, unlocked.”

  “Ability: Minor Stamina, unlocked.”

  “Skill: Minor Stealth, unlocked.”

  “Ability: Minor Quick Response, unlocked.”

        What I thought the voice would give me something had turned not one, but five, five new things, with two being

skills, and the other three abilities.

        Surely, I was stunned to obtain all these powers just by killing a single boar, but hey, these sure, will prove useful, specifically to the abilities, since they looked really helpful for an offense later on.

        After a while, I finally gathered the meat I cut from the boar. Once again, I bowed as a thanks for it giving me a

meal for the day. I then retreated back to the lush greeneries where I planned to set up a fire and savor the boar meat, roasted or grilled.

        But when I had entered the green parts of the forest, I realized that the crystal-clear river was no longer nearby. Puzzled, my next response was to tilt my head upwards, taking the sight of mountains within my plane of sight.

        Wait… mountains…?

        I was sure that I had never seen one ever since the day I woke up in this forest. And with the river gone from the vicinity, a thought hit me hard; have I been going to the wrong direction of where I’m supposed to go? I mean, the boar was chasing me all the way through the forest, and did it led me to somewhere further than I had expected

it would have? Fck, now I’m even lost than before…*

        Even with the anxiety and disappointment in my mind, they couldn’t go long as my hunger beat them to the

point of suppression. With slabs of meat carried on my arms, I made a search for the crystal-clear river, which surprisingly didn’t take long to find, as they laid near the mountains.

        As per usual, I settled down near the riverbank, and gathered some woods and dried leaves to make a bonfire. Once I arranged them to a good position, I whetted two stones together until they create a spark that lunges itself towards the dried leaves, soon starting to ignite vigorously, blazing even more as I added several small branches to its engulfment.

        While the heat wavered, I grabbed the slabs of boar meat and pushed a few down a branch not too small, yet thick enough to hold them together; think of it like a skewer of some sort, but with bigger handles. The boar skewers then were placed on top of the crimson flame, my hands holding and rotating them around, so that they will be evenly cooked. To this point, I feel like my mouth was like a dam that was about to break from the amount of water too full to contain. Ughh, I hope these cooks fast because they look sooo good…

        Not to mention that the longer it sits on the fire, the nicer the smell goes…

        My patience was tested by my hunger, waiting for the meat to cook to its fullest, eyes already glittering to the

looks of food right in front of it. Minutes later, the once dark red flesh had turned into charred, brown delicacy. And that is, when I know if it’s ready.

        Mouth about to flow waterfalls, I pulled the skewers away from the bonfire,

  “Let’s eat!” I shoved the skewer from one hand to my mouth, taking a bite.

        …… What can I say? I can’t even manage to describe how good this was from that single bite; the meat was tender and chewy, albeit a bit hard, but the flavor of this meat made me felt like I was in a high-class restaurant, the savory taste mends perfectly within my taste buds.

        I began to gorge the rest of the skewers at once, while also creating new ones in the process. The meat was so good, that I wished that I could have gotten more than my arms could carry with me. Damn, I wonder what will it taste like if it were given seasonings or maybe, deep fried? My hungry brain thought as it tried to reminisce the deliciousness of Pork Katsu. But despite that, I couldn’t possibly cook that dish by now, since there were both no available ingredients, nor utilities to accomplish the task. Well, I guess I have to wait then… until I can find those stuffs.

        After finishing my own earned meal and dousing the flame out with river water I scooped with a clay bucket I made, I still craved for more these boar meats. How to bring this up… they’re just too good for someone who hasn’t had them for a long time. Though, bringing them around throughout my journey with my arms wasn’t exactly a good idea to begin with…

        What should I do…? I would love to carry some around for later-

        My eyes averted towards the huge slices of hides placed centimeters away from the extinguished bonfire. It was then a bolt of idea struck my mind without a warning.

        That’s right, I can use that to carry some meat off! Now I just need to find sturdy vine to tie it together…

        I quickly scrambled to the near distances for the quest of finding a vine sturdy enough to hold the hide together, and managed to find some long ones along the way. I tested and pulled them while still on the spot, and it was sufficiently dense for the prerequisite that I chose.

        Happy to actually find one within a short time, I returned back to the position where I first had lunch.

        When I sat back down and gathered the materials needed to make a pouch from boar hide, my attention was driven away by the stench of the main material giving off; it was dark, stinky, and rugged as if the creature who possessed this hide had not washed itself for how long I could imagine, thus it would not be a great idea to store meat in such a foul-smelling bag.

        I suppose I should clean this hide first before putting anything inside of it… Good thing that I have the “Purification” skill that I can use to get rid of this unwanted stench.

        And so, with another clay bucket created, I scooped up another fill of water from the river. The hide was then

dipped inside and rubbed together with a washing motion, as I activated the skill I previously meant to use.

        Within a blink of an eye, the water began to glow in radiance, before gradually vanishing away. It was then when I knew that the process had been completed, my hands pulled the hide out from the water; what now laid in front of my eyes was an odorless, vivid coat of vermilion, now elegant and smooth unlike it was before.

        My eyes radiate a sparkle as I held the clean hide spread with my two hands, my mouth gaped wide from the aftermath the skill had done to it.

        But enough gazing and zoning out, there’s another thing to do and must be done in a hurry, else what I gather

will decay and be inedible for me to eat.

        So, for the sake of not losing the good stuffs, immediately, I shook my head in a swift manner, breaking the gaze that I was fixed at, and went back to business, as I repeated the steps with the other, dirty hides.

        Then I began the next part, that is, to insert the vine as the rope of the pouch, creating a closure for anything

inside to not spill out. I experimented on two different styles; one being directly tied from each corner of the hide, and another with holes poked by my spear, then putting the vines inside of them, before tying up and securing the

opening with it.

        After a few minutes, I managed to create three Bloodhorned Boar hide pouches, two being in an average size of the item, and one being larger than the others.

        Good, now I should be ready to collect more meat before it’s too late. I plan to use the largest one since it was the one with a seemingly more secure knot on the end, and in the same time would also fit more materials inside of them.

        With the gathering in mind, I took no time wasted upon going back to the location where the dead boar had laid from its demise. My legs hasted, making use of the “Minor Stamina” ability to decrease the chance of the laid flesh from rotting.

        Many steps then, the sight of the boar, motionless as ever, was perceived by sight. I rushed to the point where I

first cut its flesh, and thankfully, nothing had changed much, except for several small insects hovering around the body; not quite a problem though, knowing that I’ll be cooking those anyway. Looks like I’m still in time, delighted of not being late.

        Crouching down, I began to open the big pouch and placed it on the ground, dagger ready on hand. Like before, the handled dagger sliced and cut the boar’s flesh on my motion. I chose to cut it in rectangular slabs as I did prior, putting each piece inside the boar hide pouch every time I fully finished carving the meat off from its host. I can only think of my next meal with these delicacies while I gather them, the inside of my mouth watery due to the remembrance of its savor.

        It was then a buzzing sound was heard by my ears. Although I thought that it was just an insect passing by, I was driven in shock when the buzzes became louder, and the ground shook in a small manner. Of course, within my instinct, I can’t help but to turn my head around-

        Behind me stood a striped beast of orangish-yellow and black, body slightly covered with fuzzes in the corresponding color, with three pairs of legs, each fluffed with jet-black fur. Its face resembles a bee, no, a hornet, to be exact, yet the size of that creature does not even come close to a regular hornet, being many times larger than an average one, in terms of Earth.

        The creature buzzes in an extended period, baring its fangs within its jaw, wings flapping vigorously as it gusted the earth’s dust away from it. The “Appraisal” ability lets me know that it was a Wolven Hornet.

        My body reflexively fell down on its bottom, eyes gaped wide to the sight of the creature. Knowing that both a wolf and a hornet were not supposed to be messed off, I backed away slowly, body trembling from the intimidation. Until I reached the end of the road, where my could-be escape route was blocked by the gigantic remains of the Bloodhorned Boar. Great, now what am I supposed to do?

        The creature growls and lifted its legs towards my direction. As wolves and hornets are carnivorous, they must be looking for flesh to eat, which meant that it could be me, or the boar behind.

        But to the fact that I was here first, the creature was probably here to ‘steal’ the meat that I hunted, thus trying

to chase me away by intimidation. Although presuming if I moved a single inch, it would label me as a threat and would attack me, which will make matters even worse, reason that there were only a few weapons with me. Sh_t, I should’ve made more spears when I had the chance…

        Frozen in place, all that I can do was just to watch the ferocious creature paced its way towards me. Before I can realize it, the Wolven Hornet was already in mere meters away from the position I’m stuck at. Its growls and buzzes became more recognizable, loud and clear.

        Fear feasted on my mind, I can’t think of anything to drive away the creature, nor to attack it for there was not

enough bravery, knowing my weapon situation was not that good.

        My eyes started averting its attention on something else, anything other than the creature in front of me. It was then they spotted the slabs of meat I had cut before it showed up. Maybe if I offer these… a thought spoke loudly inside my head.

        Without hesitation, I grabbed all of the slabs of meat I had procured, and extended the two of my hands, now full of the creature’s preferred food. I didn’t dare to look at the creature, nor imagine what will happen next, as this might really be the end of me, this time.

        Little that I thought what would occur, was completely the opposite of what I had expected.

        The growls stopped and only small, gentle buzzes remained. Curious, I opened one of my eyes to peek at whatever’s going on out there. What my eyes perceived was the hornet steadily going closer and closer, to the point where it stood tall in front of my palms. It seemed as if it hesitated, nonetheless eventually sniffed out the presented food.

        With my shaky arms, I tried to stay calm and motionless, unless I wanted to be seen as a threat.

        While checking out the meat, the hornet sometimes exchanged its eye contact to me, whilst at those times, it felt like I’m being judged from life and death.

        Although, without any warning, the weight on my palms had vanished as swift as lightning, the buzzes no longer were taken in by my ears. Bewildered, I can’t hide my face anymore, turning to set sight on the beast.

        It carried all the meat I presented with its jaw; a chewing sound can be heard originating from it as they are still within the area. Still, the presence of such creature hinders me from taking any sudden movements, hoping that it will soon leave so that I can continue what I’m doing.

        The munches stopped, and now the creature locked its eyes towards me with a one fierce look. My heart jolted a bit, thinking if those weren’t enough for a ‘peace offering’, however, the hornet turned its body away, flapping its wings once more, and departed to the skies, eventually disappearing into the distance.

        Oh wow, it’s finally over. And I have been spared by a creature like that. To be honest, I was pretty sure that it’ll be the end of me, but I guess fate had something else for me to do. Like finding the truth about my whole situation, for an example...

        That’s when it hit me hard; right, I was supposed to find a way out of this mazed green canopy, how can I almost forget? Was it because I was too taken in by the goodness of this meat? Shaking my head side to side, I brushed off about what just happened, and resumed gathering the boar’s leftovers, as the previous batch was already offered as a cheat from death.

        While doing so, I imagined back the structure and features of the Wolven Hornet, focusing on its ability of flight. Thinking back, wings are sure a helpful trait to map out the surrounding area… Although I was tempted of finding it back again and riding it, surely, that would… not be the greatest idea.

        I sighed, knowing that things will start to get harder after this, since I lost my way from the boar’s assault. Nevertheless, complaining won’t change anything, so it’s better to proceed with whatever I had rather than giving up completely and to live in this emerald woodland.

        Finishing the gathering I required, I tied the boar hide pouch and persisted on my quest. Before I know it, the dark had enveloped the sky, and in a few hours, another light had shone to this unknown land.

        I had lost count on how many days I had traversed inside this forest. I wanted to get out of here quick, albeit for now, all that I can do is just to go in the opposite way from the mountains, retracing my steps back to the parts of where I possibly have passed through, with a hope of finding a mark that I had placed somewhere in here. But even that took days for me to achieve, yet the goal of mine was nowhere close.

        Another day had passed, and I had grown tired of seeing the colors around me. Heck, when will I even get out

of here in this pace?

        I walked aimlessly around the place, not caring whatever I passed by. That is, until, an obstruction not noticed by my ignorance stopped me from my steps, I bumped at it.

        Ow, what the-

        As I regained myself from spacing out, my sight looked forwards to the thing that I just knocked into; it was bright red, stinky, and coarse yet hairy, which reminded me of something… Ah yes, tha-

        Before I could think the answer out loud, the question itself had done by the growls and low squeals as the creature turned over to me, nose blowing hard. It was another Bloodhorned Boar, and I might have made its anger just now… And to the fact that I think this one’s two times larger than the one I met back then…

        O-Oh, sh_t. The boar turned fully towards me, expressing its irritation, a hard breeze gusted out by its

flared-up nostrils, bringing a heavy and savage atmosphere as it whipped through my face. I slowly backed away, trying to gain a maximum distance from it, and when I told myself to go, I hastily darted back to the way I came from.

        Indeed, the boar wasn’t happy about this, letting out a roaring squeal prior to making a chase on me. There were no signs of empty land patches for me to fight it nor have a chance to deal with it, so all I can do now is just, run. Despite that, I made sure that I did not travel back to the mountains again, because that will be returning to square one, no wait, minus one.

        I can feel the viridian grazing me in each and every dash made, and it has been minutes ever since the chase begun, yet the boar showed no signs of exhaustion. Although I felt the same, but the longer the run had been going, the closer it is the boar’s gap against me. Sh_t.

        “Ability: Minor Speed Enhancement, unlocked.”

  “Skill: Taunt, unlocked.”

        A new skill and ability? The first one seemed useful enough, but the second one… not that I don’t need it right now, but also please don’t remind me about my current conflict…!

        Although with the speed enhancement, I was relieved in some degree… until I spotted a patch of empty land in a distance.

        Perfect! Knowing that I could fight off the boar there-

        That was when the sight of beige figures shattered my plans; they encircle the patch of land, erected tall and

colossal. When I reached to the midst of the location, I realized that those figures were actually trees, grouping together, surrounding this one spot.

        These wouldn’t help much in a fight, and to add up that there were no bushes to hide in, welp, I’m screwed.

        With the boar being a few meters away from me, I was ready to grab the spears I made some other day, but with the intensity closing in, my hands missed the items, dropping them down to the ground.

        F_ck! And now the boar had reached the location I’m in, charging full speed towards me. Meanwhile, I’m frozen, shiftless as ever, yet in the same time, still trying to focus on what to do next.

        As the boar accelerated towards me, getting into a short distance within seconds, all I can do is just to gaze on

it, telling myself that this time I messed up real good.

        But within the same second, a sudden, loud buzz came darting out of nowhere, my eyes witnessing a huge insect lunging to the boar from midair, skewering the beast with its needle-pointed stinger. It made a sound of both howls and buzzes blended together, as the predator crushes its prey to the ground, dust scattering all over the area.

        I was at the loss of words, zoning out to the sky, my body tense from the unexpected that just occurred, while the two creatures can be heard struggling with each other, before one blaring squeal the boar gave away, and in another moment a crashing thud filled the surrounding space, signaling the victory of the one who challenges the other, the same blend of howls and buzzes can be heard afterwards.

        When everything came to a silence, I broke from spacing out, eyes now gliding to the scene where the fight ended. It was then I realized that the creature whom defeated the rampaging boar was none other than indeed, the Wolven Hornet.

        And knowing that they were also predators, I think I’m probably even more screwed now, or at least, I thought so.

        The hornet pulled its stinger back as it munches bits of the boar’s flesh. It hasn’t recognized me yet… right? My hands swiftly picked up the dropped spears while I quietly attempt to make my way out of this place, before it will be another heck of a mess…

        Yet before I can finish picking up all the spears, my eyes caught the hornet turning towards me, our sight maintained to each other. Shoot, it saw me… now what?

        I was in fright when it actually ambled to my position. No, no, no, please don’t come here…! But thoughts only spoke in one’s mind and not to the outer world, so how is it going to hear it anyway? I can only watch whilst it got closer and closer in every step it made, a feeling of déjà vu occupied my head.

        So, this is it then…?

        Trying to embrace the end of me, I readied myself for anything gruesome, closing my eyes with arms shielding my face… except that I was not prepared on what happened next.

        There was no reaction. No pain, no sound, no aggression; nothing more than just peace in the ambience.

        What? My eyelids are still shut, the sense of bewilderment started swirling inside of me. Why isn’t it… eating me? Eventually my curiosity got ahold of me, ignoring the danger in front, taking motion of a risk it chose as I gradually lowered my arms while my eyes slowly grasped the sun’s light once more.

        When the light hit my eyes, the discernable figure of the Wolven Hornet, abdomen wagging left and right, was in front of me. It buzzes in a unique way, not monotonous with a hint of barks. According to its behavior, I assumed that it is acting friendly, no threat coming out from its gestures.

        …… I was still in disbelief of what my eyes showed me. Yet as for someone who took a huge interest in the floras and faunas, I can’t help but to have the urge to approach closer, the desire of touching one swallowed every single awareness of peril within me.

        I extended my right arm towards it, and was astonished on how calm it was on what I’m doing. What’s wrong with this thing? Is it not afraid about the possibility of me hurting it? My arm grew shaky the more it got lesser in a distance to the hornet’s head. Please don’t bite me please don’t bite me-

        I forcefully shut my eyes upon contact, my palm felt the short, soft fur on its head. Although despite what my

expectations are, nothing particularly happened, so I opened my eyelids back, now taking sight of the creature in front of me, tongue slightly out. Huh, so it’s fine after all-

        And in another second, I can feel one side of my cheek wet, as the creature got onto its most hind legs and ‘hugged’ me. A chuckle I couldn’t resist was let go from my mouth.

  “Ha ha, you’re a sweet one, aren’t you?” a compliment voiced out.

The creature barked once as it swayed its abdomen in a quick pace.

        At the same moment, a brilliant light blue light with several texts that I cannot interpret revealed itself, surrounding the creature in my front. The glow was so bright, it forced my reflexes to narrow my eyes and face away for the time, albeit my body was taken on custody by the beast.

        Although, a few seconds later, the light dissipates into a singular radiant line as it danced its way onto me, entering my right arm prior to letting out a small, final glow before vanishing completely.

  “Skill: Taming, unlocked.”

  “Congratulations, you have successfully tamed a Wolven Hornet as your familiar. Would you like to give it a name?”

        Well, that’s new, surprised with the new dialogue. And a familiar they said? As said before that I am a creature enthusiast, I find this skill very neat indeed.

        Now about the name…

        The hornet had returned to all fours after the process of familiar-izing was done. I took a focused look at the

beast, intending to name it something cool. Except that I don’t know what to name it, and I’m pretty bad at names.

        My eyes scanned the whole body of the creature, trying to figure out a way to call it. But it seemed like even with that, I couldn’t find a suitable name for the beast. Can’t I just skip the naming for now? I thought deep in my head.

        “It looks like you’re having trouble,” words filled my pondering mind.

  “Would you like to be given some suggestions?”

        I thought it’ll never ask that way.

  “Yes please.” I replied back from the voice speaking inside of me.

        “Very well then,” the voice answered.

  “How does Wolvor sounds for you?”

Did they just mix in two different words into one? I’m not exactly a fan of weird, unknown words so,

  “I don’t think it works well with it.”

  “How about Rufus?”

  “Too canine-like.” as for the reason of the creature looked more of a hornet rather than wolf, that is.

  “Hunter.”

  “No.”

  “Raider.”

  “Nope.”

  “Buster.”

  “That one sounds cool, but no.”

  “Luna.”

Involving the fact that wolves howl to the moon, are you?

  “Nah.”

  “Buzzfur.”

Huh…? What the heck is even that? I mean I get that it buzzes and its fluffy, but…

  “Nope!”

        The name suggestions continued on up to the point where I could not manage to hear another one of them, yet they still persevered on giving more options. Please stoppp… I begged in my heart, because the voice won’t take halt, and I assume it will not, not until I make an approval of a name.

        “Razor.”

Something clicked inside of me once I heard that one word. My sight immediately averted onto anything sharp the Wolven Hornet possessed.

  “How about this one?”

Razor… as in razor-sharp claws and fangs? I think this one’s the best that they came up with, after all those names.

        “This one will do.” I nodded in approval.

  “Very well then,” the voice made a long, monotoned sound without giving any words, as if it was loading.

  “Razor, species: Wolven Hornet, male, has been registered as your familiar.”

  “Congratulations, you have earned the Title: Tamer,” the voice continued.

  “You may now use any extra skills from the skill: Taming, to your familiar.” the voice said one last time before fading away.

        A new title, and… extra skills? I wonder what that could be.

        I opened the interfaced screen on command, and read the things I can do with the extra skills it said to me. One of them was shown to be “Memory Share”, and as I was curious, I decided to try out that first.

        Long story short, I found out that Razor, the Wolven Hornet that became my first familiar, was the hornet that scared the sh_t out of me when I was collecting the Bloodhorned Boar meat back then. When I gave him the meat I procured, he returned to his colony, and his pack was extremely satisfied with the meat; apparently the way I sliced it made it better for everyone else to eat…? And after that, he returned back to me, somehow like after feeding an animal, they follow you around? How interesting…

        There were more extra skills than just the “Memory Share”, and all of them were useful, according to my eyes. Although, there was one that was locked for some reason, and there was no info on why it was that way. But that does not concern me, since these were all good anyway.

        And with that, I tamed a beast and gained my very first familiar. I petted and rubbed the creature’s cheeks, him

buzzing in barks with a delighted tone.

        It wasn’t long before I regained the remembrance of the main objective I was supposed to do, that is, you know it, to exit this labyrinth of emerald canopies. Looking back after the chase, I am not sure where my current position is, albeit that no sightings of mountains meant that I wasn’t going to the wrong direction. Regardless, it would be nice if I could look on where I am traversing.

        My attention was then caught by sound the rapid flaps of Razor’s transparent wings………

        Wait, wings you say?

        I turned my head in a flash towards the creature a moment ago I tamed, and focused right to his wings. Right,

how can I not realize it? If it has wings, it can fly. And if it can fly, it can see the world from above. And if it can see the world from above, it could see places from afar…

        … Jackpot.

        “Hey, Razor,” I said on approaching him.

The beast stopped on anything that it was doing, and faced me.

  “Can you give me a ride to the sky? So that I can see where I’m going?” I pointed my index finger to the white-surrounded azure.

        The beast glanced up above, then it lowered its body slightly. I was thrilled that he was able to accept my request, although, he probably always will, since I am his master nonetheless.

        Not wanting to waste any time, I climbed on board the large hornet, one leg up first to a side, then the other

one to secure the seat. I can feel my heart beat going fast, my hands clutching tightly to the creature’s fur, or at least, anything that they can grab on; I have never ridden an animal when back when Earth is still home, let alone a

creature that I don’t know much yet.

        Razor turned his head to me and buzzed, inspecting the situation. I had the feeling that he’s asking me whether

I’m okay or not, but alas, I don’t speak hornets nor wolves, or even both of them, so I only replied with,

  “I’m okay.” as a reassurance.

        Sure enough, the creature returned his head back to the general position, and without an ounce of hesitation, his wings began to flap in a way where my eyes couldn’t catch its rate.

        Wait-

        And before I could say anything, I was darted to the sky in a high velocity, everything seemed to be blurry and in lines whenever and whatever sight I managed to see.

        Stoooppp, you’re going too fasttt…! I wanted to shout it out loud, but the speed of this thing prevented me on

performing the action.

        However, a second later an abrupt stillness jolted my body upwards, afterwards I felt as if I was hovering within

the space high above ground. Gosh that was intense…

        Due to the fact that everything was calm once more, I daringly opened my eyes, and holy sh_t-

        The whole surrounding of the area was covered in light blue with the tint of the sun’s light, as we both hovered over the viridian below, now seemingly to be merged together as one, colossal, never-ending patch of green. The sounds of flying creatures can be perceived by one’s ears, some pleasant, and some are just shrieks. Amongst the azure horizon, several cliffs and mountains made their way to my plane of sight; truly a view to behold.

        Upon scouting the area, a particular spot caught the attention of my eyes; from all those greens, browns, and greys that encircled the land below and beyond, one spot, presumably further away than we are, held a variety of hues that were distinct against the nature. And to top it off, a soft trail of light grey can be seen floating upwards

gradually.

        That… a smoke! Was the first thing that I thought of. And where there’s smoke, meant that a possibility of

someone inhabiting the location there. Plus, with the oddly presented colors, if I was right, the chances of that being true is high.

        Yes, found it! A glimmer of hope sparkled in my heart. I was determined on checking the place that was found by sight.

        After making sure that I memorized the direction, with a single pat, I signaled Razor to come down, as we made our way back to the ground. I thanked him next, praising him with words like,

  “Good boy!”

As he barked and buzzed in content.

        Now then, grasping on where I was supposed to go, I made haste in order to reach the designated location as soon as possible. Of course, with Razor, the Wolven Hornet by my side, things sped up a whole lot, due to the reason that he can travel faster than a typical human could, especially for the fact that he was not your average, everyday-animal that I normally see back on Earth.

        For days the both of us did traverse the forest, sometimes stopping to eat and or rest, when a challenge comes to our way, or when the dark had taken over the sky, signing that it was time to call it a day, and continue everything else by the next ray of light.

        At one time, I counted the days from when I found the place I am going to, and goodness, it was sure way farther than I had forethought. I mean, we have been travelling for a week, but there was no sign of the location yet… Did I lose my way? But I’ve been checking from time to time, and I was sure that we were heading to the right

direction. How much longer does will it take to reach that place?

        Just then, emerging from the thick bushes, laid a town not so big in the distance. Is that…? I submerged myself on the sight of buildings afar. My guess was unmistaken; it was a place where I can encounter someone like me, at least if there was actually one in the first place.

        The desire on entering the place burned within me in such intensity, yet at the same time, the time refused to

cooperate with us, as the golden azure began to be enveloped with the pitch black once more. Additionally, the distance between me and the said town was well far, according to my calculations, and I don’t even know anything about it, so night time is not probably the best time to enter an unknown location.

        Oh well, I suppose tomorrow’s the day. And with that, I prepared a camp on the same position, and rested until the next day.

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