*Grrr*
Tang Lin could hear a low growl slowly approaching his position.
'A beast? But what tier is it?' he thought as he hid behind a tree.
While he was busy, another beast had snuck up behind Tang Lin quietly before striking, attempting to bite his head off. Luckily, his crimson qi had sensed it beforehand and created a small explosion within the air, which redirected its attack.
*Crunch*
Its jaw had completely crushed the tree's trunk in half as Tang Lin turned around, horrified by its presence.
'SHIT! There's more than one here', thought Tang Lin.
With the beast in front of him, Tang could now see what the beast was. It had brown fur and was about as big as Tang Lin, but it also had a long tail.
"You're… a monkey?" he asked, confused.
The monkey then looked up in response as if urging him to follow suit. Tang Lin carefully followed its gaze as he looked into the tree branches. Hundreds of white eyes encapsulated the night. He looked back down with a pale expression as he saw the monkey smile.
"OO-AH-JIEK(WE… are monkeys)", replied the monkey in its own language.
Tang Lin couldn't understand what it said, but he knew at that moment he had to run or he would die!
'Wait, maybe I can beat them if I use that power from the crimson essence. Just like back then, when I was fighting that colossal ape, I should be able to absorb their blood essence as well', he thought as he turned around trying to look cool and intimidating.
Confused at why its prey stopped running, the monkeys simply scratched their heads for a moment.
"Behold, I have the power to kill you all", Tang Lin said confidently.
Now running to the nearest monkey to his left, the monkeys just watched him slightly worried, but excited.
*Pow*
Tang Lin sent out a palm to the monkey's chest confidently as he waited for the crimson essence in his body to react.
*Silence*
"AHH, WTF! Why isn't it working?!?! Fk you monkeys!" Tang Lin screamed as he ran away, tears flowing into the air, while the monkeys continued chasing him in a frenzy.
After a while, Tang Lin couldn't hear them running after him anymore as he turned around. They all stood still either on the ground or on the trees as they watched him escape.
'Why did they stop?' he thought, but he had no time to worry about it as he wandered deeper into the jungle.
"Damn, the guardian spirit didn't even specify how we're meant to identify what tier and how strong the beasts are. I guess that's what it meant by testing our wits and survival instincts", Tang Lin muttered.
'Those monkeys must've been human-tier beasts, but there were too many of them. So, it was too risky to fight them without even knowing their individual strength. Regardless, it's unusually quiet here', he thought as he walked around.
'Is that a cave? Maybe I can stay there for the night as long as it isn't the lair of any beast', he considered.
Tang Lin quickly inspected the area before sneaking into the cave. Walking further into the cave, he realised that the cave penetrated the side of the mountain pretty deeply.
*Crack*
He had accidentally stepped on something as he looked down.
"Eeek! Bones?" he squealed embarrassedly.
"Ahem", he coughed, regaining his composure.
'These look like the skeletons of those monkeys', he analysed.
Tang Lin walked further inside as he found something in a nest at the very end of the cave. It was a milky-coloured egg with azure stripes covering the surface.
'Is that an egg? I shouldn't stay here. It seems like it already has an owner', he thought as he turned to leave.
"I-Is that a frost-scaled basilisk? I thought they were extinct", Tang exclaimed.
It was dragging the carcasses of the monkeys it had caught on its hunt back home; when it found Tang Lin intruding into its lair. This infuriated the frost-scaled basilisk as it dropped the monkey in its mouth.
*HISS*
"W-Wait, this isn't what it looks like", he slowly said as he edged away.
'Damn, it must be thinking that I was going to steal or kill its child. What should I do?' Tang Lin thought nervously.
'Maybe I should go along with what it thinks', he decided.
"Stay back! I have your egg, unless you want me to destroy it!" Tang Lin yelled threateningly.
Pulling out his canine weapon, the sharp tip carefully hovered above the exterior of the egg.
Completely enraged, the frost-scaled basilisk could only swallow its frustration.
*Gulp*
Tang Lin could tell the frost-scaled basilisk was seething, but this was the only idea that he could think of that could allow him to survive. Unfortunately, just like its parent, the egg was absolutely massive and was almost as big as him. So, he had to awkwardly drag the nest underneath it with one arm as he moved closer to the entrance of the exit. As he got closer to the basilisk, Tang Lin could feel its icy breath skim across his body.
Now on opposite sides of the cave walls, Tang Lin left the egg and made a run for it as the frost-scaled basilisk leaped to its egg. As it curled around its egg, it lifted its head to see the direction Tang Lin had run as it quickly brought the egg back inside before going out to chase him.
'Shit! Shit! Shit! Where should I go?' he thought, racking his brain for ideas as fast as he could.