Scott awoke, still in the trees. He broke the crust of blood over his eyes to open them. A single cough shivered his body, and he felt pain from every wound. His body throbbed, and he decided to lay there for at least another hour.
He reflected on his battle, and his smile stretched his skin enough to crack dried blood at the corners of his lips. He did it. He beat two small hordes of monsters. Ah, it was so worth it!
He was filled by the sounds of rustling flora, of the flapping of birds wings, of the delicate tapping of ants, of the surf of the sea, of footsteps in sand, and of sudden male voices.
The voices came to him in echoes through the jungle. For a moment Scott was torn between the shock that he could hear voices so well from such a distance and the fact that other humans were around.
His body was unwilling to move, and Scott knew it was better to keep things safe. He lay there and listened.
“This explains it.”
“There’s no body.”
“It''s gotta be something from the new wave.”
“Whatever it is survived. Looks like they went into the jungle.”
“It’s a biped.”
“Strange engravings for feet to have.”
“It could be humans again.”
“Humans can be annoying. It’d be much better if it were golems again.”
“I’d rather go up against humans.”
“Until they level up.”
“They hardly get the chance to. They’re stupid.”
“Well this one’s already gained enough experience to put them at level ten at least.”
“Let’s go after them.”
“Let’s just report it. There’s only one. Do you really want to spend days chasing it for meager experience?”
“Not really.”
“Plus they’ll probably die before Carree hunts them down. They’ve got nothing out here. They’re not exactly brewing fortification potions out here. Even if they do level up, they’ll still be weak.”
“Back to base?”
“Yes. You know what this means, right?”
“More to feed the beetles?”
“Exactly.”
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Sand shifted beneath each man’s boots as they made their way up the coast. The moment Scott no longer heard them, he sighed.
He mulled what he’d learned: Other humans were nearby and on a base, Carree would hunt him down, fortifications came in potions, he wouldn’t be brewing potions out here even if he had ingredients, he was part of a wave of humans that they considered to be like a wave of minions to cull.
Scott judged the two men to be in their 20s by the sound of their voices. Their dialect he could not place. Something seemed inhuman in their timbres. The way they compared humans to golems had him wondering what race they were. All things were now possible.
Scott closed his eyes. He knew he would soon have to worry about Carree. If Carree hunted humans down, he had to plan that he would be hunted down as well. He had to count on it. His only chance to take out Carree would be if they came alone. But he didn’t have much time to recover from his stinging injuries. No matter.
“If I can endure, I can survive.”
Scott groaned as he sat up. He grimaced, and felt all the dried blood on his body and in his clothes crack apart. Flakes of blood flitted down to the jungle floor. The pain wasn’t too bad that he couldn’t ignore it, he thought. So he had to plan quickly.
Scaling down the tree reopened wounds along his sides and up his arms. Fresh warm blood trickled under his clothes. Sweating from the pain, Scott bolted for the beach. He collected the largest rocks he could find and stored them in his inventory, filling it to 10/10.
Scott raced through the jungle. He defeated four level 1 beetles and earned 20 xp along the way. He often cast his gaze to the canopy, and when he spotted one whose branches were high that he could hide among, he raked the jungle floor of leaves and twigs. He scrambled for branches and hastily erected a lean-to. He shed his bloodied shirt, shoes, and socks; and he placed them neatly just inside the lean-to.
Keeping keen, he flanked the tree and climbed it. In the crook of some of its highest branches, Scott positioned himself above his lean-to. He organized his collection of rocks by weight in size, and then he waited.
Newly opened wounds began to close. Older wounds began to itch. His skin itched where blood had dried and cracked.
Whoever Carree was would come for him, would hunt him down. Scott thought it would be a fatal mistake if he didn’t heed that knowledge. He had to count on it.
The sun moved, beetles skittered across the jungle, birds darted about, and Scott watched the jungle floor. His sensitive hearing had him wide eyed until night.
Despite all his effort, Scott fell asleep. In his dreams he was a jungle. Skeleton birds and skeleton trees lived inside of him. He was a predator, and he was hunting a skelton bear.
In the morning, when he awoke, he stirred as slowly as he could. His lean-to had been untouched. Drizzle tapped jungle leaves. Rivulets ran through his clothes and down his skin.
Scott regarded the sky. Wispy clouds were drifting overhead. Sunlight ebbed in the jungle. Droplets sizzled under the touch of the sun.
Scott couldn’t help but feel restless. His last year on earth had proved to him that patience meant survival. Relying on his practiced patience, Scott kept keen and waited.
His stomach grumbled throughout the day. Despite the humidity, Scott went thirsty. Throughout the evening, Scott dozed. Despite mentally chastising himself, he couldn’t help it. So at night he lay wide awake. He listened to footfalls shift the sand of the beach. They paused, and then they entered the jungle. They happened at a pace that seemed tentative, Scott thought. Yes, patience meant survival.
Scott felt his heart beat. Adrenaline bloomed in him.
Scott’s stat sheet:
Level 9
Experience 2882/3000
Stat point (8)
Strength 10
Wisdom 0
Intelligence 1
Dexterity 5
Constitution 4
Abilities:
Lesser Audial: Hearing radius increased by 10%, hearing sensitivity increased by 10%, 10% improved stereo imaging.
Inventory 10/10
Awesome branch
9 heavy rocks