The next day, when I woke up and saw, that Faye was still sleeping I decided to go out and explore the forest a little. I leisurely strutted through the forest while admiring the scenery until I suddenly saw something that shocked me.
"Humans!" I muttered in shock. This was the first time that I saw humans since I came to this planet, thus making me have a small shock for a few seconds. But instead of rushing to the humans, I decided to just observe them, because I wasn't sure how they would treat me since I am no human anymore.
As I watched the humans from a distance, I saw that they were a group of hunters, armed with weapons and dressed in rough, rugged clothing. While observing them I also noticed that most of them only had the same cultivation realm as me and only the person that seemed to be tehri leader had the cultivation of the 2nd Tier of the student realm, so I was not that fearful of them anymore. They seemed to be searching for something as they walked through the forest, occasionally stopping to examine a tree or a patch of ground. I followed them from a safe distance, keeping hidden behind bushes and trees as I observed their movements.
As I watched the hunters, I noticed that they seemed to be searching for something specific. They were examining the ground and trees, and seemed to be communicating with each other in hushed tones. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but I could tell that they were focused on something.
After a few minutes, the hunters stopped in a clearing and seemed to be having a heated discussion.
I was curious to know what they were talking about, so I crept closer, trying to listen in on their conversation.
"I'm telling you, it's around here somewhere," one of the hunters said. "I saw tracks leading this way."
"Tracks? What kind of tracks?" another hunter asked.
"Big ones. Like nothing I've ever seen before," the first hunter replied.
As I listened to the hunters' conversation, I realized that they were hunting a beast that was rumoured to live in the forest. It was said to be incredibly powerful and dangerous, and many people had tried to hunt it down but had never returned. My heart began to race a little in anticipation as I realized that the hunters were getting closer to finding it.
I swiftly decided on continuing to follow them, since this decision could possibly lead me to have unexpected gains.
This choice would later be revealed to have been a great and wise one, but that's something for later.
As I followed them deeper and deeper into the forest, I couldn't help it but marvel at the sheer size of this forest because we were still only in the outer periphery of the forest. These hunters would never dare to step into the deeper regions with their measly cultivation realm, since it was way too dangerous and many terrifying beasts with extraordinary high cultivation lived there.
After a few minutes the hunters came to a sudden halt and I could see them pointing at something in front of them.
When I moved my gaze in the same direction as them, I saw a at least twenty feet long creature that looked like a mixture of a scorpion and a monkey. It had the upper body of a monkey and the lower body looked like a scorpion one. It seemed as if this monster was a hybrid between those two completely different species. Although I could not imagine how this had been possible to achieve.
As usual the creature's status was displayed on my system panel in front of my vision.
[Scorpinkey]
[Cultivation: 3rd Tier of the student realm]
"Hmm, that's a little higher than my realm" I muttered inwardly after seeing Scorpinkey's status, but I wasn't frightened because I would let the hunters do all the work first and then I would try to reap the benefits.
Although I was a human in my previous life, that doesn't mean that I wouldn't attack humans in this life.
First of all, me having been reborn as a tiger already decided to me standing on opposite site to them because humans in this world hunt beasts due to the beast corpses containing important resources for the human practitioners.
To know this, I only had to think a little and did not even need any information about this world, because it is a logical conclusion based on my previous life where many animals were also hunted for precious materials contained in their bodies. Here in this cultivation world, it is probably way more terrifying how much the beasts are hunted compared to earth. Just like it is happening right now. Naturally I will not be unreasonable hostile to them if they don't provoke me first.
...realize that the hunters were not here for the Scorpinkey out of curiosity or for sport, but for its valuable resources. They would not hesitate to kill it for its meat, bones, and possibly its venom.
I knew I had to act fast if I wanted to take advantage of the situation. I quickly came up with a plan and waited for the right moment to make my move.
The humans were generally seen as the enemy by most unintelligent beasts. Secondly, these hunters had entered the forest with the intention of killing the beasts that lived there, so I had no qualms about taking advantage of their situation.
As I watched, the hunters began to surround the Scorpinkey, weapons at the ready. The creature let out a deafening screech, its tail lashing out wildly.
The hunters were quick to react, dodging the tail and striking out with their weapons. But the Scorpinkey was fast and powerful, and it quickly became clear that the hunters were outmatched.
The fight was intense and brutal, with the Scorpinkey using its tail to whip at the hunters while they tried to strike it with their swords and spears.
The hunters were skilled fighters, but they were no match for the powerful beast. One by one, they were knocked to the ground, their bodies wracked with pain.
I could see that the hunters were losing the fight, and I knew that if I wanted to avoid an intense fight, I would have to act fast. I waited until the Scorpinkey was distracted by one of the hunters, and then I made my move.
I leapt out of the bushes and lunged at the beast, sinking my teeth into its flesh while using my skill
The Scorpinkey writhed and twisted, trying to shake me off, but I held on tight. Finally, with one final screech, the beast fell to the ground, dead. The hunters lay on the ground beside it, also dead after they exhausted their last ounce of strength in their previous desperate last attack.
I had emerged victorious, but at a great cost. The hunters were dead, and I was injured. Inwardly I thanked those hunters a little, because without their help it would have been extremely difficult for me alone to take down this beast. But I had survived, and that was all that mattered.
I knew that this was just the beginning of my journey, and there would be many more battles to come. Additionally, I could now absorb all those corpses lying on the bloodied forest floor with my skill