Hunting was a bit more difficult. He had gotten so used to ambushing his prey in the water that he wasn't quite sure how he'd go about it with this new body. He was much larger than before and it would be odd to submerge into the water with these wings.
His first thought was to creep along in the forest foliage, but he realized that his pale scales weren't the easiest to blend into the green and browns. As such, he finally decided he would try ambushing from above.
He could easily keep himself stable on tree branches with the help of his tail. Prey didn't often look up into the trees unless it was something like a squirrel or bird, right? He would have to hope for that to be the case.
Emre tried to think back on animals from Earth and how predators hunted. Some birds of prey would swoop down and catch their prey with their talons. He tried to wrack his brain to remember if any predators dropped down from a higher spot to catch prey. Of course, he didn't spend a lot of time researching animals on Earth as some people did so right now he was doomed to only find out by trial and error.
Setting himself up, he was resting in one of the treetops in the treeline of the Silver Pool. This was the area he was most familiar with so hunting here was best for him. Of course, he mostly only caught frogs and fish aside from that one Mara Rabbit he got lucky with.
He hadn't even seen any other lizards here. It was truly a barren area in terms of other creatures but he wanted to leave this place on a full stomach. He was sure flying from place to place would take a lot of energy. He had no idea where he would go, but that was the joy of exploration.
After a few minutes, a frog finally popped its head out of the water. Emre felt himself lean forward but stopped himself from disturbing any of the leaves that might indicate his location. His claws itched in anticipation and his muscles tensed. The joys of a hunt were always adrenaline-inducing.
The frog was slow and boring, as usual. It took its time to lop onto the muddy shore to a small sunny spot before settling down to wait for a bug to pass by. The tree Emre was in wasn't close enough to where it had positioned itself. If he tried to jump from here he was sure that it would get away.
Slowly, he unwrapped his tail from the branch and began to creep back toward the trunk of the tree. Trying to be as quiet as possible, he activated Stealth and pulled himself up onto the branch above his current one. If he walked along this one, he might be able to switch trees by jumping to the next branch.
Walking down along it, his claws dug into the bark and he kept his wings folded down so they didn't accidentally disturb the leaves more than his movement already was. They waved and rustled, but thanks to his Stealth and the frog's denseness, it probably just thought it was the wind. If it was even capable of that much of a thought process.
Reaching the spot where the branch began to thin, he looked toward the branch parallel to him. It was connected to the tree beside this one. If he could get on that branch and creep along it to get to the one that was closest to the frog, he might be able to catch it flawlessly.
He let out a small breath and worked up the courage. It wasn't that far of a jump… Turning his body toward the parallel branch, he readied his hind legs and then jumped. His wings stretched out unintentionally as his heart skipped a beat. Thankfully, due to it, he was able to safely land without too much noise.
His tail quickly wrapped around the branch and he felt his quickened heartbeat relax. Okay… back to repositioning. He started to head down the branch with light feet until he stopped at the trunk.
Looking back toward the frog, it was still sitting there oblivious. He kind of felt bad for its dense little brain for a second before he stealthily climbed onto the branch that hung closest to the frog. He was sure that he could catch it from here.
His heartbeat began to quicken once more as he prepared his legs to kick off the tree. His golden eyes drilled into the frog before he sprang down. His front legs reached out and the quick drop made his stomach roll for a second before he landed squarely on top of the creature.
His teeth sunk into the frog and it died rather quickly. His jaw was more powerful now and the frog's size had dropped considerably in comparison to his new form.
[ Two-Finned Frog slain, gained 50 experience ]
Successful hunt!
Doing something like that again probably wouldn't work for a creature like a Mara Rabbit with as much movement and noise he was making. He was just lucky that frogs were stupid.
Eating quickly, he was finally ready to head out into the unknown. With a full stomach, he had waited in a treetop for it to settle. He was sure that this wasn't going to be the last time that he was here but he still felt a bit sad that he was going to be leaving it. It had been his home for almost four weeks after all.
Spurring himself forward, he climbed up the tree quickly until the branches got too thin. Only then did he start to flap his wings and take to the air. The feeling of pushing through the wind was satisfying as he started to glide along the treetops.
The watery smell that surrounded the swamp started to fade away as he flew away. He wasn't sure where he was going or what he was looking for, but he was sure he'd find something interesting somewhere at least.
He spent a good 30 minutes gliding toward the north, parallel to where he could see the massive mountain range on his left. He could see a smaller mountain ahead of in the very far distance. He decided he would head for the mountain range ahead. He needed a goal that would last a while.
His wings were starting to ache slightly so he started to dip toward the trees as he caught the sight of a white cloud of smoke floating up to his right. No, there were actually a ton of these streams of smoke.
He swerved toward it realizing the trees had begun to thin. Before he stretched out a massive clearing where a small village sat. He didn't want to be seen and quickly dove into the treetops. He roughly landed on a thick tree branch and quickly grabbed a hold of it with his tail.
There was a village this close to the Swamp? It would have taken a person longer on foot, but that was only a few hours of gliding time for him. He wouldn't be able to go to the village, but it was still interesting to see. As much as he wanted a close look, it was best that he didn't leave the treeline.
Everything in this world was new, so his curiosity was peaked on how things worked for the people of this world. He knew this was a world with Kingdoms, so there must be a King and nobles. There were cities and towns as well as magic! The possibilities of how humans did things in this world were endless.
He slowly picked his way through the treetops. He wanted to get better at jumping from branch to branch so this would be decent practice if he could navigate his way closer to the village's treeline.
After a few times, his heart got used to the nerves that he felt each time he jumped. He was getting the hang of it pretty well if he did say so himself. If the jumps were too far he'd just have to flap a little bit. It actually wasn't as hard as he thought it'd be.
Soon enough he reached a point where the trees were too far from one another without fully flying from one spot to the next. He could see the village if he sat on the lower branches so there wasn't a reason to go further anyway. The number of trees around him was thin, but he kept himself hidden behind the thick canopy.
From what he could see, it was quite a small village but still had a large dirt road that led through it. There were even large fields that people were tending to as he looked. The buildings were all mostly gathered in one area and he could barely see some larger buildings right in the middle. He could only guess that it might be storefronts.
He really wanted to go… Sighing to himself, he glanced around his immediate surroundings. There wasn't much around him aside from trees and foliage. His wings were feeling the strain of having flown so long so he figured he should at least find a place to sleep for the night.
Turning away from the village he began to head back further into the forest to see if he could find something similar to his den back at the Black Swamp. Either that or an outcropping of rocks somewhere.
He spent 20 minutes searching for a safe spot to stay but to no avail. He had scanned the forest for a while, keeping near the village but not close enough to the treeline to run across a person if they were venturing just inside the forest.
He was ready to give up when he heard a yell. His tiny ears perked up and he turned toward where he heard the sound. It wasn't too far from him and came from further in the forest. Usually, if someone heard a yell they would run away but Emre was simply too curious.
Jumping through the treetops he could hear the yelling getting louder until the trees broke through into a clearing. He looked to see a tanned human man with a long stick in his hands. He had short messy brown hair and looked to be wearing the average common farmer's clothing you'd see in a medieval movie.
He had dropped a decent-sized bag beside him and was currently attempting to fend something off. It was a fox-looking creature, about the same size as Emre was. It had ashy grey fur and a slim muzzle. Instead of just one tail, there were two swishing behind it as it snarled at the man.
"Back! Back!" That's what he had been yelling.
The fox creature leaped forward and promptly had to jump back when the man swung the stick. Emre wasn't sure what to do. He could go out and help the man or he could stay here and see what was going to happen.
The man was swinging wildly in his panic, but the fox was being patient and watching for an opening. When the man stopped for but a second the fox leaped forward and scratched out toward his face. That was when Emre noticed that despite its fox-like head, its body resembled closer to a flexible cat.
The man screamed out and dropped the stick, grabbing for his face. The fox saw this as a chance and bit down on his leg, causing the man to fall into the dirt. This was going too far. Emre should have helped sooner.
Quickly, he shot out from the tree, his wings flared out as he opened his mouth. Then he realized the fox creature was too close to the man. He didn't want to risk catching him in a ranged attack. Clamping his jaws shut he instead splayed out his claws and barreled into the fox.
His claws were small but they were sharp. The fox creature was surprised, rolling back and away from him.
'Voice, what is this creature?' Emre asked quickly as he also regained his footing.
[ Answer, a Shade Fox. A low-grade fox-like creature with a feline body. Excels in speedy close combat. ]
Emre wasn't sure what low grade meant exactly, but he figured most creatures had grades like this. It was the first time he was asking Voice about a creature rather than a plant so this was his first time seeing it.
The man was scrambling back behind him groaning about his eyes. If his eyes were injured that was only slightly good for Emre. Emre's felt his existence should stay hidden for as long as possible and if the human couldn't see that was okay. But it did mean that Emre was lacking in his whole idea of helping people out. He had allowed for this to happen by not helping sooner.
The Shade Fox snarled and Emre bared his fangs in return. He still had his venomous fangs that resembled closely to a viper from Earth. They flared out as he hissed loudly and he displayed his wings out to make himself seem larger.
The fox didn't seem very phased and instead darted forward, slashing out its claws. Emre wasn't experienced in this type of combat so the claws barely cut the tip of his nose as he yanked his head backward. As the fox retreated he lunged forward, snapping his teeth at the foxes face.
His jaws clacked on thin air before he flapped his wings for a quick retreat. The wind ruffled the Shade Fox's long dark fur and it took up its battle stance once more. Wait! Why was he trying to fight close combat? This thing excelled at that! Emre had ranged attacks!
Opening his maw he decided to use his Light Bolt skill. The small bright light started to form at the opening of his mouth and Emre quickly released it. The golden light darted forward, leaving a fiery trail following behind as it landed on the spot the fox had just been. It was his Venom Spit skill.
A sear was left in the grass leaving the spot blackened. The Shade Fox had just barely dodged it. Emre could even recognize the surprise on its face. He let out another hiss and swiped his head to the side, shooting a dark liquid from his mouth, arching out in the direction he had yanked his head.
The fox didn't see this coming and the liquid landed on its paw even as it attempted to hop out of the way. Emre could see as the venom sizzled through the fur and quickly burned it. The fox yelped in pain, hopping back even further as it favored its paw.
Holding its injured paw off the ground, it glared at him. Emre glared back and bared his fangs. It hesitated before turning and fleeing into the forest. An injured paw wasn't very good for its quick speed and close combat. Emre approved of its decision of self-preservation.
With the sudden conflict over with, he turned his attention to the human behind him. He was still panicked and was holding his hands over his eyes still. He seemed to realize that something was defending him and had been listening.
When the sounds died down he started to remove his hand from his bleeding eyes.
'Don't.' Emre's voice intruded the man's head. He was using Telepathy.
The man quickly stopped moving and slowly placed his hand back over his eyes. His whole body tensed and he seemed to be starting to panic again.
"W-who are you?" He stuttered out his question.
'Just a traveler passing by.' Emre answered. 'What's your name?'
"Ugard…"
'Ugard, I'm going to look at your injuries, alright?' Emre stated softly as he started to approach him.
"W-wait, what is your name?"
Emre wondered for a moment if he should tell him his real name before shrugging to himself. What harm could it be?
'Emre.'
"Alright, Emre…" He was still obviously nervous. "Can I uncover my eyes?"
'No. Just stay still for a moment.'
Ugard continued to stay stiff as Emre used his small-scaled hands to move the ripped parts of his pants out of the way. Emre gently touched the wound and caused the man to flinch. He quickly used his Healing Touch skill and watched as the teeth punctures that the fox had caused stopped bleeding and closed up a tiny bit.
He guessed he couldn't heal it all the way since the skill was still level 1. He used the skill again and the wound closed a tiny bit more. He realized quickly that he was already feeling the fatigue of using more spells than normal at once.
As the wound healed the man started to relax as the pain dulled to the point of almost not being there.
"W-what did--?" He began but was interrupted.
'Uncover your eyes but keep them closed. If you open them I won't heal you.' Emre said.
"Alright…"
The man obeyed and slowly removed his hand with his eyes still closed. Three claw marks were crossing over his forehead and right eye. He was lucky only one eye was damaged. Plus the cuts didn't seem as deep as the puncture wounds were which was good.
Reaching up, Emre gently touched Ugard's injury once more before casting Healing Touch again. The fatigue immediately got worse. He let out a small sigh and pulled away. The cuts had stopped bleeding and had healed about halfway. They looked a few days old rather than one minute old.
[ Healed a Human, gained 1000 experience ]
[ You leveled up ]
[ You leveled up ]
[ Gained 4 stat points ]
[ Healing Touch has leveled up ]
Ah… Well, that was good even if it was only 1000 experience. It must have been because they were small injuries and not on the scale as the ones that were injured by the Spardic Dragon. It was still two level ups after all. Gaining this much experience from healing people felt like a cheat…
'Okay… I'll tell you when you can open your eyes.'
Ugard only nodded as Emre turned away and flew up into the trees. He made sure he was hidden as he peered into the clearing. The man had listened and his eyes were still closed.
'Alright, you can open them.'
At Emre's word, his eyes opened and he quickly looked around. He was alone in the clearing with the stick and his bag. His brows furrowed in a troubled look as he stood up and tested his mostly healed leg. He picked up his bag and then looked up and around again.
"Thank you?" He called out, not sure if Emre would hear him.
'You're welcome.' Emre answered.
Ugard jumped as the voice entered his mind and he kept frantically looking around.
'I'm leaving now. Be more careful and don't come out into the forest alone next time.' Emre scolded before turning away and jumping further away from the clearing.
He didn't hear if Ugard had responded as he hopped away from branch to branch. He still had to find a place to rest. Especially with how exhausted he felt now. He didn't want to have to spend time digging out a den. Maybe he could just sleep in the trees?
He wasn't too sure about sleeping in the trees because he was afraid of falling out of one. But he did have his prehensile tail. Maybe he could hang like a bat but from his tail instead. Would the blood run to his head? Most likely… That option was out.
If he fell with his tail wrapped around the branch, he'd be able to catch himself anyways, right? Whatever he would have to try it out.
He looked for the thickest and sturdiest branch in the forest of trees before he settled down. He laid as comfortably as possible on the branch as he wrapped his long tail around it. This would just have to do.
With a sigh of relief, he closed his golden eyes. Now that he thought about it, he had a ton of stat points to use… He would quickly put the points into his stats, making his status even better.
[ Name, Emre ] [ Radiant Faerie Dragon ]
[ Lvl, 14/30 ] [ Exp, 0/750 ]
[ Stats ] [ Stat Points, 0 ]
[ Str, 10 ] [ Dex, 11 ] [ Int, 16 ]
[ Con, 8 ] [ Wis, 12 ]
[ Skills, Swimming [Lvl 6], Climbing [Lvl 2], Venom Bite [Lvl 8], Venom Spit [Lvl 2], Claw [Lvl 4], Ambush [Lvl 6], Perception [Lvl 5], Stealth [Lvl 5], Light [Lvl 1], Healing Touch [Lvl 2], Light Bolt [ Lvl 1], Radiant Flame [ Lvl 1], Healing Breath [Lvl 1], Radiant Flame Breath [Lvl 1], Dragon Detection, Telepathy ]
[ Titles, Other-Worlder, Tirian's Angel, Frog Slayer ]
Satisfied, he quickly drifted into a slumber without a second thought. Using too much magic was exhausting.