With the bear's death I feel the surge of leveling up. I must have been close to leveling up to level 3 already, but the surge feels like more than one level. Opening up menu, I immediately notice a substantial increase in all my stats. The level is now showing as 5. The bear raised my level three times. The number stats still don't tell me much, but when I switch over to the descriptive option, it says that my stats are all equal to a promising young hunter. The question is; how strong is a promising young hunter. I must assume this is a human hunter, but does this confirm that there are other humans in this world? I get no further answers.

I guess one person taking out this bear was unreasonable by normal standards. On the other hand this does prove the value of hunting in ensuring my long term survivability. If I can improve my strength this quickly through hunting I will soon become the alpha predator! The current alpha is probably the dragons, at least that makes sense if I put my fantasy head on. Maybe there is an even stronger creature out there. Analyze is staying annoyingly quiet. When did I start thinking of my favorite skill as an entity? Well Mr. Analyze, maybe you need to grow a bit to help me on this issue.

As I go looking for the nest of the bear I notice some remarkable features in its vicinity. It appears to be a shallow cave in the cliff side of an elevation that feeds the lake with water from higher ground. The cliff side starts next to the waterfall and curves halfway back onto the main body of the lake. This creates a somewhat sheltered location with the only entry being to the south with water to the east and cliffs to the north and west. A perfect place to make a home. Even the waterfall seems easily accessible. I should finally be able to take a shower. Near the lakeside and the waterfall I find the most remarkable feature. A massive unfamiliar looking tree with a stone altar underneath it.

I study the alter. It is sloped towards the tree, there are no symbols, but there are signs that someone has been cutting into the stone. The signs are very faded. Without Mr. Analyze it would just have been guesswork. The positioning of the altar is not directly facing the tree, but it is sloped directly towards it. Could it be for blood sacrifices? The blood would pour away from the cutter and the directly to the roots of the tree. Because of the angle of the altar, a tripod made from logs could be erected over the alter to hang up larger animals.

Mr. Analyze confirms it all. It is an altar to the forest spirit set up by unknown hunters to both dismantle their prey and offer fresh sacrifices. The sacrifices are meant to be left at the roots of the tree. It must be a special tree. I study the tree. All I get is the name "Dryad tree". But there is more to it than that. It almost feels more alive than the rest of the forest. Since this tree spirit is going to be my new neighbor, I better start using the altar. I consider erecting a tripod, but since my only prey due to be dismantled is the bear I need to think bigger.

Since a tripod would be too small for the bear I will have to use a couple of nearby trees to raise it off the ground over the altar. As I raise the bear off the ground and take a step back I see how big the bear is. Its legs are hanging off the altar, its back is rubbing against the bark of the tree. Hope it doesn't mind. With front paws stretched out wide it looks far wider than I am tall. I need three ropes for each front paw to avoid it from breaking. But before I can pull out my tools my Alert kicks off.

I turn around and see the movements of four big rats. I should have known that those suicidal rats wouldn't stay out of the bear's territory. Other animals might be smart enough. There are probably lots of rat bones in the cave. These rats really are the staple food of most big monsters. Strangely they have stopped approaching. Nothing scares these rats, why are they waiting? I leave the side of the tree and move closer to the cliff side. With the waterfall behind me, cliffs to my right and water to my left I should be able to take them out one by one.

As I start moving, the rats move closer to me, but strangely maintain the same distance from the tree. Come to think of it, I never saw the bear anywhere near the tree, even though the quickest route from the nest to the lake was directly past the tree. The tree repels them. I move towards the tree again and the rats stop closing in. Time for some live target practice. I pull out my bow and start firing arrows at the rats. Since they are seemingly locked in place, the arrows start hitting their marks. In a few minutes all the rats are down, but my arms are killing me. I really need to strengthen my arms to use the bow. My aim could do with some improving as well.

I start disemboweling the bear. I made a special hooked knife for this job. By standing on the altar, I manage to ram the knife into a soft spot on its upper chest. Next I grip the knife tight and jump off the altar using my weight to cut open its lower chest and belly. Blood pours out making a mess of everything. Some of the intestines lands on the altar and settle there. Spending most of the day disassembling the bear I leave the blood drained meat to cool in the shallows of the lake. I tidy up and start thinking about what to do the following day.