Apex Predator (3)

Maybe it was because it looked like he was walking in circles, or perhaps it was due to the tension. Still, eventually, Kane felt quite exhausted from moving around. He didn't know why, but at some point, he stopped finding bats… most likely, it was due to the time of the day. It was morning, and he didn't even notice.

"I guess it isn't weird that they might be sleeping at such a time… Unlike me, they are real monsters. They obey their instincts in order to survive, after all."

Instead of sleeping, maybe it was the perfect time to hunt them, but the chance of Kane ambushing them was relatively low, considering that bats had good ears. Besides, Kane himself had to sleep. Just eating wasn't enough to let his body recover from the fights and all the walking.

In the end, Kane only managed to sleep for a couple of hours since he didn't find a good place to hide and couldn't risk spending his energy digging another hole. As expected, after a few more hours, the bats began to fly around as well, and he used that time to get moving. Unfortunately, just when he was about to hunt his breakfast, he heard a familiar sound…

"Not again… That monster doesn't have anything better to do?"

Eventually, Kane confirmed his worries. That the big-ass spider was back and still was searching for him. At first, he thought that it could be just another spider that had evolved. Still, Kane confirmed that wasn't the case when the same spider totally ignored two bats passing by her, and the monster still ran toward Kane. The creature was enraged... it couldn't be helped, given that Kane attacked her more than a few times with Water Ball.

"Another harsh lesson in this damn world... Never attack something for so long. If you do, do it with your best weapons."

Just to be sure that he would really escape from the spider, Kane ran, and when he found intersections, he chose the path of the right and then the middle path. Although that somewhat decreased the chances of him walking in circles, he had no idea what was the way back to his starting point.

"Oh, well… as long as I find food and escape from that spider, I don't mind being here for a few days or weeks. It is better than returning to that damn orchard and facing those little devils."

Things could be different if Kane buys a new skill, but the list of skills doesn't change. Headbutt seemed like a pretty hand skill, but Kane didn't want to risk using his head as a weapon. Sand Screen also seemed pretty useful, but for someone inexperienced in concealing himself, that skill might as well become a weapon for the enemy.

All the other skills were magic ones, and those wouldn't be useful unless Kane increased his magic. Considering the basic status of a Bloody Ant, that didn't seem to be a good idea.

"At moments like these, a weapon or a tool could help a lot, but my arms are only useful to cut things, not to hold them. Good luck, Kane finding some useful material in this dungeon."

Maybe Kane could carve something useful using the walls, but the durability would be questionable. Besides, everything that he might carve in that dungeon was bound to be heavy. The last thing he needed was something to decrease his speed. The bones of the monsters might be useful, but Kane didn't want to look for other ants, and the bats had weak bones.

"Not a lot of time has passed since I'm running for that spider, but I'm kind of tired of it… This isn't a competition, but I can't leave the title of the king of this area for a dumb monster. A direct confrontation is out of the question… Water Ball won't help me that much either. Maybe Fireball might help a little, but again, it seems like a waste of time learning spells with this status."

What Kane really needed was a stealth skill, something that would decrease the sound of his steps. Making him disguise into the ambient was probably impossible, but the first option wasn't… Regardless, Kane couldn't buy that, so he had two choices. Practice that himself, or just face the spider using hit-and-run tactics.

In both cases, to survive, Kane would have to increase his speed, but at that point in time, it seemed the rational thing to do. By doing so, he would be able to hunt and avoid the bats' attacks with more ease, and if something happened, he could outspeed the spider.

"That thing probably doesn't have ranged attacks, but if it has… I can escape if I level up again and allocate the status points into speed again."

Kane was yet to understand how much his status was changing, but his instincts were telling him that much was enough. Regardless, he had to level up again before trying to get rid of the evolved spider. So, Kane began his search for the next group of bats.

(Congratulations! You killed an enemy. You received two reincarnation points.") (x5)

(Congratulations! You ate an enemy. You received two reincarnation points.") (x5)

In the end, Kane managed to find a few five bats in five hours and level up… he was supposed to need to fight the double of that to level up. Still, since he attacked them without using Steel Claws, he obtained a little more experience by fighting them like that. However, once he leveled up, Kane noticed a difference.

Health: 15/15 Regen: 1.0 per hour

Mana: 15/15 Regen: 1.0 per minute

Stamina: 33/33 Regen: 1.0 per minute

Bloody Ant Lv 04 (05/400)

Strength: 08

Speed: 20

Magic: 02

Dexterity: 09

Constitution: 09

Control: 05

Hunger: 100/ 100 Thirst: 100/100

Reincarnation Points: 75

Instead of ten points of experience per attack, Kane was receiving five now. Probably because the bats were weaker in comparison to him. He also did some tests and confirmed that unless he causes a certain amount of damage, he won't obtain experience.

"Well, I guess it is better than don't obtain experience at all… Let's see... if I manage to level two or three more times, the amount of experience will decrease again."

If he could, Kane would sigh. It looked like the system itself was telling to move his ass and hunt those spiders. Although that was on the list of things he wanted to do, Kane wanted to do that with relative ease, not when his life was on the line.