Hunting

Time passed, second by second. Thunder cracked across the sky more and more urgently, as though the Abyss's rainy season was about to begin.

Er Dongsheng lay motionless in the thick grass. Over the past three years, he had done this more times than he could count. He had made plenty of mistakes when he first started, but now he was the hunting king of this small patch of forest. He was still a little short of level one, yet he was the strongest creature nearby—a place he had fought for through blood and fire.

He had faced death countless times, and the scars crisscrossing his body bore witness to it. Apart from the knowledge in his memories, he had become an Abyss Demon through and through over those three years, more frightening even than ordinary Abyss Demons.

A rustling came from nearby. A dense tangle of grass parted, and several Abyssal Species resembling the Velociraptors of ancient Earth emerged.

The creatures were over three meters long, stood about half a meter high at the hips, and probably weighed more than fifty kilograms. Their skulls were long, their snouts turned upward, and rows of sharp teeth jutted from their mouths. They looked ferocious, but after years of dealing with them, Er Dongsheng knew it was all show. These Velociraptor-like creatures were not Abyss Demons, merely Abyssal Species. They had little intelligence, chaotic minds, and nothing but primitive animal instinct. More importantly, the Abyss had not acknowledged them. Perhaps they counted only as Abyssal Creatures, falling short even of Abyssal Species. Becoming Abyss Demons was farther beyond their reach.

All beings in the Abyss fell into three categories: Abyssal Creatures, Abyssal Species, and Abyss Demons.

The categories were not based on strength. Some Abyssal Creatures could be stronger than Abyss Demons. What mattered was whether a creature had intelligence and an inherited legacy, and whether the Abyss had acknowledged it.

A being with intelligence and a legacy, capable of training and advancing, was an Abyssal Species. Only one acknowledged by the Abyss was an Abyss Demon.

To earn that acknowledgment, one had to be an Abyssal Species and reach level one in the use of Abyssal Power. In other words, one had to evolve to level one.

So Er Dongsheng was still only an Abyssal Species, and who knew how he was supposed to evolve to level one.

He made no move against the Velociraptor-like creatures. He kept waiting.

Three Velociraptors emerged from the grass. They looked around warily. Finding nothing amiss, they turned and flicked their tails at those behind them, then crept toward the burning tree. Several smaller Velociraptors emerged after them.

Er Dongsheng lay there without a sound. At the sight of the newcomers, a troubled look crossed his face.

Too many.

One, two, three... seven. Seven in all. The first three were probably males. Even Er Dongsheng did not dare confront three male Velociraptors head-on. He might handle one or two, but three would certainly leave him injured.

The females, though, would make excellent prey. He licked his dry lips and gently worked the stiffness from his body, readying himself to spring forward.

Suddenly—

Whoosh! One of the males at the front flew into the air and slammed back down. Dazed, it still remembered the danger and howled, calling its companions to its side.

What happened? Er Dongsheng pressed himself back down and stared ahead, concealing every trace of his presence.

What? An Abyssal Species! He flattened himself even closer to the ground.

A behemoth some ten meters long and a meter across slid down a tree not far from him.

An Abyss Snake. A Lesser Abyssal Species with roughly the intelligence of an ordinary seven- or eight-year-old child. It was not particularly clever, but its strength was beyond question.

The enormous Abyss Snake slithered toward the Velociraptors. Blue blood dripped from its tail, leaving a long line across the ground. The male Velociraptor must have wounded it during the ambush.

The Abyss Snake was male. Er Dongsheng had no idea what kind of snake he was.

Most snakes in the Abyss were Abyssal Species at the very least. They stood fairly high in the Abyss's food chain and were formidable whether among Abyssal Species or Abyss Demons. If Er Dongsheng fought this one alone, even a victory would probably come at a terrible cost.

The most frightening thing about an Abyss Snake was not his power of attack, but...

Thud!

That's what makes Abyss Snakes so monstrous! Every part of them is poisonous. The poison on their skin may be weak, but it's still poison. If I get hurt, I'm in trouble! Watching the Velociraptor collapse unconscious, Er Dongsheng swallowed hard.

The Abyss Snake raised his head high, his cold, emerald-green eyes fixed on the Velociraptors ahead.

Seeing the male fall, the others shrieked at the Abyss Snake like crying infants. The two remaining males snorted hot air and charged him.

That's the trouble with having no brains. One fails at an ambush and attacks outright; the others strike back without knowing what they're up against.

Fight, then. Today I'll be the fisherman who profits while the others struggle! Er Dongsheng watched the monsters tangle together and began making his plans.

Such opportunities were rare. This was the first he had seen in three years, though others had played the fisherman at his expense many times.

By then, every Velociraptor had joined the attack on the Abyss Snake. One female ignored the poison on his body and sank her teeth into him.

Awooo! Maddened by pain, the Abyss Snake lashed out with his tail.

Bang!

The female, weighing some fifty kilograms, was sent flying. She struck a tree and fell to the ground. It was clear she would not survive.

Er Dongsheng swallowed hard again. His dry lips did nothing to distract him as he studied the Abyss Snake's movements and drew his conclusions. Over the past three years, he had made a habit of carefully observing every new Abyssal Species he encountered.

If he meant to play the fisherman, he needed patience and skill.

Flexible tail. Mild poison across his whole body. But as long as he doesn't bite me head-on, that poison shouldn't be enough to stop me...

A few more minutes passed, and the battle drew to a close. The two surviving males, both covered in wounds, roared as they slowly withdrew with the two remaining females. They gave a few mournful cries toward the motionless Velociraptors on the ground, then vanished into the thick grass.

The Abyss Snake kept his body raised, watching the Velociraptors disappear.

Only after a long while did the badly wounded Abyss Snake relax. Even then, he did not immediately enjoy his spoils, remaining quietly on guard.

Er Dongsheng moved. He crept out of the grass and circled around to a tree not far from the Abyss Snake. Its trunk was four or five meters across, more than wide enough to hide him. Keeping to the side facing away from the snake, he climbed it with careful, silent movements.

By then, the Abyss Snake had finally let down his guard. He opened his blood-soaked jaws around a smaller female Velociraptor and began to swallow her.

Er Dongsheng had quietly climbed to a spot directly above him.

Now!