Revan

Stalking as silently and as carefully as I could through the forest floor, I froze instinctively as I heard a twig snap on my left. Looking without turning my head, I couldn’t see anything at first, until a gentle breeze moved some brush and I noticed the dinosaur crouching beside it. The beast was covered in various shades of green feathers, rendering it nearly invisible. Wicked claws and sharp teeth flashed as it hissed at me when it realised that it had been spotted. Over the past few weeks, I had learnt a few tricks about my new world, one of them being the [Inspect] ability. 

Forest Velociraptor

Power Level: 784

A strong enemy, especially since I was facing several at once – judging by the noises around me – but not the most dangerous I had fought. While this world seemed to be based off of a game, with levels and power levels, there was still room to exploit physics. One of the first enemies I had faced after leaving the remains of the humans I had fought had been a rock giant. I hadn’t known how to inspect at the time, but when I lured it to fall off of a cliff, I gained several hundred power levels in one kill. Thus, proving that ‘the bigger they are, the harder they fall… off a cliff.’ 

I smiled viciously at the memory of the stupid giant’s expression as it realised it was going to die. I had been attacked by half a dozen things, all seemingly far stronger than me, judging by my instincts to run from them all, and it was a relief to have finally gotten the upper hand since facing the party of adventurers. I shook my head to clear it, cursing my lack of an attention span, and focused back on the dangerous situation I was in. 

Strange, clicking growls echoed around me in unison, so reminiscent of the velociraptors in the movies it was uncanny, that I almost got distracted geeking out over real life dinosaurs. Dinosaurs! I crouched, preparing myself for the three raptors as they charged me at once. 

“Clever girls,” I muttered, baring my fangs and grinning. I giggled at the reference before the calm that I had become familiar with whenever I was in a life threatening situation settled over me. I bounced up into the air, rotating my body backwards as I rushed up towards the tree branches above me. 

Three echoing angry screeches accompanied my flight up as I moved out of the path of the charging dinos. Somehow, I calculated it all in my mind perfectly so that when I reached the top of my ascent my feet touched the thickest branch nearest me. Planting my feet firmly, I launched myself at the raptor that was furthest away from the others, slamming into it and causing us both to topple. Clinging onto the raptor’s feathered neck, I slammed one of my stolen swords down, piercing it cleanly as we slid across the soft loam. 

The raptor screeched, jerking so violently I was almost thrown off when I pulled the sword out with both hands. Squeezing my thighs tight, I lifted my sword up and slammed it back down, activating [Clean Kill]. The dino gurgled as it instantly died from the blow. 

I was moving even before I consciously realised that my [Survival Instinct] skill had kicked in, warning me of danger. Rolling off of the dead raptor, the world slowed to a crawl while I flung the sword that was in my left hand at the dino that was midway through its pounce, feathers fluttering, claws and fangs bared as it fell towards me. I realised too late that was exactly what they had wanted when the third raptor burst out of the nearby brush. With a thought, I had a short sword in each hand, held in a crossguard position, and managed to block the beast’s snapping jaws as it loomed over me.

Rolling off to the side again, I screamed as the raptor cut me with its claws while I’d rolled away. Jumping to my feet, I staggered slightly, narrowly avoiding a slash of bloody claws. Gritting my teeth, I suppressed the groan of pain when I swung my sword, keeping the raptor at an arm's length. A quick glance around showed me the raptor that had pounced was slowly limping its way towards me, the sword that I had thrown still impaled in its belly. Bending my knees, I hissed in warning as much as in pain, fueled by the fiery agony lancing up my back from my wound. 

Before any of us could move, a giant creature smashed through a tree, shattering it into a million pieces and biting the injured raptor in half in the same movement. I froze in shock as the sword that had been in the raptor snapped like a twig in its jaws, the hilt spinning off into the foliage. Crouching down further, I tried to slowly back away as I used [Inspect] on the new threat. 

Undead Spike-tailed Armoured Allosaur (Champion)
Power Level: 1402

The Allosaur’s eye sockets were empty except for an evil, red glow that still seemed to give the creature the ability to see, highlighted by the fact that it turned to glare at me. I got flashbacks of school trips to history museums with dinosaurs as I looked at the new enemy. It looked like one of the giant dinosaur bone statues, but armoured and moving with malevolent intent. The large dinosaur’s teeth flashed in the lowlight as it roared, before charging at the raptor and I. Jumping to the side, I barely managed to dodge as it bit the air, right where I had been standing a moment before, a loud ‘snap’ echoing across the forest as its jaws slammed shut. 

I heard a loud screech as the surviving raptor pounced, sparks flashing from the scratches it drew from the armoured plates with its claws. With surprising swiftness, the Allosaur roared, shaking itself and throwing the raptor off, swinging its spiked tail at me at the same time.

A scream of pain split my lips as the tail slammed into me, the spikes just narrowly missing spearing into my chest, and flinging me away from the fight. I let out a grunt of pain when I crashed through the branches of the forest, before slamming into a tree. Just before I passed out, with my UI flashing red, I could still hear screeching and growls and the sounds of fighting.

≿--------༺❀༻--------≾

Groaning awake, my ears twitched as a twig nearby snapped. Reacting instantly, I hopped to my feet, staggering as the world spun on its axis for a moment. Clutching my head and suppressing the sudden urge to be sick, I shuddered and moved behind the tree, putting it between me and whatever had snapped the branch. Moments later, a stag stepped out into the small area I was observing. I watched as it sniffed the air, tensing when it suddenly picked up a scent it didn’t like – most likely mine – and started to bolt. Unfortunately for the stag, I was already moving by this stage. Launching myself forward, I grabbed it around its hind legs, tripping us both up. Quickly scrambling to my feet, I ran to its neck and sunk my fangs deep into a juicy vein. 

The stag shakily stood up after I jumped off of it, letting it stagger slowly away before it got its bearings and ran off, vanishing deeper into the forest. Sighing with satisfaction after feeding, I patted my belly, watching as my health quickly returned. “Thanks, Stag, you gave some good grub. Good luck with your life!”

I could have easily drained the stag dry, but the few times I did that never sat well with me. If I needed more, I could easily find another animal to feed on later. I was just glad that it wasn’t just humans I could feed on. That would have sucked. Although I had found that I can also eat normal food, and it satisfied me as well, just not as long, nor as well, as blood. Limping away from my resting area, I slowly made my way through the forest, even more wary than I had been earlier when I got into the fight with the raptors.

Curiosity got the best of me, checking the site of the fight revealed nothing but damage to the shrubbery and some blood. The carcasses had been either picked clean while I was passed out, or they were carried away, or perhaps exploded into blue light. Checking the clock on my UI revealed that I had only been out for no more than an hour. I was grateful I hadn’t been hurt while I was passed out. 

Sneaking away, I started looking for a place to stay for the night, just in case I needed somewhere to get away from creatures like that allosaur again. After half an hour wandering about, I finally found a tree that I liked the look of. Large, flat branches that were far enough apart that climbing them would be difficult unless you had claws like I did. It was also high enough off of the ground that none of the monsters I had encountered so far could reach me. It also seemed sturdy enough that I doubted they could knock it over, either. It was even better as there was a stream nearby that I was able to clean myself up in, washing off the blood and dirt that had accrued on my body over the day's events.

Climbing to the top of the tree, I looked around as the tip swayed from side to side slightly. Even this high up, it barely moved; it was one sturdy tree, which made me feel a bit better about hiding up here. While I watched, the sun began to set, sunlight occasionally reflecting off of the asteroid ring surrounding the planet. Through a gap in the trees, I could see a village in the distance. Several dozen log cabins with a large communal fire were the prominent feature, and further past that were what looked like giant cows grazing on open grasslands.

Far in the distance, I could see a massive mountain that was flat at the top. I assumed that it was a volcano, although I couldn’t be sure. What looked like a city was at its base. If that was a volcano, I only hoped it was an extinct one, for the city dwellers sake. 

Looking at the city, I had to wonder if I would ever get to visit. Considering the warnings about my race, I might have to look into a way of hiding what I am, somehow. I really didn’t need the city guards attacking me on sight. Starting off like I did, with the species I am, made me think I was playing a game on hard mode. Giggling to myself, I shook my head. I hoped this wasn’t a game. It felt too real, even for that VR game I was going to play before I died.

Movement in my peripheral vision on the ground made me look down. Vertigo hit me for a moment before I got my bearings and I gasped as I recognised the raptor that I had fought earlier. It was limping, dragging one foot and looked all bloody, several wounds still bleeding. I had no idea how it had survived its fight with the allosaur, but it did. 

Climbing down quickly, I reached the ground and watched the raptor whirl around, hissing as it looked at me warily. 

I gestured at its wounds, smiling sadly. “You aren’t looking so hot.” With a flick of my hand, I had some jerky I had stolen from the adventurers. “Are you hungry?”

The raptor hissed again, baring its fangs. 

Shaking my head, I threw the food at its feet. “Well, here. Eat it if you change your mind.” I took a few steps back and rested my back against the tree. I studied the dinosaur as it sniffed the dried meat I had given it warily. It really was a pretty beast, with the most colourful feathers of the three I had fought earlier, like the shimmering rainbows from the dying day’s sun reflection.

“It’s not poisoned, if that’s what you’re worried about,” I said as I watched it sniff the jerky and lick it tentatively. “Here, watch.” I took a small bite of my own piece of jerky, savouring the salty, herb flavoured meat. I smiled as the raptor watched me, its eyes full of a surprising amount of intelligence, flicking between my lips and the jerky in my hand before it bent down and nibbled some from the piece I had given it. I wondered if it was a girl or a boy? Or maybe raptors identified as something else instead? I had no way of knowing, maybe we could work out some rudimentary communication if it’s intelligent enough. 

Moments after tasting the meat, the raptor devoured the rest, licking its lips and looking at me almost expectantly. Giggling, I took out several more pieces and held it out to it slowly, keeping my hand steady and showing them free of any weapons. 

Even more cautiously, the raptor sniffed my hand, before taking the jerky, my instincts grumbling about being so close and vulnerable in front of a wild animal, doubly so because it was injured. Reaching out my hand again slowly, I gently patted the raptor on the head as it ate the jerky, tearing it apart with its incredibly deadly looking teeth. The raptor jerked its head away, before warily looking at me and going back to eating, allowing me to pat it finally. Up close, the velociraptor was a lot smaller than it had appeared to be when I was fighting it earlier. Barely bigger than a large dog, certainly a lot smaller than the ones in the movies. 

Notifications appeared in front of my eyes, stilling my hand momentarily.

Ding!
Congratulations! You have unlocked [Befriend]
Ding!
Congratulations! You have befriended Forest Velociraptor!

“Well… that’s a surprise, from trying to kill each other, to friends. Sounds like a Hallmark story right there,” I said, smiling at my new friend, the first I had made in my new world.