The next morning, I woke up with a mission.
Cardio.
During yesterday's meditation session, I had discovered something interesting. When I deliberately exhausted myself and then recovered, my stamina pool improved slightly. Curious, I had tested it with short sprints and controlled bursts of climbing. The System confirmed it. For every 50 points of total stamina gained through training, I received a permanent +1 to Speed.
That was disgusting, in a good way. With this, I could increase my stats at a breakneck speed. There was a cap, of course. Apparently, the bonus stopped scaling after a certain threshold—roughly a +20 total boost if I maxed the training potential.
Still, twenty permanent speed. It might not look like much, but I'm sure it would be the difference between plenty of life-and-death scenarios.The mysterious world designer clearly understood player psychology. If there were no caps, I would absolutely abuse the system. One hundred sprints. One hundred climbs. Ten-kilometre tree runs. Every single day. If I kept that up, maybe I would go bald and defeat everything in one punch.
Welcome to the forest's newest threat. One Punch Gecko.
…
No. That did not have the same ring. Alright. Focus.
"System," I asked, "how do I level up skills?"
[Skills increase through repeated and meaningful usage. Higher proficiency leads to level progression.]
Right. So that meant that there was no auto-levelling or idle farming in a hole. If I wanted growth, I had to use what I had. That meant hunting. And I had not forgotten about the spiders. Not even slightly.
My body twitched in anticipation at the sheer thought of them. Not with fear this time, but with growing excitement. The day would soon come when they wished they hadn't messed with me and my family.
One day you'll be green spider paste.
I let out a small evil chuckle as I sat thinking about the idea. I really needed to work on my villain energy, though. The evil laugh still sounded like I had swallowed dust. With that out of the way, I left my root hollow and began moving. The forest canopy was thick, covering me from the glistening heat of the sun. For about five minutes, I moved undisturbed until I came to a realisation. If I wandered too far without planning, I would absolutely lose my home, and that was an absolute no-go. Not after all the effort that I had put in to find the hollow.
So I devised a plan. A brilliant plan. I called it: If You Throw Up, You Go Back Home. Catchy, I know.
The plan was quite stupid but ingenious. The way I even thought of it was crazy. My mind had shifted back to the animal documentaries, which I had been haphazardly paying attention to. The topic had been about bears peeing on trees as a form of scent marking to communicate with other bears. So why couldn't I do the same? Well, I doubted that my bladder would be able to work that many times, but who said I wouldn't be able to find a substitute?
That's when I came up with the idea of using acidic mucus by throwing up—well, self-induced throw-up. It wasn't the prettiest idea, but hey, it was an idea. Using acidic mucus, I left small dissolving patches on bark and stone at regular intervals. Not large enough to attract attention. Just enough to leave a faint scent marker only I would recognise. It cost stamina, but it also gained me another skill.
[New Skill Unlocked - Acidic Mucus (Lvl 1)]
After about an hour of exploring and marking, I received two notifications.
[Acidic Mucus has reached Level 2.]
[Acidic Mucus has reached Level 3.]
Two birds. One slightly embarrassing method.
I would work on the branding later.
Eventually, I reached a clearing. At its centre lay a lake. Its surface was perfectly still, like a flat sheet of glass, reflecting the sky and the surrounding trees sharply and without any distortion.Clear, still, and reflective. But all I could think about was water—perfect, beautiful, amazing water. I had been living on residual moisture and caterpillar fluids, so this was a welcome surprise.I approached carefully, scanning for movement. Nothing immediate. The surface rippled gently with insects skimming across it.
I drank.
Cold, clean water slid down my throat, sinking down into my body in droves. Perfection.
After drinking my fill, I leaned over the edge and looked at my reflection. Reflected were jet-black scales with small spikes along the ridges. A faint red Y-pattern ran from my head down my back, my eyes a sharp golden hue. Red striped lines ran along my body, like runic symbols. My stature was quite small as well, on the smaller side for an animal.
Not bad. For a gecko.
I tilted my head. The pattern probably signalled my heat affinity. Maybe a natural defence mechanism, like bright colours that said, "Do not eat." Regardless, I found my appearance quite impressive. I looked quite regal… then again, I was a gecko.
[Host is quite vain.]
I stiffened.
"What?"
[Most predators in this region possess varying degrees of defence. Relying on colour intimidation is statistically unwise.]
…
"Could you not laugh when I am trying to feel cool?"
No answer.
I leaned closer to the water again. That was when I noticed something.My reflection darkened. The surface beneath me shifted.A ripple that was not caused by wind.
I stepped back instinctively. It was a good decision. A massive red shape exploded out of the lake. Water burst upward in a violent arc as something slammed onto the shoreline. A red, spiked, muscular monstrosity of a fish. With legs. Actual legs.
What was this abomination? Surely, it was a disrespect to nature itself… to create something so abhorrent-looking. A fish with legs—such an image should have stayed as such. An image with nothing to do with reality. However, life was rarely ever that simple. Purple-speckled spikes lined its scales. Its gills flared violently. Its mouth opened to reveal layered teeth that did not belong on something that swam.
It looked like someone had taken a red snapper and given it access to gym equipment and evolutionary ambition.
I stared at it. It stared at me.
I immediately made the correct tactical choice.
Run.
There was absolutely no honour in fighting that thing.
Behind me, it let out a guttural, vibrating bellow and gave chase. The sound was less fish and more tribal war cry. It moved disturbingly well on land. Its legs were thick and powerful. It bounded forward in short, brutal hops, each one closing distance faster than it had any right to.
"HOME TURF ADVANTAGE," I hissed as I sprinted.
Apparently not. I pumped my limbs as hard as I could, darting between roots and rocks.
[Alert: Stamina is low.]
Of course it was.
The fish was gaining. Its shadow loomed larger behind me.
Fine.
"Bull Strength."
Power flooded my body. Speed surged. The ground blurred. I shot forward like an arrow, creating real distance this time. The fish bellowed again, louder and frustrated. For several seconds, we were locked in a brutal sprint. Then the yelling stopped.
I slowed slightly and glanced back.
The fish was on the ground. Thrashing. Its legs kicked violently, gills flaring uselessly. The creature had gone too far from water, causing it to suffocate.
I blinked.
Then I laughed.
"You absolute idiot."
It had chased me far beyond its survival limit, perhaps thinking it could catch me quickly. You severely miscalculated. I approached cautiously. It was still strong. Still dangerous. But its movements were weakening rapidly.
"You were a worthy opponent," I said solemnly. "A battle for the ages. Your land-hopping martial arts were impressive."
It flopped violently.
"But unfortunately, I specialise in the ancient technique of running away."
I stepped in and bit. The fish was too weakened to resist properly. Teeth pierced scale. I held on until its struggles slowed. Then stopped. A chime rang.
[You have gained: 456 XP.]
[You have levelled up: +2.]
[HP and Stamina fully recovered.]
[Void Eater available.]
"Yes. Please."
[Select a number from 1 to 3.]
Only three skills.
Interesting.
"I choose one."
[Skill acquired: Water Shot (Lv 1).]
I blinked. An offensive skill. Finally.
"System," I asked, "why did it not use that on me?"
[The creature required continuous internal Water Shot circulation to sustain oxygenation while on land.]
Ah.
So it had been burning its ability just to stay alive.
It had gambled.
Lost.
"Skill description?"
[Water Shot: Launches compressed water projectiles. x0.65 damage due to affinity differences. Uses MP points.]
I looked at my MP.
Zero.
…
Of course.
[Host must acquire Mana Manipulation before unlocking MP pool.]
Great.
New objective unlocked.
I ate half the fish, dragging the rest back to my root hollow for storage. It was heavy, but manageable.