Chapter 20: Ch. 20 – Ingredients Must be Earned

The next thing I wanted to make was a spear. A spear could be used to ward off a pack of Shadowalkers and buy me some time until someone could come to my aid. I could only use the dagger up close and didn't want to be within biting distance of an angry pit bull. I didn't have any experience with weapons like this, but Typh probably did. I hoped he would be able to train me. How hard could it be to point a sharp object at an animal? Cavemen did it for hundreds of years on Earth.

The Stalker pelt was too high of a level for now, so I couldn't make anything with it. Romas declined when I asked him if he would make something for me. He said a Creator needs to construct their armor. After experiencing how the Squamish armor molded perfectly to my body, I could see that.

I had used my 'THINK' skill for the spear, but I wanted to use earth magic this time. Unlocking a third magic type would increase my battle options. I figured poison or a different kind of lasting damage would be perfect against these beasts. But when I got the results back, I saw two '???' slots—one apparently for the rod and the other for some unknown ingredient. I hoped the bow tree could work for the handle, but no dice.

Romas had never made a spear before, so he was no help. "When a creator can't figure out what ingredients he needs, he goes into the jungle and finds them," he smirked, the trademark of his tutelage these days.

I rolled my eyes internally but nodded along. Romas continuously pushed me to do my work and grow my skills. Not wrong as a mentor, but also not super helpful. So I went to find Dee, and we made a field trip into the jungle.

The jungle was quiet as I walked with my Fekan entourage. The rain came down more frequently now, an on-and-off affair that left the air hot and humid. Plant life was also changing, with more flowers dotting the ground and hanging from the branches. Trees on this planet loved their flowers.

I had grown quite familiar with the jungle at this point. I knew most of the paths near the settlement, where the poisonous bushes were, and the worst spider infestations. Also, having the warriors and hunters with me was comforting as I wandered around here. I mainly went to and from the caves, but today I wanted to try going somewhere different to see what magic I could try and unlock.

My health hadn't grown much over the last week, but my mana was at [32/40] now after the previous ballista bolt was made. I had gotten better at choosing the level and type of item I wanted to make. Since none of the Feka could seem to use my magic items, I made regular ammunition, costing me five mana each time. I had gotten really good at mining iron, my skill improving to level 4 a few days ago.

We had also gotten the dog crushers installed under the first level of the settlement. That would be a pleasant little surprise for the Shadowalkers when they returned. It would be brutal to see a bunch of dogs crushed and set on fire, but such was the horrors of war.

The lead Feka, whose name I didn't catch, stopped and put his paw up. He looked to the right, up in the canopy. I was nervous here; the surroundings were unfamiliar to me. The other Feka looked and crouched into defensive postures. The sun came out momentarily, the heat hitting me in waves. Sweat was beading on my forehead and pooling under my armor.

I looked around but didn't see anything. The Feka clicked his belt, a soft purple glow surrounding us. My eyesight felt sharper, picking out more detail in the canopy. A blur of motion to the left caught my attention, then another to the right. The forest went eerily silent, waiting. The last time this happened, three crow-hawk monsters had attacked me. I grabbed my dagger, waiting.

One of the hunters took off up the tree so fast I could barely keep up with his movements. Another Feka went up a separate tree in the same manner. Then the jungle erupted with a roar and cough of gorillas. The sounds came from everywhere at once, a loud threatening yell. The remaining Feka and Dee made a circle around me, swords out.

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Swinging from a branch was a four-foot monkey beast. He had a silver chest with stripes of white fur crisscrossing his entire body. Teeth protruded out of his mouth, similar to the Whitefang dogs. He dove off the branch, landed gracefully on the ground, and swung at Dee.

She ducked, returning a kick to its shin. The beast let out an 'oof,' spun, and tried a two-handed power swing down at her. He was too slow, Dee already behind him. She took out two daggers and thrust them into the monster's calves. I watched in horror, unable to move, standing there with my dagger like an idiot. Behind me, the two warrior Feka fought an orangutang beast and a spider monkey swinging from the tree. He was throwing some projectiles at them, missing as the agile Feka dodged them.

I backed away from the battle, looking around for danger. To my left, Dee had killed her prey, stabbing it in the back of the head. It fell over with a boom, but she was gone before it even hit the ground. Behind me, another gorilla creature busted through the foliage, running at me with its arms over its head. It swung down as I dove to the side. My back leg broke through a spider web, the sticky substance getting on my pants.

A spider shot out of a log onto my leg. I shrieked and kicked my leg as hard as possible, sending the spider flying. Meanwhile, the gorilla had come up from behind me, sending an uppercut to the side of my head while I was distracted. It knocked me to the side, spit flying out of my mouth. I laid there dazed and curled into the fetal position, arms over my head.

The gorilla stood over me, murder in its eyes. It was tackled to the ground by a warrior Feka, and the two struggled in the brush. I crab-walked on all fours back toward the path. The white tiger landed a claw strike to its face, knocking it out. The Feka looked back, anger all over his face. "Fight back, human! What are you doing?! Get up!"

I looked at him for a moment, gaining my composure. I nodded silently, rapid movements up and down with my head.

I stood, looking around me. Monkeys were dead all over the jungle floor. A smaller monkey began getting up, waking up from a fall from the canopy. I ran over to it, pulled my dagger, and slammed it into its back. The monkey arched, lightning shooting up its body. It let out a terrifying screech and spasmed there for a bit. I let go of the dagger and staggered backward, watching in horror.

It stopped moving, falling to the ground. I slowly walked over and kicked it, making sure it was dead—my first official kill on Prixa. The jungle was quiet now, the attack through. Any remaining monkeys must have run off if the Feka didn't kill them all. After a few seconds, the animal dissolved and left a fur pelt. I picked it up with shaky hands and put it on my shoulder. I squeezed my eyes shut for a moment, feeling guilty.

The Fekan warriors and hunters slowly filtered back down through the trees showing various degrees of injury. They circled me, looks of disgust and anger on their faces. Dee looked down, shuffling her feet after she put her daggers back in her belt.

Finally, the lead warrior spoke, wiping blood out of his eyes from a cut above his eyebrow. "Deehana, I cannot fight alongside this human. He is a coward and has no business out here with us. I am sorry. Ingredients must be earned. If he cannot accumulate them through kills, he will never be strong enough to create like us." He turned and walked away, the other three growling at me and following him.

She looked at him and began to speak but stopped. She looked at me apologetically, turned, and headed back toward the settlement.

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