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Droog

“I’m glad I choose ‘Penetration Resistant Skin’ skill,” with happy eyes Dimitry thought of mosquitoes that couldn’t bite him all night long.

Looking at sun that is rising, he thought back on theories he tried to prove while not falling asleep when beasts roomed the night. Turning his phone on and changing time to six am. He powered it off and put it back in his pocket.

First, it seems that moving mana in his body without doing anything is not decreasing his mana.

Second, if he tries to use mana inside of his body then mana is decreasing two times slower than when he uses it outside, like with tree branch to make it cut something, he tried more and it gets easier and sharper.

Third, mana is essential to living being as tree from which he stole mana is now seems to be dying.

Fourth, using mana to near deprivation is bad; as it can not only make him pass out but in worse case lead him to death.

Arranging his thought and thinking what to do next he felt exhausted ‘Well not surprising I used near all my mana over this few hours’ thinking back after he regain his consciousness it seems that most of his mana refiled itself automatically. Getting himself in comfortable position with his legs crossed, Dimitry started to meditate, this time he wanted to gain mana form air. After one hour of trying to feel mana in air he finally succeeded in sensing it, not wanting to lose this feeling, he focused on directing mana into his body.

Opening his eyes, he could not tell how much time passes, checking his phone he saw that he meditated for two whole hours. Focusing on inside of him he felt as tank where mana is stored is almost full, feeling energized and strong he thought what he should do next.

He concluded that he needed water and new shelter as this one was dying, and also he should try to find civilization if one is present here.

After five long minutes of looking from tree top and examining if there was any monsters in near area he slowly and quietly descended tree. Not doing the same thing again as last time, he throws a small stick close to a river while hiding behind the tree. After minute of nothing coming out of bushes, he walked to a river and saw clear water with strong current. Sipping little of water, he concluded that in majority its good, not having a means of boiling it, he given up and drank water.

“So, following downstream…” said Dimitry and headed downstream, just as he took two steps he spotted his keys and picked them up.

While he was walking he started to feel hunger, and hear slight rumbling in his stomach. Looking at his left he tried to find anything edible, after ten minutes of walking he finally found something. What he found were pink berries growing on small bush, barriers were of unusual shape and had small black dots on them.

‘Should have been a botanist, but don’t think that would help here…poisonous or not...’ looking intensively at berries Dimitry decided to not take a chance.

Walking away from bush he continued to walk downstream. After twenty minutes he spotted something drinking water from river in distance. Quietly hiding behind near tree, Dimitry waited for fifteen minutes, after which monster similar in size and shape to a crocodile but with fur and wolf face slowly retrieved to a forest. Waiting for five more minutes Dimitry continued walking, while he walked for ten more minutes he noticed interesting sight. River widened in double here for about ten miters and in middle of river was Small Island or more correctly to say rock with flat surface and one miter wide and five centimeter high form surface water. Noticing this unusual sight Dimitry continued walking while looking for food.

“Kiii-iiii!” After fifteen minutes of walking he heard high pitch peep.

Slowly taking cover and listening to sounds, he concluded that something small is fighting with each other, based on sounds that they produce. Getting out of his cover he walked to a sounds source, because if it’s not big monster then it will not have enough power behind its attack. And with his Penetration Resistant Skin he doesn’t have to fear for sharpness of their teeth or poison that they can carry.

“hhiiii—iiiii!”

“Kiii-iii-“

“yiiii-iiii”

Walking closer to noise he now saw two small monsters fighting each other, while biggest one was laying on the ground probably dead. Looking at similarity between dead monster and smaller one that is fighting, they seem to be related. They can best be described as hybrid between squirrel and hamster with tree small horns that curl behind their head; both have white fur with red markings like tattoo. One that was not similar to them was rabbit with two harp teeth too big to fit in its mouth; it had gray fur and black eyes, while being two times bigger than his opponent.

“kiiii-iii” squealed rabbit like monster and attacked smaller one with both of it paws. But smaller one seemingly with ease avoided attack of bigger monster while dodging from side to side as if predicting were attacks will land.

Dimitry looked at this with interesting eyes, as monsters seemed too focused on fight, to notice him.

Dodging last attack smaller monster slipped under paw of bigger on and attacked with its head that had three horns that curled to back of its head, not having any penetration attack, this attack did nothing to bigger monster that again attacked. Again looking at dead monster and small brave one that seems to protect it with all it got Dimitry hear again rumbling in his stomach and said-

“You are putting a good fight against this bigger one, you know, if I was not hungry I would leave you both to deal with this between each other, but as I am hungry I will have to eat someone,” looking at them both that stopped fighting and immediately looked at source of voice. They both turned around and faced Dimitry with fear visible on them as their fur gotten up. Looking at Dimitry eyes that portrait coldness and hunger both monsters took step back. Silence overlapped everything, as they looked at each other.

While rabbit like monster looked at Dimitry smaller one took this chance and roamed its head into bigger monster tail. Rabbit like monster started to run at Dimitry from unexpected pain and with its jaw open bitted on his leg.

Looking at a rabbit biting his leg, Dimitry slowly stretched his arm into rabbit like monster direction. Wrapping his arm around rabbit neck, Dimitry with momentum pulled rabbit from his leg; only damage that was done was to his jeans. Holding rabbit horizontally to his chest and with stretched arm, Dimitry putted more pressure in his grip. Immediately monster started to waggle and scratch Dimitry arm with its paws, but with no effect it slowly started to struggle less and less. After two minutes Rabbit was now motionless, Dimitry holding onto monster descended his arm in more comfortable position and looked at smaller monster. This entire time smaller monster was looking at this and not moving from his spot at all.

‘This monster is quite smart, he understood that it could not defeat this bigger one, so it pushed bigger one to attack me by unexpectedly hitting its tail,’ thought Dimitry looking at small monster that looked at him. Walking closer to this monster that not moved from his spot, Dimitry squatted one meter away from him and looked into monster eyes.

“….hou…” said Dimitry quietly seeing intelligence in monster eyes, and that it didn’t moved even millimeter in all this time.

“So, you fought to protect it...so no one will eat it,” pointing to dead monster that lay on ground Dimitry said,

“For this,” said Dimitry indicating monster he killed.

“I can make a little grave, what do you say…” not expecting an answer Dimitry expressed, he remembered his parents graves, ‘I will not be able to visit them now,’ thought Dimitry, it was not because of his parents that he sympathized with this monster, he usually would not do this and would just walk away. But seeing intelligence in eyes that is not supposed to be present there made Dimitry quite interested.

“quii-ii” weakly squeaked monster moving few inches to a side. Seeing this Dimitry thought ‘Can he understand what I’m saying?...for now let’s burry this body’ .

Putting rabbit monster to a side, Dimitry tore a seven inch wide piece of tree skin and infused mana over it. Focusing on condensing and making front sharp after two minutes he was done, thinking that with practice it’s just getting better he decided to practice every day from now on. Dimitry quickly made a grave and buried the body, placing rock on top of grave. After finishing he looked at small monster that all this time just looked at this from afar and only now has come closer to grave. Putting his small paw onto rock it stayed like that for one minute after which in slowly walked away from grave towards Dimitry.

Standing one meter away from Dimitry, small monster now looked at him.

‘hmmm…should I test how intelligent it is..’ thought Dimitry.

“Move to a left,” said Dimitry, and with wide eyes saw as monster picked itself up and moved few inches to a left and sited again.

‘This just makes it even more confusing, how he knows what is left….and how can he understand what I’m saying…’ thinking deeply Dimitry remembered he had Speak any language skill ‘But will it allow me speak with animal ?’

“Voice,” ordered Dimitry,

“Qiii-iiii yii-iii,” peep was heard from little monster.

‘So it is not working,… but if to think logically, language is combination of words and sounds that have meaning, into sentence, and his squeaking probably just represent his emotional state, most likely this monster can speak different way, pheromones or other way that is not restricted by language,’ started to theorize in his mind Dimitry.

Coming back to his senses he picked dead monster up,

“…good luck” said Dimitry to a little monster and started to walk away. Getting closer to a river he saw that it is following him, not paying it any attention Dimitry started to walk back from where he came from.

After some walking, he finally noticed that small island in middle of river. Looking behind him he saw a little monster is still following him,

“You know after this one, when I will get hungry, and you are still around I can eat you,” declared Dimitry looking at little monster that seemed to not be fazed by his declaration. Looking at determined eyes of monster Dimitry signed-

“Go and bring sticks, and then I will share with you,” ordered Dimitry looking as monster started to run in forest. After five minutes monster have gathered little hump of sticks-

“Should be enough,” said Dimitry picking sticks and placing them under his arm and holding it tight, while holding dead monster in another hand.

“Hop on and hold tight,” expressed to little monster Dimitry, which monster immediately did, climbing on side of his shoulder and holding to his hoodie.

Taking two meters of distance from river, Dimitry focused on supplying his legs with mana, and not forgetting to infuse more mana to muscles and not bones. After he felt that he reached desired effect when he jumped on one spot two times, he with fast running momentum jumped from river side to a rock in middle of river. Cautiously landing onto rock he looked back and saw distance he jumped which was two and half meters. Putting dead monster and sticks on rock surface, he looked around, standing in middle of river about two miters from each side of earth, he concluded that no monster would be able to ambush him here and before it attacks he would notice.

Sitting on cold rock, Dimitry felt as little monster jumped off his shoulder and sited beside him on rock, patiently waiting.

Arranging sticks to be able to start fire he finally started to think how he should go about making fire-

‘So, to start fire I need fuel, oxygen and heat, I have fuel which is sticks and oxygen, now I need heat…’ opening his eyes wide a maniac grin appeared on Dimitrys’ face. Moving few inches away from Dimitry, little monster looked at Dimitry as his face again changed to his normal, devoid of emotions.

‘Seeing as mana is energy that is freely controlled by me, if I were to condense pure energy which is mana in particular dense ball, and let it loose wouldn’t that created explosion…and if I were to compress even more mana into even smaller ball…oh just thinking …that would be similar to a big bomb….wouldn’t it’

‘For now should focus on heat for fire,….so heat, to do that I need….wait on Earth there is no mana so fire need fuel, oxygen and heat, but here mana can be fuel and not sticks and for heat I can just….let try’ moving closer to a water, Dimitry extended his arm and hovered it few inches from water. Focusing on creating ball of mana in his hand he felt as mana leave his body, feeling some mana over his hand was progression, as at first he could not control mana outside his body and feel it. Focusing on moving mana inside a ball faster and faster, he set like that for half a minute when he felt heat on his hand. Forcing mana to move faster inside a ball of mana, in second puff of flame appeared and disappeared.

‘So mana can provide a friction needed for ignition, now I just need to focus on supplying mana all the time for fuel to keep fire going’ slightly smiling Dimitry celebrated him being right again.

Focusing again on creating ball of mana and moving mana inside of it was a lot easier than first time, now supplying constant mana as fuel to his fire, Dimitry looked as fire hovered over his hand. Focusing on moving flame Dimitry could not believe how easy it was for him to control flame shape and were it hovered.

‘Is it because this flame is created out of my mana?’ concluding that as most plausible answer, Dimitry lighted sticks on fire as mana is not unlimited and he needed to be focused all the time for it to work.

Silently watching, little monster looked as Dimitry took a keys from his pocket, taking biggest key in comfortable position and surrounding mana over it and making It sharper, Dimitry started to skin the rabbit monster. After somewhat successful removal of fur, Dimitry cut off pieces of meat and placed them on sticks and placed then over flame.

‘Smell will definitely make some company for us, we need to eat and move quickly,’ waiting for little while as meat almost seemed cooked, Little monster walked closer to a flame and looked at Dimitry.

“qii-i,..” it looked Dimitry in eyes not blinking.

“Want to be first to eat him?”

“qii-i,” it give affirming sound. Taking piece of meat with stick he passed it to little monster, and placed it in front of him.

Looking at meat, monster took bite and started to chew, after few moments it started to choke and meat gush out from its mouth. Little monster again took bite and stared to chew this time gulping down meat. With exhausted eyes it moved away from meat and looked at Dimitry.

“qiiii-I” monster voiced and fallen face down on rock.

Looking at him slightly moving from breathing, Dimitry thought that it probably passed out from exhaustion.

“I see you hated this guy quite a lot, was he the one responsible for death of your relative, for you not carnivore to eat him and be first to do so, I see you can hold grudge,…”keeping an eye on monster said Dimitry,

‘Am I holding grudge against someone…oh yes remember now….time sure flies...’ quietly and quickly Dimitry consumed meat while thinking about his past.

“…I need Ketchup”

After two minutes Dimitry picked little monster in his hand and with mana infused legs jumped to a river side. Landing safely on ground Dimitry picked pace and with speed left that place-

‘I left one piece of meat for smell to be focused there, so my smell should be minimal compare to that, now I need shelter’ running downstream Dimitry spotted good place and decided to spend time there.