“Finally,” Rhonda moaned, wriggling under her cover.

All Rhonda desired to do after the magic show fell asleep and stay asleep for who knew how long. She desperately desired unbroken rest that held her like death held a corpse. If she wanted to use a lighter analogy, she knew she would like to be carried and cradled by slumber’s caring arms. Given that she was a gluttonous girl, she would love to have a servant feed her little snacks while she was unconscious, a trick her character had accomplished in her former years.

It was a shame that the contents in her stomach were dwindling fast. She could feel slight prickles of her insatiable hunger poking her to return to the hunt. It felt as if her hunger wanted to ask her, “why stop now when you could perpetually feed the beast?”

Rhonda hated her hunger, and she hated how she felt tempted to resolve that prickling feeling. She especially hated how it was oppressing her slothful tendencies.

Rhonda refused her endless hunger. She had a campfire burning next to her, the kindle snapping and sending sparks up with tiny plumes of smoke. Her clothes were partially dry, which was pleasant enough. She was wrapped up in her mother’s pelt and had a large enough stone to serve as her pillow.

The night was peeling away, too. The heavy clouds gradually broke apart and revealed the stars and the… moons⁠—two from what she could see⁠—that twinkled down at her. It was a mesmerizing sight while she laid on her back and basked in her comfort.

Firelight, starlight, moonlight, food in her belly⁠—and then with a quick swig of her recently filled waterskin, which she rapidly emptied⁠—she had more water in her belly, too.

Nighty-night, queen, Londa said.

“You as well, my dear.”

Nothing could stop Rhonda from drifting off and staying adrift for two, no, three nights and two days! Sixty hours of nonstop…

Non… Z…

Zzz

Zzz

Z⁠—Crack⁠—z?

Zzz

Zz⁠—CRACK!

Zzz?

Rhonda! Rhonda! Something’s prowling in the woods! You have to wake up now!

But the Zzz’s?

If it eats you, you’ll never Zzz again!

On the contrary, Rhonda would Zzz forever if that happened. But she had already decided the song of suicide would not tempt her, and she would be very bothered if something ate her. It was like Garmr all over again.

Groggily, Rhonda forced herself out of sleep’s powerful hold. Her eyes were bleary, and her body felt sluggish. When she tried to rise, her mother's pelt slowed her from how tightly wrapped it was around her. She kicked and squirmed, fussing with it when she heard another C R A C K accompanied by an earth-thumping thud.

The fire was still going even though it was weaker now. The moons and the stars were able to shine down since there were still gaps in the cloud cover. Once Rhonda woke up a little more and her vision cleared, she saw she was able to peer closely into the woods behind her impromptu campsite.

She quickly realized she was pinned between a growing shadow in the dark woods and the babbling stream.

Another crack. Another thump. But this time, there was a tree that splintered loudly. It sounded like the tree was broken at the trunk. A large crash followed that scattered dozens of birds into the air. Then the entire forest erupted into howls, screeches, and haunting yips. A new fear invaded Rhonda and dismissed her annoyance at being woken up.

Should… should we run? Londa asked.

Rhonda blinked, having heard Londa’s question without fully grasping what that would entail. She had never run from anything before. For now, she got to her feet with the pelt bundled up and shoved into her satchel. She backed away from the woods, putting her back to the babbling stream behind her. It was a short drop down and a dozen steps across at most. To flee across it would be simple.

Still…

“I’ve never run away before,” Rhonda said. “I believe that it would be worse to run than to hold my ground.”

There’s… there’s always a chance we have to give up ground to live another day, isn’t there? Londa asked quietly.

“Why simply live when we should thrive,” Rhonda declared, her hunger speaking through her. She was starting to see this as a new opportunity to feed herself. Her hands were already positioned near her elemental gear, preparing to draw the locket and belt’s power at any given moment. “Nothing should disturb my sleep and get away with it.”

Before Londa could reply, the newest threat rumbled into appearance. It bashed down the last barrier of bark in its way, trampling trunks into sprays of wood chips. What had sounded like nearby cracks must’ve been trees being snapped farther out as the monstrous creature stomped to Rhonda’s location.

Now out in the open, a Lvl 42 Big Bear snorted down at Rhonda. It was at least twenty feet tall at the shoulders and would be way taller if it reared back and stood on its hind legs. Its fur was a tangled mess, and it was as black as the shadows. A disgusting stench like rot and feces wafted from its body. Giblets of saliva and slob dripped from an open maw filled with giant, flesh-rending teeth.

Rhonda’s arms hung limply at her sides. She stared up at the massive monster bear, her mind going blank. Then she came to a sudden understanding that this situation was way out of her Lvl 14 league. There were certain things she could not punch above her level, and this was it.

The bear shifted forward and swung its front paw at Rhonda’s head. Its claws were as long as Rhonda’s forearms. It looked like it would slash her apart. Before she could duck underneath, something slick and rubbery wrapped around her ankle from behind her. It yanked her leg and brought Rhonda down.

To her fortune, whatever tripped her and made her belly-flop on the stone perch inadvertently saved her from the bear’s swing. A swing that whooped through the air above her with all the intent to kill her. To her misfortune, the new attacker took the opportunity to drag her off the stone shelf and into the stream.

She splashed, her yelp cut off as cold water rushed into her mouth.

Rhonda twisted around, thrashing her way up to get air despite the water’s shallowness. The thing around her ankle had a good grip while it was crawling further up her leg. With each pull, it displaced her balance and forced her to fall face-first into the water. Threads soaked, lungs burning from the lack of air, Rhonda’s shock soon turned to rage.

I think that’s a tentacle around your leg! Londa shrilled.

Whatever it was, it pissed off a giantess. Rhonda stopped trying to fight it. She reached behind her, pulled out her knife, and curled down to hack away at the slimy limb wrapped around her leg. Just when she felt the blade bite into the tentacle monster’s flesh, more of those tentacle things smacked into her. They coiled around her limbs and tried to overpower her. For a moment, they honestly did.

The tentacle monster lifted Rhonda out of the water and revealed the full horror of its shape to her.

It was a Lvl 44 Fresh Water Kraken. It was twice as large as the monster bear and had skin matching the stream's texture and color under the cover of night. If it weren’t for its shiny eyes, it would’ve been impossible to see through its stealthy disguise.

Now it was wrestling Rhonda toward its beak-like mouth. It was large enough to take a big bite out of her chest and actually kill her. One limb wasn’t stronger than her, but it had many! No matter how hard Rhonda fought, she couldn’t break free from the tentacles wrapped around her.

“I’m sorry, Londa!” she cried as the Kraken drew her to its mouth. “I should’ve run this time.”

Londa was starting to say something when an air-shaking roar sounded from the Big Bear. The furry monster was storming into the water. It was probably angry that the Kraken had taken its meal and charged at the competition. With Rhonda as the prize, she watched with eyes wide open as the bear crashed into the squid.

The next moments were a spiral of fury and confusion.