Gideon, who was leaning against the trunk he was sitting on top of, opened his eyes as he felt the gentle touch of the morning sun on his cheek. What greeted him was the vibrant scene of the forest around him. He lifted his back off the trunk, grunting, and stretched with his hand raised. He yawned while standing up.
"Ah!" he exclaimed as he rubbed his right shoulder and back. In his back and shoulder, he felt intense but tolerable pain. He massaged his back while rotating his aching shoulder. "I don't remember wrestling with a bear, just a fucking man-eating flower. Oh, I think I broke some of my bones. Damn it, I'm getting old," he laughed to himself.
He looked all around the area, taking it all in. He rubbed his eyes when he saw substantial changes to the surface he was sleeping on. The dense stands of huge trees that formerly seemed to cover the entire landscape were still present, but they were becoming fewer in number. Although the thick forest was still there, it was difficult to miss the evident alterations. Although faint and far away from where he stood, he could still hear the Unicorn Wolves howling in the huge area of the forest. He was no longer in their domain, they were already far away from him; a small number of them were still around, but less than before. And the only witness to what transpired during that daring escape that night was the forest.
Gideon had a thought about what had transpired, but he kept it to himself and did not say it.
He then stretched his arms and faced the vast forest around him. "Good morning, Eteria; now it's time for me to continue my journey out of this stupid forest!" he exclaimed as he climbed down from the unfamiliar tree he was on.
He observed as he got closer to the ground that the sun above was sending out innumerable rays of light. Compared to the muggy, dark spot he had been the day before, this one was more sunny. There were still lots of shaded areas, but the scene was much livelier.
Gideon was simply gazing at the surroundings. He was aware of the oddity of his surroundings but kept quiet. Despite taking a different path than before, he kept moving in the direction he had planned.
Unaware that countless white figures were observing his every step, they were everywhere. a massive swarm.
On his journey into the bush, Gideon waved the large wood branch he had just picked up in the direction of the area covered in tall grass. Prepared for anything that might spring a surprise on him. When he heard rustling, he would lift the wood branch as a weapon to use against anything that emerged or fled without turning around.
However, the Etveya forest was home to more than just vicious wolves and giant man-eating plants. It housed many lives, both hostile and not. And, like any jungle, this forest had its own hierarchy. Where specific creatures dominated certain areas. And having a large population was one of the deciding factors in whether a particular group would dominate an area.
Gideon saw something astonishing and stopped his journey through the woodland. He found four Unicorn wolf corpses dispersed around the area. The far-off flood track was still dripping with moisture. They weren't slaughtered here; rather, their murderers dragged them.
When Gideon came to understand what he had discovered, his chest began to rapidly rise and fall. He clasped the wood branch in his hands so firmly that they went red as his big, fearful eyes raced around the scene.
But the perpetrators had been there all along, and they had been pursuing Gideon ever since he had crossed into their domain. Suddenly, the space was filled with a cacophony of loud roars. Hidden among the leaves, approaching from above.
Using their strong arms, lengthy legs, and three black tails that resembled a ferocious lion's tail, they moved between trees with such quickness and precision. Finally, they materialized in front of Gideon. The rulers of this territory.
"Fucking shit!"
Gideon could only scream as he regarded the vast swarm that was encircling him. Because he was entirely surrounded, he had nowhere to hide or even run. He attempted to scream, but the ferocious monsters around him drowned him out with their loud battle screams.
They were human-sized herbivorous animals with white fur that resembled monkeys. They were standing on tree branches and had three black tails that dangled from their backs and had rough, black hands. They have powerful fangs on their upper teeth that could easily shred human flesh with a single bite.
Their piercing war cries could be heard all over the place. These monkeys were positioned on trees in groups of hundreds or even thousands, watching the area for potential threats. Because they could communicate with only their thoughts, they were coordinated and unrelenting. Because of the ability, Hive Mind.
Even though one of these things couldn't achieve much on its own, they were the dominating species in this area due to their enormous numbers. They were so deadly in swarms, especially given their ferocious teeth and propensity to launch persistent assaults when disturbed, that even packs of neighboring Unicorn Wolves would be frightened to engage them. Any wolf that dared to enter the area would be attacked by them as they began to toss stones and jump in. If the Unicorn Wolves ruled the land from afar, they were the rulers here. The Noir Tailed Garavon.
Nonetheless, despite their terrifying approach, none of them attacked Gideon. They howled and whooped as he slowly walked away from them, keeping a watchful eye on everyone with his cautious eyes.
Surprisingly, they did not react violently when Gideon merely passed through them. Despite the fact that he was in the center of their domain, he was unaware of this when he woke up due to the tranquility of the morning. Fortunately, the Garavons did not immediately assault him; they only kept an eye on him as he passed. However, there were limitations to how much a neutral creature could tolerate one's intrusion, and Gideon was aware of them. That was why he was moving so quickly through their territory, with his hands covering his ears and trying to ignore the corpses of Unicorn Wolves who had been stoned to death by these creatures and were simply left to rot and nourish the soil.
Garavons, on the other hand, were well-known for their aggressiveness toward humans, and would attack humans on sight. There was only one way for the Garavons to be amiable toward a human: lure a certain number of Unicorn Wolves into the Garavons' territory, the monsters they despise the most. But such a feat was fraught with danger because it required at least above-average running speed in this world's standards in order to survive the relentless pursuit of Unicorn wolves, and most importantly, luck... tremendous luck. Because such a feat would be extremely difficult to pull off, very few people would attempt it. However, performing it by accident while unaware of the tactic was not impossible.
Gideon's travel speed increased significantly, thanks to the Garavons' unexpected protection. And with each passing minute, the Garavon following him became less and less, but not entirely gone. They were just lurking above the trees, watching.
Gideon held his lone weapon, a wooden branch, in his dominant right hand and bit into the bland Ilagina fruit with his left. He was sitting by the tree's root, watching the horde of Garavons eating the insipid fruit on the tree.
He smiled as he saw a green variant of River Slimes jump on the ground like frogs, but without legs or a face, just a blob-like, liquid, and bouncy body. The Tree Slimes However, he was not lowering his guard; rather, the opposite was true. His guard was always up, watching his surroundings with his attentive eyes while squatting so he could stand up and flee if there was any sign of danger. Trying to remain calm despite being in the midst of a swarm of unknown creatures.
"Man, even though that green slime is cute, I don't want to bet if it's poisonous or not," he joked before taking another bite of the Ilagina in his hand.
His laughter was cut short when he touched his own lips, which were dry and starting to crack. Despite his obvious concern, he shrugged and forced a smile.
"I definitely need to locate some water soon."
Despite the fact that his situation had changed... It never got any safer. Dangers were just around the corner. Waiting.