[NR] Falling Out Of A Tree - Chapter 578

The trio eventually get out of the man’s office and are able to go do a little shopping. At this point, they would normally split up. Though, because of the boisterous crowds, they decide to stick together as a group.

Not that there was much to get. Courtney and Rosha had a couple supplies to replace for their continued exploration and Jason picked up a couple tools. In particular, Jason grabbed a bunch of metal working tools. While he didn’t have any readily available ore, it would pop up eventually and being able to smelt it would allow him to be more self-sufficient.

After that, it was a little late into the day, but the trio still decided to head back to their clearing. It might end up a bit past sundown when they get back, but Rosha figured that with the apex predator dead, not much would bother them for the moment. That or everything aggros them, but such an outcome would be obvious right out of the gate.

However, luck was on their side and the forest was eerily calm. Well, it would have been eerie if they weren’t expecting it. All the creatures were hidden away, fearing whatever managed to kill the previous top of the food chain so easily. Even the regular animals seemed to sense something had happened.

Though once night falls, completely avoiding an encounter becomes impossible. Whatever else is happening, predators still have to eat and so on the last leg of their Journey, the group is attacked by what could be generously called a panther. Except it has no kinship or ancestry with Courtney.

The monster looked like a cat in only the most general sense. The face was cat-like, there were four legs and a tail, as well as fur that seemed to be an almost brown shade of black. On the other hand, the details really threw things off.

On each paw was only a pair of thick toes. The mouth didn’t open so much as pull back. And as the tail flicked back and forth? It was clear as day that there weren’t any bones in it, the movement too fluid.

Despite the strangeness, Rosha prevented it from getting a jump on the group and even managed to get the first strike in. Her bow was up and drawn before she had even finished announcing the danger. Then an arrow was protruding from the maybe-cat’s shoulder. A handy hit as it prevented the cat-thing from leaping down on them from its perch up in a tree.

And as Rosha keeps it pinned down with her arrows, Jason works his way into melee range. His first leap upwards, lands him about halfway to the branch on a neighboring tree. From there, he springs off the trunk and grabs a lower branch on another tree, before swinging up the rest of the way to where the monster is.

The monster, of course, sees Jason coming, but Rosha keeps it off him. And once on the same branch, the fight became a lot easier. With threats on two sides, the cat-like monster quickly loses balance and falls off the branch.

Jason doesn’t let this be though, and jumps after it. His various abilities and unique body made him less susceptible to getting hurt in a fall and he planned to take full advantage of it. Sure, spear tackling an almost-panther into the ground after jumping out of a tree isn’t the most sane thing.

However, it works.

Despite the boneless tail, the monster definitely had a spine, which Jason brakes as they both slam into the ground. Not that he comes away from this unscathed. His cultivation technique might have given him a body like a block of wood, but even a block of wood will chip and break.

However, a broken arm is basically nothing compared to the monster’s injuries. With a broken spine alone, it was out of luck even if you don’t count any other broken bones or internal bleeding. Then Courtney gets up close and personal, jamming a knife through the eye and into the brain, finishing it off.

After that is finished, though, they don’t stick around. Rosha doesn’t even try to gather her arrows as they leave the area. The relatively peaceful journey they’ve had up until this point was all predicated on there being nothing to attract attention to them. Now? Well, at the very least, nearby hunters and scavengers will be attracted to that fresh corpse they just made.

And by the sounds they can hear as they slip away into the night, their decision was very much the correct one. Besides, they aren’t far from their clearing. It’s presence standing out to them. While not much good for anything else, their connection to the clearing was simply the best sort of compass to guide them home.

Though after the almost-cat, the only other thing they encounter on the way is a small family of boars passing in front of them. Which was not a safe situation! They were lucky that Rosha detected them soon enough that the group could back away and hide. Even a boar that isn’t a monster or anything is still a credible threat, let alone a small herd of them.

Then the trio are home. Well, Rosha and Courtney are home. Jason is still living in the old, all-in-one building. His house will get done eventually, though. For now, all that matters is that they’re safe and can get to sleep on an actual bed.

Even Jason gets a full night sleep. An event that has only become rarer as of late. Good thing his cultivation techniques both in and out of game help alleviate this matter. He is a far way off from not needing sleep at all, but even the first steps can be impressive compared to a normal person getting eight hours.

Then bright and early the next morning, they gather together to make a few decisions. They had managed to get by on just doing their own things, but the clearing demands a bit more from them. Well, from Rosha and Jason. Courtney had more than enough training for situations at least tangentially related to this, and so had an idea of what was needed.