Chapter 5

"What if I go punching things to death?" Vivian mused to herself.

I mean, based on what I've seen in movies, shows and books, a warrior always needs a backup weapon, right...?

Magic is out of the question because of my limited mana...

"Yeah, punching is definitely the best choice..."

She stared down at the corpses of the tiny jumping mushrooms scattered around her.

"But can I kill them with my fists though?"

She thought about her stats.

I have STR 11 (+4), VIT 9 (+1), AGI 12 (+4) and INT 8 (+1)…

I don't know how strong the people in this world are... 

But if I were to make an educated guess base it on my own stats, I'm 1.5 now stronger compared to the start... 

And I guess I'm also as strong or stronger than my original body...? 

She then turned to a tree.

Assuming that to level up my skills all I need to use them on monsters, animals or living beings, a tree is still a living being, right...?

She thought about it for a minute before shaking her head.

"Like hell I can punch a tree to death!" 

"The bones on my knuckles will break before I can even make any damage!"

She looked for something smaller and her gaze landed on a small plant.

Bam!

She drove a punch to the ground, flattening the plant.

"I feel stupid…"

"I mean, does this count as killing the plant? I'm merely flattening it. If I really want to kill it, I should pull it out and let it dry."

"But wouldn't that just make me a gardener or farmer?"

She shook her head.

"I still have to try. Better to try than sorry. Who knows, I might discover something."

Vivian then went around punching small plants.

Bam!

Bam!

Bam!

***

15 minutes later…

Vivian was drenched in sweat. And not only did her lower back ache from bending down, but her knuckles also hurt from punching plants.

"I give up!"

"Even after punching down more than 30 plants, nothing happened!"

"I definitely give up!"

She sat down on a large stone.

"I'm tired, I'm thirsty, I'm hungry and I'm so hot!"

She opened her satchel and took out the water pouch.

Gulp.

Gulp.

After taking a few sips, she put down the water pouch and looked at her leather armor.

"Do I really need this?"

She then recalled those tiny jumping mushrooms.

Tch!

She clicked her tongue.

She grabbed her satchel and searched for other things.

Is this... food...?

She was holding a square-shaped thing wrapped with a piece of cloth and tied with a knot.

She untied the knot and then unwrapped the cloth before she finally saw what was underneath.

Her brows knitted together.

It looks like some kind of a dried oats... 

Or at least something similar to it...

She pressed it near her nose.

Sniff.

Sniff.

"Definitely smells like bread and oats though."

She took a small bite.

As soon as she started chewing, she immediately spat it out.

Spit!

"What the fuck was that?!" 

It tasted like a rotten or expired bread and it was hard.

She quickly grabbed the water pouch and drank a few sips to remove the taste from her mouth.

After finding out that the thing was inedible, she decided to continue rummaging through her satchel.

Her eyes landed on what looked like a coin pouch.

She picked it up, opened it and laid out the contents on her palm.

There were what looked like 7 copper coins and 3 silver coins.

"I don't know how much this is worth, but judging from the clothes and things of the original owner of this body, it looks like she's poor."

Vivian suddenly had a familiar feeling between her thighs.

She got up, stood near a bush and began unzipping her pants.

There was no zipper but buttons, so she began unbuttoning them.

Once she was done unbuttoning them, a wave of panic suddenly hit her.

Apparently, there was nothing to pull out so her hands started searching. But after remembering her new body's gender, she sighed in relief.

However, a dark expression still flashed across her face.

She slowly slid her pants and underwear down and squatted down.

A few seconds later, the sound of running water could be heard.

Vivian's face still held a dark expression.

"I feel like I lost something very important…" she said grimly.

The sound of running water stopped.

"What's this feeling? Why do I still feel wet and it's running down…?"

While still in a squatting position, she tried to shake her hips.

"I still feel wet..."

She looked around.

There was nothing but leaves.

She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and then opened her eyes.

A look of determination appeared in her eyes.

She stood up, and pulled her underwear and pants up and then buttoned them.

"I really feel like I lost something very important…"

"Also, what if I get those red --"

She couldn't bring herself to say it.

She packed her things and searched for enemies.

It was the only thing she could do in order to forget what just happened.

***

Vivian was hiding behind a tree and her head peaked out a little bit.

There were 2 sunflower monsters about 8ft away from her position.

They're too close…

She picked up a stone and threw it at a tree opposite to where she was hiding.

Tak!

The sunflowers turned to where the stone hit and Vivian immediately dashed forward with her dagger in hand.

Whoosh!

Whoosh!

She finished off each sunflower with one slash.

After confirming that they were dead, she continued walking around to search for more monsters.

***

Vivian was once again hiding. But this time around, it was behind the bushes.

Up ahead, there was something that looked like a log or a trunk of a tree about 4ft long and 1ft wide in the middle of a field. It had two branches as legs about 6 inches long and another two branches as arms but around 24 inches long. And for its face, Vivian couldn't see anything that resembled one. Because of that, she had no idea exactly where it was facing.

However, if there was one thing she was 80% sure of, it was that it didn't notice her. If it did, it would've charged toward her already and attacked.

At least that was her conclusion.

It's not moving so I don't know how fast it is…

But judging from its body and legs, I can assume it moves slowly…

However, for the arms…

It had two branches as arms around 24 inches long each. Although they weren't thick, only about 2-3 adult fingers thick, and didn't have any thorns or whatsoever, Vivian can only imagine that it can be a good whipping weapon.

She picked up a stone and threw it near the trunk monster.

There were no trees nearby so it landed on the ground.

Thud.

There was no reaction.

Is it sleeping…?

She threw another stone.

Thud.

Still no reaction.

Tch!

Vivian clicked her tongue.

Let's try this then...

She threw another stone again. But this time around, she aimed for the trunk monster instead.

Tak!

The trunk monster slowly turned towards where the stone came from or Vivian's direction.

Still hiding behind the bush, Vivian held her breath and braced herself. She tightened her grip around the handle of her dagger.

However, to her surprise, the trunk monster didn't approach her. In fact, it just stood there.

Vivian's eyes blinked a few times and she was trying to recall all of the information that she gained from this monster.

Okay, so I can assume it moves slowly... 

But I can't be 100% sure, because maybe it's still sleepy or something…

Also, given that it turned to my direction after hitting it with a stone, I can assume that that side is where the eyes are…

She stealthily moved to another location, looking for a way to get behind it so that she could do a surprise attack.

When she finally got behind it and still hiding behind a bush, she stopped.

Wait...! 

How do I kill this thing…?

She glanced at the dagger on her hand.

The body of the trunk monster was a log about 4ft long and 1ft wide. Even if she had an axe, it would still take a while before she could make a deep wound, let alone cut it in half.

Maybe its body is different from a tree…?

I mean, it has to have some organs inside so it must be hollow, right…?

She recalled the sunflower monster that she dissected.

But what if not…?

But still, it has to have some organs, tendons and etc. inside…

Yes, yes, definitely… 

Okay, assuming it has some of those inside, what if the skin or outer shell is thick…?

It would be nice if I could see the eyes, ears or mouth because that's where I would stab it just to be sure…

I need something stronger…

She then remembered her skill [Dagger Stab] and how it shredded those jumping tiny mushrooms.

She shook her head.

No, I can't bet everything with one blow…

Plus, wood and mushroom are two very different things…

That's like comparing a block of wood to a pillow…

She then remembered her other skill.

[Poison Strike].

However, her face fell after checking on her Status Panel because the skill itself costs 20 mana points and her max mana points was only 18.

All of sudden, her eyes turned to slits and her lips slowly curved up into an evil smile.

What if I maim it first…?

It doesn't seem to have any mouth to bite me…

With her dagger on hand, she put her satchel down because she wanted to be lighter and move freely without any distractions.

If it does, well, I'll just cross that bridge when that happens…