After spending the night recovering from the fight, I came out as soon as sunlight passed through the narrow cracks of the door.
The ground was a bit dark, unlike previous times when everything was cleaned up after a fight.
I knew this was going to be like this because the ghost was just a pack of energy that didn’t have any actual mass.
Looking at the spot where the ghost ‘died’, I spotted something shining in the early sunlight.
A small smirk spread out on my face as many great thoughts passed through my mind.
As the ghosts were just pure masses of energy, the chances of getting a core were the highest of them.
I had some hope that it would be here, and I was lucky this time.
Walking closer to a somewhat black area, I picked up the small round orb.
It was smaller than the demon’s core, but the energy inside them was the same.
It was a core from the ghost, almost at the strength of a (Yellow) ranked beast.
This core was small enough to stay in my feast.
Looking closely at the silver orb, which was like the ancient playing marbles from my previous world, an intrigued look popped up on my face.
It had silver glitter dancing inside it.
It was something very important and there was no actual need for it at the moment.
With a bright smile, I stored it inside my storage device.
The cave was already good enough with blood crystals and the Mana gathering circle from last time wouldn’t be appropriate here.
Mana and dead Mana were two different types, and the high density of both things could be dangerous.
I didn’t know what would happen, but… let’s not take the risk.
And there was no way I could reach (tier-3) in a short time or with ‘normal’ herbs.
This core might be the only one I find in this forest.
I was going to start the training today, so I needed to stock up on some things.
‘Hmmm…’
Well, I thought about hunting something, but it wouldn’t be a rabbit.
I had to find something different, like a chicken or duck or something like that.
With that in mind, I prepared things and set out for today’s small quest.
Jumping on the trees, I came across those strange black-white monkeys that I saw in the past.
That area was almost like their village, and every tree had a unique family.
On a gigantic tree at the center lived an older monkey with some golden hair.
This one looked the strongest and maybe wisest in their group.
This monkey with golden hair might be someone like a chief or elder in the village.
I could feel the darkness that was attributed to the elder, even from such a distance.
It was strong, maybe as strong as the mother snake.
As I was looking at them with my [Mystic Eyes], the elder who was sleeping on a tree branch opened its eyes and almost exactly glanced in my direction.
It wasn’t a hostile gaze, but a gaze filled with curiosity.
I didn’t know if it saw me or something, but it just returned to its sleeping position.
I didn’t feel his gaze on me, but somehow my back had a strange sensation.
It was like someone was looking at me from the back, but I knew there wasn’t anyone.
Which only meant that the elder monkey saw me.
“This forest sure is something…”
Shaking off the strange feeling, I walked away from there.
I was going somewhere a little less dangerous and the possibility of finding something would be high.
It took time but… I found a surprisingly good thing.
It was something between a duck and a grasshopper.
With the body and back of a duck and four legs and wings of a grasshopper or similar insect.
It was a strange being and, more strangely, both duck and grasshoppers were excellent sources of high protein in my previous world.
Though the thing in front of me was a water and wind elemental beast called [Hopper duck], an (Orange) ranked simple beast, I had to be careful.
The combination of water and wind was dangerous, and I knew it because I had already killed a rabbit with one arrow of compressed water.
It wouldn’t be strange if this duck could do something like that, too.
On top of that, it was also a physical attack type.
I knew the extent of my current strength and I knew it would be slightly above the duck’s overall skills.
If it slid, it would be a tough fight for me.
But I was smarter, and most importantly… I had a cheat.
“Let’s go Celes~.” 𝐨𝘃𝗹.
On my call, my beautiful butterfly partner came out from her sleeping mark and excitedly started shouting.
[[ Master! Are we going to hunt that insect?! ]]
I knew what she meant, but still, a small chuckle escaped my mouth.
It was indeed an insect, but it was also a bird, and combined, they were almost as tall as me.
This was not some weak bird or helpless insect that can be crushed.
But… it was unlucky today.
Changing my form into a similar duck with bright green feathers, I closed in on the duck.
Our <Perfect disguise> was indeed perfect and there was almost no chance to differentiate between real and fake.
The skill copied the elemental affinity of the beast too, making it close to impossible to detect the difference.
We didn’t know the limits of this skill just yet, so testing it at every chance was necessary.
The bright green was for female ducks of the same species.
It was self-explanatory what would happen if a beautiful female shows up before a wild male.
And, as I thought, the reaction was very quick.
The wondering duck focused all the attention on the ‘me’ as its wings opened up.
I didn’t know if it was trying to impress me or something, but I just ignored it and started gathering fire Mana particles.
The duck didn’t notice this and danced with its insect feathers wide open.
It was a wonderful dance and showed the dominance and sincerity of the beast, but some appeals can lead to your demise.
And this poor male was already at death’s doors.
Opening ‘my’ mouth, I finished my spell.
(Fire Blast)
A large ball of fire shot towards it at rapid speed.
The duck was just taking its next step to make a turn when it spotted the fire coming at him.
The small brown eyes of the duck widened in surprise, and it tried using his skill.
But unfortunately for him, it was too late.
The fire had been blown, and he was now burned to the crisps.
Fortunately, only its feathers burned, leaving its smooth bird body intact.
It was natural to go after females, but doing it without any thoughts or preparation could ruin the chances.
This bird might have survived if it just thought the situation through.
From its expected behavior, it was clear how much one could be deprived of love.
But its dead body will serve its purpose greatly.
Picking up my food, I walked back to my house without any problems.
From what I saw, it was clear that beasts avoided the area around the monkey colony and it was for the best.
I could safely take this path when going towards the lake.
For now, I was all set.
It was predictable that I wouldn’t get any skill stone or core, but I still hoped for one.
But well, it looked like you can only get something like that with luck or high chances.
Getting such good meat was the best harvest of today.
It would be good to make different things without worrying about them getting worse.
I can use the (Preservation) spell on it and other things to keep them in the best condition.
Now, it would be great if I could achieve something from my training before moving on from this place.