I kept to the trees as the group continued through the woods. Occasionally I pointed out turkeys and a few giant beetle mobs to them despite it feeling demeaning - I wasn't a dog after all. But most of the time I didn't have to. My improved sense of hearing, sight and smell were good at detecting enemies, especially with my vantage point, but generally their rogue-type player found them prey easily enough. There was something to be said for a computer-granted searching ability, even if his was still relatively low leveled.

It had grated on my nerves to be surrounded by them in the shrine but at this distance they were a surprisingly comforting presence. Their idle chatter helped fill a void in my soul that I hadn't realized was growing. Circumstances would change if they ever found out who I as but that was unlikely in the short term.

Most people only knew me by my now destroyed cloak and since they weren't clearers they'd never seen my face. The lack of a player indicator was a boon as well for concealment, though it did uncomfortably remind me of how not-quite-human I was on top of being not remotely myself. Truthfully the only dead giveaway now for my identity that they might have heard rumors of was my hawk eyes, but it seemed they were easily mistaken for those of a wolf's.

A glint off of shiny red exoskeletons alerted me a dangerous group of monsters. Well, dangerous for the distracted group of noobs anyways. Even alerting the group of their presence might not be enough for them to deal with the new mobs on top of their current opponent. It was easier just to deal with them myself rather than worry about whether they were carrying the appropriate poison antidote.

I sent three throwing needles flying at great speeds, blue steel soundlessly striking the trio of centipedes in their skulls. It wasn't quite enough to kill them. They had another brain in their midsections that was currently confused and flailing them around. I knew from my past time on this floor that in about five seconds the confusion would pass and the mid-brain would split along with their spine. Three seconds after that there would be two smaller but still deadly centipedes raring to attack. But not this time. Three more needles pierced their mid-brains and granted them a quick death. It was like shooting fish in a barrel. Creatures on this floor were so low leveled that they seemed to move in slow motion to my eyes.

Sachi and the little blonde fellow cheered as they triumphed over some man-bear-pig thing. Bear-man-pig? Not important. What was of note was that they were cheering over their rise in level. Levels gave an exponential rather than linear increase in power and gave me a better sense that they'd survive without me. Even players with no talent were incapable of dying to low-leveled opponents so long as they didn't use a glass cannon build like me.

As if I'd summoned it now that I was ready, I caught sight of something suspicious in the distance.

Nothing was guaranteed but I was willing to bet that was what I was looking for. I'd been foolish to think that the gem I needed would just be lying around the woods somewhere. A secret mini dungeon inside a tree was much more par for course.

It took only seconds to leave the group behind with none the wiser. The only tracks I left were subtle scratches thirty meters up as I leapt from tree to tree, acrobatics talent aiding me to add the occasional totally unnecessary but somehow cathartic flip.

As I drew closer I could feel wind on my skin as it rushed into what I hoped was a dungeon and not some cleverly disguised monster. Forest fog rolled into the hole in the tree's trunk like it was some great devouring maw.

I stepped closer and stood on the edge of the dark precipice, ears twitching irritably as they brushed the top of the hole. If not for my wolf ears it would be the perfect size, almost as if it was purpose-built to eat me. I'd feel a lot better about this if I had some idea of what lay in the dark, but not even my hawk eyes could pierce the veil of shadows. Sniffing was out too since the wind was going the wrong way.

'It's not gonna eat me,' I told myself, words coming easier thanks to listening to the groups chatter all morning. 'Not gonna eat me.' And if I did I'd find some way to slice myself out, even if I did die of shame afterwards for feeding myself to a monster.

I stepped forward, wind carrying my light body the rest of the way. I fell for a time, dungeon physics playing with the geometry of a floor that should only be twenty meters deep. Then the wind cut out, air dead still save for my passage through it. A sickly red glow below alerted me that the ground was fast approaching.

I stuck the landing. With my level of acrobatics it was hard not to unless I was getting shot at. I did appreciate the soft landing though, a sign that the fall wasn't intended to break the legs of anyone less agile than me that came through the tree's mouth. Yes, a soft, feathery, tasty-smelling landing pad. 'Huh?'

"Oh." I was on top of a giant turkey in a field of more giant turkeys. Turkeys and feathers and flapping winds far as I could see, all lit by a dull red glow that felt hot on my skin. The one I'd landed on was so stupid that it didn't even notice me on top of it even as its brethren crowded around it with gleaming eyes.

While the mini dungeon was freaky and in incredibly poor taste I wasn't worried. I'd have these turkeys slaughtered in no time and then I'd find the jewel. I'd also have a snack because it smelled like smoky turkey sausage in here and it was making me hungry

A massive tremor halted my plan of attack. I wasn't on the ground but the force of it was so great that I could feel it in my bones. More tremors followed the first, each stronger than the last. Either the quakes or some quest trigger had all the turkeys standing at attention. They were waiting for something.

'...' I was as mute as the turkeys as an ill-featured cyclops came into view. Light flared as he lit a torch on the wall, revealing that the loincloth-wearing giant was even uglier than I first presumed. More worrisome than his features though was the great bundle of logs he carried. He started stuffing them out of sight beneath the box of turkeys I was in. The strange red glow intensified as he blew down there like he was trying to inflate a balloon. Was it getting warmer?

An outrageous thought occurred to me but I shook it away. There was no way this was a giant oven. I knew this was a game rather than real life but there were still limits to how ridiculous it could be.

My eyes widened as flames licked up through the floor from below.

"Gobble Gobble Gobble Gobble!"

Skills:

Sprint lvl 435 (+31% top run speed)

Martial Arts lvl 378

Dagger Mastery lvl 350

Throwing lvl 261

Acrobatics lvl 374

Items:

Blue-steel throwing needles

Random daggers

Leather armor

Appearance:

Wolf ears

Hawk eyes

Little fangs

His sister(/cousin(unless we au and just call her his sister to simplify things? Was a weak sub-plot that probably only got put in in canon to avoid incest censors anyways?)).

Overall level: 43

Agility: 168

Strength: 43

Health: 47 (530 HP, +1.7/second (+5.5/sec while resting))

*** crossposed from lycelia