by Dan Thomas
Item acquired: Hunter’s Claw
Type: Flower, Staple
Hunger value: 0.5
Effect when eaten: +0.5% Intuition Experience gain (1 hour), +0.5% Intuition stat bonus (1 hour)
One flower would give slightly less than half a percent bonus to both his Intuition stat and any experience he gained toward it. There were three plants here, each with around three or four flowers, which would cap the bonuses off at 5%, which would begin trailing off as time went on, running out in about an hour. It didn’t sound like a whole lot, but Max had been surprised on many occasions how much it all added up.
“If only I had some skill in cooking, I could have made a broth or something with these to get a better bonus,” Max said as he swallowed the flowers.
“It’s a shame that you can only get a five-percent bonus on raw foods. Imagine just stuffing yourself silly with Acralica shoots and becoming the strongest person alive,” Chopsticks laughed. “Now what is a shame is that you can’t grow the Staples yourself.”
“Yeah.” Max took a second to listen out, before carrying on his way. “But that would be a bit of an exploit, I guess. And besides, the Staples are common enough that I don’t think it would be worth it anyway.”
Max broke back into a run. He couldn’t really feel any benefit from the Hunter’s Claw, but he didn’t expect to with such a low bonus from the raw food, but a glance at his character overview left him safe in the knowledge that he was benefiting from eating the plant, which would push his Intuition up a little faster as he used it.
With that in mind, as he ran, Max kept his eyes darting across the ground, searching for tracks. With his level, he wouldn’t be able to spot anything of note without stopping and spending some time searching for the most obvious signs of animals, but with every stray footprint that had been unusually well preserved in the damp ground, or every pile of dino poop he managed to spot in among the undergrowth, he would be trickling some experience into his Intuition stat.
With Chopsticks quiet, probably scrolling through forum articles, Max quickly fell back into his running trance, keeping a sustainable pace while he scoured the jungle around him with his eyes for any sort of detail he could see.
As he ran, and the ground began taking on a steeper incline, he managed to spot footprints every so often. It was difficult to make out what animal might have left them behind, as he could only make out the most obvious features of the prints, but with his knowledge of animal tracks, he began to form an idea of which dinosaurs called this part of Terra Verse their home.
From what he could tell, the largest creatures that had come this way recently were something similar to Parasaurolophus, with a mix of two-legged boneheads, which were often the size of small raptors, and medium-sized carnivores of the same size.
However, beyond prints left behind, there was no sign of danger, and Max could only hear small movements around him, rather than see it.
There were also clear patches of ground that had a texture to them as if it had been battered with raindrops. Puzzled, Max could only think the texture was caused by the imprints of hundreds of tiny feet, but he could not discern any individual prints.
Max also noticed that he was having less trouble with the undergrowth as the vegetation began to thin out.
“I think I’m coming close to the top of a hill.” Max slowed to a walk.
“Hm? How can you tell?” Chopsticks asked.
“The jungle’s much thinner here, and the trees are starting to look a bit spindly. I can only think that the soil is thinner up here. And I’ve been traveling uphill for a while now,” Max said.
“You’re not wrong, there’s enough light coming in through the trees to see properly now,” Chopsticks said. “Hey, look up again. Do you see that?”
Max turned his gaze back up toward the broken canopy, where he could see large patches of blue sky between the crowns of the trees. In the distance, he could see a group of flying creatures circling, some swooping down before hastily returning to the flock.
“Looks almost like vultures.” Max frowned.
“Yes, although they’re not vultures, they’re Pterosaurs of some kind. But it does look like they’ve found something dead. They’re probably Peteinosaurus, they’re the more common scavengers.”
“Then why are they flying, and not on the ground eating it?” Max glanced over his shoulder, immediately paranoid that he was being watched.
“Whatever killed it might still be around…” Chopsticks said ominously. “Let’s go check it out!”
“Are you kidding me?” Max asked.
“When do I ever kid? Look, it’s in the direction you were going anyway, and I’ve been keeping an eye on the tracks you’ve seen. Although it’s a little difficult with Murf’s eyesight, I haven’t been able to spot anything you probably couldn’t handle.”
“Thanks for the confidence vote.” Max looked back to the circling Pterosaurs. “I don’t think it’s a good idea, I’m supposed to be playing it safe, remember?”
“Aw, come on, playing it safe only gets you so far, and it’s no fun,” Chopsticks grumbled. “Besides, just think about the possibilities. You might be able to grab an easy meal and some hide, or it could be a big Carnotaur, which is just hanging on after a battle to the death with a Triceratops, leaving you with a super easy kill for that sweet, sweet experience gain. And remember, you’ve got the Concealer. It’s like a panic button, just slap it on if you’re worried about anything.”
Max grimaced, shaking his head. “All right. Fine. You’ve persuaded me. But I’m going to put the Concealer on first.”
“Yes!” Chopsticks hissed.
Chapter Eighteen
Immediately regretting the decision, Max jogged on, although much more cautiously, in the direction of the scavenging Pterosaurs. Between watching the jungle around him for movement, he kept looking to the sky, catching glimpses of the flying animals through breaks in the trees to make sure he was still moving toward them, and to make sure that he didn’t get too close.
As he approached, Max slowed to a walk, pulling his spear from his shoulder.
“I think this is close enough,” Max said in a low voice, crouching as he came to a stop. He had fairly good visibility now, with the area underneath the trees mostly clear, but it also meant that he had very little cover to use.
“Seems good to me. Go Mr. Invisible and let’s investigate,” Chopsticks urged.
Max reached into his pocket and grabbed the Concealer. “I still think this is a terrible idea.”
“But is that enough to stop you?” Chopsticks asked through a grin.
“I wish it was, but it hasn’t been yet.” Max placed the Concealer on his clothes like a badge, holding down the button for a few moments before releasing it. His body, and everything he had equipped, including his spear, vanished.
Instinctively lowering his posture, despite being as camouflaged as physically possible, Max moved on. Breathing as slowly as he could, he began to hear a chattering sound, almost like the chirps of a flock of birds.
As he drew closer, Max slowed right down, watching where he placed his foot with every step to avoid any dry sticks, which was much more difficult when he couldn’t see his own feet.
He reached out and moved a large leaf out of the way, which to an onlooker would appear as though it was being blown by a convenient gust of wind.
“There.” Max pointed with his invisible hand, which was a useless action, but one he was compelled to perform.
“Uhh...oh, yeah.” The breath hissed through Chopsticks’ teeth. “I see.”
“What are they?” Max’s voice was barely a breath as he watched as the ten or more small dinosaurs darted between the bushes and ferns, their fine feathers shimmering a little in the sun rays that filtered through the canopy. They almost looked like tiny raptors, if raptors were the size of large cats and sounded like angry songbirds. By the way they leaped up into the air, grasping at any brave Pterosaur that dove below t
he canopy, he could see why the fliers stayed in the air.
Max shifted a little, gently bending the leaf farther out of the way, and could see what had drawn the little dinos here. Mostly hidden by fronds of vegetation, Max could make out the outline of a larger carcass. It seemed to have been mostly stripped, with a single horny spike sticking up from the ground.
“Coelophysis,” Chopsticks hissed as if the small creatures might be able to hear him. “Nasty little buggers, they hunt in packs. Well, more like swarms. We’re lucky they’re mostly down here in the south and not up by us.”
“Are they capable of bringing down a, what is that, a Kentrosaurus?” Max wrinkled his nose as he watched the group of Coelophysis tearing at the remains of the animal.
“Looks like it, it’s way too small for a Stegosaurus, and you wouldn’t find one here in a dense jungle.”
“You don’t think these little things killed that, do you?” Max could feel his heart rate beginning to increase at the thought of having to fend off a swarm of dinos able to take down a large herbivore like that.
“I highly doubt it. A Utahraptor or something probably iced it, and these guys are here for the free scraps.” Chopsticks shuddered. “Though I wouldn’t want to mess with them. Death by a thousand little sharp teeth isn’t my idea of fun. Even though they’re only Tier-one dinos, they’re great at hunting in numbers.”
“So...we’re done here then? We investigated, we’ve seen there are little land piranhas, and now we move on, right?” Max began slowly letting the leaf he was holding flex back to where it had been.
“Not yet, let’s grab that horn,” Chopsticks said.
“Screw that, man. That’s not worth it,” Max hissed.
“Sure, it is,” Chopsticks chirped. “You’ll need a piece of horn for better flint knapping, y’know, making sharper and finer blades? Arrowheads? What are the chances of you finding an easy kill with a piece of horn you can use? Meanwhile, there’s one sitting right in front of you.”
“Sure, but what about the swarm of little deadly teeth surrounding it?” Max had to make sure not to raise his voice any louder.
“You’re literally undetectable, dude, just go grab it.”
“Hmm.” Max grimaced at the thought of being torn apart by the Coelophysis and having to make the run out of Cerribue again. “Fine. I’ll go grab it, but then I’m heading on and I’m not stopping until it gets dark.”
“Sweet!” Chopsticks whooped.
“But, if this goes sideways, you’re explaining what happened to Sam,” Max warned.
“It won’t go any-ways, just be quick and you’ll be absolutely fine,” Chopsticks reassured him.
Moving slowly, Max hung his spear back over his shoulder, then grabbed a small branch lying on the forest floor, which became invisible as soon as he lifted it off the ground.
Parting the fern he was behind farther, he carefully stepped over it. He moved slowly, unable to hear his own footsteps, which he was unsure whether to attribute to his ability at stealth or the Concealer at work.
He slowly stood up, now able to see over the vegetation and better watch the Coelophysis. He flinched as two of them let out high-pitched squeals, but he saw that they were instead squabbling over a slab of meat.
Max let out a breath, settling himself before stepping toward the dead Kentrosaurus, moving around a flowering bush.
He was only a few feet away from the little dinos, far too close for comfort, but they still hadn’t given him any reason to suspect that they had any idea he was there.
“Careful, that one keeps sniffing the air,” Chopsticks warned.
Max flicked his eyes over to one of the Coelophysis which had turned its narrow nose upward. Swallowing, he lifted the branch and threw it across the glade. It landed off into the brush with a loud crack.
Instantly, the small dinosaurs swung around to face the noise, letting out angry squawks and screeches. A few of them darted away from their meal, running for the noise, while the rest approached more cautiously, tails twitching.
“Go!” Chopsticks yelled.
Max sprinted forward, willing the Concealer to not let up now. Keeping his eyes on the Coelophysis moving away from him, he slowed down just enough to wrap his hand around the Magelight-sized horn, wrenching it out of the dead dino’s tail with a sickening popping sound.
Item acquired: Small Dinosaur Horn
Type: Animal part
Use: Crafting Component
He saw the nearby Coelophysis jump and spin toward him, but he was already gone, slapping ferns out of his ways as he tore through the jungle vegetation.
He couldn’t hear the sounds of anything giving chase, but his Hotfoot Trait seemed to kick in as he felt a boost to his speed. Max dodged between a narrow gap in the trees, chancing a glance backward. He could no longer see the carcass.
“I think you’re in the clear!” Chopsticks yelled.
“Am I?” Max panted. “Those things are so small they could be anywhere. Just because we can’t see them, they might still be following.”
“No way! They wouldn’t have even known you were there. Just chill for a minute, keep the Concealer on for a bit longer and put some more distance between you and them,” Chopsticks advised.
“Sounds like. A plan.” Max gulped air down. A flat-out run over difficult ground was a much larger drain on his small pool of stamina. “Man, I’m unfit.”
“Ah, you’re fine, no pain, no gain, right?”
“Sure.” Max pulled his bag around, fumbling to open it and drop the horn in. “Now I’m just going to keep climbing, no detours.”
“Sounds good to me!” Chopsticks said.
Starting off at a walk while his stamina climbed back up, Max continued to trek upward. Despite the trees being thinner, the light was becoming dimmer. Night would soon be upon the land.
If Max were going to keep playing, he’d need to make camp. He wouldn’t stand a chance if he kept wandering the jungle in the dark, and if he could find a defensible location to take shelter and light a fire, he might be able to start crafting himself some more tools. If he could level his dexterity up enough to make that possible.
The ground kept sloping upward, the incline becoming even more severe. The trees were beginning to grow at odd angles as they dug into the rockier ground, clinging on against the harsh weather the elevated ground must face.
Max began tripping up over loose stones and uneven ground as the terrain became more difficult, and his stamina steadily decreased. He paused for a moment, taking off the Concealer and opening his pack to wolf down some of his dwindling rations and drink more water, bringing his waterskin to one-quarter full.
“How high is this damn hill? Are you sure it’s not a mountain?” Chopsticks asked as a chip bag crinkled in his hand.
“Not much higher, I hope,” Max huffed. “Don’t just throw that across the room, you know how much that winds Pez up.”
“Yeah, well, Pez isn’t here, is he?” Chopsticks said. Max heard the soft rattle of an empty bag hitting the floor.
Max shook his head with a smirk. “I can see how Pez loses it with you sometimes.”
“He’s just not on the same wavelength, man.”
Seeing an almost sheer piece of rock that he had to climb up, Max came to a stop, breathing heavily. “Sure, Pez doesn’t always catch on to your humor, but sometimes it does feel like you go out of your way to piss him off.”
There was quiet from Chopsticks for a moment. Max was just about to speak when his voice came through again.
“We don’t often see eye to eye, but don’t pin this all on me, he also goes out of his way to get funny with me.” Chopsticks paused. “It just feels like he’s got something against me sometimes. But, I dunno. Actually, forget I said anything.”
Max nodded to himself. “I can see that. I could speak to him if you want?”
“No, don’t do that, I don’t need anyone to fight my battles,” Chopsticks said, a serious tone to his voice for onc
e. “I’ll, uh, I’ll try to lay off, I guess. We can’t fall apart right now, I wouldn’t want to waste all the time you and Sam have put into this already. But I’m sure he’ll still find something that I’ve done wrong or not done or something.”
Max gave a half-smile. “That was very mature of you, dude.”
“Ha! Fuck off,” Chopsticks scoffed.
Max chuckled. “I’m not making a dig at you! In all seriousness, I’d really appreciate that, if you two did try to get along, and I’m sure Sam can put him in his place if he keeps at you.”
“Sure, but as soon as this is over, I’ll be back to kicking his ass,” Chopsticks said.
“I wouldn’t expect anything less.” Max placed a hand on the rocky step.
It was only just taller than his head. Normally a trivial climb, Max wasn’t sure that he was going to make it up.
Grasping the cold stone with his hands, he raised one foot, scraping it down the lower part of the rock as he tried to find a foothold. Trying again, he managed to lodge his boot into a piece of rock. Grasping the hard stone as hard as he could, Max began to lift himself off the ground. The moment after his other foot came up, his foothold failed and he slipped back to the ground, grazing his hands.
Max winced. “I’ll just have to go around, I don’t think that I’m going to get over this.”
“Dude, this ridge probably goes the whole way around. You’re not going to get to the top of the hill without going over this, and unless you’re going to climb a tree instead, we’ll still have no idea which way you’re going,” Chopsticks said.
Max stepped back, looking either way. The jungle was much thinner up here, but the ground wasn’t exactly clear. “There’s probably an easier way up somewhere. And the sun’s setting over there, so that’s got to be west, I’ll be able to keep heading north.”
“It’s going to be dark soon, and then you won’t be going anywhere,” Chopsticks pointed out. “Just check your character. There’s no way you haven’t got another Trait Point for Agility after all this traveling, you could probably grab something to help you get over this.”
