11 Outside

Stepping out of the portal, Jay appeared within a dark forest. It was currently night and the sounds of wind blowing on the trees could be heard.

Jay looked around as he did not know what to do next. He had expected the portal to return him to the capital, but that was obviously not the case.

He had practiced over and over what he would say or do after leaving the portal. Finding some clothes and food, he would hide among the very guild he planned to get revenge on.

However, he had no idea where he was or how to return to the capital. After picking a direction, he walked straight until he discovered a path. Following the path, he knew he would eventually reach somewhere.

All around were little animals with an appearance similar to the ones from his world. The only changes were the difference in color, their size, extra features and of course the glowing red eyes.

About a dozen minutes had passed.

Jay could hear movement within a nearby bush. He had no weapon to defend himself with after leaving the boar tusk in the dungeon.

He grabbed a stick off of a nearby tree and readied himself to attack.

Neither of his skills would be useful in taking down an opponent right now. Panic began to set in as whatever was hidden in the bush was about to reveal itself. Red eyes glowed from within.

His heart raced and his body began to tremble.

Out of the bush came a pink bunny. Sharp teeth could be seen inside of it's mouth as it let out an almost sinister smile.

With no hesitation, he stabbed the bunny creature in it's left eye. As the bunny fell over, it writhed in pain with the stick still stuck in it's eye socket.

"All the other small beast ran away at the sight of me but this bunny chose to approach me".

"Analyze."

[Name: Little Lepus]

[Weakness: Fragile]

[Strength: 5]

[Stamina: 5]

[Agility: 5]

[Health: 10]

Looking at the info on the screen, Jay felt no regret attacking the beast regardless of it being weaker than him.

The stats were only half of his original, therefore his plunder skill would not give him an additional stat point because the target was weaker than he was.

The beast eventually bled out.

With another stick in his hand, Jay continued his journey down the only path in sight. Winged creatures flew through the dark nighttime skies.

"System, will I gain the ability to fly if I use plunder on a beast that can fly?"

"Similar to the Talpa's camouflage, flying is apart of most creature's natural abilities. Some creatures have a flight skill which can be extracted." replied The System.

"So that rules out the bird like creatures since they fly with their wings." he whispered to himself.

As the rows of trees came to an end, a large city could now be seen.

Similar to the capital, this city was surrounded by large stone walls. On his previous journey to the capital, Jay was a prisoner at the back of a covered wagon.

He was unable to see much of his surroundings but overheard guards ask the escort for ID before saying they could "past through the walls."

It was possible that this was the capital. Jay knew not of the capital's size nor appearance from the outside or the inside to be honest.

He was only able to observe the one area where he entered the guild hall. He was only seen by those at the guild hall that day and was sure he could enter the capital.

Still unsure if he was even at the capital, Jay headed towards the city. Guards stood at the entrance of the wall and without question allowed him to enter.

"Don't I need and ID?" he thought but chose not to question it. The guards stared in his direction until he was out of sight.

Venturing through the city, Jay observed many areas in hope to find info on what city he was in. Stores, homes, parks, and eventually an arena?

Observing the arena, he noticed men in brown tunics with shackles around their arms and legs carrying boxes.

Were they slaves? Surely actual workers wouldn't wear such clothes nor wear shackles.

Walking among the shadows, he finally got close enough to communicate with one of the slaves.

After startling the shackled old man, Jay asked many questions and received many answers but was interrupted by the voice of a guard summoning the slave.

"So I'm in Arenam city which is the closest city to the capital. This city is popular for it's arena battles between beast and adventurers. Sometimes beast battle each other."

Slipping deeper into the shadows, he found a dark alleyway. Using a few boxes, he made an uncomfortable sleeping space.

"Wake Up, Wake Up, Wake Up." The system rang in his head.

Jay woke to the calls of The System which he asked to wake him at a certain time. After not sleeping for most of his time in the dungeon, he had a long rest and woke around evening.

Loud sounds of kids laughing, people talking, and even beast walking around could be heard all around him.

The dark alleyway was no longer as dark as it was last night. From his position, Jay could see crowds of people walking by. Beast drawn carriages strolled through the street as well.

Feeling refreshed,he walked behind the shops rather than in the streets. His other worldly clothes stood out a bit.

Grabbing a dark robe from a stand outside of a store, he quickly put it on. He hid his face with the large hood of the robe as he walked towards the arena.

The slave from yesterday provided info that would be very useful in gaining more skills.

The arena had a show today in which many beasts would be apart of. Lines of citizens stood patiently waiting to enter the arena.

"Hiding in plain sight" Jay said with a grin on his face as he slid onto the back of the line. The slave also informed him that tickets were not needed for a majority of the shows and therefore he could get in freely.

About half an hour passed by before he was able to enter the arena. Finding a seat in the back, Jay was ready for his plan of action.

"Operation Skill Collector is a go...no that's a terrible plan name."