Eurydice activated his suit's magical property "Shadow Steps"; named that way as his feet impacting the ground made as much sound as a shadow would. Eurydice studied magical beasts extensively in his training and knew that bird type beasts had a good chance of having near 360 degree vision, he jumped onto the grass directly behind the chick.
'Killing this chick would give me some short term benefit... but if I could keep it... harvest the feathers when they recovered... I'd be a tycoon in no time!'
He unsheathed some throwing knives hidden in his sleeves, moving them between his index and middle finger, arching them back in preparation to throw.
'I won't kill it... but taking it's legs off should immobilise it, there are no feathers on there anyway...'
Eurydice aimed the shot.
And then he threw.
---------
Ugh.
Dragging around this stupid fruit is getting annoying now, the only thing preventing me from dropping it was the possibility that food might be hard to come by at my new home... and don't get me started on the repellant.
The damn vine had come loose and made the repellant fall off multiple times, if I just had hands I could tie a better knot! I felt like using blood talons on my own feet right then and there.
However while I do complain, my newest mutation • Feather Rigidness Control, had kept me entertained! I couldn't activate it myself as the mutation is controlled by the amount of mana I inject into my feathers, the more mana I inject, the harder it becomes. Normally it's the internal mana that allows me to use this, but Mr.S is able to pull mana from outside and insert that into the feathers. My current species has no ability for magic, I'm just using the system as a bit of a crutch until I work out the evolution problem. The effects of the mutation were fantastic! At medium mana intensity, my soft pliable feathers had the hardness of a plastic container and at the maximum intensity the system could muster it had the same hardness as wood!
It felt quite uncomfortable as the system made the entire feather rigid, it felt like I was wearing a very uncomfortable jacket at times; the sacrifice of my comfort for defence wasn't ideal but it's a lot better than being the ball of fluff I am now.
'Stupid vines, stupidly slipping off with the stupid repellant falling onto the stupid floor... stupid-'
I kept grumbling while moving about, the oasis had spoiled me and given me a high standard for what constitutes a home, nothing in this damn forest was good enough for me! Maybe I should head back and just try my best to salvage my bush... Ah I don't know...
'Oh my god vine if you slip off one more time I swear I'm gonna-'
[ Hostile intent from a much stronger being sensed ]
[ Running advised ]
'Wha-'
No time to be shocked. Think properly.
'Is it behind me'
I kept walking as I did before, not wanting to alert the 'being' that I detected it.
[ Affirmative, it is 14 metres behind you ]
I gingerly slipped off the repellant and dropped the fruit, making it look as if the vine slipped off again and I was trying to fix it... why the hell didn't the system warn me before? Maybe the intent of the 'being' changed? Did this thing teleport to me? I need to find some other way to survive than using Mr.S as my crutch, I felt I was safe traversing through this forest at night because I had the system to warn me... dammit.
While bending down and slipping the vine off, I turned to the right and caught a glimpse of who was trying to harm me, a figure clad in black stood behind my body in my previous blindspot, I don't think I'd have seen it if my eyes weren't actively searching, it's clothes/skin seemed to fade and blend into the dark night. The creature had the shape of a humanoid who's knees were bent slightly and had blades for hands
No, not blades for hands, just blades in his hands.
Sh*t blade's are in his hands.
I immediately stopped my act of not noticing the blade wielding figure, quickly ordering the system to fill me to the brim with Soul Power and activating my mutation, I slammed my feet into the ground and jetted off.
*THUMP*
While running away, I looked backwards at what the sound was.
There was a knife embedded in the ground, right where I had dropped my fruits and repellant; I was there mere milliseconds ago.
This thing was dangerous.
Running as fast and quietly as I could, I ran behind trees and under rocks, weaving, ducking and dodging as I couldn't hear or see the figure chasing me. This was nothing like when the lizards chased, this thing was smart, cold and calculating.
The fear instilled in me by this creature was magnitudes more than those damned lizards.
I had no time to think and in my heart I felt nothing but shock and anger at myself for making another stupid mistake by believing the system was a solve-all-my-problems answer. Of course it couldn't warn me about everything! How could I be so idiotic?!
I ran for about another minute, I had no clue if the figure was chasing me or not; I didn't want to find out so I kept r-
[1 alert ]
'Huh? Wha-'
*BWWOOONNGG*
My thoughts were once again interrupted by a resounding bang, this time coming from the floor as opposed to the system.
I looked down at my feet, the dirt and leaves around me all shined with a pale blue light, my body was at the centre of a circle which this light surrounded. The light was calming, my quick beating heart started to slow down. The Soul power still buzzed in me, vibrating my body and preventing me from fully relaxing.
The longer I stayed in this circle, the more calm I felt, the fear which shook me started to dissipate.
'Not good... this light definitely isn't good!'
One thing I've learned while living in a hostile environment is that fear is one of the most important emotions you need for your survival, fear keeps you alive and wary. I need fear to power my legs to run, I need fear to have my brain work at maximum ability and I need fear to give me hope for a future where the crushing grip of the emotion doesn't have it's claws clutching my heart.
Still powered up with Soul Power, I restarted my run in the general direction 'away from murderous knife creature', my mind was starting to speed back up when-
*BAM*
Ouch.
'Did I just slam into nothing?!'
I felt as if I had crashed into a wall.... I was sure I ran into an open area... could it be...
I reached out with my short wings and felt the perimeter of the circle, it was solid.
Walking all around I discovered that I was unable to get out the area the pale blue light came from, this light had relaxed me to a dangerous extent and now I was unable to go anywhere the blue light wasn't.
'Ah sh*t...'
'I'm dead aren't I...'
If I were normal I'm sure my mind would be reeling, but the system's influence on me allows my small brain to think clearly even in a hopeless situation such as this. There was no feasible way for me to leave...
I tried to dig underneath the formation, but the invisible wall seemed to travel deep into the ground, it was pointless.
I revolved around the circle, trying to catch a glimpse of what had captured me; the system said it was much stronger than me butI certainly didn't want to become dinner without a fight...
This endeavour also turned out fruitless, no matter where I looked, the figure could not be seen. I sat down on a pile of dead leaves, my mind still not giving up, I needed to think of a way to get out...
[ 1 Alert ]
'Oh yeah from before... you're still here huh... alright Mr.S Ol' buddy, open it up...'
[ 1 Alert ]
[ Protection of the Mother Hen re-initiated ]