In A Different Category

I race through the jungle with a pointy branch that has its tip thoroughly sharpened and shaped like a pencil.

I have completed the task I sought to accomplish by putting together the necessary tools.

Next on the list is to find the intended target and bait it into my hard-earned work.

Again, I have not once felt that satisfied feeling when I accomplished the task with the branch.

Rather, what I ended up with is this bugging feeling that there is still much left to be done. And until I am done, my body refuses to rest nor relent.

In a way, I am grateful for this feeling. There is a high chance that without it, I would have long given up any attempt to resist fighting.

I scurried through the dangerous forest, all the while I had my eyes and ears at full alert in search of my target.

Sometimes I question why I try to chase after the beast when it is no longer in sight and currently not a threat to me.

I got no answer but was instead filled with an even greater desire to hunt the beast down.

It might seem or sound like the effort of the weak trying to regain his confidence and bruised ego from earlier running away from the beast.

But that isn't it.

I am not in chase of it to prove anything or show that I am not weak and fearful of it.

No. If anything, I who has the innate desire to not let my mother's sacrifice over me go in vain, am greatly terrified of the threat that the beast possesses.

With a single swing of its claws, I could be rendered immobile and even die from it.

So why would I risk my life over that?...

I don't know.

Perhaps a part of my subconscious had already thought things out.

I don't know when or how long I will be here, or if there is hope of getting out of here unscathed.

I can't even say this is the specific amount of beasts inhabiting this forest and that they are all of the same equal strength or one greater than the other.

I know nothing and am practically walking in blind right now.

What I do know however is that if I am going to be stranded in this forest for a long time, I need to learn to start adapting.

In the same way that my body adapted to my jumping prowess and allowed me to overcome the step hurdles, so do I need to prompt my body and mind to work in synchronization with each other.

I have only myself to rely on if I want to survive, if I want to fulfil my mother's wish over me.

If so; exactly how does this answer my question of why I am going after the beast that is no longer within sight?...

Think stupid. If I want to survive, will I not need something to sustain myself with?...

It has been four days and still counting. Not once within those four days did I get the chance to feast or even have a droplet of water to sustain myself with.

You can already imagine how hard it is becoming for me to keep up my physical prowess.

Without sustenance, there is no way for me to refill my lost stamina. Hence my reason for wanting to kill the beast.

A beast, any beast at all that can help me refill my lost energy.

Again, I am thankful for my body that is adapting nicely to the situation and not wearing me down due to hunger or external fatigue.

It is such a fortune. Though sometimes I do wonder how devastating the road I am heading is, I am not one to complain or waste precious time dabbling on what could come to be.

I focus more on what should be as a result of the effort I put in.

It should be noted that my knowing that four days had passed was due to observing the glow in the surroundings.

The trees are still shading the sun from me, but I can tell from looking at how sometimes the surroundings suddenly turn darker than it once was.

That was my way of knowing when it's dark and when it's dawn.

Now?... Its dawn.

I know better than to go wandering around aimlessly in the dense forest.

Taking my time, I hide in the trees and survey before I attempt to make another run. That is how I manage to navigate myself around the forest.

By prioritizing safety over all else.

So far I have not come across a single beast to tame even though I have been running for what I like to think is about hours.

I knew it wasn't going to be easy, but is this not just absurd?!!

While I was complaining and lamenting my misfortune, my ear picked up something!!

How should I put it?!! I felt a scuffle with the ground like the fallen leaves were being tampered with.

It was as though something massive was walking and unintentionally dragging the leaves with it, thereby resulting in vicious sound effects.

I readied my spear and stuck tightly to a tree, waiting for whatever it was that was making the sound to show itself.

Do not panic for I made sure that the tree I hid in was opposite the direction I heard the sound come from.

My hands trembled and my body shuddered as I felt the presence approach even closer. I was scared out of my wits but I had to man up to it.

My eyes were constantly poking out in search of the presence, monitoring if it had gotten any closer than earlier.

Behold! It was now within sight! And I marvelled at what I saw!!

"Tha-!!".

My tongue got stuck in between. I couldn't complete my words nor summon the courage to continue staring at the beast.

This was in a different category from the first deformity I came across.