4 Chapter 4: Four Years Later
In the middle of the South Blue, on a rather large island, which was separated into two sections, the south side was filled with vegetation and inhabited by powerful beasts. In contrast, the other half, or the north side, consisted of numerous man-man constructs populated with numerous people. Ignoring the northside, in the bottom half of the island, far down south, there was our MC, Diddy D. Kong, nimbly running through the dense forest as a singular but large wolf quickly chased him with a hungry gaze.
Looking closer, you'd realize that even though a giant wolf was currently chasing him, there wasn't an ounce of fear plastered on his face, nor did there seem to be worry; instead, he was smiling while his heart pumped blood, imbued with excitement, throughout his body.
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While nimbly running through the forest, I didn't even need to look behind me to know the wolf was still chasing me; I could hear his heavy breathing, not to mention the loud noise his large body made while running through this densely packed forest.
"Hahaha, catch me if you can, you old mutt!" Roared Diddy in a child-like voice while laughing, his tone laced with excitement as he glanced behind him, only to see an angry wolf.
Curious about how I got stuck in this situation? Well, allow me to give a flashback to just an hour ago.
'Hopefully, by the time I'm done with this flashback, I'll have arrived in a more open space.' Thought Diddy with a slight smile as he slid underneath an oblivious deer that happened to get sliced in two by the wolf's sharp claws behind him.
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While doing some light exercise on the beach, which I happened to make quite cozy after spending roughly four years here, I contemplated what I would eat for tonight's meal.
'Should I get deer? No, ever since I've grown to the point where I could actually hunt, that's the only source of meat I've consumed besides rabbit. Lizard? Nope, the only lizards I know of are poisonous, and I don't wish to get poisoned; again. How about wolf meat? Now that sounds tempting; however, the only wolves I've encountered are quite large, not to mention the pack leader, who seems significantly larger than every other wolf.' Thought Diddy with a thoughtful expression covered in sweat from squatting a boulder the size of a truck.
"997, 998, 999; ugh, 1,000! Haa, that was heavy and difficult, just the way I like it." Remarked Diddy while slightly out of breath as he dropped the immense boulder on the sand behind him, causing the surrounding area to tremble intensely.
Walking over to my tiny home that was set up beside a rock formation, I approached a storage box in the back, made out of various sticks woven together with plant fiber, and grabbed a coconut from inside. Using my razor-sharp nails, I sliced a small hole in the coconut before drinking the contents, which tasted like sugared water, weird but good.
"Ahh, that was tasty; but I need to restock my stash of coconuts and start drinking water that I boil myself. With how fast I drink water, I'll consume more coconuts than what the trees can produce." Said Diddy with a slight smile, his exhaustion already noticeably disappearing.
Although I told myself that, I knew I wasn't going to do that, at least not any time soon; the coconut water just tasted way better than normal water and was probably more nutritious. I mean, there was sugar in it.
Approaching my hammock, which was placed between two protruding rocks, I lay in it until my exhaustion entirely dissipated before I decided to go and hunt; I've gotten much stronger since when I first arrived here four years ago as a mere newborn, but that forest is still very deadly. I've managed to map the forest somewhat and concluded that there are three different areas; at least, that's what I've discovered so far.
The first area is where all the prey or more docile beasts live; that is what I call the outer area; in the outer area, you'll hardly find any dangerous beasts. The second area, what I call the inner area, which I haven't fully explored yet, is where you'll start coming across dangerous beasts, such as Wolves, Lions, Tigers, Bears, Snakes, and Gorillas, as well as several other creatures I've never seen before. That area is quite dangerous; however, with my incredibly acute senses, agility, and perception, I can usually avoid direct confrontations as long as I don't do anything foolish.
Not to mention, with my current strength, the only animals I'm afraid of are ones that roam in packs, such as Wolves, Hyenas, and female Lions or Lionesses; other animals, while individually more powerful, aren't nearly as much of a threat to me. In fact, a few weeks ago, I was forced to battle an older Lion. He was somewhat stronger than me and far more experienced in the art of battle, yet it wasn't to the point where I couldn't hold my own; besides, one thing I've discovered during my time in the forest, Is that I seem to have a very high degree of battle awareness as I could feel myself steadily improving in the middle of the fight. In the end, other than both sides being injured, with me being more injured, neither of us could be claimed as the victor.
'Yet while I desired to continue the battle, that coward of a Lion ran off after realizing I wasn't as weak as I looked. If I ever see him again, I won't allow him to escape!' Thought Diddy with an annoyed frown while resting in the hammock.
While the first two areas of the forest aren't too dangerous, the third area, which I call the center area, is many times more terrifying; I had only explored that place once a few months back, and I hadn't even gone that deep, but just being in that area gave me the chills, not to mention I was practically able to sense my instincts warning me to head back. Thankfully, nothing happened, and ever since then, I haven't dared step foot near the center area; I may be someone engrossed with the concept of strength and growing stronger, but I'm not stupid enough to challenge something way above my league.
'If I had felt those beasts were only slightly out of my league, I would've headed back into that area, but alas, that wasn't the case.' Thought Diddy as he released a yawn and looked up at the dimming sky.
"It's getting decently late in the day; I should search for dinner; hopefully, If I'm lucky, I can stumble across a lone wolf." Muttered Diddy as he hopped out of the hammock and did a few stretches before darting into the forest and breakneck speeds.
While running through the forest, I happened to pass by numerous beasts, who seemed to notice my presence, but with my speed, I was already gone by the time they looked in my direction. Passing by a tree, I saw one of my claw marks, so using my impressive agility, I made a sharp right without hardly losing any speed and continued to traverse through the forest while putting even most animals from my old world to shame at my speed.
Noticing the lack of vegetation, I began slowing down to a near halt, stopping myself right before a large waterhole, a place nearly every beast inhabiting the outer area visits at least once a day. Looking around, I notice numerous animals drinking from the lake, and other than a few beasts glancing at me, my arrival doesn't cause a commotion.
This waterhole is the only relatively safe place in the whole forest, which is quite surprising since this waterhole overlaps with the inner and outer areas, meaning both prey and predator visit this place when thirsty. In fact, in the distance, I can even see various dangerous animals peacefully drinking from the waterhole.
'Truly a rare and beautiful sight, though I wonder how it would look if I broke this so-called peace?' Pondered Diddy with an unhinged smirk before shaking his head.
'Nope, can't do that right now; unless I have some level of confidence of defeating all these animals in combat, let's not attempt something suicidal. But it would indeed definitely be fun.' Thought Diddy as he reached down and began drinking some water, unable to rid his chaotic desire entirely.
While drinking from the lake, I took this moment to look at my reflection; which I still find very hard to adapt to, as I'm used to seeing a human's face, but honestly, this human-monkey hybrid species is far better than being a human. I'm only four years old, but I can fight toe-to-toe with a Tiger the size of a Rhino. A FUCKING RHINO. And for reference, it's not just Tigers that are massively larger than what I remember; that goes for every other animal as well.
Deer are the size of a Moose; wolves are similar to Tigers, while the pack leader will be even larger than that; Bears are freaking walking tanks, while snakes are identical to their now-extinct counterpart, Titanoboas.
Anyways, back to me, I seem to be a combination of Human and Monkey; I'm bipedal, thankfully, but my body is mainly covered in golden brown fur, which actually looks pretty cool as it compliments my fiery golden eyes. The few things that aren't human about me are my nails which are practically mini claws, and my pointed ears, and while I am bipedal, my feet look more like hands than feet.
'Although they were quite uncomfortable getting used to at first, I love them far more than normal human feet; they are superior in every possible way. They operate just like a human foot would, yet they give me much more stability and allow me to use them like hands.' Thought Diddy while looking at his feet with heart-shaped eyes.
Splashing myself with water, I stood up and left the lake, heading deeper into the forest, entering the inner area as I searched for a possible wolf to hunt.
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Elven Legacy (Chapter 122: Pathetic Attempt) || Hero of Harmony (Chapter 6: Sensing Mana) || One Piece: Chaos Kong (Chapter 6: Chill Time) at [patreon.com/Ozonelayer691]
