POV Chryssia
—Well… that took a while — I said as I looked at the vast desert in front of me, and yes, this was the Wildspire Wastes.
It's been three days since I killed the Anjanath, and after doing so, I decided to stick to my plan—even after encountering the hunters.
I admit it took me more time than I thought to get out of the forest. I knew the Ancient Forest was large, but I still underestimated its size. And it's not like the forest just ends and suddenly the desert begins.
The transition is gradual—the trees start thinning out on the edges until there are none left, turning into grasslands, which in turn slowly give way to sand.
—Now… time to find some monsters.
…
—God, I get Anakin now, I hate sand.
I said to myself as I looked over the endless dunes. I'd only seen some rock formations—hence the name Wildspire Wastes—and cacti. So many cacti. Honestly, it makes sense since they're the Diablos' main food source.
I've been wandering in a straight line for what I think has been a couple of hours and found nothing but small fauna. As I questioned whether it was a good idea to head into a desert without any real direction, I muttered:
—You know what they say, if you keep walking straight, you'll get somewhere.
And as if some god were listening to me (which could actually be happening), I saw a tree in the distance. I thought it might be a mirage, but since I wasn't feeling any heat discomfort, I dismissed the idea and picked up my pace.
As I got closer, I noticed grass growing around the tree, and further along, I started seeing more trees and a clearly defined grassy path.
I began to form an idea of what might be causing this while approaching, and I also noticed the sand eventually gave way to brown stone.
Once I reached the tree, my suspicions were confirmed—there was a river giving life to all this vegetation. And where there's life, there's fauna. And where there's fauna… there's prey.
…
After following the river downstream and passing through a natural canyon, I found a place where the river widened and was teeming with life. Several plants, insects, and small animals were scattered everywhere.
There were two types of small monsters in the area: a herd of Apceros and a pair of Kelbi. Naturally, I wanted to eat them—the former for their tails, hide, and shells, and the latter for their horns, which had medicinal properties.
I quickly came up with a simple plan to get what I wanted. Without thinking too much about it, I lunged at the male Kelbi who was drinking water. He barely had time to react before I struck him.
The impact alarmed the female Kelbi, who didn't hesitate and bolted without even thinking about her mate. I didn't care—one was enough. Meanwhile, the five Apceros formed a defensive circle, their heads close together with their tails raised in the air. It reminded me of a documentary theorizing that ankylosaurs might have done the same.
The male Kelbi lay on the ground, writhing in pain. I had broken its hind legs, but it was still alive—unfortunately for him.
—…I honestly thought that blow would kill you. Sorry for the unnecessary suffering — I grabbed his head with my hand and snapped his neck in one swift motion, ending his pain.
To deal with the Apceros, I picked up a large rock and hurled it at them, striking one on the back.
To my surprise, the rock shattered, and although it caused the Apceros to bleed heavily and cry out in pain, it still held its position in the formation—though clearly with less strength.
I stood there genuinely surprised, but then I remembered that this formation was supposedly strong enough to survive attacks from some large monsters, so it made sense… although considering the wound, I doubted it would last long.
The other herd members grew restless upon seeing their injured comrade. They hesitated but still held formation.
Seeing that one was weakened, and remembering something from the game, I leapt into the air and used [Meteoric Drop] right in the middle of the Apceros group.
The impact knocked all the small monsters to the ground. They got up clumsily and fled—everyone except the one I hit with the rock, who lay unconscious. Just like with the Kelbi, I grabbed his head, but this time with both hands, and snapped his neck.
I looked at the two small monster corpses and decided that, after nearly half a week of searching, this desert had finally given me a reason to eat.
...
[Skills obtained: Agile Legs, Escape Jumps, Slow Regeneration, Danger Sense, Nutritious Horns, Reinforced Shell, Stable March, Tough Skin, Mace Tail
ACCEPT: YES/NO]
As the burning sensation coursed through my body, I thought: I really haven't felt hunger these past few days. I remembered how, even when I was hiding in the sea, I still ate fish daily—even if they didn't give me new skills, I kept eating out of habit. But not once did I feel hungry.
—…And I haven't had to use the bathroom either. Not feeling hunger might be due to my body, but this is probably thanks to [Devour]… though I'm not complaining.
As I spoke, the changes in my body finalized. The first four skills are self-explanatory. [Nutritious Horns] caused small horns to grow on my head and enhanced my regeneration. If I cut them off, I could make a potent potion—and they'd grow back.
As for [Reinforced Shell], it gave me a shell on my back, which—along with my crest—are now the hardest parts of my body (the shell is flat and just a few centimeters thick. With [Fluidic Cloak], you can barely notice it).
[Stable March] improved my balance while walking or running, making it harder to be knocked over.
[Tough Skin] is pretty self-explanatory, and [Mace Tail] made a mace-like growth appear at the tip of my tail, similar to an Apceros—a spiked ball.
—Not bad for small monsters… let's see what the big ones give me.