Chapter 34 - Exploration

"Scouting the area? Who am I kidding? Isn't that what I have been doing since the beginning?!"

[You seem discouraged… Let me help you with that. I mean not being attacked from the get-go should be a good thing… Don't feel down, just continue on your journey! Eventually, you'll find your way to the outside, right?]

Seeing Eve her message eased me up a bit, soon after a quest window popped up.

[Explore the area around you;

Finding out what kind of ecosystem you are in is crucial to one's survival.

Observing those living within, animals and plants alike will help you evaluate the situation you are in.

- Encounter new types of life. (0/3)

- Find something edible. (Anything at all)

- Find a safe space to live in. (shelter from the elements)

Reward;

+5 attribute points

+10 Skill points]

The quest Eve had issued in front of me stating the obvious, yet it helped to clear my mind.

Grateful for this opportunity I went on my way with newfound motivation.

"Thinking of which, being in a new environment could allow for certain skills to shine more than others, right? In a way, this is where my <Camouflage> and <stealth> could shine even more!"

Having said out loud what I was planning to do, I did not realize others might have been able to hear me. As nothing but a shirl growling and hissing noises could be heard coming from my mouth.

I had to be prepared, carefully I looked around, to make sure no one had picked up on my inconsideration of nature. I intensified my vision by straining down my eyes a bit. The sight of it must have been hilarious. Imagining what others must have thought seeing someone straining their eyes in the bright daylight on purpose. Allowing for a soft hiss to escape my mouth in reaction to thinking that I might have been funny.

At that point in time, my stomach began to growl, signaling the first approach toward the quest. I was hungry!

"I better find something to eat in this vast forest first. Maybe even kill two birds with one stone?! I mean… The wildlife could be edible too, right? Even more so that those hideously poisonous creatures within the caves?"

I went on my way as it almost felt like the entrance to the cave, which I had come from and which was now closed of might have been located within the heart of this so-called forest.

"Oh well… No sense in worrying too much… That would only exhaust me unwillingly."

I went on my way towards the unknown, the forest. I didn't notice this earlier but, it seemed like the trees had been growing closely together, allowing for little light to venture through the leaves, and for some reason where once the passage to the cave had been, there the open air could be seen?

At least… I imagined that was how the open-air would have looked like, right?

But instead, what met my eyes were brightly glowing crystals on top of the ceiling.

It was now clear that I was indeed still within the dungeon I had been born in…

"How can nature be so cruel?! All I want is to venture outside of this dungeon…

Adventuring on my own… Mooaaahhh!!!"

[Why the frustration? Isn't life giving you new experiences all the time?]

"Yes… But, it's just that I want to feel the actual sun o my skin… Not some kind of fabrication of the dungeon you see? It's just unfair… I have endured so much, yet have not gotten anywhere close to my goals yet…"

[Ain't that just life for you? I mean… Life always has been unfair in a way, but truthfully.

Yet, balance is also a thing in life, which in a way would suggest certain fairness to it all.]

"Balance? Like "The system" you mean?"

[Yes! Every living being is part of this so-called "system". Allowing each of them to eventually evolve past their limits if nature allows for their survival.]

"Hmm… I honestly don't know how to feel about it… But I can't give up now, can I?

Come on, let us get a move on. It's time to enter this death trap of a forest. I'm certain we aren't alone in here, finding those new species in here shouldn't be too difficult."

And just as if it was staged to happen, the wind started blowing through the trees.

"Finally a fresh breeze, this area is different than those I have been in so far…"

I held my head up high as the breeze blew past me, hearing the rustling of the leaves and feeling the grass underneath my feet had a reassuring effect on me… Although I was nowhere near my goal of leaving the dungeon, for now, I was able to feel the green nature around me. That in a way was reassuring to me.

I pushed my claws into the ground finding that the ground wasn't dry like before, instead,

it was moist, in a way gooey even. Continuing my journey deeper into the forest I stumbled on something much needed aside from food.

The close growth of fauna around the area had become greener than before,

In my days as a student I had learned that when this happened within a tightly grown area, water needed to be close. Getting my hopes up I yelled in anticipation of what I truly needed the most.

"Water!"

Running straight through the bushes I hoped to encounter this precious liquid,

almost past the bushes I could see that there was a small stream in front of me, but what I had not taken into account was the fact that other animals would be using this spot to replenish their thirst. I rustled through the bushes almost instantly dashing towards the water. When a loud cracking noise close by stopped me dead in my tracks.

Thankfully I had not revealed myself to whatever it might have been that sounded so close by. Without moving a muscle in my body I had locked on to the stream in front of me, hoping for whatever it might have been that made the sound.

A rustling could be heard at the other side of the stream. I looked in anticipation afraid of my own life. The bush on the other side kept rustling without a care in the world.

Only to reveal something far less scary than I had anticipated.

The creature revealing itself looked like a wombat.

Although a bit more fluffy than I remembered them to be.

Glad it wasn't something insane like the dragon I had encountered I let out a small sigh of relief without thinking about my surroundings.

What then jumped out from behind me and thankfully missed me in its tracks…

But there it was… Something just as terrifying or maybe even worse than the dragons I had encountered so far…

Yes… What I saw could be encountered within jungles more than once…

But here I was… Hoping that I wouldn't encounter it this soon…

What I was staring at that moment captivated me as it swallowed the cute wombat whole within moments…