When he woke up, Nick was sore as shit, although it wasn’t as bad as he had expected thanks to his new and improved toughness. While he winced with every step, he judged that he could walk without issue and even run if he had to. Although if he did, he would pay for it later. After going through a light version of his morning exercises, he walked over to the forest’s edge and picked a half-dozen ripe berries for breakfast, then resumed his exploration of the southern coast.

He wanted to check out the shipwreck that he had spotted from the treetop, then keep on going until he had a clear view of the northern shore. Nick planned to camp somewhere in the area, finish scouting the far side of the island, then make his way back to the obelisk tomorrow afternoon. On his way, he hoped to locate a secure shelter, as Nick was far too vulnerable while he was asleep.

With the beach surveyed, it would be time for Nick to decide how and where he would enter the forest. Nick needed to tackle the woods eventually, but he wanted to raise his baseline strength to five and reach level three before he did. Hopefully, his exercises combined with a multiday hike would do the trick.

If he pushed himself hard, he might even boost some of his physical attributes to six, although Nick was worried that the only reliable way to raise his baseline toughness past five was to take a beating. He would have to use some kp to learn more about the process when he had a few points to spare.

As he walked, he felt a cool breeze blowing from the east, heavy with the promise of rain. Sure enough, when he looked up, he saw a cluster of dark clouds crossing over the mountain. They looked like normal rainclouds, not the weird green ones he had seen from the treetop, and didn’t seem to be part of a larger storm system. Thus, he decided to press on and continue his scouting run as planned.

Fifteen minutes later, the first drops hit him, a refreshing patter that helped to cool Nick down. He was glad for his straw sunhat, as it kept his head dry and the rain out of his eyes. By the time that he rounded the bay, the shower had blown past, leaving the sand sparkling in the sunlight. On this pass through the area, Nick intended to find the precise boundary of the komos’ territory. While they seemed to avoid the bay, he had spotted several lizards after gaining the far side.

He doubted that their claim extended much further, because he suspected that the beefy crabs were another of the island’s beasts. Although they were passive enough that Nick would not be certain until he got close enough to use size up on them.

Not long after, he came to a stop at the top of a tall dune, eyes drawn to a big crustacean moving across the sands below. While he waited, frozen in place, the brawny creature drew closer, allowing Nick to make out more details than he had the day before. Ok, that’s definitely a beast, he decided after using his skill. The crabs felt dangerous in general, although not directly threatening like the komos and the lurk. Since he was going to have to deal with them if he wanted to explore the rest of the coast, Nick took a long look to analyze the creature’s abilities and come up with a name.

Thick shell, retractable limbs. Stops every few minutes to touch the sand, likely sensing vibrations. Since it looks like a crab with swords for claws, that’s what I’ll call it. Nick continued to catalogue the features of the newly named swordclaw. It looks strong but not too fast, although I won’t be sure until I see one run. Less aggressive than the komos, but less friendly than the lemurs, judging from how they responded to my intrusion yesterday.

Adding it all together, this species is likely a defensive specialist, unless it can spit acid or something equally crazy. Even if one decides to approach, I should be able to outpace it, so this area should be safer than the komos’ domain unless the swordclaws share the shoreline with another species of beast.

Nick realized that a few of these insights went beyond the details he had witnessed firsthand. He would be careful not to rely on this knowledge blindly, but it must be part of the information provided by size up. He reminded himself that there were likely pieces missing due to the low level of the skill as well. Regardless, just knowing that the swordclaws weren’t likely to be a threat was invaluable. While he was busy analyzing its capabilities, the crab found a starfish that had washed ashore and was busy devouring the unfortunate creature, garnishing its meal with a few bites of kelp.

Nick was in the middle of coming up with potential strategies, just in case he was forced to fight a swordclaw after all, when the sand above the crab exploded, as a komo burst forth from the side of the dune and struck from concealment.

Nick’s initial reaction was sheer terror, as this was a tactic he had not witnessed before. It shattered the fragile sense of security he had been forming as he learned more about the island. If the komos could rise from below and attack at any time, nowhere was safe. His ability to see through their camouflage was worthless if they could enhance the effect by covering themselves with sand. There could be a dozen lizards surrounding him at this very moment, poised and waiting to strike.

Calm down Nick, that doesn’t make any sense. They have no reason to invest in an ambush unless they have already spotted a target or are lying where they know prey will pass by. Be extra careful until you collect more data, but you should only have to worry about this style of ambush when you are walking along the dunes on the border of the lizards’ territory. It should still be safe to travel along the surf.

As the komo closed the distance, the swordclaw spun to face it, having noticed the reptile’s approach at the last possible second. As a fierce battle between beasts began, Nick realized that a prime opportunity had landed in his lap. He could wait up here until one of the creatures finished the other off, then race down and steal the prize from the exhausted victor. He wasn’t desperate enough to try eating raw lizard or uncooked shellfish, but if Nick could establish a camp and figure out how to build a fire, his plunder could solve his food problem for the next few days.

Even with his survivor trait, he had not been getting enough to eat. Hunger pains had become a constant companion, one that he would be happy to leave by the wayside. Besides, his vegan diet was not ideal for building muscle, although it had done wonders for taking some air out of his spare tire and melting the edges off his love handles.

Nick’s musings were driven from his mind as the komo and swordclaw faced off, each beast fighting with its life on the line. The crustacean was perhaps half the size of the vicious reptile, but its massive shears provided better reach than the lizard’s teeth and claws.

Watching the powerful creatures exchange a fearsome barrage of blows, he grasped that a second opportunity had fallen into his hands. A chance to solve a need even more important than securing his next meal. A way for Nick to begin bridging the gap between the tactical theory he had learned while gaming and the visceral reality of embodied combat. In short, Nick could learn how to fight for real by watching two creatures duel that had been born for battle.

The first detail that Nick absorbed was that the komo’s ambush had borne fruit, because one of the crab’s legs was protruding from the lizard’s mouth. While this was likely not a fatal wound, the crustacean was bleeding a fair amount as it scrambled for position. Splatters of blue soaking into the sand below its shell. The injury meant that the crab would grow weaker over the next few minutes, until its body could form a clot sufficient to staunch the flow.

Losing a second limb before it recovered from losing the first would likely cause the swordclaw to bleed out, or at least weaken the beast sufficiently for the komo to overpower. The crab was slower than its assailant to begin with and, now that it was injured, it could no longer safely retreat into its shell.

Thus, the dynamics of the battle were forcing the swordclaw to assume an offensive stance, racing to score a critical blow before it grew too weak from blood loss. While it had to remain in the area to keep the swordclaw from escaping, the komo could stay out of range of the crab’s claws until it saw an opportunity to follow up on its ambush. The passage of time was now the lizard’s ally and the crab’s foe.

Nick watched on, riveted by the epic struggle taking place before his eyes.

In the opening move of the battle, the komo scored a debilitating wound and took control of the flow of combat. No, that attack was premeditated. The lizard’s advantage was won before the battle even began. As Nick analyzed their tactics, the battle between beasts raged on.The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

Although its gambit had paid off, the komo’s victory was by no means assured, for the crab’s claws were strong and agile. They hung low, guarding its eyes and legs now that it was facing its foe. The razored blades of chitin could easily tear into the komo’s flesh if it was able to land a hit, whereas the lizard would have a hard time cracking the crab’s shell unless it could pluck another limb and disable the beast.

This was a lesson that Nick could only have learned while watching the fight with his own eyes. The nature documentaries he had binged back home did not convey the overwhelming tension and split-second timing of a life and death struggle. Or perhaps his insight was a consequence of accepting his new, conflict-oriented reality now that the System was in charge.

Watching their battle with eyes wide open, Nick grasped that each beast was a specialist in a different style of fighting, which took advantage of their unique natural weapons and divergent physical attributes. Although the komo had been willing to launch an attack, it soon became clear that neither species was an ideal match for the other. The lizard could outrun the crab but could not wound its opponent while its guard was raised. The swordclaw was capable of ending the battle with a single, decisive blow. But the komo refused to face the crab head on, letting blood loss disable it over time instead.

No matter what direction I guide my development, I need to invent my own fighting style. Or learn from someone more experienced, if there is anyone left who can teach me. With that observation, memories came rushing up to the surface of Nick’s awareness before they were deflected by the partition the System had placed within his mind. As the thought was forcibly suppressed, he wondered why he was crying. I must be allergic to something. Anyway, going forward I will need to learn how to evaluate my opponents through direct observation. Supplementing the impressions provided by size up.

To fend off beasts with powerful bodies and deadly natural weapons, I need to develop strategies to mitigate their strengths and exploit their weaknesses. Catalogue their tendencies to anticipate likely moves but remain on guard for surprises. To round things off, I need to have some viable contingencies already in place, so that I can react to surprises effectively when I don’t have time to engage in extensive planning. Like what to do if I’m surrounded or forced to fight beasts capable of using ranged attacks.

Nick had let his mind wander while the battle below remained deadlocked, but he returned his full attention to the conflict when the melee entered a new phase. The crab had clearly decided that it wasn’t going to be able to catch the lizard before it grew too weak to hold its own. After feinting a charge, the swordclaw changed tactics, attempting to retreat and dive into the sea. Before it gained the safety of the surf, the lizard darted around to cut off its approach, forcing the crustacean to abort its rush or risk losing another limb in passing.

This close to the water’s edge, the komo could not move out of the way without abandoning its meal, and Nick watched with avid attention as the beasts faced each other head on for the first time. The swordclaw used its enemy’s intentions to constrain its movement, countering the komo’s evasion tactics while boosting its odds of escape.

Nick watched on in awe, committing each detail to memory, as claw and tooth, shell and scale, struck and dodged and parried in a blur of motion. As it was forced deeper into the surf, the lizard appeared to make a mistake, dodging too slowly as the crab’s claws sheered a foot off the end of its tail. The swordclaw clearly expected that the wound would make the komo back off, unaware that it had fallen for the lizard’s ploy. Instead of retreating, the komo spun along the inside of the blow and bit, tearing one massive claw free from the crab’s body, then raking out an eye with its talons.

Half-blinded and overwhelmed with pain, the crab started to circle futilely, spilling its life essence into the thirsty sands to form a ring of blue blood. Every revolution cost the swordclaw more of its remaining strength. It soon started to falter, like a clockwork toy just before the gears stopped turning. Eventually the crab collapsed and the lizard struck, tearing the crustacean's face off before dragging it far enough back that the ocean could not claim its prize out from under it.

Out of everything that Nick had learned from watching the battle, this was the most important lesson of all. Sometimes you must sacrifice something in order to gain something. Especially when facing off against a powerful foe.

Although they were mortal enemies, Nick offered a salute of respect to the formidable hunter for the lessons it had taught him. With the battle won, it was time for the victor to tend to its wounds. The komo walked over to where the shore was dry, then drove the end of its shorn tail into the sand, which stuck to the bloody stump to form a seal. Then the lizard began to feast on the swordclaw’s remains.

Having learned a valuable lesson on attacking while your enemy was distracted, Nick rose to his feet and crept down the side of the dune. Approaching the wounded komo from behind, he raised his stick above his head, ready to incorporate the insights he had gleaned.

Nick inched his way forward across the white sands, every scrap of concentration focused on the lethal reptile feeding in front of him. He kept his breathing slow and steady, stepping at lightly as he could. Every time that the komo raised its head from its gory buffet, he froze in place, praying that the beast would not turn around. Before long, he was almost close enough to strike. The next time that the lizard went to take a bite, Nick took a step to channel his strength and brought the stick down as hard as he could.

A hearty crack resounded across the dunes as the branch stuck the lizard square in the back. It hissed and spun to face him, but Nick was already darting back, out of range of its teeth and claws. He reached into the pocket of his bathrobe and took out one of the stones he had gathered. Before the enraged reptile could close the distance, he took aim and threw, clocking the lizard right in the head with a satisfying thunk.

The beast came to a skidding stop, examining Nick in a new light. Seeing him as a threat for the first time. At this point, he knew that he had a decision to make. While his attack had been successful, he wasn’t doing much damage with his primitive weapons. He could continue the battle, but the odds of winning without being injured in the process were poor.

In the end, it was only practical for him to drive the komo back, grab the shorn tail and claw, then beat a hasty retreat. Not because Nick couldn’t have won, although it wouldn’t have been a risk-free fight even with his clear advantage. Rather, he couldn’t accomplish anything else that would justify the danger. He wouldn’t have been able to carry any of the extra meat with him, and while Nick understood that he needed to obtain combat experience in order to survive the days ahead, this wasn’t the right time or place to take a chance.

Although Nick felt less conflicted about killing one of the hyper-aggressive, carnivorous lizards than any of the other beasts he had encountered, he wasn’t willing to risk his life to finish off a single komo when there were hundreds more roaming the beach. Especially when he had only his walking stick to fend off the lizard’s talons and teeth.

After making sure that the wounded reptile went to devour the swordclaw’s corpse instead of following him, Nick turned his attention to the meat he had stolen. He was trying not to think about the fact that the rapidly cooling chunks of flesh had been parts of living creatures only a few minutes prior.

He had no idea how to skin or dress an animal, but the severed appendages seemed like they would be relatively easy to cook over an open fire. Nick had other plans in store for the claw as well. He was hoping to convert its edge into a weapon, or at least a basic cutting tool, allowing him to start a few projects that were beyond the scale of what his tiny scissors could handle.

Once the site of the ambush was far enough behind him, he stopped to catch his breath. Judging by the crustaceans meandering in the distance, he was now at least a quarter mile into the swordclaws’ territory. He hadn’t seen any more lizards, but now that Nick knew they could burrow, he walked over to the surf and scanned the closest dunes with extra vigilance.

After he was certain that no hidden beasts were lurking nearby, he was ready to find a better way to carry the meat until he was able to cook it. He rinsed off the blood in the ocean, and after a bit of trial and error, Nick wrapped the appendages in strips of fallen palm fronds, bound them with cord, and then hung the bundles off his belt using the tie of his bathrobe.

The prospect of eating grilled meat made him hungry enough to drool, but Nick forced his attention back to scanning his surroundings and resumed his trek along the coast. He was glad to leave the ever-present tension of traversing the komos’ domain behind him. While the swordclaw crabs were fearsome fighters, their territory proved to be almost as safe to cross as the lemurs’ domain.

After running a few tests, he discovered that the crabs would not respond to his presence until he was fairly close. Radius of aggression of approximately twenty feet. Even when they assumed an aggressive posture, the swordclaws did not seem inclined to pursue him. Either because Nick didn’t fit their image of predator or prey, or because it required far less effort to harvest the sea’s bounty than to battle a creature larger than themselves.

If the lemurs were friendly and the komos were hostile, he would classify the swordclaws’ temperament as neutral. Even if he accidentally goaded them into attacking, if Nick didn’t let the crabs box him in, he could easily evade them, and their presence kept the other predators away from the region. He made good time from that point on. Judging by the position of the mountain and the giant tree, it would take Nick another hour or so to arrive at the first stop on his journey, the sprawling wreckage set along the southeastern shoreline.

He realized that he would soon be passing by the part of the forest claimed by the giant spiders. Nick walked as close to the ocean as he could, where he could see anything coming out of the trees early enough to double back the way he had come. As he pressed on, he remembered to check out the scratch he had drawn on his belt. To his satisfaction, the mark had already repaired itself and the drops of beast blood that had splattered on the leather had vanished without a trace.

He only wished that the rest of his clothing had a self-maintenance modification as well. Nick’s other garments were filthy, and his jeans were becoming more ragged by the mile. With any luck, he would receive the next upgrade to his wardrobe sooner rather than later.