Chapter 45 - The Taste Of Fresh Meat

"This scenery can be pretty memorable," I commented as I walked through trees and bushes.

Looking up, I could see a green ceiling made of dense leaves. As for the forest floor, they are made of dark brown dried leaves.

Now and then, the sunlight that managed to penetrate the roof of the leaves hit my body. They are warm and became one of the sources of my courage.

Of course, I can say, this forest is beautiful even though it is scary and has a mysterious atmosphere.

I traced the path for some time before I- Kresk!

"Kya!" I screamed, jumping to the left with my ears and tail standing upright!

The sound of something moving inside the bushes shocked me!

My heart skipped a beat as I pointed my Bleed Fair to the source of that sound. I waited and a moment later, a Horned Rabbit jumped out of the bushes.

I remained alert and ready to fight until the monster finally disappeared from my sight by a jump into the other bushes.

Kresk!

...

I lowered my spear and then heaved a sigh of relief.

"Hang on, Eclaite! Calm yourself."

I walked away and picked up a simple map from inside the little bag on my waist. This map contains information about the location where the Redibri Berry grew.

Redibri Berry is a medicinal plant that has purple flowers with a bell-like shape and has red fruit-like cherry. The plant itself is like a strawberry plant.

"In Ark Fantasy Online, I was able to find them easily thanks to the Pointer System. But now, in this world, it seems like I have to try harder."

Arrived at the gathering spot, I looked for the Redibri Berry as soon as possible. I don't want to waste time because I want to go home soon. I must complete the Quest to collect the Redibri Berry quickly.

The main quest on this adventure is to find the Lost City Beldea.

Collecting the Redibri Berry is a Sub Quest, just like hunting to raise my Level.

I wanted to do all my personal Quests but I'm too tired now.

I explored the middle of the area filled with bushes. The Redibri Berry plant is quite small. Thus, I had to check all the plants in here carefully.

Kresk! Kresk!

My fox's ears twitched as it caught the sound of rustling leaves. My alertness instantly turn off and as soon as possible I prepared my bleed fair. Then, I searched for who or what made the sound.

Scanning the surroundings, I found the existence of a Big Mole that was eating Redibri Berry fruit.

Big Mole took out the upper half of its body from the ground. Its Fur was dark brown. Its front legs have long black claws. The monster was so smart in picking Redibri Berry fruit using its claws.

The monster that was too focused on the Redibri Berry hadn't discovered my existence.

Should I attack or escape?

...

I'm going to attack it.

Strong monsters would not ignore the humans in their vicinity and preferred to eat such fruit.

A powerful monster must be like that Slime. They approach humans because they want to become stronger or maybe because they are hungry.

So, after I made my decision, silently, I prepared my Bleed Fair. I intend to kill the monster using a long-range attack.

I'll have time to escape if I attack in this way.

I took the throwing position and concentrated on aiming for the Monster. I don't want my attack to missing the target.

I'm pouring my energy into my spear. After that, I threw the spear after I said, "[Throw]"

Wuss!

The sound of a spear that shot out made the Big Mole turn its head. But unfortunately for it, the spear was already close enough when it turned its head. The Big Mole didn't have enough time to dodge and the spear I threw pierced its body.

Bleed Fair pierced through Big Mole's body and made it stuck on the ground. The monster struggling to escape from my Bleed Fair. Unfortunately, it didn't make it. After convulsing for some time, the monster finally quiet down.

"Is that monster dead?", I asked no one.

Slowly, I walked towards Big Mole's corpse. And after I checked its condition using a twig, I said, "I'm lucky."

Big Mole died and I pulled my Bleed Fair that stuck in its body.

Splat!

Huh! What's this? Why did I suddenly smell a scent that arouse my appetite? From where did this sweet scent come from?

Turning to the right and left, I looked for a dish that spread this sweet scent. But I never found it. All I found was Big Mole's bloodied corpse.

"Could it be..."

With a guess, I crouched down and touched Big Mole's blood with my index finger. Afterward, I brought my blood-covered index finger closer to my nose. I inhaled the scent of that blood, and...

"Ah~ this smell of blood is so delicious," I said in a melted voice.

The smell of the monster's blood made my body weak and hot. My appetite instantly increased rapidly. And unknowingly, I licked the blood that covered my finger.

"Sour!" I cried in surprise.

The stinging sour taste made me furrow my brows. The sweet smell and sour taste of Big Mole's blood were so contradictory.

"I didn't expect monster blood to have this kind of taste."

I paused for a moment. Then, I again licked Big Mole's blood on my finger.

"Sour like before and I started to think that this sour taste is quite delicious."

After licking clean the blood on my finger, I look at the Big Mole's corpse.

"Do I have to eat this corpse?"

If I want to get Stat Points bonuses from the Unique Skill Heart of Monsters, I have no other choice but to eat this Monster's meat.

But..... That's a Big Mole. Don't they fall into the rat category? Is it safe for me to eat it? I'm not going to get sick because of bacteria or anything like that after eating this corpse, right?

I hesitated to eat the meat of the Big Mole. But, at the same time, the sweet scent continued to arouse my appetite. After fretting for some time, in the end, I took out a dagger on my left thigh.

"I don't think one bite will cause any problems."

Giving up to my appetite, I cut the Big Mole's corpse. Seconds later, a slice of fresh meat the size of a ping pong ball was in the palm of my hand. It let out such a delicious scent and I gulped because I couldn't wait to chew this delicious-looking meat.

Then, without a second thought, I put the raw meat in my mouth.

"Wow! This meat hides a surprise!"

The fineness of the meat I ate made my fox ears twitch and made my tail swing happily.

Juicy tender meat with a sour taste. It's a unique combination. But strangely enough, this unique combination became such a delightful taste.

Not satisfied with a piece of meat, I cut the big mole corpse once more. And greedily, I ate the raw meat I had just cut.

I enjoyed the meat so much and kept eating it over and over again. My hands and mouth never stopped to satisfy my hunger. And when I felt cutting up the monster's corpse was too troublesome, I took off my gloves and used both of my hands to tear Big Mole's corpse directly.

Eating food using hands is si efficient. I can get big satisfying bites quickly. I don't have to cut, just need to tear the meat as much as my hands can grab it.

I continued to eat the corpse until...

Crack! Crunch!

I chewed something different from the Big Mole's meat. What I just chewed and then swallowed was something crisp, had a strong taste, and more delicious.

< Endurance Stat Up! END +1 >

< Skill acquired, Heat Perception - 1 >

Oh!! I got a one stat point for END and a Skill. If my END increases, my defenses will increase and the damage I got will be reduced.

Getting a new skill will make me stronger.

The notification given by the system made me regain consciousness. Then...

I fell to my butt.

Looking at the Big Mole's corpse that was being torn apart, I said, "what did I just do!?"