Chapter 4 - Attacked!
*Chirp* *Chirp!*
I woke up to the sound of birds singing, at first I wasn't concerned and even thought what a beautiful morning! I opened my eyes slowly, almost yawning.
Then it hit me!
I'm in a magical world, you bastard!
What if these singing birds could tear me to pieces.
I stood up vigilant, ready to act at a moment's notice.
Good god! I still did not know how to use my skills.
The sound was coming from above my head, I tilted my head to see what was there.
There were two birds perched on a small branch, they strangely resembled a normal sparrow in my world but the color was pitch black and they were larger.
What's with this forest and the black color?
Everything I had seen so far was black, or just overall darker.
One striking difference other than the color and the size was the fact they had 3 dangling cat tails instead of a bird's.
I didn't feel any danger from them.
'Appraise'
[Appraised Target: Phulirian Sparrows
Cultivation Realm: None
Health Points(HP): 11/11
Magic Power(MP/Mana): 0/0
Spiritual Power(SP): 5/5
Magical Resistance: 1
Physical Resistance: 2
Spiritual Resistance: 2
Vitality: 2
Strength: 1
Stamina: 3
Intelligence: 5
Agility: 3
Spirit: 1
Description: Common birds of The Still Hollow Forest.
]
Looking at these little birds I was overjoyed!
Why? Because the existence of these small little birds signified the absence of very strong monsters.
No, wait.
I was still very weak, but looking at them I had no desire to bother them in any way simply because they were too weak.
They were small and their bodies were very weak, they held no actual value to me. The only value I could see in them was maybe to teach your kids how to hunt, or to hunt them for the hell of it, which was not something I was into.
I quickly forgot about them and looked at what lay beyond...
Tall dark trees piercing the heavens, some are strangely thin, while others are huge!
I had no idea what was hidden or rather what was waiting for me outside of the walls of my small yet safe home.
Whatever, I'd burn that bridge when I get there no use thinking about it now.
I turned to look at the siblings who were still asleep and I almost jumped in fright.
They became fucking huge overnight!
They had grown almost double in size and the feathers that were light gray yesterday were now a shade darker.
I spread open wings to look at them, and I was immediately surprised.
I had feathers, though they were still small. It was definitely a big improvement compared to yesterday.
What was even more strange, was that I felt stronger than before.
My beak was bigger, sharper. My talons were longer and looked especially deadly.
My wings were firm and strong and my feathers looked to be capable of some serious damage!
I still could not fly though, but I could move with much more flexibility compared to yesterday. My movement was very awkward and child-like.
I started flapping my wings to get used to them, I was very very much looking forward to flying. Who wouldn't be?
I loved birds and like every human always dreamed of flying.
Now I could take to the skies and lord over it with unimaginable speed, I could not wait!
I opened my Status Window to check...
[~Status Window~
Host: Zed - Umbra Storm Eagle(Fledgling).
Titles: {Blazing Heart}
Level: 2
Experience Points(Exp): 40/540
Rank: Body Refinement(Low)
Health Points(HP): 57/57
Magic Power(MP/Mana): 112/112
Spiritual Power(SP): 190/190
Magical Resistance: 11(5)
Physical Resistance: 9(4)
Spiritual Resistance: 19(9)
Vitality: 16(20)
Strength: 16(20)
Stamina: 17(21)
Intelligence: 22(27)
Agility: 18(22)
Spirit: 36(45)
Available Stats Points: 5
Available Skill Points: 2
Karma Points: 0
[Skills]
[Quests(Locked)]
[Map(Locked)]
[Party(Locked)]
[Shop(Locked)]
]
Everything looked the same as yesterday, except my Strength, Stamina, and Physical resistance. They had considerably improved.
I still had 5 undistributed Stats points and 2 Skill points.
I had a basic idea of what I was able to do with my Stats, but Skill points? They were still a mystery to me.
I did notice that 1/5 in my skill menu and I could make some guesses, but it'd be better to get a clear idea directly from the system.
'Hey, tell me about skill points and that 1/5'
[In this world, there are five stages to mastering one's skills. Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, Mastery, and Perfection hence the 1/5. In order to advance from Beginner to Intermediate, you need 1 skill point, Intermediate to Advanced 2, Advanced to Mastery 3, and from Mastery to Perfection, you need 5 Skill points, not 4. There is a big gap between Mastery and Perfection. Or you can simply practice!]
I needed to understand everything possible about my abilities and how to get stronger, that was the only way to make good, sensible decisions.
It was like being lost in a jungle, if you had no idea which way to go you could only gamble and pray that you'd be able to find your way out. However, if you had a map or just some basic idea of your position, then it becomes an entirely different story.
That was exactly my main priority now, to increase the range of my map. In other words, learn as much as possible.
I moved a bit to an empty side and sat down.
The Mama bird was nowhere to be found and the baby chicks were fooling around in the back.
I closed my eyes and started thinking.
I needed to understand how to gather mana to refine my body and how to practice to increase my skills and proficiency.
*Hiss*
Just as I was thinking about asking the system, I heard a hissing sound.
My blood ran cold.
This was definitely a predator coming to eat the babies after their mom left.
I opened my eyes, turned around and I saw a big brownish snake on a nearby branch looking at me directly with a vicious glint in its dark cold eyes.
It closely resembled a python, with an almost arrow-shaped head.
My heart started beating wildly.
*Thump thump*
My sense of hearing seemed to stop, I could see the snake flicking its tongue, yet I could not hear it!
If it was yesterday, I might have started thinking about how worthless I am for always being scared instead of just seeing it as a matter of course.
Even now those thoughts were still there, but I did not indulge them any longer.
There was only one thing on my mind.
[WindBlade], My only attack skill.
However, I had no idea how to activate it.
But, I could try.
'WindBlade'
Nothing.
'Activate Wind Blade Skill'
Nothing.
It might have seemed like I had the time to ask the system, but no.
All of these thoughts happened in no more than a second, and I could see the snake subtly moving and preparing to lunge at me.
Its upper body was very loose, whereas its lower body was coiled on a thick branch.
I then thought of my basic idea of magic! Creating something out of nothing.
As I started sensing the world around me, I could feel something!
There was nothing there but mere empty imaginations, but real tangible things.
The Wind!
I started visualizing a vertical blade made of wind, and the moment I did that I started feeling like I could control the wind elements. It was no longer just a thought in my head.
The wind elements in the air started dancing, forming a transparent giant vertical 1-meter blade of wind.
The moment it was formed, it rushed on its own, directly towards the body of the snake.
Of course, it was not following, in its creation, I could somewhat control its trajectory based on where it was facing.
It darted off in a straight line at a tremendous speed.
It was caught off guard, it didn't expect to be attacked at all. It tried to move its body but it was too slow and coiled around the branch.
The blade of wind hit the snake's body leaving a nasty gash on it.
Oh no!
This was not enough to kill it at all, the snake was shocked and hurriedly jumped with its upper body towards me.
With my newfound knowledge, I formed three more blades pointing in the same direction and let go of their control.
*Whoosh* *Whoosh* *Whoosh*
The wind blades moved in a straight line with unimaginable speed.
The snake moved so I couldn't damage the previous wound, but these were 3 wind blades.
They could deal up to 98 in damage each, even if they hit a new spot it'd be a goner.
Thanks to the fact that the 3 wind blades were formed almost at the same time, all of them hit the exact same place.
The first one left a serious injury by removing its scales, the second dug even deeper into its flesh blood splashing all around the branches, and finally, the last one managed to completely cut its body in half.
*Thud*
The snake's upper body crashed into the tree, whereas the lower part didn't fall because it was coiling around the branches.
*Thump thump*
My heart was still beating loudly in my chest, all of this happened in no less than 5 seconds from the moment I heard the hissing sound.
[You have killed a Body Refinement(Mid) Monster |Experience Points +2000|]
[First Body Refinement Monster killed Bonus |Experience Points +1000|]
[Congratulations host for leveling up from 2 to 5. +15 Stats Points, +6 Skill Points.]
Gosh, that was too close.
That was how it felt like at least, I started to calm down a bit.
When I saw how much blood was pouring out from the snake, I had a terrible feeling.
This blood could potentially attract other monsters here!
This was another huge disaster.
I hurriedly checked my Status Window.
[~Status Window~
Host: Zed - Umbra Storm Eagle(Fledgling).
Titles: {Blazing Heart}
Level: 5
Experience Points(Exp): 350/2000
Rank: Body Refinement(Low)
Health Points(HP): 90/90
Magic Power(MP/Mana): 52/132
Spiritual Power(SP): 190/190
Magical Resistance: 11(5)
Physical Resistance: 9(4)
Spiritual Resistance: 19(9)
Vitality: 16(20)
Strength: 16(20)
Stamina: 17(21)
Intelligence: 22(27)
Agility: 18(22)
Spirit: 36(45)
Available Stats Points: 20
Available Skill Points: 8
Karma Points: 0
[Skills]
[Quests(Locked)]
[Map(Locked)]
[Party(Locked)]
[Shop(Locked)]
]
I reached level 5, with 20 undistributed Stats points and 8 Skill points.
I needed to prepare in case other monsters came.
Wait, should I really stay here?
I could not fly yet, so my agility was very limited at that point.
Ugh, Fuck it!
I will do my best if I felt like we're doomed. I'll jump off the nest directly, I can hold on to the barks with my claws to avoid hitting the ground.
First, I got off the nest and followed a couple of branches to climb upwards toward the snake, then I started eating it.
Yesterday, I noticed that I could absorb bodies very fast.
It cou;d also help with my mana regeneration. I could regenerate around 1 mana almost every 10 seconds and currently, I had 55/132 which meant I needed 77 mana, so around 12 minutes give or take.
If we add the mana inside the monster I ate, it'll be around 8 minutes or so.
I ate the upper part that had the head, it was the bigger, and I carried the other half to the siblings.
They started eating happily, not knowing that there was a very big chance of them dying today.
Sigh... I will do my best to help you. The rest is up to fate I guess.
Oh fuckkk!! Oh no noo no...
When I thought of death, I realized something!
The snake might have had a venomous gland inside its head and I fucking ate it.
I was too anxious that I hadn't properly considered all the variables of me eating that body, I just thought I needed to remove this big calamity from here and ate it without even thinking.