Chapter Twenty-Seven: Predator (Patreon)

By the time I decide to head back to my campsite, I’ve had three successful hunts, and two unsuccessful ones, excluding my encounter with the porcupigs. Despite wanting to try out my Class Skill now that my Willpower’s over ten, I didn’t in the end. Most of the creatures didn’t seem worth it, and the one that did was far too aggressive for me to try. I have to marvel at the wildlife in this new world. At first I thought that everything here was either reptilian or avian, but now I’m wondering whether mammals have developed, or something like them, at least – I don’t know if they give birth to live young and feed their young on milk, after all. Sure, that might seem strange since Kalanthia is clearly a mammal, though I wasn’t there to confirm that she gave birth to live young, of course.

That said...Kalanthia is just so different from every other creature I’ve met here so far that I find it hard to liken her to them at all. I don’t know if it’s because, apart from the size, she looks so similar to a leopard on Earth, or whether it’s because it’s the opposite – she’s capable both of magic and conversation, telepathic, but conversation nonetheless and is therefore completely set apart from all these other creatures who are just...animals.

Kalanthia aside, I can confirm that two out of three successful hunts were warmblooded, and only one of these had scales, though these were more along the lines of a pangolin than a lizard. The other had a rather coarse and bristly fur coat which, unfortunately for me, hid several venomous barbs. Added to these were two short but sharp tusks on either side of the creature’s mouth which, while not envenomed in themselves, were used to great effect. Often, dodging the tusks meant exposing myself to the barb-covered tail.

I have to admit that I was in a pretty bad way after killing the large badger/boar-like creature: the venom seemed to be an anti-coagulate since my wounds bled more freely and took longer to close up. Lay-on-hands saved me, but my health did drop down to five units. I’ll also admit to needing more than a breather after that to get over the near death experience. Although I’ve faced a few of those so far, facing them without my backup health potion in my satchel feels different. More...desperate. I try and ignore the worry because what other choice do I have?

Of the two unsuccessful hunts, one was because I decided to back off when I caught up with the creature. It wasn’t that big, but it looked rather well defended with sharp teeth and claws and an impressive jaw structure that looked more like a T-Rex than anything else. I’d probably take it on if I had a proper ranged weapon, or something with a long handle that I could use to keep it at a distance, but with only a knife, a sort-of mace, and no armour? No chance.

I failed the other for one simple reason: it ran away, and it was too fast to catch. I’d tried my luck at one of those reptilian-deer things, but as soon as it got wind of my approach – far sooner than any of the other animals – it disappeared into the surrounding foliage, its long tail balancing it from behind and its long, thin legs eating up the metres. So yeah, again, without any sort of proper ranged weapon, or a trap to immobilise it, I’m not likely to succeed with that creature any time soon.

Still, I’d only come close to death once in five hunts – that’s got to be a record for me! And if nothing else, it indicates that as I’d thought, taking the fight to the creatures is much safer than them bringing the fight to me. I’ll still take my wins where I can find them. Though, speaking of wins, my Energy gain hasn’t been as profitable as I’d hoped. Perhaps my estimates had been skewed by the killer-chickens – gaining forty-five percent in a single fight is clearly just as much as windfall as it had been an almost-lethal encounter. Thirteen deadly carnivores which almost killed me despite the advantages I had of height and weaponry really aren’t comparable to my experiences today.

In total, I killed three creatures during the day. One was barely a threat, and netted me a grand total of one percent for killing it. The pangolin-kin was more of a threat, but barely so, and earned me two percent. My most challenging fight earned me five percent, bringing me to a total of eight percent Energy gain simply from hunting. I added another three percent by eating their hearts – and let me tell you that sapped time out of the day when it came to building the fires and then cooking the meat. I also earned another six percent just from absorption, bringing my day’s total to seventeen percent gain. It’s something, that’s for sure, but it’s not a lot.

There’s a reason for that which comes to me from my System knowledge as I ponder the question: carnivores can absorb Energy from their prey just as much as I can; herbivores only have a natural daily absorption. Therefore, prey animals will generally be worth less Energy than predators, although a herbivore which has survived for many years might have absorbed more than a carnivore which is still young.

Equally, there are certain plants which are Energy dense and can offer a significant boost to a herbivore, but these are rare. At least, they are in Nicholas’ world – who knows if that holds true here. Either way, two of the creatures I killed today were definitely herbivores; I’m not so sure about the poison-badger because although it was a tough fight, its abilities seemed to be more defensive than offensive. Then again, I suppose if it had killed other creatures in defence, even without eating them it would still earn more Energy than another herbivore.

I’d already had some Energy in my store, so when I look at my status screen, it tells me I’m up to fifty percent. Halfway there. If the next few days are similar in terms of gain, it’ll take me another three days to level up. I feel frustrated at that: it shouldn’t seem very long – three days felt short when it was a long weekend, for sure – but my time in this world has proven that three days can feel very long indeed. Then again, I do accumulate Energy even while I sleep, so maybe it’ll be a little less than three days. Plus, the more hunting I do, the better I’ll be at choosing prey and following its tracks. That should mean more kills, meaning more Energy.

As I trudge home tiredly, I consider whether it’s better to hunt easy, herbivorous prey which is relatively safe but not very profitable in terms of Energy, or hunt more of the poison-badger type creatures or carnivores which are a lot more dangerous, but are commensurately a lot more worth the time...

Or...what if there was another option? Something which I’m going to have to get good at anyway if I want to start taming or dominating powerful animals: traps. The hunting knowledge I absorbed has given me quite a detailed understanding of traps, and there are several designs which I could put into practice even with the lack of equipment I have. The only problem is time, and resources. Almost all of the traps require cord of some sort, and that will take time to make from either bark or sinew. Those traps which don’t require cord, require digging a hole – again, time-consuming.

So maybe not traps right now. Maybe I just have to be patient and hunt for three days with this ineffective strategy, and then once I’ve got my first level – and first chosen Skill – then I can rethink. I’ll be going on a crafting kick at that point anyway – I’m missing my apartment and its creature comforts, so I want to spend some time making my little cave into as much a ‘home away from home’ as I can. Not to mention crafting a few things to improve my combat capabilities – I reallyneed to upgrade my weaponry. Some armour wouldn’t go amiss either, but that seems rather far off with the tools I have available right now.

By this time, I’ve got back to the cave. Kalanthia and Lathani are already inside as night is falling. Strangely enough, I get the feeling that they’re diurnal rather than nocturnal like leopards on Earth are. Just more proof that they’re not actually leopards…

Markus Wolfe, Kalanthia starts as she sees me. I freeze on my way to my cave and look over at her. She, thankfully, ignores my suddenly thudding heart. It’s not that I think she’s going to suddenly pounce...but my instincts can’t forget that this is a massive predator who could kill me without even really trying. I’m sure I’ll get used to it, but for now any time she notices me, a shot of adrenaline goes through me. I must hunt tomorrow. I need you to watch over Lathani.

“OK,” I reply. What else can I say? I agreed to be the live-in babysitter, after all. It’s a bit frustrating, though, given that I’m already chafing at the length of time it will take me to level-up. I’ll still get the daily absorption, I try to console myself. “I’ll need to go and get some water though,” I add, realising that I forgot to fill my canteen on my way up.

Very well, she agrees, but it must be a short trip as I will need the day to hunt. I shall wake you if you sleep overlong. Is that an offer, or a threat? I can’t decide, but ultimately conclude that it doesn’t really matter. Kalanthia’s put her head down and is ignoring me again – the conversation is apparently over. I shrug a little and then duck into my little alcove.

Lying down with a sigh of relief, I eat some food while I check my messages. I’ve been offered two points for Strength – one for Power, one for Endurance – and a point each for Dexterity and Constitution which I decline with disappointment. Much as I’d like to increase my stats, and indeed need to for survival, it would just elongate the already annoyingly long time I have until I can level up. Though, it was a close thing with the Constitution point since that would have a direct affect on my ability to survive what this world throws at me.

I’m tired. Sneaking around the woods all day with intermittent life and death battles is apparently rather exhausting. Who would have guessed? Yawning, I just lie down and try to sleep. Although I could probably read outside by the light of the two – yes, two– moons, I’m too sleepy.

Though, if there’s anything that makes it immediately clear I’m in a different world, it’s the two pale orbs hanging in the sky and moving independently. One seems to be quicker than the Earth moon and appears more frequently; the other seems to be slower, taking more time to cross the sky, but then not appearing for almost another twenty-four hours. Actually, without a watch, and reluctant as I am to turn on my phone with no chance of recharging it, I still have no idea of the actual day length.

I’m pretty sure it’s not twenty-four hours though; probably a few hours longer. I’ve come to that conclusion because I’m going to bed at dusk and generally waking up with dawn without feeling tired. That indicates to me that the night is at least eight hours long. Then, I’m always really hungry by the time the sun hits its zenith, and completely exhausted by the time it’s hitting the horizon. Of course, those could also be due to the amount of physical activity I’m doing which I’m not at all used to, but I think there’s more to it. In the end, I shrug – I have too many other things to think about to waste time questioning something that has such little relevance. At least I’m getting a decent amount of sleep without cutting into the day too much – that’s more than I had at work!