*Peek* *peek*

I travelled far enough from my original spot. This should be enough to elude the hero descendants.

Now, I just need to continue to wander around until I find civilization.

*Sigh*

It's alright in the human and dwarf continent but this is the beast continent. Everyone living here is out for blood, according to what I learned from rumours.

There really isn't any way for me to get more information about the other continents. Even though the other continents play nice at the central island, they are still very secretive when it comes to information about their own continents.

Weapons!! I need to find weapons that would suit me now. I have a pseudo shield behind me now but I still haven't trained myself, so I don't know to what extent my back shell's durability is.

The people here are wild in every sense, as the rumour goes, so I will stick with my strong points. I don't feel any slowness that is very common to turtles but that may be because I don't have a reference on how fast other beastkins are. I should assume I am slower than normal compared to others.

If that is the case then I should focus on defence and a weapon that gives me advantage in melee. A weapon that is perfect for the 'wait until they attack me' strategy.

First of all a small set of crossbows that I could attach to both my forearms are needed. I won't rely on them since they can't deal too much damage because of their size, but it would force my enemies to close the distance to me. The moment they are close, I can still use my weapons while occasionally firing bolts to distract them.

I will go with a spear. It would be harder to wield in close melee but when enemies reach that range, I can fully focus on defence. Medium range is when I will shine and the reach will help me deal with fast enemies easier. I have the long range covered, I will attack when the enemy reaches medium range and since the enemy would most likely be quicker than me, I will focus on defending in close range.

Perfect! I have everything covered. I even have some suitable shields and excellent spears that I forged when I had free time but they look too new and too expensive to be used by someone who was 'lost and robbed by bandits'.

There is lots of wood here, so I could make a wooden shield and spear, though it would be degraded to a pointy stick and a plank. I won't be able to equip the small crossbows too, so I will be severely underequipped.

If it ever gets to the point that I might die, I will use everything I have stored in my storage and I will make sure the enemy is wiped out. I have only started turtle life, I want to see the sights first.

*Sigh*

I haven't completed my vision for the last life. It's a bit regretful that I didn't make myself into some legendary master blacksmith that is sought out for artefacts. I could still continue working towards that but since I started a new life, I want to do something different.

My newly obtained skill gives me a great advantage as a merchant, so I guess I'll be a merchant in this life. I don't really know what else to do as a turtle beastkin.

Hmm, speaking of merchants, I forgot to visit that kid I found outside the central island. I have been busy making the weapon and armour that I barely went out. I also wanted to keep the kid outside the radar of the human group, so I avoided him whenever I saw him. As long as that human prince is still there and as long as he has a way to identify me, I can't visit the central island. It looks like that kid will die before I visit him again. I hope he passes down the duties I gave him and that his descendants recognize the symbol I gave.

Actually, I hope he properly makes descendants and passes on the duty I gave him. I will return there someday, and I really do need to find a way to visit the inside of that temple.

It was the place I died but the fact that the scholar hero made that temple means that he has a lot of information hidden there. I just need to prepare, so that I won't fall and be crushed to death again. It was dark and I only had some small light shining from what the prince brought, but it was enough for me thanks to my dark vision.

I saw a passageway. I saw a locked door, and I saw a very modern looking door with a doorbell.

It makes sense if you think about it. The island didn't exist when the scholar hero built the temple. That hero must have a place where they live, and as a teacher, that hero must want to have someplace to escape from the students from time to time. The only place where privacy is possible should be down there.

The most important part is that the hero at that time is known as the 'scholar' hero. It means there is lots of information collected by that hero. It might not have the information I want but any kind of information is good, especially for me who can restart. Ultimately, I want to find a way to get stronger to get revenge on that gamer god.

It's not really a burning hatred but getting stuck here isn't exactly pleasant, so I'll take revenge for that at the very least. I also want to travel and see the sights. I am ultimately stuck on the island I restarted on, so I want to build up my power to be able to cross the ocean without worrying about the sea monsters.

*Slash* *Dodge*

"Whooaah!"
"Tch! Don't move and hand over all of your belongings if you don't want to get hurt!"
"You say that the moment your sneak attack failed!!"
"Shut up!! I'll kill you then take your items if you delay any longer! Now, what will it be!?"

A rabbitkin? She has twin daggers, an armoured leg with spiky shin protectors, and leather armour everywhere else.

Wow, those are really rabbit ears. However, it's not directly on top of her head like I imagined. The base is still at the side of the head but positioned just a bit higher and extends all the way out. The hair is still normal hair, and only the ears have thin fuzzy fur covering it. It is very interesting.

For my first encounter to be her. Well, there was that group of hero descendants but I want to avoid them forever, and I never met them.

This encounter isn't really much better too in comparison. It looks like she is trying to rob me. She is also faster than me, and a complete counter to a turtle; a rabbit!! I don't suppose she will fall asleep in the middle of the fight while I run away.

"I'm not sure what belongings you want. I have a piece of wood, a piece of pointy wood, and some worn out clothes. Take your pick!!"

I can't believe someone would want to rob me even when I am in this state.

"Agh? Poor bastard!! Throw me your weapons then. I don't want some sweaty clothes!"
"You think I will give away the only thing protecting me! Just leave me alone if you don't have anything better to do!"

Go away, I am not worth your time. I just need to arrive at the town, buy some normal clothes and pretend to be a merchant. I'll just say I hid the money somewhere on my body and use that to buy some goods and proceed to the next town. I'll equip myself with better weapons and armour on the way to the next town.

This time I won't stick inside the town. I already established roots during my two previous lives, this time I want to wander around for a change.

However, if I become a merchant, attacks by bandits would be a normal everyday occurrence. I need to hire some guards.

"Stubborn hard headed bastard. If that is how you want to...."

Guards?

"....then I will let you suffer...."
"Why don't you be my guard?"
"...ate worse than deat- huh? What are you blabbing about?"
"I said, be my guard. I may not look like it but I am a merchant. I was pushed out of the company because of the new leader, so I don't have much but I plan to build up my fortune from scratch. I need someone to guard me. This is a good chance to join while I am still not picky because I have nothing. For starters, I'll have you guide me to the nearest town, so I could strategize on what to buy and where to sell. I'll properly compensate you and equip you with better weapons and armour as my business grows. How about it?"
"Haaah? I don't know what you're talking about but if you are a merchant then you have money on you. You won't be able to buy goods without it after all. I see, so you're hiding money from me. I'll skin you alive if you don't hand over all of your coins!! Haaaaa!!"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Calm down, think about it. It has more benefits than wandering around robbing every person you see!"

*Slash* *Kick* *Kick*

*Tink* *Clang* *Clang*

It looks like she won't listen to me anymore. She is moving too quickly for me to deal her any damage.

Her attacks are very straight forward and she is trying to finish me off as fast as possible. Her slashes keep aiming for my vitals and whenever I block it with my shield, she strikes at me with her kicks. She is strong but luckily, my passive skills from when I was a dwarf were saved thanks to [Soul Storage]. The passive crafting bonus, the night vision, fire resistance and the strength passive bonus can still be used by this new body of mine.

I don't recall having any boost to agility or speed though, so she still has the initiative in this battle.

Anyway, like the story of the turtle and the rabbit, I will keep myself steady and wait until she runs out of steam!