Chapter – 3 - The First Human!

Two huge Hawk-like birds flew around the nest perched at the top of the tree. The shrill screech pierced through the air all around. They would take breaks, perching on random trees in the periphery of their nest.

But Rihanna knew that the two birds were actually trying to check if there were any dangers around the area. Every morning the two birds would fly around for a long while, checking for all hidden dangers around. Only once they were satisfied would they then fly off. The nest had five eggs, probably on the verge of hatching. The birds were busy gathering food for the arrival of the new members in their family. They would be away for half the day and return only when the first sun set.

Rihanna had been staking out this place for the past two days, so she had quite a good idea about their schedule. She waited patiently, hiding under a patch of dense undergrowth, a little way off, waiting for the birds to fly off.

More than a month had passed.

Her body had started showing considerable changes. Though her strength had not increased, but overall she had become more resilient. Agility, flexibility, endurance, stamina – all had shown marked improvement.

Moreover she had specifically spent time on creating weapons and other necessary tools for herself. A month ago she was a novice, a month later she could make spears and bows and arrows using the bamboo like plants in the forest and the creepers and vines turned to ropes. She could also weave anything from mats to roofs using the leaves and vines available everywhere.

Sometimes she felt she was living the life of a character in a Survival game – except death was real here.....and there were no revival elixirs!

'Ahhh....the birds are flying off!.....Okay just wait a bit more to make sure.....and then we'll start climbing up to the nest!'

Rihanna didn't let down her vigilance. These birds were a lot more stronger than the rabbit and snake she had seen in the beginning, but at her current condition she could still make an escape.

But other than these birds there were a lot of other weird creatures around -

Deer with spear-like antlers which could expand in size; Birds with metal claws which could cut through small trees; Bats with sonic attacks; Rats with poison claws and teeth.

She could now hunt and kill a couple of rabbits or birds after expending quite a bit of effort. However these low grade animals preferred moving in packs which made it more than difficult. Also, she was still a bit uncomfortable with the whole process of killing, skinning, chopping.....it made her nauseous......well, don't judge! She was no saint, and was a hardcore meat eater.....but the meat usually came in packets stored in the large freezers in supermarkets! That and this was the two ends of a whole world of difference!

So when she came across these eggs which were large enough for a meal, she definitely wasn't about to let go.

'Hmmm....the time is about right....let's get moving.'

Rihanna sighed as she alertly moved through the bushes towards the tree. Loneliness was a bitter enemy. Now she had started talking to herself. If this continued, she would probably turn crazy – like the guy in the film Castaway! Maybe start marking the fruits and vegetables she had gathered as other people and make conversations with them?!

She could feel the goose-bumps from her own weird thoughts.

'Aish!.....Focus!'

The tree was very broad at it's base, and equally tall. Thankfully the trunk had a number of rough notches all over, making it climbable. No.....it wasn't an easy climb! How could anything be easy for someone without a golden finger?!

So she pursed her lips, shoved the crude bow to her back, and started the painfully long climb up.

"Hssssss!....Hssshaaahh!..."

Rihanna jumped in shock, almost losing her grip on the thick branch. She had finally managed to reach the top branch. Lying down on her stomach, she gripped the branch with both hands and legs, and then started shoving herself forward. She didn't want to accept that looking down from such a height was making her slightly dizzy.

This was the moment when the ear piercing screeching-hissing sound broke her tranquility. She gripped the branch more tightly, then turned her head towards the sound. And then gulped in fear.

What the hell was this freak of nature?!...A mutated version of Anaconda?.....It was humongous....As big as a small hill and equally thick. Half it's body was coiled tightly around a large boulder, and other half rose threateningly in the air. As it's huge body swayed in the air, it opened it's jaws to reveal two very thin, very long and very sharp fangs. Saliva dripped down these long fangs and fell on the small rocks stretching out from the boulder. There was a faint sizzling sound, and the boulders melted into a greenish-black puddle of bubbling liquid.

Rihanna felt herself tremble, then tightened her grip around the branch. Thankfully the leaves of this tree were large and broad, and she was entirely hidden behind dense foliage. She didn't dare to think what might happen should this highly toxic snake turn it's attention towards her.

Because, yes, currently the snake's attention was nowhere near her area.

It was busy baring it's fangs at a man in dark clothes standing in the middle of an open area in the middle of the forest.

A man?!

Rihanna opened her eyes wide, her attention immediately shifting towards this man as she conveniently threw her earlier panic and the snake to the back of her mind. Anyway, the snake was not focused on her!

A man! A very real, very much alive human being.....in the middle of this godforsaken forest! Finally! This was the first human she had seen in over a month. This stupid body came with no pre-programmed memory.....well, there were some black and white blurred pictures, but they were too few and vague to make sense. Though she had thankfully retained some skill memories - like language, cooking, etc. Otherwise there were very large blank spaces in all info of the previous body owner!

She was living in the fear of becoming a social recluse – she couldn't find a way out of this forest, and these peculiar animals were not really the 'domesticated pet' type. She wanted to talk so badly.....there was so much to ask, so much to crib about, so much information required to fill the huge blanks in her mind regarding this weird new world. Only a human being was missing in the entire picture.

She stared at the man, almost ogling at him. Hmmmm....he actually looked to be quite young, maybe around 20. Tall....very fair.....good physique....well proportioned face....quite attractive.....was he an elf?! his ears sure looked a bit pointed! But what was the point of being so good looking in the middle of a forest? Would he be able to last past this huge snake's attack?.....Was he going to be the first and last human she ever met in this new life?!

Ye Luo felt a chill creeping up his back and unconsciously tried to sense where the hidden danger was. His spiritual sense locked onto the large tree at a distance and he glanced warily at the large branch at the top. Something was hiding behind the leaves.

'Heh! You want to act as the Oriole who benefits from the Mantis and Cicada's fight?....Let's see who has the last laugh!'

Ye Luo turned back his attention to the Blood Venom Snake before him. It was a level three Demonic Beast. Which was strange, since he was still in the First Layer of Poison Swamp, not a place where level three beasts cared to come. If he was not wrong, the faint dark aura he had sensed two days ago after entering the first layer was probably what had pulled in this snake to this area. No matter what, a Blood Venom snake was extremely territorial, and if it regarded something or someone as threatening, it would not let it go. Though it was not exactly difficult to deal with it, one needed to be alert, as it loved spewing toxic saliva at it's enemy. And it was.....highly, fatally toxic! It could burn through stones and metals, leave alone mere human flesh.

So he needed to focus on the now, whilst also keeping vigilant about the hidden danger.....He heaved a long drawn sigh. The life of a cultivator was so tiring!