I didn't expect to run into anyone soon. I hoped so, but I didn't think it would happen. From the top of the trees, I saw nothing to indicate human presence. It was pretty depressing for me. After all, there didn't have to be people on this planet at all. I could be the only person on the planet. It was a very depressing thought. However, the existence of the status screen indicated that there must be some intelligent life. All I had to do was find it.

Instead, I came across signs of a different existence.

It was the presence of a predator. Remains of what might have been a doe lay on the ground in front of me. Not much of the dead animal remained. I didn't even see its head. [Identifi] confirmed my hypothesis. It was some kind of doe. What could have killed her? A bear, a wolf, or something else?

I didn't want to stay here just to find out. This place gave me the shivers. I felt like something was watching me right now. But I didn't see anything. However, I was sure that I wanted to avoid such a creature that killed this doe with a big arc.

Therefore, I did not stay with the corpse and continued on my way.

But I couldn't shake the feeling that someone or something was watching me. It was a very strange feeling. I could imagine that beautiful women feel that way when men stare at them. I was not beautiful, men never chase after me. Still, I couldn't get rid of the feeling of prey now.

My suspicion was confirmed when I saw a few golden eyes a little later in the woods among the trees. Just for a moment before I lost them again.

Nevertheless, I managed to find out what kind of creature it was.

[Shadow Tiger - ??]

I was shocked. A tiger? Are you serious? I was afraid I would meet wolves here. The whole pack. Instead, this forest had tigers. I don't know what was better. But it was confusing, this was not a jungle, steppe, or tundra. This was a forest. However, I was not on Earth, so even if my mind telling me differently, I should drop my common sense.

Shadow tiger, was not the name that tigers had on Earth. Why shadow? I can only guess. I hoped it would be at least a little like the tigers I knew, and it would be a loner. That he's just curious, he just ate and doesn't need anything else to fill his stomach with. Unlike me.

It was afternoon when the disgusting stuffy air vanished. I felt like I had to sweat liters of sweat. My clothes were all sweaty and stuck to my skin. But I had other worries.

I discovered a cave.

I still had plenty of time to find some shelter for the night. But I didn't want to wait at the last minute for it to turn out like yesterday.

I got as close as I dared. This cave was not without its owner either. There was more than one. Rats. It was a nest of Scaly Rats. Two were hanging out at the entrance. I was glad they didn't notice me. I don't know if I could stand up to two at once and many more could have appeared from that cave.

This hiding place was out of the question.

That's why I left as quietly as possible. As I said, I'm not exactly the type to look for a fight. Definitely not close combat.

The moment I got far enough away from the rat's nest, I felt the feeling of something watching me again. The tiger was still here waiting for his chance. Honestly, I was surprised he hadn't attacked already.

Instead, his presence disappeared an hour later.

I found the reason or rather heard it a little further. They were bees. Of course, such a large animal would not avoid just any bee.

[Big bees - ??]

Yes, they were big bees. Sizes of small birds, like sparrows. So one look was enough for me to know that I had to avoid them. My grandfather was a beekeeper, I helped him sometimes, and when I was fully dressed in a beekeeping suit with a hood. I had no problem opening the hive and reaching in for the honeycomb. Even so, it was impossible to avoid some occasional sting.

This was a completely different category. If this bee stabbed me, it certainly wouldn't end in a small swelling. Plus, I only wore pajamas.

For a moment the thought of honey and me stealing it crossed my mind, but even though I loved honey, I was not willing to risk my life for it.

That's why I tried to avoid them. It was not so easy, the further I went, the more there were in the forest. I tried to keep a reasonable distance from the stream all the time, but it got harder and harder. It almost looked like I was just heading for their nest. A buzz came from all over the forest.

I kept looking around, tried to avoid the bees, and not looking dangerous to them at the same time. I started sweating again, although it was finally a bit pleasant in the woods. It was nerve-wracking.

All that worrying was unnecessary. Before long, the concentration of bees in the forest began to decline. Eventually, I got out of their siege. To the forest, where their buzz was not heard nearby and I didn't have to look around.

No drama happened.

I didn't have to run from a swarm of bees, pull the stings out of my skin, and then suffer from swelling, that is if I would survive it at all.

"The peace" I took a deep breath.

Little did I know, however, that even here one must be careful what one says. As soon as I said that, I lay pinned to the ground under a huge tiger, staring into his maw full of teeth. I didn't hear or see him sneak up on me at all. I knew he was watching me, but I thought that when I got into the territory of those bees, he gave up.

I was wrong.

I immediately activated [World of Magic Brush] and did the only thing that come to my mind I can do at this moment to protect my head and neck. I shoved my left hand into the tiger's mouth.

The tiger did not hesitate, now he had his prey right in his maw, and bit. A sharp pain shot through my hand. The pajamas showed their magic again, preventing his teeth from penetrating my skin, but not his grip. It was like putting my hand under a press. My bones cracked and I couldn't help but scream in pain.

Nevertheless, I did not stop concentrating, adrenaline and magic flowed through my body. I immediately started pounding his snout with my right hand. However, it did not affect him.

"Toothbrush" I remembered.

Yes, I have a weapon. I immediately reached into my hair and gripped it tightly, but the other way around then it should be held. I didn't want to brush his tiger's teeth with it. Why would I do that? To feel better when he eats me? No thank you. I wanted to stab this powerful weapon into him.

I tried my best and hit the tigres face with the toothbrush. I expected a reaction from the tiger, but he just tightened his grip on my hand and jerked it. I started stabbing him again and again.

It worked. He let go of my hand, but at the same time stepped on my chest. My ribs did not crack under his weight, nor did his claws dig into my chest. But I couldn't breathe.

The tiger growl angrily in my face. He tried to bite into my neck again. However, I still protected it with my already crushed hand. The only thing he did was crush it even more.

The air was a much bigger problem for me. I couldn't breathe and I needed to get the animal out of my chest. Fast.

I wasn't an expert in animal anatomy, so I had no idea where the best place to attack might be. But I knew where it might hurt me the most. That's why I pushed the handle of his toothbrush into his armpit under his front legs.

The tiger growled, released my hand, and jumped away.

"Haaaaa… .." my lungs filled with air again. However, I did not have time to rejoice in my little victory. I wasn't safe and my fight with the tiger was not over. I tried to get up and orient myself.

It was a mistake. The animal I had out of sight bit into my left shoulder from behind. Fortunately, his fangs missed my neck and my pajamas protected me again. Still, I scream in pain. I was in a pretty bad position now. The tiger was behind me and I couldn't hit him. It was hard for me to turn. I was beginning to despair when, by some miracle, I managed to bite into his ear.

Yes, I bit his ear.

The tiger let go of my shoulder and swipe his paw at me. He hit me in the hip and, like him, I let go of his teeth because of the pain. I wasn't waiting for anything this time. I jumped to my feet.

"Aaaaaaaa." I shouted at him with a war cry. My left hand hanged helplessly along my side, my right holding a toothbrush. I had no plan, I had no idea how to defeat this animal. But I knew that if I didn't do it fast, I wouldn't survive.

However, the tiger wasn't surprised. He was bigger, heavier, stronger, and more experienced in killing than me. My brave attack was useless. In a moment, I ended up on the ground under the tiger again. But I wasn't looking at his fangs, but under his tail. Two things were clear to me at that moment.

First. This was a female.

Second. I saw the target of my next attack. I gripped the toothbrush tightly in my hand and stabbed the tiger in her anus.

I didn't see tigres expression, but from the sound the tiger made, it was definitely not pleasant. The female jumped aside. I didn't take my eyes off her, but I still couldn't believe what I saw. Ten meters away from me, she growled at me again and then disappeared into the shadows. She was literally engulfed by shadows.

"What…?" I was confused.

Was this the end? Did she run away? Or should I wait for another attack? At least I knew why the name was Shadow Tiger. Somehow she controlled the shadows. This was the first time I saw the real use of the ability and it was cool, as cool as I imagined.

I stood there for long minutes, ready for another attack, looking around. But nothing came. There was silence everywhere and no evidence of the tiger's presence. However, I was afraid that she might jump on me from any shadow in the forest. I couldn't believe she would just let me go.

Still, I couldn't stay here for the rest of the day. I had to move on. Find a place to sleep. A safe place where nothing could eat me.

My left hand also worried me a lot. I couldn't move it and lost my feeling in my fingers.

"My pajamas, please do your magic…" I begged for a piece of my clothing to heal my wounds. Plus, keeping my bones properly fused shouldn't be a problem for magic, should it? Please. I don't want to have a crooked hand. Right now, I didn't even have anything to make an elevation sling to put my arm in. I could make it out of my shirt. But I didn't want to take any chances.

I would have survived the humiliation of walking in the woods topless, but my shirt was my only protection, my armor. I really couldn't take off my armor right now.

I tried not to think about my hand because otherwise, I would cry.

Still, I needed to rest for a while, and the only place I could think of and could be at least a little safe was the tree branches. That's why I looked for one. I put the toothbrush back in my hair. Of course, I cleaned it with leaves before that. Still, it wasn't pleasant to have something in my hair that once was in somebody's ass.

Climbing a tree with one hand was a real challenge, but I did it.

This time I climbed a good fifteen meters above the ground. I wanted to be sure. Because if my memory serves me right, according to the Discovery channel, tigers can climb trees. It was on Earth, there they were ordinary animals. I couldn't be sure what they could do here. I was sure that this place would at least protect me from most of the predators here in the forest. A little security was something I really needed.

I had time to look at my Log. I knew the blue windows alerted me to something during my battle, but I really didn't have time to pay much attention to them.

(ding) Like a Tooth reaches lv 2

(ding) Like a Tooth reaches lv 3

(ding) Like a Tooth reaches lv 4

(ding) World of Magic Brush reaches lv 2

(ding) World of Magic Brush reaches lv 3

(ding) You have learned new skill [Battle cry lv 1]

"Wow," I said. That was the only thing I could do. During my fight with the tiger, I gained much more than in all this time here in that new world. Yes, the fight with the bear brought me a lot of levels. So did rats, but I didn't get any levels in my skills, or any new ones.

But I wasn't sure if it was worth it.

"I was just a step away from my death," I whispered. I stared my death right into its maw.

As I can see it, without danger and overcoming my limits, if I do only what I can do comfortably, I won't move anywhere. I won't gain more levels, more abilities. If I don't get them, I won't survive here.

Of course, I wasn't going to throw myself into another fight right away. I'm not some bloodthirsty fool. Right now, the only thing I could throw myself into would be my bed or at a piece of a proper steak.

"Hmm…" I wiped my saliva, which began to flow through the corners of my mouth.

It was a nice idea, but very far from reality. Here in the woods, steaks didn't grow on the tree. Just nasty berries.

I don't know how long I was on a tree, but in the end, I went down. Nothing attacked me there, so I gained strength for the next trip. The feeling returned to my hand. That was good news and bad news. Good because it was healing, bad because I now felt a sharp pain in it with every step.

I kept trying to stick to the stream, just like from the beginning. However, I encountered an obstacle. Below me was a rock face and a stream fell down from it. There was a small lake below. It must have been a beautiful waterfall from below, but now there was a very unpleasant obstacle that I had to get around. Even with a healthy hand, I wouldn't dare descend a rock face.

I now had two options. Right or left. Which way to go? I tossed an imaginary coin in my mind and headed to the right. Rather, it was because my left hand was in pain and my right was healthy.

I walked quite a distance along the edge of a rock face before finding a place where I could go down and return to the stream. It was at least an hour's walk extra, but I got a reward.

(ding) Berefoot walking reaches lv 2

I didn't care.

I'd rather have shoes. Nor would they have to be high quality and expensive, ordinary shoes.

"That would be great," I sighed.

As I thought. It really was a beautiful view when I returned to the waterfall. A stream of water fell down the rock face, which must have been at least eight meters high, into the lake below. The lake itself looked very tempting. Clear water. Stones at lake bed, no mud.

"I would take a bath," I said aloud.

But I knew the water would be icy. That was a big minus. That's why it took me a really long time to persuade myself to get into the water. I undressed at the edge of the pond. I could already feel the cold on my skin when I stood on its shore. But I really needed a bath and I had no idea when I would get another opportunity.

That's why I stepped into the water with determination.

"Ahaaaa… .." I moaned and immediately pulled my leg out. It was icy.

"All right, Kirra, this is going to have to be quick," I said to myself.

I basically ran into the lake.

"Kyaaaa" my girl's screams could be heard through the forest. At this point, I didn't care what monsters heard me. I needed to have my bath.

I began to wash quickly. Scrub the dirt on my body that I gain during my stay here and through meetings here. This was not a friendly place and this bath was far from the baths I was used to. My apartment didn't have a bathtub, nor was it in my parents' house, so I used to shower all my life. Taking a hot shower after a hard day was something heavenly.

However, this bath would wake the dead.

"Hmm…" for some reason the water stopped being so cold after a while. My body was getting used to it. It was still cold, but more bearable. But the numbness in my limbs didn't go away. However, I stopped rushing with my bath.

"Yawnn…" I yawned loudly. I began to feel tired. Hmm. I was probably more tired from the fight with the tiger than I thought. Now that I had calmed down, the adrenaline had subsided and I was just tired. Tiredness fell on me so fast that I wouldn't have a problem to just lay down on the rocks in this pond. That's why I quickly rinsed my face with cold water to wake up and quickly climb out of the water.

I intended to dry myself with my pants, but when I looked at my feet, I felt sick and my girlish scream echoed through the woods again. Why? It wasn't because they were red. That was my whole body. It was because I had leeches attached to them.

[Mana Leeches lv 9]

[Mana Leeches lv 9]

[Mana Leeches lv 10]

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[Mana Leeches lv 8]