I stood up, brushing myself off as best I could, and retrieved the wings. They hadn’t been damaged by the fall, fortunately, so I dragged them into a corner of the cave. They’d be safe there, I was sure. At least until breakfast.

The night vision I’d developed helped out a bit as I explored my new potential residence, because the further back into the cave I went, the darker it became. The tunnel grew smaller, too, until I was crawling to see further. There was a point where I couldn’t see anything except the wall, which was only inches away from my snout. It struck me as odd that the cave simply stopped the way it did, but at least it was empty.

Your [Nocturnal] has leveled up. It is now level 3.

The level-up notification appeared in the black, and the darkness faded slightly, allowing me to see the walls just a little better in the back of the cave.

Well, there was that plus to straining to see through the darkness of the tunnel, at least. And with my luck of meeting terribly strong creatures in the overworld, I really didn’t want to be sleeping outside in the nighttime anymore and chance meeting something worse. There was a certain degree to which you could tempt fate before it took you up on your offers.

So, there was a second good thing about this cave. Plus, the entrance was too small for dinos like Sailboat and Rex to follow me. If the xaptors tracked me down, though, it would probably end poorly for me. I’d be cornered.

This cave was a blessing and a curse, depending on how you looked at it. I chose to see it as an optimist would, even though I knew in the back of my mind that I would have to be careful not to lead any of my enemies back here.

Sailboat was already enough of a problem. And then there was also that massive flying creature to consider. Whatever it was… From the glimpse I’d gotten, I thought I could see that it was covered in spikes which… didn’t really make sense for a flyer? But I guess it could get around by gliding. It was so fast, though… And where had it gone?

I wasn’t going to let these questions keep me from having a good night’s sleep, though, so I returned to the large chamber in the front of the cave and scoped it out. It was a rectangular flat space with a raised area in the middle that sloped into a flat top. It felt sort of like the cave had formed a natural table for me, so I placed the wings there.

Aside from the barren room and low light, the place seemed like it could be a real home for me. I just needed to either get more used to the darkness or introduce artificial light. The latter seemed unlikely.

But… decoration? Now there was a thought. This place could certainly use some sprucing up. Too bad those trees grew in more temperate climates and probably not here.

I glanced up through the leafy cover to my new home’s entrance. The light was still coming in, though it was fairly dimmer than before. Night must’ve been fast approaching.

Well… I guess I can risk it.

I snuck outside, creeping around the bushes and the t-rex head-shaped rock. It almost felt like it was guarding my cave, a symbol that Rexcelsis would be back. He’d need a name, of course, if he were to be my lookout.

Oh man, I’m already personifying rocks… How much longer until I go completely insane?

I shook my head, pushing out into the open woods. A long frond whacked my face, and I moved it aside, annoyed. When another one thwapped me again, I bit it angrily, tearing it from the ground.

A lightbulb flashed above my head and I pulled even more of the fronds from the ground before dragging them back into my cave.

Well, that wasn’t so hard.

I repeated the process, uprooting ferns and carrying them back to my new domain until I had a large pile. I made sure to take the ferns further away from the cave, because I didn’t want to leave a conspicuous boulder surrounded by freshly turned dirt, so it became a little bit more of a struggle to fight whatever the fronds got caught on, but I made do.

Back in the cave, I stripped each root from the leaves with my teeth, the dirty taste filling my mouth. Water to rinse it out and wet my tongue afterward would’ve been nice, but the siren’s pond was too far away for me to go to with the fading light.

I laid the fronds across the floor, crisscrossing them like I’d seen on a medieval documentary once. It had taught me about how the castles under construction often formed small towns around them for the workers, with buildings made out of whatever stone was in the area, and floors made of rushes. Historians weren’t exactly sure, apparently, how the rushes were laid, but crisscrossed on the floor was the working theory. And that’s what I decided to go with.

After I’d finished, the floor of the cave was far more comfortable to lay on. I’d also covered the wings with a couple of large flowery leaves from some sort of plant I’d seen mostly near rivers, to hopefully prevent their scent from floating out of the cave entrance and attracting flies.

And hey, leaf me alone. I don’t know anything about meat preservation. I’m just lucky I’ve got an adaptable enough personality to have survived this long. And an improved physique, as well.

Bad jokes aside, the bed I made for myself was as much dirt as I could kick down here with my long talons as possible, under more large leaves. From the way it was shaped, though, it kind of resembled a bird’s nest. A half-blind bird that somehow managed to carry flora ten times its size.

Overall, not too bad of an attempt, if I do say so myself. I can see the effort put in. You’ve clearly tried your hardest. And the materials are decent given the circumstance. Seven out of ten. “Wow, thanks, Mr. Judge!”

Yep. Diagnose me as clinically insane, please.

Hey, if you’re gonna be a dino, and you’re gonna be alone, you’re gonna have to keep yourself entertained, somehow. Plus, you’ll need a nest, right? That’s just Dino 101. And get ready to meet your new professor: me! Welcome to ProfessionalClass. In this free video tutorial, you’ll be able to learn everything there is to know about being an absolutely gangsta dino! Plus, if you stay until the end, I’ve got a special gift ready for you. But you have to stay until the end.

Just kidding! No videos, sorry. The budget’s too low for that.

I shook my head. I needed to stop speaking to the imaginary friends I’d developed ever since arriving here with no ability to speak. And let me tell you, no matter how introverted you think you are, being social is a fundamental part of the human psyche. It’s natural to socialize, even if only a bit. And, well, it’s lonely to be alone!

Encountering Rexcelsis had been cool since he’d been the first non-hostile mob I’d met. And one that seemed to display a high level of intelligence, too, from what I could gather. Meeting him had relieved those gnawing thoughts of loneliness a bit, but the language barrier—or speech barrier, I guess—had made it hard to truly appreciate his company.

Oh, also that he left.

I wondered if it were possible to learn to speak Dinosaur so I could communicate with Rex the next time I saw him.

Anyway, I was tired, so I pushed these thoughts to the side for now. Routine is necessary to keep oneself mentally grounded, after all, and I was keen on keeping to a healthy sleep schedule. I stepped onto my bed, doing a half-turn like a dog as I found a good position, and laid down to rest.

And I was out faster than my head could hit the pillowy dirt.

Your [Sneak] has leveled up. It is now level 4.