Chapter 12. Prey

Grim and Ash explored the cave and Ash noticed that it was similar to the first cave minus the goblins. There were what looked like the remnants of make-shift homes made by goblins. There was no trace of them however, only a similarly weird looking grave. There was no bone or anything in the pit like grave, Ash was suspicious of the place regardless.

He decided to fully heal up and get the hell out of there lest that monstrosity they first encountered come here next. There was something eerie about the cave that set him on edge. Grim conveyed that he wanted real food and a desire for battle. Ash seconded the thought before asking the bird to fully heal up and then the two would search for just that. He made a hand sign before bringing up his status window.

Name: Ash

Lvl: 1

Age: 11

Occupations: Tamer/ Apprentice hunter/Apprentice herbalist

Beasts: Grim

Attributes: Death/Blood

Status: Weakened( Decreases in all physical stats by -.2)

Str: 1.5 (1.3)

Sta: 1.2 (1.0)

Agi: 1.2 (1.0)

Vit: 1 (0.8)

Int: 3 (2.8)

Spi: 2.5 (2.3)

Innate skills: Nurture- Beasts grow stronger under your care.

Advanced Comprehension: Learn skills and techniques faster with a beast than by yourself.

Ash was surprised because all of his stats when compared to before increased and he actually awakened two innate skills. They weren't something op like some throughout history had but they were good none the less. He wondered if it had something to do with the bird's high spirit affinity.

Ash and grim slept off and on with one taking watch and the other sleeping. After taking inventory, Ash found himself and his partner to still be in a weakened state. He was hoping they could kill some nutritious beast in order to completely reach peak state. A boar sounded divine right about now. Grim although injured had been less so than he. He believed that if they worked as a team, they could easily improve their situation.

He refilled his water container at the puddle, afterwards he and Grim headed out. He walked a couple of minutes until seeing a hole that the two could barely fit through. He crawled out and found himself in an extremely well-hidden part of a forest. It seemed to be on higher ground with a lot of vegetation blocking the entrance, Ash took note of the change in brightness as he looked around. It was a beautiful day with a small sun hanging in the air, now the two were ready to take on their next challenge.

The space around them only led down or up. He knew little to nothing about the terrain of this realm, but they were probably at one of the edges of the forest due to it turning into a rockier terrain. Since he couldn't see a mountain then he assumed he was close to the valley. Ash decided to stick to the forest and when fully healed then they would explore other places.

As they went down and closer into the forest Ash noticed a deer in the distance. It was a Serrated Elk; this animal was robust and had serrated antlers. They were not easy prey, and they usually lived in a pack. He searched around and didn't notice another beast but just to be safe, he had grim fly up a little to check the branches and they found something dangerous. It was a double eyed panther, stalking the elk. They were beasts with weak ocular abilities. They weren't rare but they were a pain to deal with.

Ash thought about their chances of success fighting either one of these beasts but came to the conclusion that the risk was not worth it. He was going to go a different route when the panther leapt at the elk. The elk reacted on time and threw the cat to a nearby tree. The panther adjusted midair and jumped off the tree it was thrown into, it was slightly cut on it's side though.

Ash called Grim back to his shoulder and the two crouched down to wait. If they could fight it out, then he could take both on and kill them. The double eyed panther's meat and core could be given to Grim. They could help improve his vision a bit. On the other hand, that serrated elk's venison would nurture their bodies and heal their wounds. It would even speed up physical training.