Eventually, I got bored of being on the tree, and hopped down to the ground, my new legs easily absorbing the impact. My stomach was starting to growl again, and since I’d only eaten once today, I could understand.

Did you ever stop to think about how difficult life without a convenience store can be? Having to find food is actually tougher than you’d think. I ran across some wildlife throughout the day, but it was always something small, like an ancient squirrel predecessor or something. Add to that, I hadn’t been used to my body yet, and now everything was asleep. I supposed I could make it through the night without eating, but it certainly wouldn’t be comfortable.

Nah. Time to risk it for the biscuit. Literally.

The Deotrexaptor continued to prowl around the giant worm body, but it wasn’t as sharp-eyed as when it had started. Clearly sentry duty wasn’t the most entertaining thing it could be doing with its life.

I made my way forward.

With the sun going down, and the way these dinos were feathered, I imagined they were daytime creatures, so night vision probably wasn’t on their list of abilities.

So I crouched, and approached slowly through the grass.

It didn’t occur to me at the time that if I was caught, I’d probably be slain, and there’d likely be no respawns in my future.

I was solely focused on the joy of the “stealth mission” and also the food that awaited me. As I sneaked along, another magic box notified me of some updates to my dino.

You have developed a new skill: [Sneak Lvl 1]

You have developed your sight.

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

[Nocturnal]- Vision is less impaired by darker environments.

Nice! But this wasn’t the time to celebrate. I could definitely see the night vision coming into effect as I approached the lazing sentry dino. I could better tell when he was looking in my direction. And when he did, I froze. Definitely didn’t want to get caught by that thing.

My stomach didn’t growl at all, either, probably quite aware of how severe the consequences would be if I were caught. It might’ve been more aware than me. Which is a scary thought.

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

You don’t realize how dark it is until somebody turns on the lights. That instinct was definitely going to help me out more than I’d anticipated. I snuck forward carefully, being sure to make no noise.

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

I moved slowly. It was only one xaptor, but I’d seen what the pack could do, and I didn’t want to deal with a level fifteen, not right now, anyway.

Plus, I wasn’t running away from any challenges anymore, right? Massive level gains and rewards await players ballsy enough to risk it all!

And boy was that me.

Online, in MMO’s and other games, I was always the player that screamed a war cry, running straight into the mobs of dragons, ready to slay them all, with no regard for my clan’s plans. And when my health dropped? At least I had chicken.

Plus, ninety percent of the time, I succeeded! And that meant first dibs on loot! Hah!

But if you’re gonna be a dinosaur, it’s probably best to avoid that tactic. I know that now.

Somehow, I managed to get up next to the giant corpse, without the xaptor noticing. I’d waited until he was on the other side of the body, and then made my mad dash forward, sniffing the worm upon arrival.

It smelled okay.

It wasn’t as good and delicious as that egg yolk-covered mosquito… But it still smelled delectable.

Ravenously, I consumed as much as I could.

Blood dripped down my face as I ate the worm, and I glanced back and forth to make sure the xaptor hadn’t returned. He had a long walk to go, especially at the pace he was prowling.

I examined the worm as I ate.

Giant Tree Worm [Corpse]

This body was once that of a fearsome beast, capable of taking on some of the strongest monsters. But it is slow, and weak to group tactics. Hunted by packs of Deotrexaptors and other agile creatures.

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

Oh cool… A new skill. I guess it improves the more I eat? Or maybe feasting is a specific kind of consumption… And those xaptors weren't just fighting a foe... they were hunting it?!?

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

It felt as though I could stomach a little more of the meat, or perhaps I was consuming it faster. All I knew was that this skill was certainly going to be a useful one.

You’ve developed a new skill: [Dig Lvl 1] You’ve developed a new skill: [Slam Lvl 1] You’ve gained 500 experience.

Woah! What? As I ate, the three notifications appeared in a row. Immediately, my vision was filled with new boxes.

Congratulations! You have leveled up! (x2) You are now level 5 [--/--]. Your [Health] and [Stamina] are restored. Your [Feast] has leveled up. It is now level 3.

Well it sure was nice that the magic boxes stacked the notifcations for me now. But was this why the Deotrexaptors guarded the body instead of just returning for more later? Because consuming such strong monsters could grant skills and experience?

This mechanic was insane!

I giggled to myself. I was about to feast on this entire worm, and grow to untold levels!

But I was full. In fact, I might’ve eaten too much.

I crammed some more worm meat down my throat, but no new notifications appeared.

Then I burped.

Loudly.

“Skrraaaaaawwwww!” came the howl of the Deotrexaptor sentry. Rapid footsteps came swiftly running back around the corpse. He wasn't going to appreciate that I was eating their food. The food they'd worked so hard for. No, I needed to escape.

I glanced around rapidly, searching desperately for a place I could hide, but nearby only had the tall grass, some rocks, and the corpse. I could try to run for the grass, but if he was looking for me, there was no way I’d be able to escape that fast predator!

So I did the only thing I could think of.

I jumped inside the worm’s mouth.