Chapter 40: Chapter 39 – Jogging All Day

Time has passed and we find Jason standing at the entrance to the forest once again. This time alone and ready to strike out for some tougher prey. As he travels along the forest path nothing much bothers him. Even the boss clearing is empty. Though that is to be expected. It isn’t every day that new adventurers head out on their first quest. Once past the clearing he doesn’t even see anything besides some normal wildlife.

Finally he breaks through there to the other side. The trees thin out and soon all that can be seen is mile after mile of grass and rabbits. Nearest to him small groups of normal rabbits frolic with the occasional horned rabbit leading a herd. Farther out though it gets more varied. Even a number of winged rabbits can be seen flying off in the distance.

After taking a moment to take in the peaceful scene Jason turns right and follows the forest's edge. After about an hour he takes a short break at a strange tree to think over some things.

“Hmm, if what I found out when leaving is true then this tree marks the end of my easy going trip. From the chatter I heard this strange tree marks the farthest adventurers normally travel this way. Likely from here on out the rabbit herds will become bigger as they aren’t being culled as frequently. However, the biggest thing is that at a normal traveling pace I won't get close to where I need to stop following the forest. Rosha and James both should take about ten days to reach the dungeons and I don’t want to fall too far behind them. Taking more than a day to reach where I will find stronger monsters is a no go. Well, I came out here for training so jogging there won't hurt. I still will not get where I wanted to by night but running is out of the question. Even a small herd of rabbits could take me if I am tired out.”

With a plan set out Jason stands up and stretches. “Okay world, here I come!”, and he heads off at a steady jog. Tree after tree flash by on his right while the occasional rabbit herd is shocked into scattering on his left.

As he goes the terrain changes slowly the farther from civilization he gets. The grass becomes shorter as more rabbits can be seen. Even the trees look different, taking on a darker more aged appearance. Within the shadows he can see small predators waiting for any of the rabbits to stray too far. Foxes being the most common though an occasional wild cat of some sort is hidden among the treetops.

At this point Jason starts to worry. It is already halfway to when he has to stop and nothing has attacked him yet. Rabbit herds with tens of normal ones are now common. The foxes have grown bigger and the cats stealthier. Despite all that nothing bothers him. While he doesn’t want to look a gift horse in the mouth, this is just becoming creepy.

If he had asked around, then he would have expected this but for now he can only worry. How could he know the only adventurers who travel out this way alone are those over leveled for the area? Not only that, but his training from his last life has instilled him with a running form nearly free from wasted movements. As far as the wildlife is concerned he is an expert who would wipe them out without even slowing down. Maybe if there was a pack of wolves around they would attempt it but a single fox or a herd of normal rabbits? They have long ago been conditioned through years of self selection to not even try.

Despite how much this is freaking him out he can only continue forward. Soon the grass becoming a uniform height as nature has finally reached a balance. Not too many predators, not too few prey. Even the forest has reached an equilibrium with a much more varied underbrush. Jason can only guess he has gone past the point that allows one to return to town in the same day. Seeing all the plants growing undisturbed sends a small pang of sadness through his mind. “I should have picked up a harvesting skill. Though it isn’t like I can afford to slow down and pick them.”

Finally, the sun dips below the horizon and Jason starts looking for where to camp.  Eventually he settles on a dead tree off by itself. Not quite in the plains yet off from the forest.

He approaches the tree stopping a short distance away from it. Jason hadn’t heard of any treant like enemies in the forest but this was suspicious. Picking up a fist-sized rock he chucks towards the tree. He hears a solid thunk, but the tree stays still. “Well, it might still be something but I can’t really do much else to test it right now.”

Once at the tree Jason takes a quick look around soon finds the overgrown remains of a campfire. “It looks like I’m not the only one who thinks this is a good resting spot. Though the positioning of the fire points to them setting up camp facing the plains. My plan was to set up facing the forest so I would know if any of the predators there were coming. Hmm, I can think of two reasons off the top of my head. Either by hiding behind the trunk any predators are less likely to come out and bother you or at night some bigger rabbit's head into the forest. Anyway, it looks like they have used this spot multiple times so I will follow the wisdom of those past adventurers.”

With a tree at his back Jason decides not to bother with a tent and his campsite is quickly finished. Only a small fire to cook by and some bells on a string as an alarm is all he needs tonight. Satisfied he quickly cooks a small pot of soup before going to bed. Though just before drifting off a window pops up saying he gained +4 toughness, +2 agility, and +6 hp for jogging all day.