After cautiously looking around and not seeing anything, I step out into the clearing. I start looking around still being careful, in case any beast are hiding. Only after walking around for a little while do I decide it's safe enough to not be so cautious.
I walk up to the small hill, observing it from all sides. I call it a small hill but really it's just a small mound of earth covered in grass. There's a couple of bushes at the bottom of one side and a few weird flowers on the other.
If I can dig into it it should be the perfect place to make my den! If I make the entrance underneath the bushes the no one should be able to find the entrance either!
I start getting excited, I want to start digging right away but hold my self back for now. I look at the bushes on the other side of the clearing trying to decide if I should take a look or not.
There might be something living in them. Part of me wants to just leave them alone but if I make a den in this hill, there only going to be a small stream separating us, and if there is something in there, it could be serious trouble.
Deciding that I need to at least check before I make my den, I start slowly approaching the bushes. Being careful not to make too much noise, I peak into the bushes just to find absolutely nothing! Just a few small stones.
Huh?
It seems like I was being paranoid over nothing.
Feeling a lot more confident with myself, I decide to go back over to the hill to make my den. Checking my quest and seeing I still have over 6 hours, I start thinking about the best way to make my den.
I want to make it big enough to sleep comfortably in, I also want to make a space to store any food that I might want to save. I don't really like the idea of sleeping next to a dead beast so I think I'll make it so it has two rooms.
With a plan in mind, I crawl under the bush and start digging into the hill. It's a slow process, I have to keep dragging the dirt out to the edge of the clearing and spread it out, because I don't want anything to be able to tell that I have made my home here.
After about an hours worth of digging I get a welcome surprise.
[ding!]
[you have learned dig level 1]
A new skill! It seem I can learn new skill by doing the action related to the skill. This is a great discovery! This means I don't have to rely solely on skill points to gain new skills.
I wonder what other skills I can learn like this?
I remember seeing the sneak skill in the skill shop, if I practice sneaking will I gain the skill?
I'll have to try it out later, for now I need to finish making my den. I continue digging,this time using my dig skill. I progress a bit faster than I was before.
I manage to finish the first room and get halfway through the second, when I get another notification.
[ding!]
[dig has levels up to level 2]
Great! I really can level up skills by repeatedly using them. I thought this might be the case but I wasn't certain. Now once I finish my den I can focus on upgrading my shadow magic.
I want to at least level it up once before I have to hunt my next meal. I should try levelling up bite as well, since it's my main damage dealer.
I quickly continue digging, eager to finish so I try and implement what i have learned, and in no time at all, thanks to my newly levelled up dig skill I finish.
I look around my new den, pleased with my work. I made the first room about one meter wide and 1 meter tall, I made the second room a bit small with a short tunnel connecting them both. I've even dragged some dry leaves and grass into the corner of the first room to use bed.
[ding!]
[quest complete]
[10 skill points received]
Great! Now I have 20 skill points! Just 80 more to go until I can get another skill. I think I'll get appraisal when I have enough skill points, now I know how to level it up, I feel like I will come in handy.
Now I've finally finished making my den it's time to start practicing with my shadow Magic. I managed to finish the quest three hours early, so I still have plenty of time to try and level it up.
I go back into my den to try and practice my shadow magic just to realise I can't. There's no shadows in here! It's way too dark!
I don't notice before because I can see just fine with my night vision skill. I can't practice any of my other skills either, there's nothing to use bite on, and I don't really want to use scratch on the walls because I might cause a cave in, and there's not enough room in here to run around using dash.
Slightly disappointed I leave my den and go outside. I was looking forward to being able to practice in the safety of my home, but it looks like I'm going to have to practice in the open after all.
Sitting just outside of my den I activate my shadow magic on my shadow. I also open my status window. I want to see exactly how much MP it costs so I don't end up running out.
I start off my simply moving it left to right, before attempting to change the shape. I can only change the shape a minimal amount, and I still can't detach it from my body.
I take a glance at my MP and notice it's going down by 1 point every second. This means I can only keep it activated for 40 seconds, and I've allready been using it for 10 seconds.
Next I will my shadow to move over my feet and try to move them, I feel like there slightly harder to move, not my much but by just enough to make it noticeable. I can proberly use this to slow down my enemy's a bit.
My MP was just reaching 20 when...
[ding!]
[shadow magic has leveled up to level 2]
Yes! That didn't take as long as I thought it would. Maybe because I have used it a bit yesterday. I wonder if that's any difference when using it now?
But before I got a chance to test it out, I heard a twig snap behide me...