Finally letting go of the lizards neck, I get down from its back and sit down on the ground. Catching my breath, I start thinking about how close I really came to dying. If the lizard had lasted just a little bit longer, then I would have been the one who had died. If I'm going to survive in this world then I need to get a lot stronger. I can't settle for being strong enough just to hunt and eat, I need to be strong enough so beasts like the lizard don't want to attack me in the first place.
I remember hearing the sound of wolves and other beast last night. If I struggle against rats and lizards, then I dread to think how I'll cope against any of them. I need to level up my self and my skills. Not only that but I need to figure out the best way to use them. Remembering that I levelled up I take a look at my status.
[status]
Species: fox beast cub
Level: 3
HP: 40
MP: 50
Strength: 7
Agility: 8
Vitality: 8
Inteligence: 10
Stat points: 1
Skill points: 30
Titles: none
Skills: Bite level 1
Scratch level 2
Dash level 1
Night vision level 1
Shadow magic level 2
Dig level 2
All that stats have risen by two again and I have received one stat point. This time I put my stat point on strength bring it up to eight. I chose strength because I feel like if I done just a bit more damage, then the fight with the lizard would't have been such a close call. Plus by blinding my opponent with my shadow magic I don't need to rely on my agility to get a hit in.
I noticed that my scratch skill has gone up to level 2. it must have happened when I was repeatedly using it to attack the lizard, I just didn't notice because I was concentrating on attacking so much.
I'm surprised my bite skill is still level 1 though, I've used it quite a bit both in my fight against the moss rat and the lizard. Hopefully it's close, the higher level it is the more damage it should do I think.I really wish the system would give me descriptions on the skills I already have. it would make using them a lot easier.
Now my MP is full again I want to start practising my shadow magic again. I feel like I will be able to do a lot more with it once it gets to a higher level, but the suns starting to go down and honestly I'm starving. I haven't eaten all day because I've been busy building my den.
I look at the lizards body laying next to me and mentally prepare my self to start eating it. I'm still put off by the idea of eating raw meat but I know I need to come to terms with it. I'm a fox now and this is just something I'm going to have to get use to.
I start eating the lizard. It's not a bad as the moss rats but its not good either. It has a bland taste and a rubbery texture. I'm only able to get through half of it before I'm full. I decide I'm going to store the rest of it in my den for when I wake up, but first I remove the innards and drag them to the stream, hoping they get washed away. I don't want other beasts to come and eat them incase they can somehow sense where I am or something.
As I drag them to the stream I notice the magic crystal. This ones about twice the size of the one I found in the moss rat and a slightly darker shade of pink. I pick it up and decide to store it in my den. I don't have any use for it but my years as a gamer has led me to believe that I should save collect them.
After storing everything safely in the second room, I curl up on my bed made of dry leave and go to sleep for the night.
I wake up the next day feeling refreshed. I slept a lot better last night than I did previously. Maybe it was because I was sleeping underground, but I felt a lot safer and didn't wake up to every single noise. I eat the rest of the lizard and leave my den.
Today I plan on practicing my shadow magic and finding out the limits of my dash skill. If I can I also want to try and learn a couple of new skills, but first I'm going to request a quest. I want to see if my desires influence the quest I am given or if the system randomly just decides. So I open up the mission window and select the request quest option.
[ding!]
[quest received...]
[the world of Cronus is a dangerous place and you need to get stronger to survive. Reach level 5 and level up three skills!]
[time limit: 48 hours]
[difficulty: normal]
[rewards: 5 stat points and 50 skill points]
[penalty for failure: - 1 level]
It looks like I was right after all. I can influence the quest to a certain degree. I can't decide exactly what the quest will be but at least it's a quest to achieve my current goal.
So I need to go up two levels and level up three skills. It won't be easy but it's defiantly achievable. I can hunt mole rats to gain xp and maybe other small beasts if I can find them. I might even be able to level up some of my skills in the process.
The rewards seem good too. the system has been generous this time. Five stat points is great, I can easily gain a boost in strength with just these but I get fifty skill points as well! I'll be able to buy another skill! Originally I thought I wouldn't be able to buy another skill until I reached level 10 but now it seem I only need to reach half that.
As for the penalty of loosing one level, I'm. not too bothered. I'm determined to complete this quest. I need to get stronger no matter the cost.
With this new quest I decide to save my mp and go straight to hunting moss rats. I should be able to find the limits of my dash skill on the way. After all I only hade 48 hours, I can't afford to waste any time. Having decided I set out to hunt my fist pray of the day.