Vengeful Stone Collector

Chapter 3

The more you know, the harder life will grow

Ever since I ate that meat my aura doubled. Today I'm finding out why. From behind a bush I crouch observing the beasts. The smallest ones scratch at the floor and eat certain roots. Bigger ones swoop in and try to eat them. When the chase has led them far away from their feeding grounds I stroll in.

So this is what they eat... I pluck a small root an examine it. Is this where the materials come from? I try to pull materials from it. It works... Slightly. There's not much in it. No, there's almost nothing. How would their materials get so concentrated? Is it because they eat it everyday? Then the material is passed onto the next beast that eats them.

How do the beasts become so strong though? I take the roots back to my ledge. I had used my power to create a small hole in the wall to keep my stuff. Small beasts are hung by their legs on the wall. I store the roots and pick up a beast. So small yet tough. Like their aura has been absorbed by their body. Wait, that's it! Using my aura to strengthen my body. It would also help me deal with the excess material.

I lean against the wall and soak up my aura like a sponge. My skin becomes smoother and breathing more fluid. I grab one of my weaker rocks and manage to turn it to dust with one hand. Success! I fuse the rock back together. I repeat this till I get sick of it.

Ever since then, I've only gone stronger. Catching different beasts, testing different herbs and refining my strength. Every single day. Every so often I see signs of a massive creature or a shadow or so I don't tend to wander far from my base since if I was found here they will eat me while I am asleep.

Onto a more pressing matter, the pain in my leg has only gotten worse. Since it was an open fracture if I don't move it back into place it won't heal. The problem is that whenever I touch it or brush the ground with it I almost scream. If the place I found myself wasn't a deadly cave then maybe I would risk it. That's why I've been hording plants like a madman. Whenever I discover a new species I feed a bit of it to one of my clotters.

When the pain became unbearable I decided to venture further out. I point my nose to the sky as I walk trying to find a new scent. There seems to be a surplus of smaller beasts in this new area... Is what I thought till the ground started to shake. No no no I recognise this scent. This is the giant beast that I ran away from when I first fell here. I look around. Nowhere to hide.

In a burst of panic I run at a wall and create a shallow hole for me to crouch in. This was a horrible idea, I should have dived into the thick plants. It's too late to go back now. The mini earthquakes would probably throw me in the air if I wasn't in a hole.

A giant foot crunches down in front of me. I push my body deeper into the hole. The beast stops. Did it find me? I hold myself and stare at it without blinking. A medium sized beast spots it and hides in a large plant. The giant beast simply takes the plant and eats it whole. I see. So the reason there are so many smaller beasts here is because this one has been killing the bigger ones? I repress my urge to shudder.

After a while it moves on and my only good leg gives way. I lie there for a moment until a beast starts trying to eat my hair. I swat it away and pull myself up. Ignoring that beast I came here with a purpose didn't I? I take deep breaths. Found one! A new plant! I rush over there as fast as one in crutches can.

When I find the plant a small beast that had been nibbling at its roots is lying there dead. Ah, do I even need to test this one? Desperate to not leave empty handed I grab it anyway and head back.

I take some of it and cut it with a sharp stone. A white powder leaks out. Looks rotting and dry. I glance at it and back at the clotter I was going to test it on. It looks at me with puppy dog eyes. Pah you think being cute will make me spare you? Half of the beasts that have tried to kill me have been adorable. I raise an eyebrow and smirk at it. Then with one swift movement I shove a small amount of the powder down its throat.