The three fish were so fast that they shortened the distance within a second. It was impossible to dodge the fish with his current position. His right hand was already holding his dagger, and he raised his left hand.
The three fish bite into his left hand. He could feel their teeth sunk into his flesh as stinging pain spread out from his arm.
In the same moment, he pulled out his dagger, spinning it for a moment to hold it in reverse. Then he stabbed the fish in his hand from the right. His dagger was too short to pierce through three fish at once, but he got two fish with his dagger.
The two fish immediately loosened their bite in his left hand, and he threw the dagger to the side along with the fish. Then he got back on his feet, trying to pull the last fish from his left hand, but the bite was too strong. If he pulled the fish forcefully, it would tear his flesh and cause a worse wound.
He lowered himself, putting the fish on the ground before sending a punch to the fish's belly, not just once but repeatedly. He kept punching the fish until it loosened the bite.
The moment the fish released the bite, he grabbed its tail and threw it toward the tree.
Red quickly checked his wound. There were three bite marks left by the fist, two of them were shallow, but the third one was quite deep, leaving a lot of small holes in the shape of the fish's teeth. His blood oozed out from those holes.
The wound from the wolf's bite had not healed yet, and he got another wound from the fish. He clicked his tongue, moving his left hand around to see if the bite gave him a complication. Aside from the stinging pain in his left hand, he could still use his left hand fine.
Red put aside the concern of his wound because he still had unfinished business. The fish he punched and threw were still alive, flapping weakly next to the tree. Meanwhile, the two fish that were stuck in the dagger were flapping wildly.
Even though their belly were pierced by the dagger, that didn't weaken them slightly. They were flapping fiercely, trying to break free from the dagger, but to no avail.
He didn't waste any time getting closer and beating the two fish. He made sure to keep punching the head until the two fish stopped moving. After killing the first one, he went to the third one. The third fish was still alive, flapping weakly on the ground.
Red didn't immediately go for the kill. He instead used Appraisal on it.
Crimson Scales Biter
Level: 6
Skill: Piercing Bite, Explosive Burst
He was surprised the fish was a level six beast. They were too easy to be prey for a level six beast, easier than a level five dire lupus. He quickly threw his arrogant thought away. It was easy because he was fighting the beast on land. He might have a hard time or even die if he fought them in the water.
He finished the third fish with his dagger, killing it with one stab. The first thing that came to his mind was whether the fish was edible or not. He once in a while caught fish in the creek where he usually took a bath. However, the fish in the creek never attacked him, much tamer than this Crimson Scales Biter. In fact, the fish in his creek were agile, so agile that he was having a hard time catching them.
Red didn't think of exchanging them for loot because he was hungry. Back then, it was normal for him not to eat for a few days, but he had been spoiled ever since he stepped up as a hunter. He had been eating a lot; at least he ate ten portions every day, and now not eating one day was enough to make him more than uncomfortable.
The hunger that he often endured a lot in the past was quite a bother right now. However, he was not stupid enough to try this fish.
He ended up exchanging two fish for loot and saved the last one for Tob. Who knew that little dude might want to taste this fish?
3 Magic Cores
2 Might Cores
10 copper coins
Those were the loot, and he threw the coins into the pond. He didn't want Tob to find out about his loot, and his safe was too far for him to carry the coins with him. He decided to throw them away instead and absorbed all the cores.
Name: ???
Level: 5
Health: 402 Stamina: 461 Mana: 745
[Tier 0 Might]
Strength: 50.8 Endurance: 50 Vitality: 50 Dexterity: 50.6
[Tier 0 Magic]
Intelligence: 75.4 Wisdom: 75.6 Arcane Perception: 75 Mind: 75.4
All the cores he absorbed increased his five different stats. He didn't really have any preference stat to increase since he needed to increase them all to level up anyway. He was more surprised that those five cores gave him a good increase.
Red carried the last Crimson Scales Biter as he gave a last glance at the pond. He was tempted to stay longer and hunt more fish, but he was on a mission. He didn't know what kind of plot the Shaman prepared for him if he took too long to return.
He returned to where Tob was, and the little dude had calmed yet remained cautious. Tob had his back against the tree as he kept scanning the surroundings. The moment he spotted the big red-skinned goblin, he was relieved.
However, his eyes quickly locked on the fish in Red's hand. That was when the hunger attacked him. He was not really aware that he was hungry since he was under high tension all the time until he saw the red-scaled fish.
Tob had learned his lesson and said nothing despite how hungry he was. He thought he would be waiting for Red to finish the fish before leaving, until Red threw the fish at him.
The little dude frantically caught the crimson fish, surprised and at a loss. He blinked his eyes, kept looking between Red and the fish.
"Eat! We will leave after you finish it!"
Tob snapped out and began devouring the fish right away. The scales were quite hard, and he had to pluck them off. It was quite easy, but tedious and took a lot of time.
"I will eat as we walk, Boss!"
Not willing to waste the time, he gave a suggestion to the boss.
"Alright!"
Red led the little dude, tracking through the jungle. He didn't forget to leave a mark on the tree. The pond was too good to pass up, so he wanted to find his way back to this place.
Tob was too busy with his fish to notice what Red was doing; he just followed his boss as he pulled off the scales and ate the exposed flesh. The fish seemed to be safe to eat as Tob didn't show a sign of getting poisoned.
Red could tell that he was getting closer to the tribe after a few hours of walking. However, the strangeness in the jungle remained. He didn't encounter any beast, still the same.
He had a bad feeling as it meant the pack of the dire wolf was close by. Even though the tribe was treated badly before, they were starting to open up to him. He didn't want his tribe to be destroyed by the dire wolf, just like the other village.
Red hoped he was wrong about it until he discovered the goblin's dead bodies. He halted his steps, and Tob bumped into him. The little dude wondered why his Boss stopped until he saw the dead bodies.
What was left was just the bones and the head. The dire wolf ate the flesh clean, leaving just bone and the head intact. That was a horrifying scene, and Tob almost screamed if not for Red covering his mouth.
"Silence! Do you want to attract the wolf into us?"
Tob shook his head furiously, then he nodded, implying he understood.
"Pick their weapons and get ready to fight. The wolf might be attacking our village right now!"
There were four remains, and their weapons were not far from the bodies. Tob was scared, but he followed the order. The little dude picked the spear.
Red slowed down, afraid that there might be dire wolves around them. It took some time, but they finally got out of the jungle and saw their tribe ahead. His guess was right; the village was attacked by the dire wolves.
He saw billowing smoke coming from the tribe. He was not surprised since he fought a dire wolf that could shoot fire. That smoke was caused by that fireball.
Then he spotted the dead bodies in front of the villages. More than ten goblins were lying at the entrance, and he was surprised to see six dead dire wolves as well.
Red turned around, "We will…" His words stopped because Tob was not around. Then he saw Tob was running away.
He clicked his tongue, but he didn't bother chasing after Tob. Whether Tob was here or not, it didn't really matter. One Tob would not change anything. In fact, that little dude might become food for the wolf.
Red took a deep breath and made his way to the tribe sneakily. He didn't run away from the tribe as he decided to fight without hesitation.