Before my first birthday, mother had slowly given me more freedom in my hunting until eventually letting me hunt on my own.
Today would be the first day I will use my magic in my hunt and also use the [Screen] to compare my stats with the animals I have been fighting against.
At first, I tried using [Shadow Wall] on myself to hide, but a moving mass of darkness is much, much more conspicuous in the daytime.
Fortunately, once I enter the deeper parts of the forest, this would stop being a problem, although the idea of switching my hunting time to night is a possible alternative.
Considerations for another day I suppose.
The moment I went deep enough, I used [Shadow Wall] again, blending myself to the shadows of the forest and moving as stealthily as I could.
I could feel the drain on my mana but it was not to the point that I needed to worry about it running out quickly. I suppose my tier one proficiency in Mana Management helps in that sense.
Speaking of, I didn't need to go very far to find my first target which I immediately used my [Screen] on.
[Name: Horned Rabbit
Stats:
5 Strength
20 Dexterity
2 Endurance]
Huh, not only is the list shorter but I was actually right about its name, which I suppose replaces the 'race' entry since that is its race. The magic stat is also most likely left out simply because it has no magic to speak of either.
Still… Knowing that I was five times stronger than the rabbit was a good sign and the dexterity probably also means I could outrun it… Probably?
Hmm… I suppose it makes sense, if we were both to run on an open plain, I would most certainly outpace it without any problems. But in a forest such as this where the vegetation would hinder your movements, the rabbit had the advantage of it being smaller and thus more manoeuvrable.
Then again, it's not like I'm planning to have a race with it anyway.
With the shadows still hiding me from view, I tried to get as close to it as I could but unexpectedly, it lifted its head and sniffed in my direction before suddenly bolting away.
Ah… I suppose the shadows only hide me from being seen, but the other senses would still be able to pick up my presence.
Welp, it still allowed me to get closer than I normally would without it so that's still a bonus, I'll just have to be a bit more smarter on how I use this.
Not wanting to waste mana, I dropped my [Shadow Wall] for now.
I went deeper into the forest until I came across a giant rock. In front of said rock was another horned rabbit and a boar that was currently cornering it.
I said another because the rabbit was different from the one before because the stats were different.
[Name: Horned Rabbit
Stats:
3 Strength
15 Dexterity
5 Endurance]
[Name: Berserk Boar
Stats:
15 Strength
13 Dexterity
15 Endurance]
This tells me two things.
First, animals or monsters of the same species have different stats, which I suppose makes a lot more sense than each of them being a carbon copy of one another.
Second, I'm actually stronger than that boar now. But how big is the rift between ten units of strength?
The fact that this boar managed to chase and corner this rabbit despite the rabbit having two more points of dexterity could mean that it's not that much. But I also needed to factor in the fact that I did not know if there were external circumstances that led to this rabbit being cornered.
Perhaps the rabbit was already cornered here when the boar appeared?
While I was contemplating this, the boar let out a roar and charged at the rabbit with its head lowered.
With such a straightforward attack like that, the rabbit easily scampered off to the side after being presented with that opening, disappearing into the undergrowth entirely.
The boar then turned around, enraged that its prey had escaped from its clutches.
Unfortunately, that also meant that it was now aware of my presence since I was standing right behind it.
And naturally, it was now aggroed to me.
It charged me and I instinctively dodged to the side, letting it run past me to ram itself into the tree.
Unperturbed, it turned around to try again but this time I was more prepared for it.
While dodging its second charge, I cocked back my fist and punched it at the side of its head, trying to test out what the extent of the strength difference is like.
Surprisingly, my punch was enough to send it rolling away from me with a fist imprint on the side of its head. So that's the difference between ten units of strength.
I thought I managed to knock it out in one blow until the boar got up from the ground, looking even more pissed than before.
I guess this is where it got its name from… It really is a berserker huh?
It let out a loud squeal of rage before charging me again, the charge apparently being the only thing it can do.
I had my knife out in my hands and I side stepped its charge to slash its side with my blade, scoring a long gash along its hide that drew blood.
I immediately wrapped myself in darkness with [Shadow Wall] and hid myself in the shadow of a tree, disappearing from sight before the boar could turn around.
When the boar did turn back, it looked confused at my sudden disappearance and simply stood there looking around the place for a few seconds.
The few seconds I used to sneak up behind it before jumping on its back.
The boar was in the midst of making a surprised squeal before my knife dove home into its right eye, piercing straight into its skull.
Using my thighs to hold on to its back, I pulled out my dagger and stabbed it into its other eye, pushing it in all the way to the hilt, twisting it, then pulling it back out.
This time, I managed to leap off its back before it fell over on to the ground, dead.
I sucked in a breath before breathing out slowly.
Not too bad, though I certainly feel my umbramancy would definitely be of more use in darker environments or when I reach a higher tier with it.
Just in case, I checked my own stats but I found that it was still the same as before. Not that I'm surprised since it's not like there's a levelling system or something.
I bent down and tried to pick up the boar, it was a little heavy but I was still able to carry it by hefting the carcass over my shoulder.
I did a quick check to see that all my equipment was in order before retracing my steps back home, having secured my game for today.
I reached home just as the sky was tinged red and mother was waiting outside, dressed in her normal home clothes.
Immediately upon spotting me, I was picked up in a hug with the boar still slung over my shoulder.
"Ahhh~ Mama is so proud of you my little one!"
"It's not my first hunt, mo… Mommy…"
"Ufufufu~ Mama is still proud of you! My sweet child even brought back such a nice boar all by yourself! Ufufufu~ Put this in the backyard and Mama will deal with it while you go take a bath~"
She finally let me down and I went to do as she told, hanging the carcass up on the rack at the back of our house.
Mother came back in an apron with a belt of knives and tools around her waist, patting my head before shooing me back to the house.
Before I went in though… There was one last thing I wanted to check with my [Screen].
I opened the door to the cockatrice pen and used my [Screen] on the first cockatrice I saw.
[Name: Bad Chicken
Race: Royal Cockatrice
Stats:
220 Strength
160 Dexterity
180 Endurance
175 Magic]
I shut the door quietly.
Ok… I definitely can't beat that.
But I'm more surprised that it has a name… Is it because mother called it a 'bad chicken' the first time I saw it and thus gave it a name recognised by my [Screen]?
I don't even know how this thing works…
Just in case, I opened the door again and used my [Screen] on a different cockatrice this time.
[Name: Royal Cockatrice
Stats:
212 Strength
162 Dexterity
175 Endurance
170 Magic]
Huh… So I guess because this one was never named, the name of its race became its name instead.
This one also seems to be weaker overall as compared to Bad Chicken, so maybe Bad Chicken is the leader?
I checked the third cockatrice's stats and found its numbers quite similar to the second one albeit with a few points of difference, so that means Bad Chicken should be the leader here.
I shut the door quietly and snuck my way up the stairs, not that I really needed to sneak but I somehow felt it was the natural thing to do.
Seeing the cockatrice's stats actually raised the biggest question I have right now…
Just what kind of strength mother possessed to be able to keep monsters like that in her front yard?