[Name: Ankistra
Rank: F
Type: Aquatic (Freshwater) Beast
Likes: Zostera grass
Dislikes: Pinita fish (its predator)
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Details:
These are freshwater herbivore fishes. The flesh of these beasts is slightly poisonous. These fishes are very agile swimmers, so much so that a normal human can't even catch a glimpse of them. They are harmless species and their flesh is a delicacy due to its nutritional value and spicy taste after the poison is filtered out.
There is an increase in their size and the number of bristles on their nose as they grow older. The more aged they are, the higher would be the Fate Points gained.]
I looked at the green information window infront of me which was pointing at a fish that looked very similar to a big bristle nosed catfish. The beast was light grey in color, around 1 foot (30 centimeters) in length and had many bristles around its nose. It was floating inside the clear water, while nibbling on the leaves of a strange aquatic plant that looked like the aquatic version of buttercup. It was nothing but the Zostera grass which was also used to make the disgusting gray sauce.
'The details for this catfish were in the diary. The method to remove the poison from its flesh was also mentioned in the diary, including the way to cook it. This was the only beast whose cooking recipe was in the diary!'
As I recalled the cooking method and the ingredients in my head, the screen vanished. I then took out the curved dagger from my inventory and instantaneously shot it at the fish.
Fwoosh!
Phud!
It hit the shallow surface of the lake as the Ankistra swam away. I missed my target unintentionally. The beast was really very agile. But, I didn't let the failure put me down. Pulling out my dagger back from the surface, I harvested some of the coriander-like Zostera grass.
***
After an hour of collecting the Zostera grass and then washing up, I started to work on setting up a trap for the fat and big fishes.
Since today was the last day of the week, the vermillion light of the Guide Anufa started to shine on the land and the lake. The darkness was getting swallowed by the red world.
Fwoosh! Fwoosh!
In that light, I threw the curved and the black daggers at the Ankistras in the school of fishes that had collected over the Zostera grass, I had set up as a trap near a bank. Despite there being many fishes, I was only able to catch two as I only threw two weapons.
However, this was not the only trap I had set up. There were three more like that, all over the banks of the river. This helped me catch a total of 7 Ankistras, 5 of which I just stored in my inventory.
Then I went to the most common tree found both in the village and in this forest, the Strutiv tree. With the help of the sharp utility knife, I peeled off as much of its bark as I could and made a make shift bowl from a technique I had seen in a video.
After setting up a make shift fire like the time I cooked the Oryctola, I removed the two Ankistras' scales and gutted their organs. Then, I boiled them with some Renetta grass, which was the most common terrestrial grass present everywhere.
This was how the poison was supposed to be removed from these beasts according to the diary. The poison wasn't actually lethal; it just made the flesh too spicy to eat.
After boiling them for about ten minutes, I passed a long stick across their body and roasted them in the fire. This was how I was supposed to cook them.
The broth left after boiling the Ankistra in a Strutiv tree's bark and with Renetta grass is processed to make poison. But, the method was completely unknown to me and my inventory was also pretty much filled up so I had no other option but to throw it away.
Crackle! Crackle!
As the fire crackled, I wafted the aroma of the roasting Ankistra. Although I missed the most important ingredient in this recipe, which was salt, I was pretty much sure that it was atleast still edible and would atleast prevent me from starving.
When the skin of the Ankistras turned golden brown, I took them off the flame and ate them like a Mokaka! There was no salt, no pepper, no spices and no taste enhancers yet the taste of its flesh was very delicious. I ate it all, leaving only the head and the bones.
After finishing my meal, I started to move southwards again, or atleast what I thought was south as I followed a pink star. The star of Guide Anufa lied overhead so it was unable to give any directions.
I got moving right after finishing my meal without taking a break, just because I didn't want to stay close to a water body. Since no monster appeared for the 3 hours that I stayed there didn't mean that nobody would come. Also, the aroma of the cooked Ankistras was bound to attract unwanted monster in my direction so I just moved away from there as soon as I could.
***
The vermillion light was slowly dimming as the day was coming to an end.
As I had apparently moved southwards, I had also hunted two more Oryctolas with the help of the 'Agility' skill. One of them, I ate as dinner while the other was stored in my inventory.
'My inventory is now completely full. I wonder what I would need to do to level it up.' I thought as I was lying on the branch of a tree while looking at my status window.
Since my eyes were getting heavier from all the hunting I did today, I closed the display and went into a dreamless sleep.
***
Fwaa!
Waking up while gasping for air, I tightly clamped at my chest with my right hand. The vermillion hue was gone and it was again the starry sky that lighted the world. My mind felt confused and the groggy state did nothing to help my throbbing heart.
As I got more aware about my surroundings right after waking up, I noticed that I was profusely sweating. My senses were constantly tingling while a strange sense of dread was eating over my mind. While suppressing down the fear, I noticed a slight stinging at the inner side of my elbow.
As I looked at the stinging area, I noticed a strange vine penetrating into my skin and sucking up my blood from the underside of the elbow. It was red in color, with two purple flowers on in. Its other end was inside the tree branch where I was sleeping.
As soon as I saw it, I grabbed and snatched it away from my arm and started to tear it into many pieces as my red colored blood leaked from its inside. As I was destroying the plant, I lip-synced into the air, "Facts!"
[Name: Passifler
Rank: E
Type: Monster
Likes: Corvuc
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Details:
These are plant based monsters that are parasitic and venomous. These plants suck blood from their prey while injecting strong venom into their body. The venom makes the prey bleed endlessly until they die.
Their own flowers are used to concoct the cure for their venom by a complex process and adding some more elements. If the concoction is not ready at hand, it is highly advised to run away from these monsters as death is then inevitable.
The number of flowers on their stem increases with increase with age. They are also an important material in alchemies.]
My heartbeat started to increase and sweat started to pour down from the back of my neck. The fear came back and it came back stronger.
As the information window closed, I turned and looked at the bleeding wound on my left arm. My throat went dry. My mind became foggy and it now seemed impossible to survive.
'Will I bleed to death? Why can't I rest for a single instance of time? Ha-ha!'
As I gave a self-deprecating laugh in my head to calm the fear which was eating at my mind, a crisp male robotic voice resounded in my head.
- "Host's life is in grave danger. Delta will now try his best to keep the host alive. Since host doesn't have the antidote, he only has around six hours to cure it or he will die from blood loss."
"I know that much! Tell me what I should do to make the antidote." I yelled in the air as my fear turned into anger.
- "The host should calm down and pick up the two flowers. They are one of the main ingredients for the concoction. Then, the host should start running around in a new region in the forest so that Delta could observe and analyze the flora and fauna and calculate if the concoction could be made. Please hurry, if host dies, Delta will also be removed from existence."
As Delta was speaking, I grabbed the two flowers and stored them in a new slot in Space 2 as Space 1 was already filled up. As I started to tie the wound tightly with the cloth bandages, from the corner of my eyes I noticed that one of the pieces of the epiphyte were having shiny floating particles over them.
Voom!
Psshh!
Although a nice oil droplet was forming at my side, my complete attention was at the wound. The bandage did nothing to stop the bleeding. It was as if the blood in my body was being sucked out from the small wound!
"Fuck!"