《Gamer's Guide to Waking up as a Dinosaur》30: How to Kill a Buzz
Advertisement
Yes. It was poop.
I observed the offending orbs to be sure.
Dung
Excrement from a living creature.
Honestly, what was I expecting? Especially after everything else the magic boxes had given me up until now.
The information? Given. The conclusion? Concluded.
Fact rendered: The beetles pushing the balls of dung must’ve—in fact—been dung beetles.
But they were the biggest, meanest, sharpest—and only—dung beetles I had ever seen. I was quite sure dung beetles in the real world didn’t look like that. I observed them next.
Jungle Tunneler [Lvl 5]
This giant insect gathers globs of dung to dip in the acid of the bees it is in a symbiotic relationship with. Then, it rolls them against materials to drill tunnels. Unintelligent, but viciously territorial.
Hey! That was actually helpful! Thank you, magic boxes!
I decided to check out the bees, as well.
Jungle Stinger [Lvl 2]
This giant insect is capable of delivering devastating attacks of acid using its stingers, but it avoids combat. If a stinger is pulled out of the creature, it will die soon after. It is protected by the beetles it is in a symbiotic relationship with. Unintelligent and cowardly.
Okay. So the bees probably won’t be an issue for me. They’d probably flee from me since it says they’re cowardly, and they’re low-level anyway. My biggest worry is… that army of beetles.
The beetles, after all, were all level five, and I could probably only handle one, maybe two, at a time if I was lucky. It also depended on the general strength of a level five Jungle Tunneler, but the safest route was to assume they would be equal to or stronger than myself.
On a positive note, they were all level five, without any discrepancy, so if killing one was easy, then killing tons would probably be the same.
Advertisement
I was still sort of worried, though. What if they decided to expand their territory and found my new home? It’d be a shame to abandon the Dino Cave, but I wouldn’t hesitate if it became necessary.
Although…
Looking around at all the free experience, I wondered if it would be possible for me to build a EXP farm…
Well… we can worry about that later. There are any number of steps to take before I can even consider such a possibility. Step 1: Observation!
I took another glance around the cave. Beetles and bees were flying back and forth in a massive crowd like people crossing an intersection in a big city. They worked together in harmony, without pause.
Then, one of the beetles flew into a tunnel, rolling his huge boulder of dung down with him. Nothing was unusual about this occurrence, as that’s just what the beetles did… They rolled spheres of acid-covered excrement down tunnels, apparently to… drill further?
The unusual part was when the beetle came back. He crawled out onto a ledge overhanging the center pit, spun around in circles a few times, and wiggled his butt in the air, as if dancing.
Then, as though they were called by his majestic movements, several bees turned and flew toward the dancing beetle. I wondered if what he was doing was a skill, and so I observed him carefully.
Mating Call [Skill Lvl 3]
The creature summons nearby females of various species to its location.
Wow. That dude had some serious game. Several more bees, as well as a few beetles also flew towards him as he danced, wiggling his butt around in the air for all to see. More beetles began to land in tunnels, dropping their droppings and performing the mating call. I scanned every single one to make sure I could get as much experience for Observe as possible.
Advertisement
Maybe it’s… dinner time? What do dung beetles eat anyway?
Only a few bugs were left in the massive room after the players took their bug harems down the tunnels. The ones left continued to fly in and out of the huge tunnel across from where I stood. The ones that flew out carried dung, so that’s probably where they were getting it from.
What generates enough of that stuff… that they can just keep coming back here with it?
I sort of prayed to the magic boxes that it was something like a common area where herds of dinosaurs--is herds the right word?--would relieve themselves. But… that didn’t seem to me like something any animal other than humans would do.
And maybe elephants… because they do weird death rituals or something, right? I think I heard about that once.
Well, Step 1: Observation, complete! Onto Step 2: Isolation!
Which, naturally, involved me getting one of each of these bugs alone for Step 3: Experimentation. However, as it stood right now, I felt woefully unprepared to handle that undertaking, and so, it was time to go grind some experience before I could return. My plans for an eventual EXP farm would have to be put on hold… for now.
I turned to leave, and stepped directly in a large pile of poop.
Ew!
I pulled my leg free and stepped back…
And I stepped back directly out into the open air over the ramp.
Woah!
“Graag!” I shouted in surprise, slipping and sliding down the slope, covering myself in the same dung I’d just stepped in.
I stood up, wiping myself off, and looked at the slope I’d fallen down.
Right into the center of the cavernous chamber.
There were about nine or ten beetles currently flying around in the room, as well as several bees. The latter scattered, but every single one of the former turned their sights on me, rage burning in their eyes.
This… wasn’t what I had in mind. Challenging the enemy on their own turf? Well, that wasn’t ideal, but I could accept it after everything I’d already been through…but... I was covered in the same mucky stuff they shoved their faces into… for whatever reason.
I looked around me at the formation of angry beetles again, and only a single thought ran through my mind.
Oh… poop…
Advertisement
Tree of Magic
With nothing but the voices in his head to guide him, twelve-year-old Cameron has wandered the streets for more than two years, never staying in one place for more than a few months at most. Thirteen-year-old Greyson spends his weeks patching up a werewolf who fights in an underground mage arena to make money. Living alone, fifteen-year-old Eden has no friends and challenges himself and his limits by fighting in an underground mage arena. When the three of them meet, tensions are rising in Tejina, a city with many mages and supernatural beings. Wars are brewing there, and these three youth find themselves at the center of all of them. Mages, supernatural creatures, gods, and angels are about to clash, and these three youth will find their magic - and their minds - put to the test. Book 1 is completed as of 6/28/19, Book 2 is complete as of 9/20/19. Book 3 will begin posting on date unknown. Release Schedule: Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays by 11:59 PM CST +/- 1 day
8 95A Draconic Odyssey
Eight years have passed since war has ravaged the lands of Lokahn. The Justitian Empire, driven by zealotry and righteousness, has destroyed the old Kingdom and its ancient religion of Draconism. All remnants of the old ways have been driven out into the wilderness, forgotten by all of civilized Lokahn, as the land is molded into a fine realm of Justitia. Victor Miller, a farm boy from the quiet village of Riverside, decides to leave behind his quiet rural life for opportunity in the world beyond. Unbeknownst to him, what would begin as a simple journey for a better life would end up with him getting caught in a conflict. A conflict far bigger than himself... This story is only available on the following webstites : RoyalRoad deviantArt Any other websites you see this story on are the result of plagiarism.
8 210Stargazers
Dr. Eric Saunders is summoned by a government he doesn't trust because they need his help. Despite his reservations, it was the end of the world and he was humanity's last hope.
8 118(Re-write) House Cazador: The Imperial Lion
For those of you who have read the original, please give this one a chance. I have been doing my best to rewrite the story several times over and I think I like this new direction I am taking it in. You will read some old stuff in here, that can't be helped, but like I said I want to take it in a whole other direction and who knows, you might like the new way it turns out. *** Warning *** -Reader discretion advised. -Descriptive battle scenes and Mature elements Ever wondered what you would do to save another? One young man found out what he was capable of. In a lesson of blood and pain he discovered the kind of man he was and what he was willing to do in a moment of dire need. For his sacrifice an ethereal being rewarded him with an afterlife in the realm of the living. Reborn into a new body and a new life, he has many advantages from having knowlege of his previous life to other more ethereal things. How will he spend his life? Will he redeem himself by spending this new life doing good for the world or will he allow power to corrupt him and take him down a darker path? All is unknown, after all he is very much human.
8 205Lily Ex Machina [COMPLETED]
Lily Voirgaire is a girl born with extraordinary talent in a field of magic largely considered useless. She was content with that, happy simply to work diligently towards her goal, her dream of becoming a machinist, a creator of non-magical constructs. She loved her work, and she was good at it. She would spend every day working to get better at her craft, and would eventually become the best machinist in the land! That was what she thought. That was what was supposed to happen. But then an accident leaves her with a grave injury and tosses her leagues from her home city. This is the story of her journey. THIS STORY IS ALSO AVAILABLE ON MY PERSONAL WEBSITE, EXTANTVISIONS (http://extantvisions.com) Lily Ex Machina was completed in April 2017. To read the currently in-progress sequel(Seeking Elysium), please click >> HERE [Rated 17+ for slight gore, cursing, and slight sexual content. THIS WORK CONTAINS STRONG HOMOSEXUAL UNDERTONES.]
8 98Brothels in Another World
One day, waking up, you find yourself in a new world. If it were normal people, they would act in a normal manner, yet our duo is the exact opposite of normal. A mixture of compassion, greed and stupidity, that's the best way to describe this duo. Join them for an unusual ride in a faraway world.
8 159