Well, fortunately, I managed to find my way out and back to retrieve the wings. They hadn’t been touched, so I got them safely back to my new Dino Cave.

The night vision I’d developed helped out a bit, too, because the further back into the cave I went, the smaller and darker it got, until I was crawling to see further. There was a point where I couldn’t see anything except the wall, which was strange that the cave simply stopped like it did. But, at least it was empty.

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

That was a plus of straining to see in the darkness. Anyway, with my luck of meeting these titanic dinos in the overworld, I really didn’t want to stray out at night and chance meeting something worse.

Sailboat was already enough of a problem. Then there was also whatever that massive flying creature was… From the glimpse I’d gotten, I could see that it was covered in spikes, which… really didn’t make sense for a flier. Maybe it got around by gliding… It was so fast...

But where had it gone?

I wasn’t going to let these questions keep me from having a good night’s sleep, so I returned to the large chamber in the front of the cave, where I’d dragged all sorts of things in from above.

The wings, which sat in the far corner of the room, were covered by large leaves from some sort of plant that grew near the water, just so I could hopefully prevent flies or whatever they might attract.

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.

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, topped by a bunch of grass that I’d collected from the area around the watering hole. It resembled a bird’s nest.

Overall, not too bad of an attempt, if I do say so myself. Hey, if you’re gonna be a dino, then you’re gonna need a nest, right? Meet your new tutor: me! Welcome to JurassicClass. In this month of video tutorials, you’ll be able to learn everything there is to know about being an absolutely gangsta dino!

Just kidding. No videos. Sorry.

I shook my head. I needed to stop speaking to the imaginary friends I’d developed ever since arriving here with no ability to talk.

Let me tell you, no matter how introverted you think you are, being social is a fundamental part of human nature, and it is lonely to be… well, alone!

Encountering Rexcelsis had been cool, and relieved those gnawing thoughts a bit, but the language barrier, or speech barrier I guess, made it hard to appreciate his company.

And also, he left.

But again, I wasn’t going to let these thoughts keep me from a good night’s sleep. Routine is necessary to keep oneself mentally grounded, and I was keen on keeping to a healthy sleep schedule. I stepped onto my bed, doing a half-turn 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 3.

Blue boxes whyyy….

I sluggishly blinked away the sleepiness as I woke up to the blinding light of the magic box. The room was blacker than obsidian. Apparently, even in my sleep, the boxes could bother me. That could get annoying.

I had no idea how the box woke me up, but it did. I dismissed the blue annoyance, and looked around, my brain slowly picking back up to normal operating speed.

I felt slow. It was probably the effect of being interrupted in my sleep.

Wait… I realized, as I lay there, coming back to my senses. How did my sneak just level up?

This question made me snap my eyes wide open. Blood rushed through me, pumping loudly in my ears. I slowly peered around in the darkness, listening carefully, and keeping my breathing steady.

Muffled scratches, crunches, and liquidy slaps quietly reached my ears. I turned my head to the sounds, squinting hard as I tried to see what was making them.

Was there a shape over there, in the dark corner of the room?

Maybe?

I glanced at it out of the corner of my eye, something that used to work for me when getting around my house at night.

There was definitely a round shape over there. It was only moving a little bit.

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

I could see better through the dark. A ball of fur was hunched over, its shoulders moving, but little else doing so. I tried observing it through the dark.

Gorlen [Lvl 3] Your [Observant] has leveled up. It is now level 6. You may now obtain more advanced details of targets, provided they are a low enough level for you to do so.

Before I even read the second box, I realized what it was doing. It was eating.

Hey!

“Grrraaagaa!” the pitiful roar left my chest before I could even realize I was doing it. I jumped to my feet, sprinting over to the rotund ball of fur, and pulled it away from the wings, sending it rolling across the floor. I gazed in dismay at what was left.

Only a single wing remained, the bones of the other discarded to the side. And what was left of the wing wasn’t much. Half of it was eaten, and puddles of drool surrounded it.

I turned angrily to the offender.

“Raaaa!” I shouted, glaring at the thief. I wasn’t going to kill him, since after all, he hadn’t attacked me, but he was certainly going to pay for eating what I had hoped to get some skills from. Maybe I’d slap him around a little bit with my tail.

Heh. I could always grind some abilities on him.

Then I realized he wasn’t in an attacking stance. Long-clawed hands, similar to those on an anteater, tipped his long furry arms, pressed firmly against the top of his head. Two big, black eyes gazed fearfully at me in the dark, reflecting what little moonlight pierced the entrance to the cave.

He trembled, high pitched squeaks leaving him in spurts while he crouched in an even more condensed ball than before. His stubby black toes peeked out from underneath his shaking fur. He was only three feet tall.

And he was terrified.

Aww.

I observed him once more, reading now that I could obtain additional information on creatures. Maybe it would work on him.

Gorlen [Lvl 3] This creature is a scavenger that prefers to live in caves. During the day, it sleeps, blending into dark surroundings with a build maximized for dispersing light that may cross its body. A Gorlen will often follow the hunting trails of apex predators, picking at leftovers they leave behind. Very intelligent, but very cowardly.

Wow. That was… a lot of information. Going off of what the box said, this guy was probably the reason the wall just ended so abruptly when I explored earlier. So he’d been living here first. Well, I couldn’t exactly kick him out, could I?

My dominant stance sunk a little, and I turned to the leftovers of the wing. I glared at the gorlen.

I’d better be able to get something out of this!

Disgusted, I picked up the dripping appendage, and ripped off what little meat there was, making sure the furry guy saw me doing it. Two stubby ears perked up as he watched me, and the fear left his eyes, pure sorrow replacing it. He reached out, before pulling his hand away, and lowering his gaze to the floor.

That’s right, I thought. This is mine, thug.