Elania had left Skinner behind with his [Ralfot] carcass. She had decided that it'd be best to put some distance between herself and any distractions before she went on to fashion new javelins and make good on her idea for the belt.

Before long, she'd found an out-of-the-way cave with the [Tree-cap] she needed, and she went to work. She was quickly becoming very good at making javelins, carving the sharp points out of the staves she gathered with her dagger. For this bundle, she added a small notch to each javelin.

Then she got down to business on the leather belt. Taking a few scraps of her tattered robe off the bottom to tie small loops, Elania tug-tested them, making sure they didn't slide up or down. Satisfied, she slid one of her new javelins through the loop, and the small notch caught on it successfully.

A smile formed on her lips. Now she would be able to carry four javelins on her back, and everything she needed was somehow sorted. It was time to move on and look for more Darkwalkers.

After hours of wandering, she thought she spotted one, but whatever that creature was— much to her disappointment—disappeared immediately. She did gain a few levels in stealth, so there was that for a minor consolation prize.

Eventually, she found a herd of Ralfots, quite possibly the same herd she had molested earlier. Dejected by her progress at finding another [Darkwalker], Elania took a break to observe the herd while it idled and grazed on the glowing fungus in the cavern.

That proved to be a wise decision.

Her hiding spot was relatively quiet and it wasn’t long before she began to nod off. She was completely oblivious to a growing nervousness that began to spread through the [Ralfot] herd, at least until a sudden roar had her surging back to wakefulness.

A [Darkwalker] duo appeared suddenly, dispersing the frightened herd animals. Elania had pegged the Darkwalkers as solitary predators rather than pack hunters so she was a bit surprised. She certainly hadn't planned on taking on two of the beasts at the same time and hesitated. She briefly considered moving off while they were distracted chasing down the Ralfots.

But when one of said Ralfots was caught and tumbled to the ground right in front of her, the opportunity was too great to pass up. The [Darkwalker] was completely focused on strangling the young [Ralfot], jaws clamped tightly around its throat, in a bid to suffocate the poor thing.

That's when Elania let loose her first and second javelins. She was close enough that she could smell the blood from the rapidly exsanguinating animal. Both weapons flew true, impacting the Darkwalker's side. One bounced off, striking a bone, but the other sunk into a fleshy area around its flank.

The pained roar of the beast temporarily drowned out the frantic cries of the Ralfots. Immediately, the Darkwalker leaped away from its prey with a snarl. Yellow orbs snapped onto Elania as the beast sought out the source of the attack.

Elania didn’t hesitate and immediately threw her other two javelins. Both of these missed, despite the messages that she'd leveled up her skill twice.

'Bullshit!'

The wounded hunter let out a roar of challenge as it charged at her. Even though her heart threatened to beat out of her chest, she was prepared, spear leveled at it, she repeated the same tactic she had used for her first [Darkwalker] kill. They might not have tusks, but when charging, they resembled a rampaging boar.

That was fine with Elania as she had faith in a tactic that had already proved to work. She calmly held the spearpoint straight-on with the beast's chest and braced herself for the impact.

Just as before, the beast's weight bent the length of the spear, nearly snapping it as it impaled itself. The fact that she had chosen a thicker shaft than her first spear helped considerably. The [Darkwalker] spit a defiant growl at Elania one last time before going limp.

[Do you wish to absorb the Darkwalker's Essence? Y/N]

A startling roar from nearby had Elania snap her attention toward it.

'Oh, crap! The other one! Absorb! Quick!'

She struggled to pull the spear from the corpse as it began to disintegrate. The second [Darkwalker] charged at her in a mad frenzy.

'Shit, did I kill its mate or something?'

It reached her just as she gained control of the spear, but it was too late to set the point. Instead, she ended up sideswiping it in the neck with the shaft, in a quick deflection that sent it hurling to the side.

Except that the creature had the reflexes of a cat. Spinning around it and pouncing on her again before she could do anything but place the shaft of her spear into a set of slobbering jaws. The rumbling roar it let out as it tried to crush the soft wood in its mouth was deafening.

Despite the fury and onslaught, Elania was stronger than the smaller predator. Realizing she needed something for an up-close fight, she released one hand on the shaft and frantically struggled to retrieve the dagger from her pocket.

Claws raked her side and arm, and the next snarl from the beast elicited a scream in reply from Elania. She fell backward, the sudden tumble sending them rolling down a slick stony bank of moss and blood-covered stone.

Elania lost her hold on the spear, and the [Darkwalker] recovered first, darting in to chomp at her throat. She barely managed to raise her arm in time to intercept the bite. It felt like her bones would be crushed under the massive pressure of the Darkwalker’s bite. Ignoring the searing pain, her fingers finally found what she was looking for, and the steel dagger came flashing out of her robe.

The dagger's steel tip caught a glint of luminescent light as it plunged into the side of the Darkwalker's neck. It sunk through flesh and slid past bone in a sickening easily way before Elania pulled it free and proceeded to stab the beast over and over, screaming with all her might.

Only when the message came up did she stop, her chest heaving from the exertion and adrenaline.

[Do you wish to absorb the Darkwalker's Essence? Y/N]

She leaned down against a rock, as [Regeneration] finished its work and she was made whole. Checking her [Status], she realized the 'Power' cost of the healing was almost as much as she had taken from the [Darkwalker] duo.

'But I gained skills in the process.'

Closing her eyes, she allowed her mind and body to catch up with the events. Considering that she didn't know her options, she needed to increase her skills and be more prepared if she was going to keep doing this.

A mewl had her eyes snap open. It sounded like a [Darkwalker] but was strangely high-pitched. It wasn't hard to spot the source of the sound. It was a young [Darkwalker], only a quarter of the size of the ones she had seen.

It let out another cry and continued to search the cavern cautiously. Eventually, the kit noticed her and let out a howling scream.

Elania felt a roil of emotions at the sound. 'I killed its mom and dad.'

She didn't feel guilty at killing the two Darkwalkers, they had been predators themselves, and the young dead [Ralfot] was still lying nearby. But she did feel a sense of empathy for the little guy.

"I'm sorry. They're gone."

It cried back at her, whining. She didn't think it really understood what she was saying, but she knew that it somehow knew what had happened. It approached her, following its parents' scent trail, before stopping out of her reach and hissing at her.

"Yeah. I would hiss too."

Elania stood and took a step forward. The kit spun and started to scramble and run away. She was much faster and bigger, though, and caught it by the scruff of its neck. It hissed and struggled a bit as she held him up and determined that he was a boy. His upset wiggling intensified but instead of letting him go right away, she deposited him next to the dead [Ralfot.]

[Do you wish to absorb the Ralfot's Essence? Y/N]

She refused and watched him sniff at his parents' kill before she moved away. He spun in circles growling and hissing at first, but then seemed to get the idea as he began to eat.

"That's all I can do for you. I'm not ready to adopt."

She didn't leave immediately, though. Instead, she found a dark corner and used her ability to hide. Eventually, the kit finished its meal, then found its own spot along the cave's edge, curled up, and went to sleep.

That was enough for Elania. He'd survive or not, based on his instincts. Now she needed to remake her javelins and spear. The shield had been useless as she had not been able to switch to it in time, but she hoped to get better at handling the weapons.

Elania realized she didn’t need a camp. She could make do with what she had at hand, and anchoring herself to a spot wasn’t necessary. Once she caught some prey, she could search and stalk another without returning to a base.

It would have been nice to have one for when she slept, but that was a luxury. It wasn't going to make much difference if she found a hidden nook somewhere else to take the two or three-hour naps she required now.