Chương 30: The Taste of Victory

Mark woke to see that Ava was already getting prepped to take care of the traps. He waved at her on his way out of camp. He had reviewed with her last night the things that went well and not so well on her first solo run and was again planning to go alone and see if it would be better than yesterday. It did not take long for him to return to where he found the boar. He spotted the tracks and began to follow them.

Making sure to stay low and behind things so when he actually found it, he did so without being seen himself. When he eventually found it, he tracked it as it walked through the forest looking for food. It had a territory that it patrolled in the forest. Last night he decided to make a deadfall trap again. But knowing that this beast was bigger than the last, he would need to hit it from both sides at once.

The trap design he finalized on was that he would funnel it into an area by making it only have one way in or out. Then with a tripwire rigged up, it would trigger 2 large logs, one on each side, to come down, hitting it on each side. He would also set up a snare trap so that its legs would get wrapped by strong rope, preventing it from leaving as a backup to the deadfall. He had prepared all of the materials last night before sleeping other than the 2 logs, as they would have been too heavy to haul.

Now that he had found the area it patrolled in, he looked around and found the perfect spot to build the trap. Over the next couple hours he was able to find 2 large trees that were about 8 feet long and a foot and a half in diameter. He used some of the ropes and a lot of muscle to drag them over to where he would rig them up. Using his axe, he shaped the ends as sharp and pointed as he could make them. Gathering sticks and brush and other dead trees, he made a path leading into his kill box.

He put together the first deadfall and tested it, making sure that the tripwire trigger worked and that the log swung fast enough. He repeated the process with the second deadfall, making sure it would strike from the opposite side and meet the first at the same point to do the most damage. Then he put together the snare, testing it so that when the trigger went off, the snare would pull the rope tight so that even if the deadfall was not enough, it would be snagged by the snare.

He took time making sure that his snare ropes were secured to the nearby trees so that even if it tried to get away, it would hold it tight. When the trap was complete, tested, and ready, he pulled out some of the food items that he saw the boar eating and made a trail for it to follow to his trap. This was not like his previous traps. Before, he just placed them and hoped something would find it. Now he used his skills to build the right trap for the right foe.

It had taken him all afternoon to build the trap; with it made and tested, it was time to wait. Hours went by before it finally came near. Mark looked at the sky; the sun was going to set soon. He was beginning to stress, as he was not seeing the bait. Finally, the time had come; it was following the trail of food. It stopped and tried to turn, but with the funnel closing around it, there was only one way out, and it stepped forward. The trap triggered, and the logs fell.

The impact against the boar's sides was loud and heavy, enough to make Mark flinch. The boar let out a huge bellow, but it was not dead, which was disappointing but planned for. The boar stumbled and fell, then stood up again. It was bleeding on both sides, and one of the logs was still stuck into its side. It was trying to pull away when the snare triggered and pulled the boar's feet out from under it.

Before the boar could do anything more, Mark stepped in, and using his axe, the sharpest tool he had, he chopped at the boar's neck. It took five swings for the boar to finally stop moving and fall dead. Mark fell to the ground panting; it had taken more effort than he thought to finally kill it. But it worked because he had planned for all possible scenarios. Then a chime sounded.

[Kill Confirmed] Ironhide Boar — Level 5 +200 XP Loot Acquired: Ironhide Boar Hide (x1) Ironhide Bone (x4) Tusks (x2) Sinew (x8) Boar Meat (x8) You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. [Major Threat Eliminated] [Map Updated] New threat and movement patterns recorded. [Level Up] Character: Mark Level: 5 XP: 48 / 300 Stat Points: +5 Skill Selection Available"… What does that even mean?" Mark looked at the screen; there was too much there, and he was too tired to deal with it now.

He gathered up his tools and headed home.

"Tomorrow I'll do my stats and see what new skill the System is offering."

"For now I just need sleep." Ava headed into the forest; she was again going to clear the traps. She had the stalker in its carrier, and it was not so happy about it. She could tell it wanted to get out and stretch its legs. She finally gave in after the third trap she passed, after already having gotten a squirrel out of the trap. She put him down on the ground, and he followed her through the forest. She went through a number of traps, finding nothing. She was starting to wonder if she would find more.

Finding another trap that had been triggered but had nothing there, she went about resetting the trap. She pulled out the bait for the trap, and out of a bush nearby, a razor rabbit darted at her. Dropping the bait, she stumbled backwards. A flash of terror crossed her face, remembering when she first got here. The rabbit almost made it to her when it was hit on the side by the stalker. The rabbit bit the stalker, and it tumbled back, trying to get away.

The rabbit resumed its march toward Ava, and she started to scramble backwards. The stalker lunged again as the rabbit closed in. The two bit and snarled at each other; the rabbit was stronger, but the stalker had a size advantage. Ava watched, too shocked to move; finally, the rabbit lay dead, and the stalker laid down and started to lick its wounds. She finally came to her senses and went over to help the wounded stalker. She pulled out some bandages and wrapped the worst of the wounds.

She was so proud of him; he had saved her from getting bitten again. When she finally got her nerves back, she looted the rabbit and gave the stalker a piece of its meat to eat. She finally continued her trek to the next trap. Before getting to the stream, she had found another 2 mice. Still refusing the idea of eating a mouse, she saved the meat for the stalker. At the river she found nothing in the small trap but found a large river trout in the bigger trap.

This was a big one, level 3, the highest thing she had found so far. She grabbed her spear and stabbed towards the fish; it darted to the side. She tightened her grip and struck again. The water splashed around her. Finally, the spear went straight in, and it went still. [Kill Confirmed] [Large River Trout Level: 3] +45 EXP Loot Acquired: River Trout Meat ×2 • Fish Bone ×1 • Slick Scale ×1 She stared at the message. That was the most experience she had gotten yet. Then she heard a chime.

[Level Up] Character: Ava Level: 3 XP: 10 / 120 Stat Points: +5 Skill Selection Available Ava looked over her stats and assigned her points +3 Agility +2 Perception Name: Ava Level: 3 Stats: Strength: 3 Agility: 10 Vitality: 5 Perception: 9 Intelligence: 4 With her stats assigned, she opened up her skill choices. [Skill Selection] Choose One Animal Sense (Level 1) Allows: • Detect nearby creatures at short range. • Sense the general emotional state of nearby animals. • Better recognize hidden wildlife.

Light Step (Level 1) Allows: • Reduce noise while moving. • Decrease the chance of being detected. • Move more confidently over natural terrain. Quick Reaction (Level 1) Allows: • Improve reaction speed. • Recover balance more quickly. • Reduce hesitation during sudden danger. She looked over the list and wanted them all, but the system would only allow her to pick one. She really wanted the last two, as who would not want to move super fast and be able to sneak around?

But looking at her stalker in its cage, she realized that if she had just sensed the rabbit, the stalker would not have been injured. And it would be fun to figure out what its emotions were; that would be fun. Before she could overthink it, she selected Animal Sense. [Skill Acquired] Animal Sense (Level 1) Allows: • Detect nearby creatures at short range. • Sense the general emotional state of nearby animals. • Better recognize hidden wildlife. After selecting the skill, she had a funny feeling.

Looking at the stalker, she could feel something. It was not control but awareness. She could sense that it was hurting; the rabbit had scared it. Looking down at the dead fish, she finally looted it. It was now time to go home and tell Mark about how she got such a cool skill. When she finally got back to camp, she sat on her chair and waited for Mark to return. When the sun set, she got worried. Then, finally, out of the trees he came. He looked exhausted. He barely said hi before he crawled into his lean-to.

"Fine, just go to sleep. I will tell you about it tomorrow." Ava was excited. Oh yeah, and hungry. So she sat down and started the fire the way Mark had taught her. She then put on her fish and cooked it, adding a little of the spices that Cora had given them. She popped a piece in her mouth and savored the flavor.

"Ahh, the taste of victory!"