Red gathered the three Rabbon he had just killed, considering what he should do about them. He thought of taking them to the marget's habitat and using them as bait.
The value of marget was higher than Rabbon in the Matron's eyes. He liked the surprised expression on the warriors who guarded the tribe when he brought back marget.
Red tapped his head, quite hard. He recalled the morning scenario, and what he needed the most right now was not meaningless admiration or a place in the tribe. He needed to survive the Shaman's attempt to kill him.
The moment the Shaman found out that he had overcome the curse. The Shaman would look for another way to kill him. He was confident the Shaman would not stop until he died.
What helped him to survive? Getting stronger. In order to get stronger, he needed the core from the beast.
He didn't hesitate to exchange the three Rabbon for loot. The three Rabbon disappeared into light particles. He hoped it would give him Might Core.
Red got Might Core, but a frown formed on his forehead. There was something wrong with the exchange. He only got 3 Might Cores and 3 Copper Coins from the three Rabbon he hunted. He was supposed to get six cores or more Copper Coins if he got only one core.
It was consistent with the marget, but why was it different now? This confused him. It took him a while to think about it, but he could not figure out what made it different. He sat on the ground, leaning against the tree while thinking.
'What's the difference between today and yesterday?'
Red easily discovered the difference. He needed to be strategic against marget, and he was almost caught off guard by marget's agileness.
However, the Rabbon didn't give him the same challenge. It was pretty much a smooth fight, even though he fought them instead of ambushing them.
'Does the loot depend on the challenge the beast gives me?'
He couldn't really confirm it. He needed more information and remembered a skill that might give him information.
[Appraisal - level 1: An ability to analyze targets, items, and living beings to reveal basic information.]
Red checked the skill to ensure that it would work on Rabbon. He remembered correctly that the skill could be used on a living creature.
'Does that mean I can use the skill on the other kids and the warrior?'
He quickly realized that the skill might work on his tribesmen. He was curious what kind of information it would give him. Would that information be useful? Then I remembered something more important.
'If I can use the skill on the kids, does that mean I can use it on Shaman as well? Is it possible for them to notice my skill?'
Red started to understand how things worked and how he should use them for his survival. He hoped the Appraisal would give him the level of the Shaman.
The level seemed to be how this screen measured the overall strength of a creature. For now, he needed to focus on raising his level and attributes. When he was ready, he could start to plan how he was going to take care of that old goblin.
He absorbed the three Might Cores and checked his status.
Name: ???
Level: 0
Health: 36 Stamina: 66 Mana: 100
[Tier 0 Might]
Strength: 10 Endurance: 6.6 Vitality: 3.6 Dexterity: 6.2
[Tier 0 Magic]
Intelligence: 10 Wisdom: 10 Arcane Perception: 8.8 Mind: 9.4
Skills:
Tier 1 Skill: Mana Sense - Level 1, Levelheaded (Passive) - Level 10, Appraisal - Level 1
Tier 5 Skill: Infernal Berserk - Level 1
Negative Status:
Curse of the Hunter - Level 1
His dexterity increased by 0.4, and his Endurance increased by 0.2. That meant each of the cores gave him a 0.2 increase. That was the minimum value for each core. He felt like he was quite unlucky with it.
Red was about to close his status until he saw his health. His health was over thirty, and that was the best news he got this early morning. He forgot about his bad luck with the core absorption. Having a higher health gave him a sense of security that allowed him to take more risks.
He got up and slapped his cheek, "It's time to hunt. Who cares if it's only a 0.2 increase!? And remember to use Appraisal on rabbon!" He went deeper into the jungle.
*** ***
Red started to understand why the kids of his generation took the middle and the right path. While he didn't know anything about the right path, he could guess that the path might be the same.
The middle area had more beasts to hunt. The rabbon didn't hide and set up an ambush like marget. They were in the open, eating the fresh leaves or bark on the ground.
The rabbon didn't set up an ambush, and he didn't need to set up an ambush as well since they were weaker than marget. He just needs to make sure to prepare a stone.
A throw in their head would put them down, and it was easier to hit them. He just needed to wait for them to jump at him, and he threw the stone. That worked perfectly for him as he managed to hunt four rabbons at once without getting harmed.
This was his fourth hunt of the day, and his excitement over the hunt made him forget to use Appraisal on the dead rabbon. He kept reminding himself about it, and he remembered it now.
Red picked one of the Rabbon and used Appraisal on it. He could still feel the strange sensation when using the skill. But it was much better than yesterday. He didn't feel as uncomfortable as yesterday.
[Level 0 Rabbon Carcass: Can be exchanged for valuable loot.]
The skill gave him basic information about the level of the Rabbon. It showed the beast was level 0, the same level as him.
"I need to use Appraisal on the marget…" He muttered.
It was not much, but that might be useful later. He could use Appraisal on the marget and compare them later.
'The Marget might be a level 1 beast.' Red guessed in his head.
It made sense considering the other kids avoided that place. He started to understand why the kids went here instead. Even if somehow the marget and rabbon were on the same level, the marget was clearly stronger than this rabbon.
Rabbon was more predictable and easier to hunt. He might come to a conclusion too early, but it would be hard to change his opinion after he hunted rabbon four times, and each hunt was easier than hunting marget.
After using an appraisal on one of the Rabbon, he exchanged them for loot. With this exchange, he confirmed that rabbon's loot was just one core and one copper coin.
He hunted thirteen rabbon in total, and all of them had the same loot. But he was not discouraged by this discovery. It gave him fewer drops, but he didn't take a big risk in hunting them.
The four rabbon gave him 1 Might Core and 3 Magic Cores. He got 6 Magic Cores from the four hunts. He didn't like the drop because he still had not changed his mind to max his Might Attributes.
[Tier 0 Might]
Strength: 10 Endurance: 6.6 Vitality: 4 Dexterity: 5.2
[Tier 0 Magic]
Intelligence: 10 Wisdom: 10 Arcane Perception: 9.8 Mind: 9.8
Red always checked his status after absorbing the core. The progress of his attributes gave him satisfaction. He almost maxed out all attributes under Magic, and he wondered what would happen if he maxed out all attributes under Magic.
He looked up, but the sun was not really up there. That was how he checked the time. He planned to go back with five or maybe ten rabbon when the sun was right above his head.
"I still have some time."
The beast in the middle area was more populated than the marget's territory for sure. What was more amazing was the fact that he could find three to five rabbon at once.
He managed to hunt seventeen more rabbon when the sun was right above his head. He thought of bringing ten rabbon, so he didn't have to pretend to be in pain the next morning.
Red did really try to bring back ten rabbon, but the loot was truly against him. When he hoped for Magic Core, it didn't appear. He wanted to max his Magic Attribute and found out what would happen when he maxed it.
However, he didn't get a single Magic Core after exchanging twelve rabbon. That was why he settled up for five rabbon and decided to go back.
He was happy to get 12 Might Cores, but he was also annoyed at the same time. The Magic Core dropped when he didn't want it, but he didn't get a single one when he wanted it.
Red tucked the broken spear on the back, between his loincloth, and carried five rabbon on his shoulders. He grabbed them by their ears as he made his way back.
He was no longer tracking the dirt path but inside the jungle. The jungle no longer intimidated him, and he had a solution, so he didn't get lost in the jungle. He marked every three to four trees he passed with his spear. Now he just needed to follow that marked tree to get back to the dirt path.
Marking the tree was a genius idea, and he was proud to come up with that. Today was another success, and everything was smooth sailing for him with the exception of the morning incident.
He planned to go back and have another meal before hunting again. That was the plan, but things didn't always go according as planned.
He met six kids from his generation on the way back to the tribe. He hoped they didn't have a funny idea about him, hoping they remembered what he did to the others back then.
That didn't happen as the six goblins blocked the dirt path. Despite the size difference, they were not afraid of him. The one who seemed to be the leader of the group stepped up and raised his curved blade at the five rabbon on his shoulders.
"This is our hunting area and everything around here belong to us. If you don't want to die, drop our rabbon and leave!"