At some point, I don’t really know when, I discovered that I had those really cool toes.

You probably know what I mean without me even having to go into detail, but I will, if only to talk more about the cool toes.

So, anyway, on certain dinosaurs, notably the velociraptors in a certain famous dinosaur movie, one large toe on each foot, I suppose it can be called a talon, sticks up. Well I’ve got ‘em. Some big ole claw toes.

Probably why I had the Claw skill to begin with. You’d have thought I would’ve noticed before, wouldn’t you? When I stepped on those mosquitoes?

Well, you’d be wrong!

I’m not exceptionally observant when everything is new. My senses were overloaded! Sorry!

Anyway, yeah I found out I’ve got these two pokey-things, so I started working the muscles on them.

They weren’t easy to manipulate. Either my baby muscles were weak (which was probably true), or they weren’t meant to move much.

Which bothered me.

Have you ever seen somebody wiggle their eyebrows, or ears, or something else that serves absolutely no function besides to make them the cool kid on the block? And then you try and do it but you just… can’t? And it’s super infuriating? Yeah, well, that’s kind of what I was going through trying to make the talons move.

I gave up eventually, but I was determined to try again. No challenge shall have me forfeit!

So I proceeded back into the woods. Jungle? Forest? Whatever it was, it was huge.

I was walking towards the spot I’d hatched again, and it was getting dark.

A sudden explosion off to the side spooked me. I launched into the air, shrieking in surprise. When I landed, I didn’t move. I stayed completely silent, listening to see if the explosion would happen again.

When it didn’t, I knew I couldn’t just wait idly by without ever knowing what that sound was. Plus, it’s not like I had anybody to go “home” to, anyway. So I headed in the direction of the sound. Smart, right?

I pressed through a thorny bush, which I hardly felt, and peeked towards the sound. Long, black grass rose up from the ground, obscuring my view. I watched as a pack of small feathered dinosaurs leapt into the air, diving back towards whatever they were fighting.

One of the trees nearby had some low-hanging branches, so I jumped and grabbed them, pulling myself up onto the tree, breathing heavily. My arms were most certainly not meant for the maneuver I’d just pulled, but at least I was able to see now.

You’ve developed a new skill: [Climb Lvl 1].

What? No rank up? I feel cheated.

I held onto a branch above me as I leaned out over the small field. The feathered dinos squawked as they fought, and I could vaguely see a hulking mass underneath them.

Like a whale’s tail splashing down into the ocean, the mass wriggled, burrowing into the ground, and slamming dirt into the air.

The pack of dinosaurs went flying. Some flapped small arms hopelessly, and others managed to slow their fall, while the lucky few caught themselves on the nearby trees, or landed in brush.

Rapidly, they gathered together, engaging the dirt-swimmer once more as it reared it’s round head above the ground.

Muffled moans accompanied the attack, as the tiny dinos ripped into the pink flesh of the swimmer.

Suddenly, the creature shot back out of its hole, a pillar of pink soaring straight into the sky, standing at least fifteen feet tall. It spun slowly, as though unbalanced in this position, before slamming back down at the ground, towards where the pack of dinos had been attacking it. Yet they swiftly moved out of the way, crouching and pouring their energy into their strong leg muscles.

The mass of flesh slammed down, an explosion ripping through the field.

So that’s what it was…

What kind of attack was that? As I squinted, trying to get a better look at the giant beast that had performed it, the magical blue boxes appeared once again.

You have developed your sight.

Congratulations! You’ve unlocked the [Observant] instinct.

[Observant]- By carefully viewing an object of interest, you may garner basic knowledge of it.

Woohoo! I cheered internally. Might as well see what I could do with this new instinct. I continued to observe the fighting creatures as I had before, but this time, boxes appeared above them.

Little Deotrexaptor [Lvl 14] Little Deotrexaptor [Lvl 15] Deotrexaptor [Lvl 18] Little Deotrexaptor [Lvl 15] Alpha Deotrexaptor [Lvl 25] Giant Tree Worm [Lvl ???]

Well. That settled it. The Deotrexaptors probably didn’t stand a chance against an enemy of an unknown level. Usually, the question marks indicated an enemy too strong to be understood, at least in my experience.

And yet, as I watched, the Deotrexaptors quickly descended upon the fallen form of the giant worm, ripping and tearing with their sharp hind talons.

They had toes like me. Big ‘uns.

Perhaps this was my family? But then, why was I scaly while they were covered with fur? Maybe I just hadn’t been alive long enough to grow it.

Then again… I considered. Chicks are usually born with some sort of down, right? So I can’t be related to them.

The worm moaned, which isn’t something I’d ever thought a worm could do. Then, a massive crack in its side opened up, revealing rows of sharp teeth. It spun its body in a rapid circle, the open mouth coming down on one of the Little Deotrexaptors with a fury.

It screamed in pain, and I gasped. I’d started rooting for them after discovering they were the underdogs.

The other xaptors began to hoot and click their teeth together. The one that was slightly larger than the rest, and colored beautifully, the alpha, howled, and the group charged.

The fight didn’t last long after that. While the worm slowly chewed on the xaptor it’d torn apart, trying to pull the rest of its body out of the hole, the other xaptors, led by the alpha, ripped and tore with a fury they hadn’t displayed until then. I didn't understand how they could've possibly won.

Blood Lust [Skill Lvl ???]

This ability is only activatable when one has suffered great losses. Massive buffs.

Pack Fury [Skill Lvl ???]

The Alpha can enrage his pack, buffing them. The pack also acts as one during this time.

That explained it. Big enough buffs could make all the difference in a fight like that. The corpse of the worm lay there, as the Deotrexaptors continued to tear it apart, eating bits and pieces of it, before the alpha cried out.

Two Little Deotrexaptors approached the body of the other, and dipped their heads to the ground. Then, they grabbed the small arms in their mouths, and hauled the body off. The regular Deotrexaptor stayed behind, prowling around the body, while the alpha led the rest of them away into the undergrowth.

I just sat in awe.

Your [Observant] has leveled up. It is now level 2.

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