Fallen into a great forest filled with humongous trees, plants, energy beasts, and different life forms, I can't live with just some grass and fruits.
I silently hid in a large bush before an open area.
The movements were silent and natural; almost no normal thing could detect me.
Hiding inside the bush, I looked forward to the open area.
A white rabbit with black ears was eating some blue flowers in the distance.
It has already been a few weeks since I entered this hellish jungle.
There were many dangerous things here and I was barely keeping myself alive.
Just the day after I collected the herbs and that apple-like fruit, a (Red) ranked owl-like creature attacked me in the morning.
It was big and had blue feathers, those sharp talons were also dangerous.
Somehow... I managed to kill it.
It was a bloody battle and my own blood was spilled because of that sudden ambush.
After that, one day while collecting fruit from the great tree, a small group of bees spotted me.
I was fortunate enough to see them coming that time or else there was no way for me to kill a group of (Red) beasts alone.
I managed to outrun them while using some potions that I had saved all this time.
Now, I didn't even have ten potions in total.
Fortunately, I had found some herbs that restored stamina or concentration.
The only problem with them was their weird taste.
It varied from blood, mud, and sometimes rotten meat.
I still hate them so I try to use them only in a safe place.
Today, I had only one goal in my mind.
And that obviously was to hunt this rabbit-like creature in front of me.
[Black eared quickstep]
A (Red) ranked energy beast well known for its amazing speed.
The skill {Quickstep} was their signature skill and they could evade any attack in the nick of time with this ability.
I have been trying to hunt these rabbits for the past three days and their ability was surely much more simple than just that.
They could heighten their senses to the extreme when they find themself in a life-threatening situation.
They were awesome creatures and if I acted normally, they didn't mind my presence.
Just observing them was fun but I had to survive in this hell and, eating just grass and fruits wasn't enough!
'I like you cute bunnies but I have to survive here. I will make sure your sacrifice doesn't go to waste, oh great solder!'
With that short internal speech, I extended my hand.
Pointing my palm at him, I gathered some wind, water, and light Mana particles.
This was much easier with my bow but I can't take it out right now.
The bunny had very sharp ears and they could catch up on any small movement.
I was being extremely cautious right now.
From my micro-moments to my speed of gathering Mana, everything was silent.
I had tried to hunt them before but they just knew what was coming their way.
But now, it was different.
An almost invisible and soundless arrow of compressed water that could only be used for short distances .
I had to close in on the target and prepare the spell slowly so that it wouldn't listen.
Even a little moment would be the end of my dreams of eating something different.
With total focus on the target, I fired the arrow.
The arrow actually stuck the rabbit!
The half-meter tall rabbit falls to the ground without any sound.
The arrow has pierced his head, almost obliterating it.
The power in the compressed water and wind was great and the reflection of light was enough to not get it visible.
'Sorry little bunny.'
With a small sorry, I picked up the poor creature.
The blood wasn't a problem for me now as I had seen a good amount and color and types, these past few days.
'How should I cook this?' I thought as I jumped on a tree branch with difficulty holding its big body.
I was now 6 years old and there were still many things I lacked.
My strength has increased many times but I was still miles away from beating any (Orange) ranked beast in a head-on fight.
That would be only possible after reaching (tier-2).
I was doing physical training more than my magical practice nowadays.
In this jungle, physical strength mattered and after facing that owl-like beast in a straight fight, I knew I lacked physical strength.
There wasn't anyone to watch over me here so I overworked myself sometimes.
I knew outside was dangerous all the time so I practiced and trained inside most of the time.
My progress was slow and sturdy which was good.
I reached my humble house and crawled inside the cave.
The rabbit was big, as big as the door which was a hole.
Somehow, it came in after making some space on the door.
Putting it in a corner, I came outside.
'Everything looks clear,' I smiled and nodded.
Taking out a glass bottle filled with bubbling green liquid, which definitely looked sinister, I splashed it outside.
Covering my nose with a purple-colored cloth, I walked inside.
I wanted to eat something good inside this hell, which was an unreal thing but I still wanted it.
You will think like me if you live for weeks just on some grass and fruit.
I wasn't complaining but if I can change that fact without putting myself in danger, why shouldn't I do it?
I knew the smell of cooked food could attract some beasts so I had made this sinister-looking liquid.
It was a mixture of many herbs, rotten fruits, and the blood of beasts.
It smelled disgusting to me but to other beasts, it worked like a repellent.
At least they wouldn't come to this place for some time even if they smell something very appetizing.
I got back and closed the gate like a hole.
I had made a small ventilation system at the back of the cave so it could be safe to cook at back.
The possible awesome aroma would mostly stay inside for the time.
I set up some wood and put a pot on it which I made with ant shells.
I had to make it in large quantities so that it could be used for a long time.
I can safely save it, preserving it wasn't a problem now that I had my personal natural fridge.
I had improved the quality of the fridge that I first used when I came here with magic.
Now, it could almost perfectly preserve the food for a month according to my calculations.
I will use half of it to store for a bit longer and half in cooking.
Making a sundried jerky was easy so half of it would go into that.
As for cooking, I will make some soup and fry some in the herb oil I already made some time ago.
I had no prior experience with survival or something similar but I liked watching things in my previous life.
Some of the games were also survival-themed and in books, these were some of my favorite genres.
Pouring in some water, some special spices that I risked my life to get, and herbs, and then it was finally time for meat.
I still hadn't butchered the rabbit so I walked back.
There was an open area in the back, that was specially left there for cutting the body.
'I still can't believe how normal it feels.' I sighed.
I was calm and there was nothing weird about this situation to me. It was mainly a good thing at the end of the day.
A blade of mana manifested in my hand and I started cutting the body open.
Even though I can't feel it, the very familiar squishy feeling was still disgusting when thinking.
Somewhere inside its half-meter tall body, my blade touched something.
It was weird when thinking about it but, a thought suddenly crossed my mind.
And... my eyes widened in utter disbelief.