Chapter 10 The frozen waterfall

The meat melted in my mouth. It was as if the effort obtaining it increased the enjoyment of it two fold. Besides the lovely taste, I was glad to see my hunger bar return to full and disappear.

The next thing on my list would definitely be water, but the thought of it just made me nervous. It meant I had to go to the waterfall area, that or eat snow. But, with my fire and clothes only increasing my exposure back to half ruled out the eating of snow. All I could hope for was that nothing spotted me as I ran like a mad man out in the open.

It would have to wait till the morning.

I finished my last bite of meat and looked down to my now makeshift boots. Pulling them on I already saw my exposure bar increase another tenth. It was good news, it would make the trek across the snow quite a bit more bearable.

Tapping the boots, more than one notification popped.

Ping!

[Success in crafting your own first boots!]

+1 Wildcraft

+1 Patience

Skill gained!

Crafting I [Primitive]

With some fiddling around with basic materials you have discovered how to make simple usable items.

+40% Success rate of creating usable simple clothes or crude items or weapons.

+10 % Chance to create average clothes, weapons, or items with basic crafting materials.

[Dire Ermine boots]

Using the pelts of Dire Ermines and inner bark, these boots were created using primitive means. The pelts themselves offer decent projection against cold weather. Though, the durability is not as high due to the means by which it was made.

+10% Exposure Protection

+1 Armor Class

50/50 Durability

I smiled. Even though just a little bit of help, every bit was welcome. The Crafting skill definitely was a nice touch. It meant that while creating something, it had a percentage of automatically finishing it in a successful craft. And the chance to create something higher in quality than simple was nice too. It was just too bad on the boots having such a low durability rating. They wouldn’t last me more than a few days.

After that, I threw on a few more sticks and logs on the fire and sat back against the tree. Within seconds, my eyes closed and I drifted off to sleep.

I started awake, glancing around, seeing my fire down to coals. I quickly added more fuel, but paused as I saw the light outside. Relief tumbled over of making the night without interruptions.

Gripping the one support beam, I pushed outside my shelter. As I got a look outside, I gulped. There were paw marks all over the place.

It was a wonder nothing disturbed me in my shelter. No matter, even with the troubling thought of predators skulking about outside my shelter sniffing at the battle scene last night, I wouldn’t get anything from worrying about it now. I tapped my Inventory and took out more cooked meat. It gave a little buff of Athletics.

With a deep breath I stepped away from my shelter and ventured out of the clump of trees.

Staring around revealed only open snow and the forest, hillside and waterfall, nothing big was moving outside.

Then a fox bounded by, fifty metres or so from me. Immediately I called out hoping my perception and insight was finally high enough to identify the critter.

“Identify!”

Relief flooded me when the level of the fox came into view.

Silver Fox

[Critter] Level 37

This critter is commonly found in the cold places around the world. Its thick silvery fur makes it ideal for the breezy temperatures. It is non-aggressive, although, do not be fooled by its cute nature, it is an agile opponent if attacked.

[Extra Info]

Fur can be used as a crafting material.

[??]

[Non-Hostile-Unless Provoked]

Level thirty seven? Hmmm, for a critter it was high level if my guess of the zone level was true. Yet, it helped me quite a lot that I could identify certain things now. That in itself was a small victory. I went back to my shelter and grabbed one of poles I had sharpened into a very makeshift spear the night before. Tapping it as I left the shelter, it glowed for a second before,

Ping!

Average Spear

This spear was made with care, the tip was cleaned up and sharpened with the pole having some semblance of balance.

Damage: 15-20

Durability: 75/75

The upgrade to the spear made me smile. It put the damage of it at just a little more than my skinning knife.

I breathed in deeply as the crisp and cold air filled my lungs. Today was the day I ventured out. My feet not being popsicles changes things a bit, and within seconds I was up to a nice, yet hopping, little trot through the snow. Halfway over the expanse towards the waterfall, I stopped and glanced intently in a full circle around me.

No big movement. Right.

I continued forward.

All that filled my hearing as I ran was the snow crunching beneath my Ermine boots. If I could reach level ten and somehow find myself to the edge of the biome, I might be able to enter a lower level zone where I actually stood a chance.

Skidding to a stop at the frozen waterfall, I surveyed the area. If it was any warmer, the spot would be quite serene, although, even with the cold, it looked beautiful.

Creaking and cracking sounds was the only thing stirring the air right then, so I got to a spot where the ice looked the thinnest and started stabbing my spear into it. It took a minute, but eventually the ice cracked and a small hole fell away. I cringed, I had no other option than to stick my hand into the near freezing water. With a quite bit of reluctance, I reached down and quickly stuck in my hand. Immediately I could feel the biting of the cold, but I pressed on, lifted a palm full of water, and drank. I wasn’t surprised to see my exposure bar drop a bit, though not much. As I drank my second helping, I was happy to see it didn’t drop any faster than a small tick.

The next few minutes, I spent drinking my fill until my water was full again. I just wished I had some sort of canteen to fill up. Though, that couldn’t be helped at the moment.

I looked in the direction where I had come flying from. It would take a few days more before I was ready to go that direction.

I stuck my hand into the water one last time, just to get one more refreshing sip.

Crack.

That was a bit louder than normal, and I wondered if I disturbed the pool enough for larger cracks to form.

Doof

My ears perked. That sound was a bit out of place. As I slowly straightened, too precise and steady noises came from a single direction. It made my heart beat quicken and I gulped. Making no sudden movements, I turned my head at a snail’s pace. In my peripheral vision a large figure moved towards me with deliberate steps.

No...

I turned the last bit and froze. A giant white and blue striped Sabre-tooth tiger with its haunches low in a stalking manner, stood there looking at me no less than twenty metres away from me. Its one paw, which was twice the size of my head, lifted ever so slowly and placed it closer ever so carefully.

I gulped again.

As imperceptible as I could, I glanced around to see if I had any chance of surviving the first few seconds.

That is what I had if the thing pounced, and unlike the Ermine, I had no way, not one of coming out on top. Not with the levels I had, or the weapons. It would literally be over in seconds.

I spotted a snow-covered tree hanging next to the waterfall in the rock face. It hung over the frozen pool. The only way to get up there was a crack in the rock that was as big as my foot.

I moved my one foot as slowly as I possibly could to the other side of the hole I made in the ice. My body eased with it, until I was standing with the hole between the Sabre-tooth and me. I glanced back.

It was within fifteen metres from me. Its teeth were just as long as the sword I had wielded up until a few days ago. Just seeing their sharp points made sweat start to roll down my face.

I had one single chance of buying me more than a few seconds against the thing, but I didn’t even know if I could get up there.

Steadying my breath, I tensed my muscles and ever so carefully lifted my spear. I pulled back slowly and with every single point of strength, I threw the spear at the Sabre-tooth.

Everything happened at once, the spear sailed through the air, digging into the predator’s more than formidable shoulder. It roared and the sound rung in my ears as I spun and ran as fast as I could possibly go.

The ice beneath me held as I ran over the frozen pool of water. I could only hope it held.

I heard explosive movement behind me, I risked a glance, the tiger came storming towards me, the spear in its shoulder hardly slowing its speed. Its eyes raged with killing intent. Then it tripped in the hole I made for the water.

I booked it then, running even faster. Within moments, I reached the cliff face next to the waterfall and jumped, my hands dug into the course rock and my foot slid into the crack. I pressed down and sprang upwards as hard as I could.

My hand grabbed the branch and I pulled with all my strength.

The air below me changed in a whoosh. My right arm got around the tree and I looked down to where the Sabre-tooth tiger had just flashed under me. It shook its head and then looked up. It sat on its haunches and I knew what was coming next.

I pulled with all my might and lifted my one foot up to the tree.

A rip sounded as I felt my shirt shredding open at the back. Frantically I pulled myself against the tree as I heard it jump again.

It missed. But just barely.

Within seconds, I got up onto the tree, heaving for breath and looking down at the giant Sabre-tooth.

“Identify.” I gasped finally.

????

[Monster] Level ??

????

[Extra Info] ??

[??]

[Extremely dangerous]

The same thing happened as that night. I shook my head and shouted,

“It is a giant sabre-tooth! Identify!”

Giant Frost Sabre-Tooth

[Monster] Level 44

????

[Extra Info] ??

[??]

[Extremely dangerous]

Ping!

+2 Insight

+2 Perception

It worked? I was surprised. I only did it out of pure frustration. Yet, it only made my situation even more dire. It wasn’t a mini-boss or boss creature, and it wasn’t a level scaled monster either. So, the place was beyond any doubt at least a level 40-45 zone and that meant was like an earthquake going from a 6 to a 7. It could almost not be compared.

Crack

Creaaak

Everything shook and I had to grip more tightly. Something didn’t feel right. My gaze jerked back.

The roots of tree popped out of the rock one by one. My eyes popped open wide. This was bad.

I looked down at the fearsome tiger below and eased backwards...

Crack

My body was shaking as I moved backwards. As I got to the rock face, I glanced up. The ledge was three metres above me. Not a jump I could make. I had to hit the handholds halfway up, I studied them and then looked at the tree. There were only three roots left in the face—

Creeeaak

Two left.

Quickly I turned around and pressed my hands against the rock, getting my feet under me.

Crack

I had no time! I stood up and jumped up towards the protrusions in the rock. Desperately I grabbed at my only lifeline. My right hand got hold of one and immediately slipped. I heard the tree rip out of the rock and fall. My left hand just barely got hold of the rock and I hung there straining at having all my weight on a single hand. Grimacing, I looked down and saw the falling tree hit the jumping tiger and it yelped as it landed on the ice. It cracked and a huge piece of it gave way. The Sabre-tooth was sliding into the water.

I could barely take it in as my left hand started losing grip. If I let go, I was done for. I held on for dear life, but I could feel my pinkie slip off the rock, then my ring finger. In a last ditched effort, I tried grabbing the right hand-held again.

It slipped again.

My thumb scraped off on my left.

I reached up higher, and just as my left hand jerked loose, my right got a hold. Not wasting any more time, I searched for another place to hold on. As I was a bit higher now, there were more options. I swung up my left arm grabbed another and then another with my right.

A minute later, I dropped exhausted up on top of the small cliff. My lungs burned as I tried to suck in more air.

I stared at my exposure bar. I had little more left than a third of it. This was not the end of my trouble.

Ping!

[Having detected and successfully evaded an attacking predator of thirty levels or higher.]

+2 Perception

+1 Acrobatics

[Having scaled a cliff under extreme duress]

+1 grip

Skill gained!

Extreme Mountaineer I [Journeyman]

You have accustomed yourself to vertical climbing and even done so to survive. You now have a better awareness of the safest route to climb.

+1 strength when climbing.

55% chance to detect a more favourable climbing route.

I could hardly take in the information as I rolled over and stared down the side of the cliff. The Sabre-tooth was still very much alive, though struggling a lot to get its bottom half out of the freezing water.

Scraping together courage, I pressed myself upright. I had to use the time to get away. To maybe find a place where I could warm up. My exposure bar was down to a quarter.

I had little time.