Scott struck quickly. He stabbed the scavenger beetle which pinned it to the earth. It wasn’t so quick to die compared to when he smashed them with his branch, he noticed. At least the experiment earned him 2 xp.

  He shook his head. With about forty-nine thousand more experience points to go until level 18, what was the worth in killing beetles? He wasn’t exactly sleeping comfortably because of them. Damn things.

  The option to loot the level 1 scavenger beetle was made available. Scott received 1 flake of chitin. He examined it outside of his inventory and found that a single flake was as large as a thumbnail.

  His dagger was wet with ochre guts when he pulled it from the beetle. After wiping the blade, he stowed it in his inventory and continued onward.

  The urge to leap up and swing from low branches was not an urge Scott felt he could ignore. He had a new body, and exploring its new range and motion made him feel like he’d been thrown into a much better body. He didn’t recognize himself by how easily he moved, nor by how much energy he had, nor by how good he felt. He had to continue piling stat points on dexterity. Ah, such an excellent stat!

  Though scavenger beetles offered negligible experience, they often sought him in groups. Scott expected them because he could hear them minutes away. Thirty came to him, and he waited, hung upside down by the backs of his knees on a low branch. The beetles climbed each other as much as beetles could climb each other before tumbling off.

  They were two feet below him, but Scott took the chance to practice throwing his dagger. It extended battle by half an hour, but he needed to confirm whether abilities were brought up at benchmark levels because of experience or despite it. Scott had a hunch. So without giving up, he slayed the beetles by throwing and retrieving his dagger each kill.

  24 level 1 scavenge beetles slain.

  120 xp gained.

  6 level 2 scavenge beetles slain.

  120 xp gained.

  Scott prowled through the jungle until night fell. He encountered more beetles and a handful of skeletons on the way, and breaking bones echoed in his mind. He earned 445 xp by twilight.

  Under starlight, in another nest of branches, Scott lay upon the cloak he had taken from Carree. It was almost dry, but it would serve to help camouflage him as well as make him more comfortable.

  Scott lay with his hands behind his head. His progress this day amused him, and he smiled at the swath of stars. It was still windy, and his hair fluttered.

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  A beastly throat growled viciously below. Scott peered out from the corners of his eyes, but he didn’t feel like moving. He would hear something climb his tree, and patience would keep him alive.

  The beastly throat growled again. It was joined by another larger growl which then erupted into a roar. A shriek pierced the air, and it resonated shrilly. Fur and teeth and claw unmistakably clashed together. Shrieks tolled, and then something died at the end of a whimper.

  All was silent before the canopy erupted with the hoots of hollow throats. Branches shook. Birds awoke and cast to the sky. Stars blinked out of sight behind their silhouette.

  Scott lay wide eyed, heart beating hard. He hadn’t realized until just then how filled with beasts the jungle was. It wasn’t until an hour later that the noise of the jungle dimmed. The stars had all rotated together, and Scott felt his eyelids slip.

  Orange dappled sunlight flickered over Scott’s eyes. He stretched and stifled a groan. With all his heart he wanted to lay there for hours more despite the soreness he suffered from sleeping on tree limbs. Needing to preempt the search for Carree, Scott stowed his cloak, downed a body fortification potion, and allocated a stat point to dexterity.

  Scott dropped off one branch. His palms slapped the wood when he caught it. He swung to the next branch below, and down he continued. His palms slapped wood as he climbed back up.

  Beyond the end of a thick branch that Scott crouched upon, another branch crossed below it from the nearby tree. Scott ran across his branch, and the branch bowed the farther he went. He thought of his handful of experiences on a diving board, and he launched.

  Scott tumbled through the air, and he felt his gut flip as he passed between trees. He landed on his stomach on the branch of the next tree. Wanting to take advantage of his hour of pushing his limits of dexterity, Scott dropped to the next branch below. He swung from branch to branch, climbed, and leapt again to the branches of another tree. In his last ten minutes, he dropped to the jungle floor and sprinted as fast as he could.

  When the timer hit zero, the soreness left his muscles. His new limit was now his average, and he found that he could climb to the top of a tree in mere moments. He could expertly swing from branches. If trees were close enough, he could move through the jungle from tree to tree.

  Back to prowling through the jungle, Scott relished his choice of ability and stat point allocation. He had only used two stat points and seen such progress of power. Two!

  Air whooshed behind Scott. He turned, and a skeleton monkey landed upon him. It dug its bony fingers into Scott’s shoulders and rushed in, jaw wide. Scott slashed with his dagger. Bones broke and rattled together on the jungle floor. Scott ripped the skeleton off of him, threw it down, and then rammed his foot through the ribs.

  Level 1 skeleton tuaw monkey slain.

  40 xp gained.

  The skeleton could not be looted. Scott spun while he flicked his gaze from tree to tree. If there was one, he knew there must be more. Why were they skeletons? The only animals that had not been skeletons were clams and birds.

  Scott mulled, while on alert, as he continued prowling through the jungle.

  Scott’s stat sheet:

  Level 17

  Experience 01,711/50,000

  Stat points 14

  Strength 10

  Wisdom 0

  Intelligence 1

  Dexterity 7

  Constitution 4

  Abilities:

  Lesser Audial: Hearing radius increased by 10%, hearing sensitivity increased by 10%, 10% improved stereo imaging.

  Lootist: Some items are made available to loot from deceased.

  Tree pads: 10% improved grip and adhesion when climbing. Affects hands and feet.