I had the Larder. I had the traps. Now, I had a dependent.
The Blood Briar needed calories. It couldn't hunt. It relied on photosynthesis, which was negligible in the gloom of the Basin, and direct protein injection.
I moved through the undergrowth. My movements were jerky, mechanical. I kept my head low, eyes scanning the root systems.
My Wisdom stat was working overtime. The forest wasn't just a blur of grey and brown anymore. I saw heat shimmers. I heard the friction of chitin on bark. I smelled the ammonia trail of a marking gland.
Target acquired.
A Wire-Rat. Level 2.
It was scavenging near a cluster of Iron-Cap Mushrooms, twitching its nose. It was small, maybe half the size of the one that had almost killed me days ago. A runt.
Perfect.
I ran the numbers.
Target Mass: ~0.5 kg.
Estimated XP (Fermented): 15-20.
Risk: Low.
I didn't need the XP as much as I needed the blood.
I crept forward. The moss muffled my talons. I was learning to move like the shadows.
The rat paused. It sat up, rubbing its face with clawed paws.
I launched.
I didn't screech. Screeching was wasted energy. It warned the prey.
I hit the rat like a feathered stone. My talons dug into its shoulders, pinning it to the mulch.
The rat squealed, a high-pitched burst of static. It twisted, snapping its jaws at my legs.
I pecked.
Thwack.
My beak struck the base of its skull. The bone crunched. The squeal cut off instantly.
[Target Eliminated: Wire-Rat (Level 2)]
[Experience Gained: 0]
The System was cold. No reward for the kill itself.
I stood over the corpse. My chest heaved slightly. The exertion was minimal. My Stamina bar had barely dipped.
I grabbed the rat by the tail. It was heavy, but manageable.
I began the trek back to the log.
The return trip was slow. I had to stop twice to listen for larger predators. The scent of fresh blood was a beacon. I was a walking dinner bell.
I reached the log. The entrance was dark, inviting.
And guarded.
The Sanguine Creeper was waiting. It was still small, a single crimson vine curled around the left side of the opening.
It sensed the blood.
The vine lifted. The tip split open, revealing a ring of tiny, translucent teeth. It vibrated.
I clicked. Patience.
I took the rat to the back of the log, near my bed of moss. I used a sharp stone to gut it.
The smell was pungent. Iron and bile.
I separated the organs. Heart, liver, lungs. The nutrient-dense paste.
I took the hollowed-out carcass and impaled it on one of the [Reinforced Spikes].
[Larder Activated]
[Fermentation Timer: 3 Hours]
The timer started. That was my XP.
I looked at the pile of offal on the stone. That was the investment.
I picked up the liver in my beak. It was slippery, warm.
I walked back to the entrance.
The Creeper was frantic now. It waved back and forth, tracking the scent.
I dropped the liver within reach.
Snap.
The vine lashed out. It didn't just wrap around the meat; it pierced it. Tiny thorns extended from the stem, injecting digestive enzymes directly into the tissue.
The liver began to dissolve. It turned into a red slurry, which the plant absorbed through the thorns.
I watched, fascinated.
The red color of the vine deepened. It pulsed, a rhythmic contraction that pushed the nutrients down toward the roots.
I dropped the heart next. Then the lungs.
The plant consumed it all.
A notification chimed.
[Sanguine Creeper Growth: +5% Biomass]
It wasn't a level up yet. But the vine looked thicker. The thorns were sharper, glinting with a faint metallic sheen.
I sat by the entrance, watching the plant digest.
It was a trade. I gave it the scraps; it gave me security.
I checked my Mana. 4/25.
Still too low to craft.
I needed more meat.
The second hunt took me further from the log.
The Basin was waking up. The bioluminescent fungi were dimming as the "day" cycle approached, though the light never truly broke through the canopy.
I found a rocky outcrop near a stagnant pool of water. The air here was humid, smelling of rot and sulfur.
Reptiles preferred this.
I waited. Patience was a weapon.
An hour passed. My Stamina bar refilled completely while I sat motionless on a high branch.
Movement.
A lizard emerged from a crack in the stone.
[Iron-Scale Gecko - Level 3]
It was ugly. Its skin was a patchwork of grey scales that looked like rusted coins. Its eyes were milky white, blind but sensitive to vibration.
It licked the air with a forked blue tongue.
This was a harder target. Scales offered resistance. My beak might deflect.
I needed a soft spot.
The throat. The underbelly.
The gecko moved sluggishly. It was cold. It was looking for a patch of warmer stone to regulate its temperature.
I calculated the trajectory.
If I dove, I would hit the dorsal scales. Bad angle.
I needed to flip it.
I looked around. There was a loose clump of moss and dirt on the branch above the gecko.
I hopped up to the higher branch. I nudged the debris.
It fell.
Plop.
The dirt hit the stone a foot to the gecko's left.
The gecko reacted instantly. It whipped around, hissing, its tail lashing out.
It exposed its flank.
I dove.
Gravity was my force multiplier. I tucked my wings, becoming a missile.
I hit the gecko just behind the ribs.
The impact knocked the breath out of it. It rolled, belly up.
The underbelly was pale, soft.
I struck.
My beak pierced the throat.
The gecko thrashed. Its tail slammed into my side, knocking me back.
[-8 HP]
Pain flared in my ribs.
I scrambled back, wings flared.
The gecko was convulsing. Blue blood sprayed from its neck. It tried to right itself, but its movements were uncoordinated.
I waited.
Let it bleed.
The thrashing slowed. The tail stopped twitching.
[Target Eliminated: Iron-Scale Gecko (Level 3)]
[Experience Gained: 0]
I shook my feathers, settling them. 8 HP lost. A careless mistake. I had underestimated the tail whip.
I approached the corpse.
The scales were tough. Good material.
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I couldn't eat the scales. But I knew someone who could dissolve the meat off them.
I grabbed the gecko by the neck.
Back at the log.
The Creeper was dormant, digesting the rat organs.
I woke it up with the smell of reptile blood.
It uncoiled sluggishly. It was full.
I butchered the gecko.
This time, I kept the tail for myself. It was fatty, rich in energy. I swallowed it whole.
[HP Restored: +15]
[Stamina Restored]
The pain in my side faded.
I gave the rest of the gecko to the Larder. I impaled the torso on a second spike.
[Larder Activated]
[Fermentation Timer: 4 Hours]
I was left with the head and the legs.
I tossed them to the Creeper.
The plant wrapped around the gecko's head. The thorns scraped against the scales, seeking purchase. It found the eye sockets.
It burrowed in.
I watched the process. It was gruesome. Efficient.
The vine pulsed violently.
Then, it shuddered.
A cracking sound echoed in the quiet log.
The vine split.
Right near the base, the stem divided. A second tendril shot out, wet and green, rapidly hardening to red. It grew inches in seconds, unfurling like a time-lapse video.
[System Alert]
Entity Level Up: Sanguine Creeper
Level: 1 -> 2
New Trait: [Forked Growth]
New Trait: [Hemoglobin Sense]
I stepped closer.
The plant now had two active vines. They waved in the air, independent of each other.
Double the attacks. Double the coverage.
The [Hemoglobin Sense] trait explained why it had tracked the blood so quickly. It could smell iron.
I looked at my handiwork.
The entrance to the log was now partially obscured by the red vines. It looked like a vein system growing over the wood.
It was working.
I checked the Larder.
Two carcasses fermenting.
Fermented Wire-Rat: 2 hours remaining.
Fermented Gecko: 3.5 hours remaining.
I had downtime.
I couldn't craft. No Mana.
I couldn't eat. Not yet.
My gizzard ground on empty air. Acid scorched my throat.
A caloric deficit. A flashing [Status Effect]. The pain acted as a variable in the equation, not a master.
I looked at the Larder.
The two carcasses hung from the reinforced spikes.
The Wire-Rat was beginning to bloat. Its grey fur was slick with the oily sheen of decomposition. The System timer floated above it in blue text.
[Fermentation: Wire-Rat]
[Time Remaining: 01:42:15]
Next to it, the Iron-Scale Gecko hung limp. The scales had lost their luster, turning a dull, matte slate. The blood that dripped from its severed neck had congealed into a black pudding on the moss below.
[Fermentation: Iron-Scale Gecko]
[Time Remaining: 03:14:30]
I ran the calculations.
The Wire-Rat was Level 2. Based on the biomass and the species modifier, it would yield approximately 110 XP once fully fermented.
The Gecko was Level 3. Denser muscle fibers. Mana-infused scales. It was worth at least 160 XP.
Total current assets: 270 XP.
I pulled up my status screen.
STATUS: REND
Species: Fledgling Shrike
Level: 4
Experience: 10/500
HP: 22/30
MP: 6/25
Stamina: 70%
I needed 490 XP to reach Level 5.
If I ate the rat now, I would gain a burst of energy. I would feel good. But I would remain Level 4.
If I ate the gecko later, I would still be Level 4.
I would be inching forward. Incremental gains.
I hated incremental gains.
The forest outside was not incremental. The Basin grew in spikes.
Things evolved or they died.
The Biter and the Screamer in the nest above were likely Level 5 or 6 by now, fed by the Matriarch. They were growing faster.
I needed to match that curve.
I looked at the empty spikes. I had three [Reinforced Spikes] made of Iron-Shell chitin. Only two were occupied.
One spike remained empty.
270 XP was not enough. I needed a buffer. I needed to clear the level cap in a single sitting.
I needed one more kill.
I stood up. The moss dampened the sound of my talons.
My Mana was still low. 6 points. Not enough to craft new traps, but enough for a single burst of [Thorn Crafter] if I needed an emergency weapon.
I checked the entrance.
The Sanguine Creeper, Briar, was dormant. Its two red vines were coiled like springs against the rotting wood of the log's archway. It sensed my movement and one vine twitched, the thorns extending slightly.
I clicked.
I slipped past the red curtain and into the basin.
The humidity hit me like a physical weight. The air was thick, tasting of ozone.
I moved to the perimeter of my territory.
My Wisdom stat painted the world in details I hadn't seen at Level 1. I saw the faint blue veins of mana pulsing in the Iron-Bark trees. I heard the scuttle of beetles under the leaf litter three meters away.
I needed something substantial. No beetles. No grubs.
I needed red meat.
I climbed.
My claws hooked into the bark of a massive oak. I ascended ten feet, stopping at a knot in the wood.
This was my hunting blind.
I waited.
Time passed. My stomach growled, a vibration that rattled my ribs. I clamped my beak shut. Silence was survival.
Below, the ferns rustled.
A shape emerged.
It was low to the ground. heavily built.
[Scavenger Badger - Level 4]
I tensed.
This was dangerous.
The badger was the size of a large cat. It had black fur streaked with white, stiff bristles. Its front claws were spades, designed for digging through iron-root and bone.
It was sniffing the ground. It had found the blood trail from the gecko.
It was tracking me back to the log.
If it found the Larder, it would tear the log apart. It would eat my kills. It would eat Briar. It would eat me.
I couldn't let it reach the base.
I checked the badger’s stats.
HP: High.
Defense: High. Thick fur and loose skin made it resistant to slashing.
Offense: High. Those claws could snap my hollow bones like dry twigs.
But it was blind to the vertical axis. It was looking at the ground.
I needed a critical hit.
I looked up.
Above the badger, a heavy branch of the Iron-Bark Oak hung precariously. It was dead wood, grey and cracking.
No. Too risky. If the branch didn't fall, I gave away my position.
I had to do this myself.
I needed speed.
[Meat Hook] trait: Velocity acts as a damage multiplier.
I climbed higher. Fifteen feet. Twenty feet.
The badger was moving steadily toward the log. It grunted, a wet, hog-like sound.
I aligned myself.
I calculated the drop.
Target: The base of the skull. Where the spine met the cranium.
I took a breath.
I dropped.
The wind rushed past my ears. I didn't flap. I streamlined my body, pulling my wings tight against my ribs. I became a dart.
Gravity took hold. I accelerated.
The badger paused. It heard the whistle of air.
It started to look up.
Too late.
CRACK.
I hit.
The impact jarred every bone in my body. My vision white-outed for a microsecond.
My beak, hardened by the System and sharpened by evolution, drove into the badger's neck.
It felt like hitting a sandbag wrapped in leather.
The badger roared.
It bucked violently.
I was thrown off. I tumbled into the Razor-Ferns.
[-12 HP]
The world spun. My left wing throbbed.
I scrambled to my feet.
The badger was thrashing. It spun in circles, snapping at the air.
Bright, arterial red blood spurted from the hole in its neck.
I had missed the spine. I hit muscle and artery.
It wasn't a kill shot.
The badger found me. Its beady eyes locked onto my form. It snarled, exposing yellow teeth that looked like chisels.
It charged.
I couldn't tank this. One hit and I was dead.
I dodged left.
The badger plowed through the ferns where I had been standing. The silica-edged leaves sliced its nose, but it didn't care. It turned, surprisingly fast for its bulk.
I needed to end this.
It charged again.
I saw the pattern. It lowered its head before it struck, using its skull as a battering ram.
I waited.
The badger rushed. The ground shook slightly.
I jumped.
Not away. Up.
I used my wings to gain height, vaulting over the charging beast.
As I passed over its back, I lashed out with my talons.
I aimed for the eyes.
My claws raked across its face.
[Critical Hit!]
The badger screamed. It slammed into the tree trunk behind me, blinded in one eye.
It was disoriented. The blood loss from the neck wound was slowing it down.
I landed on the tree trunk, clinging to the bark.
The badger staggered. It shook its head, spraying blood.
It was weakening.
I checked my Mana. 6/25.
I focused.
[Skill: Thorn Crafter]
I didn't have a bone or a stick. I had my own feathers.
I plucked a primary flight feather from my right wing. It hurt, a sharp pinch.
I channeled the mana into the keratin.
Harden. Sharpen.
The feather stiffened. The edges turned to steel.
[Improvised Quill Dagger created]
[-5 MP]
I held the quill in my beak.
The badger was panting. It turned toward the sound of my movement, its good eye rolling wildly.
I didn't dive this time. I glided.
Silent.
I landed on its back.
The badger bucked, but I dug my talons into its coarse fur. I rode the thrashing beast.
I drove the quill into its ear.
Deep.
The badger went rigid.
It fell over.
[Target Eliminated: Scavenger Badger (Level 4)]
[Experience Gained: 0]
I collapsed on top of the corpse.
My chest heaved. My HP was at 10/30. My Stamina was flashing red.
I lay there for a minute, just breathing.
The forest was silent. The violence had paused the local ecosystem.
I stood up.
I looked at the kill.
It was massive. At least five kilograms of meat.
This was the jackpot.
I couldn't drag it. It was too heavy.
I had to butcher it here.
I worked quickly. I sliced open the belly. I removed the guts, leaving them for the smaller scavengers. I didn't want the smell attracting anything else while I transported the prime cuts.
I carved the badger into quarters.
It took me four trips.
Trip one: The head and shoulders.
Trip two: The hindquarters.
Trip three: The torso.
Trip four: The organs I had saved.
By the time I finished, I was exhausted. My stamina bar was empty. I was running on fumes.
I dragged the last piece into the log.
Briar was awake. The scent of the badger drove it crazy. Both vines lashed out, trying to grab the meat.
No, I hissed.
I tossed it the badger's liver.
The vines snatched it out of the air. Briar retreated to its corner, content.
I took the badger meat to the back.
I had one spike left.
I impaled the largest chunk of the badger on the third [Reinforced Spike].
[Larder Activated]
[Fermentation Timer: 6 Hours]
I pile the rest of the meat in the corner. I covered them with the [Gloom-Moss] to mask the scent and keep them cool. They wouldn't ferment without a spike, but they would keep for a few hours.
Three corpses dangled in the gloom, each tagged with a glowing blue window.
- [Wire-Rat (Level 2)] - Ready in 1 hour.
- [Iron-Scale Gecko (Level 3)] - Ready in 3 hours.
- [Scavenger Badger (Level 4)] - Ready in 6 hours.
Rat: ~110 XP.
Gecko: ~160 XP.
Badger: A Level 4 mammal. High biomass density. That was easily 250 XP. Maybe 300 on its own.
I ran the sum.
Total Potential: > 500 XP.
It was enough.
It was more than enough.
I collapsed onto my moss bed.
My body screamed for food. The badger meat smelled rich and gamey. The rat smelled sweet with rot.
I wanted to eat. I wanted to tear into the rat right now.
But I looked at the timers.
Six hours promised a feast fit for a King.
Level 5 would be a memory. Level 6 was probable. Maybe 7.
I shut my eyes.
I would wait.
The blue numerals burned against the darkness.
05:59:50
05:59:49
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