Armed as I was with my new tools and weapons I set out for the harrowing part of any first time survival game player; hunting. Harrowing because in those games you're usually a few steps from starvation when you finally give in and attempt it knowing that if you fail you could lose valuable materials, progress, or in some games a permanent game over for the character. In those games I always picked female characters despite my gender in the first life, guess I get to keep that trend here too!

Only this time it's not a game, there are no saves, no respawn points for me, I've got to hunt or forage and trying to do both will take too much attention leaving me open to becoming the prey instead. Given the nature of the, well, nature around so far it's unlikely to find much in the way of fruits and vegetables that I can eat, so hunting has the higher chance of succeeding, so off I went on a hunt.

Okay, I know I said I didn't want war skills but this is ridiculous, I spotted several different smaller creatures and each and every time I tried to bag one my aim was off, my stance broke a twig, or I managed to drop the arrow! Deciding to take a break I use my stone knives to help climb a tree nearby, resting on one of the stronger branches I go over the archery forms I was forced to practice as a kid in my old life only to be interrupted by a twig breaking below. I look down and see what looks like a cross between a deer and a goat, looks more like a deer in size but goat horns, looks like I wasn't completely unlucky.

Deciding my accuracy with the bow... left much to be desired for the moment, I opt for my stone dagger, readying myself slowly and letting myself fall towards the goat-deer dagger first and with my full body behind it the creature falls instantly. Normally someone might feel a sickening feel for taking something's life for the first time, but it wasn't my first, I had hunted in the past and knew guilt was not the way to show respect. Intending to be sure nothing went to waste I hung it by the hind legs from the tree I was in and made as clean a cut as I could in the neck.

"Guess I should camp here then."

It took quite a bit of time for it to drain so I could properly dismantle it, which was a bit of a plus for me to actually set up and get a camp started, and suffice to say that goat-deer was filling if a bit unflavored, which makes sense with no salt or seasoning. During all of this I discovered that while my ability did in fact let me process the hide into usable leather, it would not let me replicate it like with the non-living materials, at least for now. I say for now because just like how my ability learns to create new materials it feels like it can also change and become greater, maybe another thing to strive for I guess.

Once the meat was all either cooked and eaten or cooked and stored, I made use of the bones as best I could, making some make-shift armor pieces to put over my clothes with some, making smaller less important but helpful tools and commodities with others, including this diamond shaped pendant with its leather making a cord for it. The rest of the leather was used up making a pack to carry everything and for the soles of some shoes, and with that I was content with seeing the creature having been fully utilized, and give a silent thanks for its helpfulness before breaking down the fire and heading to bed safe in the knowledge that I can survive.